The 2004 New Jersey Permit Bow Season for deer will open statewide on Saturday, Oct. 30. Bag limits and season lengths vary by zone, so hunters should always review current regulations in the Hunting Issue of the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Digest before going afield.

Garden State bow hunters have really come into their own, and the permit bow season offers yet another opportunity for them to enjoy their sport. Last year, this season proved to be an excellent one for archers as they harvested 9,858 whitetails. Together with the fall bow and winter bow seasons, bow hunters harvested 24,469 deer during the 2003 – 2004 season. This is an impressive 35.2 percent of the entire deer season total and exemplifies how New Jersey bow hunters have become an integral and invaluable part of New Jersey’s deer management program.

For this year, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 22-24) have been reinstated as archery hunting days, except in Earn-A-Buck Zones (7 - 15, 36, 41, 49, 50 and 51). The Earn-A-Buck zones will remain closed to archery hunting during these dates to avoid conflict with the shotgun and muzzleloader permit deer seasons when hunters are restricted to harvesting antlerless deer only.

Permits for the Permit Bow Deer Season are available at selected license issuing agents and will be available on a continuing basis throughout the season. To purchase a permit at a license agent, a hunter must present his or her valid 2004 hunting license and $28 for each permit. Youth hunters must present their valid youth hunting license and $12 for each permit.

All 2004 hunting licenses include tear-off antlered buck stubs. A hunter who takes an antlered buck must date, initial and attach a buck stub along with a transportation tag to the deer before transporting it to the deer check station. Upon checking the deer, the buck stub and the transportation tag must be surrendered to the check station operator.

Conservation officers have noticed that some hunters are leaving their buck stubs attached to transportation tags completed for antlerless deer. Hunters should carefully examine both sides of their license when completing and detaching transportation tags for antlerless deer to ensure that they do not detach a buck stub from the license until needed to tag a buck.