sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia How to Enjoy \ Liberal 9 Hunting Season

Monday at 7 a.m. is anticipation time for a large number of New Jersey hunters The time and date mark the opening of the I WHS shotgun deer season For the next six days'it will be legal for licensed hunters to pursue New Jersey's whitetoil deer In this six-day season only bucks are legal prey

Bucks must have antler at least three inches long to Inlegal During this six-day season, muzzle loader rifles using black powder are also legal Hunters can legally bag two bucks. When they bring in the first to a check-in station to Inweighed. they are issued a

permit entitling them to the second deer NEW JERSEY has been extremely liberal in its deer management program U is in sharp contrast to the tight rein held on hunters in Pennsylvania. where hunters can bag only one deer II they harvest one in the archery season they are done for the balance of the year A deer bagged in the regular season in the Keystone State eliminates the hunter from the anterless deer or the muzzleloader season which follow the Pennsylvania regular season. Here in New Jersey, hunters could legally bag two deer in the bow season which ended Nov. 8. They are allowed two bucks in the regular season Hunters are able to add one more in the deer of either sex season later in the month They can also bag two deer of either sex with the muzzleloader in that season. HUNTERS CAN hunt either the special shotgun or the muzzleloader special season, but not both. The legal total for a hunter who utilizes all three seasons can bag either five or six deer. After the first of the year, the hunters who choose to do so can add two more deer with the winter bow season That runs most of the month of January. While this sounds like indiscriminate slaughter of deer, the quotas and harvest each year are needed to keep the number of New Jersey deer in balance with the available habitat That New Jersey hunters are managing to harvest about 25.IKH) deer per year in all of the seasons on a regular basis in an indication that the management plan is working well THAT TIIF. management plan is working well is also evidenced in the fact that New Jersey hunters last year bagged more deer than were killed by hunters in the stale of Maine, which 5 sst sw ca saws «s TSA P?

was and is still recognized as a major hunting state. Part of that myth is is perpetrated because of the size of the deer brought out by hunters. Pennsylvania, also recognized as a major deer hunting state with size of deer and numbers bagged by hunters, provides about a 10 percent ratio of success for hunters. NewJersey's hunters far equally as well, also providing a 10 percent success ratio. This is one of the amazing things about the NewJersey statistics. We are the fastest growing and most densely populated stale. Deer hunters are finding more and more space falling to developers and to posting against hunting because of private ownership. YKT. TIIK STATIC open space policies have worked for the hunters, especially in South Jersey, where there are large parcels of stale-owned land utilized by lots of hunters One of the biggest is the Wharton Tract, which st retches* across the slate from Camden County to the Garden State Parkway. Lebanon State Forest, which is between Routes 70 and 72 in mid-state, is also another primate open area Here in Cape May County, prime areas are also available One is Belleplain State Forest. The other is Beaver Swamp Wildlife Management area Some deer hunting is also available on the Dennis Creek Wildlife Management area. There are other stale lands available to county hunters within an easy drive from home. Refer to a copy of the 1985-86 New Jersey Deer Guide which is available from any licensing agent IT IS WORTH your while to read the guide carefully It contains a lot of valuable information about hunting deer in the Garden State. It also spells out how you can qualify for the special seasons lor the future The increase in popularity of black powder hunting throughout the United Slates has been enjoyed as well by New Jerseyhunters This year. 12.660 permits to hunt deer with the muzzleloader in NewJersey's special season will Ik- issued and in use This is not an actual count of black power shooters and hunters in the state, since not all hunters were selected in the lottery which deterinin ed who got the 12.660 permits Some hunters use primitive weapons i Muzzleloaders fired by flintlock or percussion capi in the regular deer season only. Some are also turning to hunting with black powder shotguns for birds and upland game as well. Some black powder enthusiasts are interested only in shooting and not in hunting with their black powder guns. AI.I. NEW JERSEY hunters must have possessed a previous hunting license to be able to get a license to hunt. Otherwise, they must take a hunter safety education course. To hunt with a muzzleloader the hunter is required to pass a test in use of a rifle. These hunter safety tests

have been heralded as one of the keys in the relative safety with which NewJersey hunters take to the field. To other contributing factor to an excellent safety record for New Jerseyhunters is the requirement to wear fluorescent (hunter) orange when in the field. To be hunting legally a hunter must wear at least 200 square inches of the fluorescent orange color which has become identifed with hunting safety. Or. he must wear a hunter's cap in fluorescent orange visible for 360 degrees. IN TIIK BEGINNING, some hunters fought the idea, thinking that the blaze orange color would: scare game. Time and success in the field have proven otherwise. And while the hunter success has been unaffected, hunter safety has been improved immensely. ZONES: New Jersey has been divided into zones to effect a sensible deer management plan. In Zone 34. which is Cape MayCounty. as well as a portion of Cumberland County, there will be 109 special season permits for shotgun only and 250 permits for the special muzzleloader season. In 1984, there were 330 applicants for 117 shotgun special season permits. There were 188 applicants for 185 permits for the special 1984 muzzleloader season. Permit quotas are set according to the need to harvest a percentage of the deer in a management zone to keep the zone in balance between food supply and numbers of deer PERMIT REJECTION: If you made application for a special permit and mayhave been turned down there are a number of reasons One. obviously is that more persons applied than were permits to be issued as in the case of special shotgun season applicants in 1984 That year the applicants nearly double the number of permits After that, here are some of the other reasons: No hunting license stub includ ed Application filed late No zone listed Wrong stub No season in zone listed Incomplete application or mutilated application blank Two zones listed on application Hunters can improve their chances of acceptance for a permit if they file the applications on lime and by filling in the application blanks carefully. lll'NTERS ARE reminded for next year that they can apply for only one kind of special permit - either shotgun or muzzleloader — and not both. Seventeen persons were rejected in 1984 for applying for both special permits. Here are couple of general rules for hunters to follow. Properly licensed hunters must use a shotgun no smaller than 20 gauge and no longer than 10 gauge when using shotgun slugs, or no smaller than 12 gauge and no larger than 10 gauge when using buckshot. Only shells rated as buckshot can be used for deer Regular shot is not permitted. No shotgun capable of holding more

