Bow Season in nj

[wwridgerunner]

Hi Guys, Im a new guy to the forum,Been studying Bed hunting and most of what Dan is teaching about wind and thermals.I was hunting a 4 square mile area of public land.Hills choked with rhododendron around swamps and pot holes.Found rubs in a couple of swampy areas and up on the ridges not on the leeward side though. I could get to the swamps with a lot of difficulty,could not be quiet, as much as I tried.This is low deer density area not much bow hunting pressure especially where I go about 1.5 miles from my truck.I stage hunted this area not overlooking the the swamp close to the road and hills close by.I broke my never sitting the same place twice, like I used to.My old style was to just pound a stand or 2 all season.Im at a loss, didn't see many deer, 5 to be exact.4 I jumped hiking back to a area I sat for an evening and a spike that came out on a different evening sit.I understand this is my first year bowhunting this area and its going to take time to get to know,i did more scouting than hunting.Never found a bed in the same place twice.Never found a single bed like a buck,but found where the does laid down once.Everything just seemed so random.All the walking and scouting I did and didn't jump many deer.This is more like a big woods scenario and resigning to only gun hunt in this area.Its to thick to get down in the swamps unless I cut a trail which is illegal or stay tight to the edge and hope they come out in the spot I pick to sit.The bucks that are killed in the area I hunt are descent 4 and 5 yr olds. thats why I chose this area.But i'm understanding why they get that old especially in NJ. Where a deer can't make it past 1.5.I don't know what I'm going to decide to do here.So my question is should I sit funnels and benches,during the rut and Hope for the cruisers? and forget about bed hunting in this area?Do you see a difference when hunting big woods to other areas when bed hunting.I just can't believe this area is that unique where you can't get a shot at these deer.
thank you in advance.

[Matty]

Sounds like Northern NJ for sure. A few state forests and wma's come to mind from your description.

I hunt a lot of public lands around Morris, Sussex and Warren, if you want to PM me the property, I might be able to help.

The bigger woods stuff that gets hit hard around here, is usually full of terrain. I focus on the steepest terrain and find the steep points and benches that are tough to access and covered in or surrounded by ankle breaking boulder fields. If it looks like mountain goats should live there, it's probably holding a mature buck. If it also has thick rhododendrons, you're also in business. They typically bed the edges of the rhododendrons just like swamps. You wouldn't think deer would use those very rocky areas, but that's where I find a lot of the older bucks. Have also killed and seen a few bucks killed with broken legs from running through these areas. Not an easy life for deer, but most guys avoid these areas, so the deer live there unmolested.

The pothole type swamps that dot these forests can hold bedding if they are big enough, but I find a lot more bedding in what I described above. We have a good mix of habitats in Northern NJ though and that hunting is some of the toughest, so I generally focus on the bigger swamps, marshes and river bottoms where things are a bit more predictable.

[wwridgerunner]

Thanks PM sent