New Jersey Deer Management Zone 61: deer harvest, 2026-27 seasons and public land
New Jersey's Deer Management Zone 61 covers 8 square miles of Atlantic County. Hunters took 23 deer there in the 2025-26 seasons, up from 20 the year before, and permit bow gave the most, 8. Zone 61 is a special area with its own permits and seasons. State and federal land make up almost none of the zone.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: NJFW 2025-26 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest. Seasons: NJFW Deer Seasons 2026-27. Land: PAD-US.
Fish and Wildlife land (WMAs)State forest and park landNational wildlife refugeMilitary (closed unless the base allows)Zone 61Neighboring zonesHighway
| Size | 8 square miles |
|---|---|
| Public land | 0% (1 acre) |
| Deer taken, 2025-26 | 23 |
| Deer taken, 2024-25 | 20 |
| Four-season average | 19 a season (2022-23 to 2025-26) |
| Busiest season, 2025-26 | Permit bow (8 deer) |
| 2026-27 rules | Special area: own permits and seasons |
| Deer taken per square mile, 2025-26 | 2.88 (deer taken divided by the zone's area) |
How many deer are taken in Zone 61 each season?
23 in 2025-26, 3 more than in 2024-25; across the four seasons below the zone averaged 19. Zone 61 gave 0.1% of New Jersey's 38,438 deer in 2025-26.
| Season | 2025-26 | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permit bow | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Permit muzzleloader | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Permit shotgun | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Six-day firearm | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Winter bow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All seasons | 23 | 20 | 18 | 14 |
Sources: NJFW 2025-26 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest; NJFW 2024-25 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest; NJFW 2023-24 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest; NJFW 2022-23 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest. Each table's zone rows add up to its Total row.
Which counties does Zone 61 cover?
| County | Acres in Zone 61 | County deer, 2025-26 | County deer, 2024-25 | County deer, 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic County | 5,087 | 1,490 | 1,231 | 2,202 |
Source: NJFW White-tailed Deer Harvest by County, 2021-22 to 2025-26. County figures cover the whole county, not just Zone 61.
When are the 2026-27 deer seasons in Zone 61?
Zone 61 is one of NJFW's special area zones: a property with its own zone designation, its own permits (sold first come, first served from 10 a.m. on September 14, 2026) and its own season dates. Check the special area rules before hunting it.
Source: NJFW Special Area Deer Hunting Regulations; NJFW 2026-27 Deer Season Regulation Sets Reference Chart.
Where are Zone 61's boundaries?
NJFW's description: "Those portions of the Atlantic County Park System, County of Atlantic, designated as open for deer hunting, lying within Atlantic County."
Source: NJFW Deer Management Zone Descriptions. NJFW suggests tracing the line on a county map; its Hunting and Trapping Explorer shows it too.
How much public land is in Zone 61?
0% of Zone 61 is public land: 1 of its 5,087 acres. NJFW notes that not every WMA is open to all hunting in every season; state parks and forests set their own rules and allow no Sunday hunting.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Zone 61 |
|---|---|---|
| Fish and Wildlife land (WMAs) | 1 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the zone line from USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1).
Which zones border Zone 61?
| Zone | 2026-27 rules | Square miles | Deer, 2025-26 | Deer, 2024-25 | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 26 | Low | 217 | 667 | 567 | 21.3% |
| Zone 42 | High | 218 | 370 | 332 | 17% |
| Zone 46 | Low | 86 | 173 | 93 | 45.8% |
Highways crossing Zone 61: none numbered.
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were taken in New Jersey Deer Zone 61 in 2025-26?
23 (NJFW 2025-26 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest): 8 in permit bow, 8 in permit muzzleloader, 5 in permit shotgun, 1 in six-day firearm. The zone gave 20 in 2024-25, 18 in 2023-24 and 14 in 2022-23.
How do you hunt special area Zone 61?
Special area zones are properties with their own deer zone designation, permits and season dates. NJFW sells special area permits first come, first served from September 14, 2026 (NJFW Special Area Deer Hunting Regulations).
Where is New Jersey Deer Zone 61?
NJFW's description begins: "Those portions of the Atlantic County Park System, County of Atlantic, designated as open for deer hunting, lying within Atlantic County." The full boundary is on its zone description page (NJFW Deer Management Zone Descriptions).
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Where these numbers come from
- Harvest: NJFW 2025-26 New Jersey Total Deer Harvest; earlier seasons' zone tables; NJFW Historic Deer Harvests, 1972 to 2025; NJFW White-tailed Deer Harvest by County, 2021-22 to 2025-26.
- Seasons and rules: NJFW Deer Seasons 2026-27; NJFW 2026-27 Deer Season Regulation Sets Reference Chart; NJFW Special Area Deer Hunting Regulations. Boundaries: NJFW Deer Management Zone Descriptions.
- Zone map: NJDEP Deer Management Zones (DMZ) in New Jersey. Public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1). Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, municipalities (county subdivisions).
FilledTag is not part of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife. Numbers are copied from NJFW, NJDEP and federal sources or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.