than three shells can be used. nor can a shotgun that can be fired more than three times without reloading be used. CASED GUN LAW: During the hours of darkness, no firearm, weapon or other instrument which can be used to kill a deer maybe carried in a vehicle unless it is in a closed and fastened case or is wrapped and securely tied as a package. If not cased, the weapon must be carried in the luggage compartment of the vehicle Weapon includes bow andarrow. Now one is permitted to throw or cast the rays of any illuminating device on any highway, road, field, i woods or marsh where deer might reasonably be expected to be found while having in possession or control any firearm, weapon or other instrument which may be used to kill deer unless it is contained as outlined above. HUNTERS WHO leave their vehicles and travel to hunting sites with other hunters or other vehicles should be reminded that they might not arrive back at their own vehicles until after dark. They should be aware that if they leave their gun cases with their own vehicle they might be risking a fine on the trip back to their own car. One way to solve this problem is to keep the case for your weapon in the vehicle you are hunting with. If not. carry a cloth case in your hunting coat so you can slip the weapon into it when dark comes and finds you in someone else's vehicles miles from your own case and your own car. Our emergency case is cut from an old drape It is sewed into a sheath big enough to hold the shotgun. A flap closes the end and strings lie the cloth case securely It works well in emergencies and is light and easy to carry. Make one now and carry it along for hunting season as an emergency spare

(ape May County \ almanac 1 DECEMBER. 1985

MINIS I'll ASKS/POSITIONS The Moon* effect on (he I id.- it I'fi-oloK when elotett lo Earth I in per liter I unit when in direct alignment with Sun i Earth I full t ni-w mnon phatetl On anil about thete date*, hiw pretture ivilrmt and/or tl rang Hindu (depending upan d Italian) max retail in /loading Mnun PhJsrs IJHI Uu.ill.i ■*> N.-H Moult 1 1 I irsl Ifuarler I* lull Moon 27 \|M.Crr PrriKfr I" TIUK T.AHI.K Computed /or Cape Max Cllv beachfront, /or of her area*, tee Correction Timet t»Y|>: Hlt.ll I.OM a m p m a m pn. 27 Will 7 24 7 4ft 12 57 I U a Thu 7 76 h 22 i :a 2 a 29 Kn K II '» («| 2 III 2 M. Ml Sill 9 OH 9 40 2 4.1 m 1 Sun 9 4.1 III 27 l ift 4 12 2 Mnn 10 "29 II 18 3:52 4 54 I Tui- 1 1 21 4 IH r. 44 4 Will 12:11 12 11 5 19 (.41 . Thll I c». I 1.1 ft 58 7 44 ft Kn 2 01. 2 IH H II H 41 7 S.ll I I" I 24 •• II 9 15 K Sun I III 4 2H 10 12 lo 2fi to Tuo . ■>■ i. 20 12 (H II Will ft 4'» 7 12 12 III I no 17 Tliu 7 U, » 07 I III I .1 1 1 Kn H 3ft H ... I 5ft 2 44 : I I Siit 9 IK 9 4» 2 47 I It i . Son in lo lo i . i 19 4 27 , li. Moo II oi II 41 I 12 • 1.1 17 run II 55 .28 ft l*. IK Will 17 17. 17 m I. 79 7 07 1 19 TliU I 27 I 41 7 1.1 7 a. 211 Kn 3 22 7 U. H II K 44. 21 Sill 114 i 12 9 25 9 .11 22 SUM 4 07 4 28 lo 17. HI |7. | 21 Mom 4 4. . 19 II 01 II III 24 TIM- • 41 i. m II M II 41 25 Will I. 22 ft 4ft 12 .17. 1 2ft Thu ft 59 7 2fi 12 27 I 19 27 Kn 7 Itt 8 nr. I lo 2 ill I 28 S.il K I I H 14 I 50 2 41 29 Sun K 7.2 9 25 3 a .1 IK | III Mom 9 .11 III IH I .. . I 5ft II Tin- 10 144 lo 57 I 45 I U res SSA SS3 W* SSS SSS S55 JW

C 1IKKKC TION TIMES Compute approximate timet of high 6 low water for your area by adding or tubtrachng the folloxmng itiuMber of minulri for each tide phate in the Tide Table U>W HIGH Ureal Em Harbor Inlet Plus 12 plusio Ocean Cily i9lh Si Bridge . plus 745 plus 22 Corson Inlet i bridge) plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle Cilv i l.udlam Thoro Bridget plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle Cily Beach minus 2 minus 21 Towruend Inlet plus 21 plus 4 Seven Mile Beach plus 15 0 Stone Harbor i Great Channel Bridge > plus 43 plus 40 Hereford Inlel < Anglesea > plus 19 0 Wild wood Beach Minus 2 minus 17 West Wildwood • Grassy Channel bridge plus 46 plus 43 Cape May Harbor plus I minus 4 Kive Kalhom Bank plus 1 1- plus I 4 'ape May Point plus 46 plus 34 McCne Shoal plus a plus 22 Delaware Hat Bay shore Channel ■ Bay Canal Junction) plus 47 plus % Miami Beach Ib-iims Creek Entrance plus 114 plus 97 Hrandywinr Shoal Light plus 77 plus W S A S3* S53 SW RJ* S3* 555 SKI T

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