Chipmunk hunting in MA?

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ecnal

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I'd like to start hunting. I own a .22 rifle, so I want to start out with very small game.

I know that chipmunks, flying squirrels, red squirrels, and a few others are open year-round. Only thing is, I'm not sure which license would be needed? The Mass. site isn't the clearest it could be. Parts of the site lead me to believe that a hunting class is needed before getting a license, then there's a list of walk-in locations (like walmart down the street from me), and that page mentions nothing about a class.

Can anyone provide any guidance? It wasn't this confusing when I got my lobster permit. :\
 
You will need a hunting license and a FID card. In order to get the hunting license you will need to complete a hunters safety course. They will be considered small game and will require nothing more than a basic license here.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I already have my LTC-A, that's no problem. All the hunters' edu courses for the rest of this year are full. :(

I'll try calling a few tomorrow and see if they can squeeze me in!
 
ecnal said:
Thanks for the quick reply!

I already have my LTC-A, that's no problem. All the hunters' edu courses for the rest of this year are full. :(

I'll try calling a few tomorrow and see if they can squeeze me in!
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That's a good idea about squeezing in. I saw folks just show up and crash the class and the guys let them in.

You'll learn that eastern MA is shotgun only for squirrel. You can use air rifles though. A good accurate air rifle can actually be more accurate than a 22 rifle and it's quiet so it doesn't spook the other game.
 
Does anyone know the cutoff point for being able to use a .22 to hunt squirrel. I heard eastern ma requires shotgun only. How about central Ma
 
Tater said:
Does anyone know the cutoff point for being able to use a .22 to hunt squirrel. I heard eastern ma requires shotgun only. How about central Ma
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Gray Squirrel can be hunted with rifle, pistol or shotgun in zones 1-9. Translated from government, that means west of a line across the state drawn by Route 3 out of NH, RT 495, and RT 121 to Rhode Island.

See: DF&W Massachusetts Hunting, Fishing & Trapping Guide - although they didn't include a map of the zones this year, just descriptions. There's a copy of the map online here.
 
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I don't know how close you are to VT but it looks like anyone can take their hunter safety course and it's recognized in all states.

http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/edu_hunter.cfm


How much does it cost?

It's free. All materials are provided by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the U.S. Wildlife Restoration, Division of Federal Aid, with funds derived from a tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment.

When are courses available?

Courses are taught throughout the year, with the peak seasons in late summer through early October.

Can I use the course to get a license in another state?

All states and Canadian provinces recognize Vermont's certification.
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I don't know if it's possible but might be worth a phone call if you live close enough!
 
or if you have a hunting license from any state issued before the cutoff(I forget the date) then you can get one. Kinda sucks that they wont just accept the LTC anymore or the FID.
 
0900aaef.jpg


All taken in a two car under garage three houses up. They were living in the ceiling & walls. .177 air rifle. Two hours.
 
I was also going to suggest checking surrounding states for you hunters safety. All states recognize other states Hunters safety courses. Call places that offer classes and see if they can get you in even if they are full. The worst they can say is no.
 
I love going out when there's not much else to hunt. take the .22mag and blast tons of em. They give me up during deer season so i try to eleminate as many as possable in the off season. Great practice to.
 
Palladin said:
0900aaef.jpg


All taken in a two car under garage three houses up. They were living in the ceiling & walls. .177 air rifle. Two hours.
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Hey Joe, tell the truth. You really got those chipmunks $hitfaced and they all passed out. You can tell 'cause there ain't no holes in them.[smile]
 
JFR2 said:
I need a hunting license to kill the squirrels in my backyard with an air rifle??
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To stay within the law, yep you do. There is also a daily limit and I believe a possession limit, too. In eastern MA you can't legally hunt them until sometime after Columbus Day in Oct., IIRC.
 
arlow said:
IANAL but you may not need it if they are damaging your property and you are killing them to protect your property from further damage.
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This.


The 'munks were in this guys garage. He pulled out a chair & a beer, then started capping them. A true 1%'er!
 
ecnal, if no one else is going to do it, I'll do it...WELCOME TO NES!!!!!! You've found the best group of gun folks in New England. (their manners are usually better, but your enthralling topic distracted them [grin])

Ditto on getting an out of state license. I hear NH has an online course you can take.

And ditto on just crashing a course. I hear it is well tolerated by the instructors. Just show up to the first class a few minutes early and sweet-talk your way in.

BTW, go green (become a paid member of NES) and you won't regret it.
 
Thanks for the welcome and all the replies!

It looks like the NH online course also requires a field day - I'd much rather try to butt my way into an existing course close to home than have to drive up to NH for a 'field day', but thanks for the info! The NH online course is also closed for 2010.
 
ecnal said:
I'd much rather try to butt my way into an existing course close to home than have to drive up to NH for a 'field day',
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Good choice. When I moved back to MA I had a CA hunting license but decided to take the MA course to get the face-time with other hunters. It was worth it.
 
arlow said:
IANAL but you may not need it if they are damaging your property and you are killing them to protect your property from further damage.
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yeah i'm not sure about the law. I think if your trapping them then you don't need a hunting license, but then again its his own property. Its almost like saying he could hunt any game on his property without a hunting license. I know with PAC agents if you are going to use a firearm you need to have a hunting license. Anyway its an interesting point. I think your all set though.
 
OPEN SEASONS
The following species may be taken year-round (except during shotgun deer season) by licensed hunters with no daily or seasonal bag limit: English sparrow, flying squirrel, red squirrel, chipmunk, porcupine, skunk, starling, weasel, woodchuck.

CLOSED SEASONS
Closed season throughout the year on all birds and mammals not mentioned herein or in Massachusetts Migratory Bird Regulations published in September.
 
I've never fired a shotgun before but from what I understand, any save for the highest of gauges of shotgun would annihilate a chipmunk, no?

Also, while a shotgun doesn't have the range that a rifle does, I would be quite concerned hunting with one simply because of the spread of pellets -- you can't predict where exactly they all go. At least a rifle has only one projectile to worry about.

Or do I have that completely wrong?
 

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