Love Machine
NES Member
Never been, handy with a shotgun and rifle. I did hunting safety courses in NJ, not sure if that's needed in MA.
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What do you want to hunt? If it's deer you're after, get out in the woods often. Find where the deer are and then find their travel lanes to and from their bedding spots and their feeding spots. Early fall before the season begins, find an active run and look for buck signs like rubs and scrapes. Set up your tree stand, ( the best method by far), or set up a ground blind. (Not as good as a tree stand, but better than nothing).Never been, handy with a shotgun and rifle. I did hunting safety courses in NJ, not sure if that's needed in MA.
Whoops, probably should have specified. More interested in deer hunting.
Specifically gun hunting in MA?Whoops, probably should have specified. More interested in deer hunting.
I took a MA Hunter Safety Course in October and the instructors were asking what everyone wanted to hunt.Why do the new hunters always say they are mainly interested in deer hunting? Deer is probably the lowest success rate next to bear. Not saying don't hunt deer......but small game and turkey can be a great way start in the sport.....and you may actually come home with something the first or second trip out.
gotta fill that freezer baby! Whitetail is the best for that purpose in my opinion. As you've said though it can be incredibly slow and unsuccessful depending on what zone you hunt. I got hooked because I killed a doe with a bow on my first day in the woods. I've learned since that you've got to enjoy sitting in a tree appreciating nature and reading a good book with no expectations. Ive lost many new hunters to boredom after a few days in the woods and I dont know how I'm ever gonna get my son started with his attention span.Why do the new hunters always say they are mainly interested in deer hunting? Deer is probably the lowest success rate next to bear. Not saying don't hunt deer......but small game and turkey can be a great way start in the sport.....and you may actually come home with something the first or second trip out.
Squirrel. Start him on squirrel. High success rate and a long season. You can head out for an hour or 2 and bag a handful.gotta fill that freezer baby! Whitetail is the best for that purpose in my opinion. As you've said though it can be incredibly slow and unsuccessful depending on what zone you hunt. I got hooked because I killed a doe with a bow on my first day in the woods. I've learned since that you've got to enjoy sitting in a tree appreciating nature and reading a good book with no expectations. Ive lost many new hunters to boredom after a few days in the woods and I dont know how I'm ever gonna get my son started with his attention span.
I'm looking to get into bird hunting, the idea of being constantly moving and some more shooting is very appealing to me.
You got lucky. So did my wife years ago. She hunted with the becoming an outdoor woman program and got a buck 20 minutes after legal light. She got home and said so......what do you guys actually do all day in the woods say after day?gotta fill that freezer baby! Whitetail is the best for that purpose in my opinion. As you've said though it can be incredibly slow and unsuccessful depending on what zone you hunt. I got hooked because I killed a doe with a bow on my first day in the woods. I've learned since that you've got to enjoy sitting in a tree appreciating nature and reading a good book with no expectations. Ive lost many new hunters to boredom after a few days in the woods and I dont know how I'm ever gonna get my son started with his attention span.
I'm looking to get into bird hunting, the idea of being constantly moving and some more shooting is very appealing to me.
I definitely did, hard to keep new hunters interested without that experience...You got lucky. So did my wife years ago. She hunted with the becoming an outdoor woman program and got a buck 20 minutes after legal light. She got home and said so......what do you guys actually do all day in the woods say after day?
More deer are taken by bow in MA than any other method now...near a majority:I definitely did, hard to keep new hunters interested without that experience...
another reason why i really push people to try bowhunting, it starts in october so you can be out there in a sweatshirt most days. It's a lot harder to stick it out during shotgun when you're freezing and not seeing anything
This is a definite shift from say 10 years ago. Mostly driven by a lot of people taking up crossbow/archery hunting, and the majority of the states deer being in the East where you can hunt with a bow easier than a shotgun.More deer are taken by bow in MA than any other method now...near a majority:
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After many years of hunting archery with either just my dad, or myself. I reached my big buck goals, killed several in CT, MA and NH and got bored sitting in stands.gotta fill that freezer baby! Whitetail is the best for that purpose in my opinion. As you've said though it can be incredibly slow and unsuccessful depending on what zone you hunt. I got hooked because I killed a doe with a bow on my first day in the woods. I've learned since that you've got to enjoy sitting in a tree appreciating nature and reading a good book with no expectations. Ive lost many new hunters to boredom after a few days in the woods and I dont know how I'm ever gonna get my son started with his attention span.
