6-Day Bear and Deer Firearm Hunt Starts Monday in New Jersey

For six days starting Monday, it is legal to hunt deer and black bears with firearms in New Jersey. It's the day deer season starts for hunters and also the opening day of the six-day black bear season, the New Jersey Herald reported.

From Monday through Saturday, hunters may use shotguns to kill a total of two antlered deer, and the second may be taken only after the first is registered in the online Automated Harvest Report System. Get more details on the six-day deer firearm season here; the next bow season begins in January 2014. 

Only one bear is allowed to be "harvested," according to the state's bear management plan, which expires in June 2015. The hunt begins 30 minutes before sunrise each day and ends half an hour after sunset.

Hunters must have a Black Bear Hunting Area Permit for each area they wish to visit, up to two, plus a current firearm or all-around hunting license. The application permit period ended October 15, however leftover and unclaimed permits may be available for sale via license agents and the Internet. Get more info on the bear hunt here.

As of Thursday morning, bear permits were available in zones 2, 3 and 4 with Zone 1 (western Sussex and Warren down to the Delaware Water Gap) sold out. 

The Herald reported anti-hunt activists will protest deer and bear season on Monday and Saturday at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area’s check-in station in Fredon.