I'm looking to get into bird hunting, the idea of being constantly moving and some more shooting is very appealing to me.
MA is still a tough state to deer hunt as 13k animals killed per all seasons pare's in comparison to some of the single zones in some other more heavily populated deer states Many of which have antler restrictions which holds the kills down even further.
Kinda how i'm feeling lately. I enjoy being out alone during bow season because of the weather but I'd like the option of bird hunting with my in laws as wellAfter many years of hunting archery with either just my dad, or myself. I reached my big buck goals, killed several in CT, MA and NH and got bored sitting in stands.
I switched to bird hunting over the dog more and with large groups of guys and it was fun moving around and shooting the shit just as much as shooting birds.
I still bowhunt, but not as seriously as I once did. If I shoot any deer with anything now its fine, and I take just one for meat, as that's all I need.
Presumably there's much fewer hunters in MA. Most people are blown away when I tell them I hunt hereThis is a definite shift from say 10 years ago. Mostly driven by a lot of people taking up crossbow/archery hunting, and the majority of the states deer being in the East where you can hunt with a bow easier than a shotgun.
MA is still a tough state to deer hunt as 13k animals killed per all seasons pare's in comparison to some of the single zones in some other more heavily populated deer states Many of which have antler restrictions which holds the kills down even further.
MA is still a tough state to deer hunt as 13k animals killed per all seasons pare's in comparison to some of the single zones in some other more heavily populated deer states Many of which have antler restrictions which holds the kills down even further.
Presumably there's much fewer hunters in MA. Most people are blown away when I tell them I hunt here
that definitely seems accurate, I'd love to see the success rate broken down by zones. Here in 11 if you dont have an opportunity to shoot deer you're either a terrible hunter that cant pick a good spot or you're just not out there enough.2019 is the most recent number I saw:
Massachusetts by the numbers
- Percent of residents with paid hunting licenses: 0.8%
- Total paid hunting license holders: 56,985
- Total hunting license, tags, permits and stamps: 256,651
- Gross cost of all hunting licenses: $2,367,256
Massachusetts is the #5 state with the fewest registered hunters
The deer harvest for the same year (2019) was 13,921
Preliminary deer harvest report shows another near-record year in 2019
If you do the math that means that the success rate is 5.42%. This presumes 1 deer per hunter and many hunters take more than 1 deer so I usually just call it a 5% success rate.
Bob
that definitely seems accurate, I'd love to see the success rate broken down by zones. Here in 11 if you dont have an opportunity to shoot deer you're either a terrible hunter that cant pick a good spot or you're just not out there enough.
I'm sure you're right, but I'd love to thoughIDK if you can do that as most hunt multiple zone.
I'm sure you're right, but I'd love to though
This and the fact that our gun season is not during the rut does keep the kills down a bit. That said, Many MA hunters have a brown is down attitude for the most part and shoot whatever they see, as they are allowed two bucks, and many doe permits....and of course the Puritanical "Sunday!" ban is a factor...
I love the attitude that people take up "Oh why'd you shoot that little buck/doe? let it grow up into something bigger" Absolutely not, you get 2 buck tags and plenty of doe tags. I shoot the first deer I can most seasons to put meat in the freezer and maybe get a little picky after that if it's early bow season. Once shotgun season rolls around you might as well shoot anything you can.This and the fact that our gun season is not during the rut does keep the kills down a bit. That said, Many MA hunters have a brown is down attitude for the most part and shoot whatever they see, as they are allowed two bucks, and many doe permits.
Honestly its a good thing our gun season isn't during the rut.
Yes.....you hit the MA attitude on the head, except you said picky. Nothing wrong with it, our F&W manages for "jesus christ I saw a deer I need to shoot it, because I haven't seen one in 3 years!"I love the attitude that people take up "Oh why'd you shoot that little buck/doe? let it grow up into something bigger" Absolutely not, you get 2 buck tags and plenty of doe tags. I shoot the first deer I can most seasons to put meat in the freezer and maybe get a little picky after that if it's early bow season. Once shotgun season rolls around you might as well shoot anything you can.
I'm all for letting small deer grow up, but at 5% success rate I shoot what I can