MA deer shotgun season

[HorizontalHunter]

My shotgun is still in the safe.

 

[Mark from MA]

My shotgun is still in the safe.

Who the hell uses as shotgun out where we live?

 

[Jay77]

I had a good size four pointer cross in front of me.. unfortunately I was in the truck 30 seconds from the parking lot. I did pass the guy that must have pushed him walking in.

 

[Mark from MA]

I had a good size four pointer cross in front of me.. unfortunately I was in the truck 30 seconds from the parking lot. I did pass the guy that must have pushed him walking in.

Too bad no snow, you could have tracked him if you wanted to try for him.

In my case if I wanted that deer and it was no snow.......and I saw something like that, I'd give it some time, get an idea where it might bed on the map of the area, as the assumption is he probably is gonna lay up for the day anyway.

Do a still hunt, and call every once and a while when you get close to that bed area.....might get him to peek out for a shot.

 

[peterk123]

It's rough reading about the state of deer hunting in mass. As crowded as it is there, I thought that years ago mass did an excellent job of managing the herd. I would tag out every year during bow season. But I agree with many of your comments. I hang around on a local hunting forum and I've noticed the harvest is down.

As for dog walkers. I always hated them. And I own and love dogs. I would never bring my dog into the woods during the season. Now if, they paid a user fee than it's a different story. But they don't. They never ever should be off leash though. That to me is hunter and wildlife harassment. In many states off leash dogs on public land is considered a form of wildlife harassment. So, you can shoot the dog. I have no issue with that.

One of the worst things in the woods is the spandex wearing 30 something with her three off leash dogs running wild. I came across one here in Montana while hunting grouse. The dogs come barking and bolting toward me. A kindly told the woman she should leash her dogs because people are hunting in here and some will not be as tolerant as me and will shoot her dogs. I get to the parking area and notice out of state plates on her vehicle. Shocking. So even starting to deal with it here. Fortunately, they don't go in far enough to become a real bother and the acreage of public here is considered small if its under 100k acres.

 

[Jay77]

That four pointer ran to sacred posted grounds… no worries I’ll be back out tonight. I know there are deer it’s just making the connection happen.

 

[Jay77]

Plus there is a definite big boy we saw during squirrel season.

 

[Bigfudge16]

i was looking forward to sitting in a tree with a bow tomorrow but it looks like ill be at work again

this season is all but shot for me

 

[Jay77]

honestly I would be thrilled if I didn’t see crap and my kid had a good season. He’s the next generation. Out of four kids he’s my hunting buddy and he gets me out but he is the future.

 

[Mark from MA]

It's rough reading about the state of deer hunting in mass. As crowded as it is there, I thought that years ago mass did an excellent job of managing the herd. I would tag out every year during bow season. But I agree with many of your comments. I hang around on a local hunting forum and I've noticed the harvest is down.

As for dog walkers. I always hated them. And I own and love dogs. I would never bring my dog into the woods during the season. Now if, they paid a user fee than it's a different story. But they don't. They never ever should be off leash though. That to me is hunter and wildlife harassment. In many states off leash dogs on public land is considered a form of wildlife harassment. So, you can shoot the dog. I have no issue with that.

One of the worst things in the woods is the spandex wearing 30 something with her three off leash dogs running wild. I came across one here in Montana while hunting grouse. The dogs come barking and bolting toward me. A kindly told the woman she should leash her dogs because people are hunting in here and some will not be as tolerant as me and will shoot her dogs. I get to the parking area and notice out of state plates on her vehicle. Shocking. So even starting to deal with it here. Fortunately, they don't go in far enough to become a real bother and the acreage of public here is considered small if its under 100k acres.

I used to tag out with the bow as well. Those days are over near me. I can say i pass more deer than I used to, and don't hunt archery as much either. But cameras the last few years and roadkill and lack of deer in the fields at night don't lie.

Eastern MA not so bad if you have a place to hunt.

 

[Sparkey]

Zone 7 from sun up to sun down today 2 different spots didn’t hear a single shot or see another hunter or a deer

 

[ThePreBanMan]

It's rough reading about the state of deer hunting in mass. As crowded as it is there, I thought that years ago mass did an excellent job of managing the herd. I would tag out every year during bow season. But I agree with many of your comments. I hang around on a local hunting forum and I've noticed the harvest is down.

As for dog walkers. I always hated them. And I own and love dogs. I would never bring my dog into the woods during the season. Now if, they paid a user fee than it's a different story. But they don't. They never ever should be off leash though. That to me is hunter and wildlife harassment. In many states off leash dogs on public land is considered a form of wildlife harassment. So, you can shoot the dog. I have no issue with that.

One of the worst things in the woods is the spandex wearing 30 something with her three off leash dogs running wild. I came across one here in Montana while hunting grouse. The dogs come barking and bolting toward me. A kindly told the woman she should leash her dogs because people are hunting in here and some will not be as tolerant as me and will shoot her dogs. I get to the parking area and notice out of state plates on her vehicle. Shocking. So even starting to deal with it here. Fortunately, they don't go in far enough to become a real bother and the acreage of public here is considered small if its under 100k acres.

There is a state leash law in MA, and being in the woods does not make you exempt. So if someone had a dog running around off-leash in the woods, that could be presumed as a coyote by a lot of people who shoot first and figure it out later. Just saying. I completely agree with you - such people are stupid.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Zone 7 from sun up to sun down today 2 different spots didn’t hear a single shot or see another hunter or a deer

Wow

It Will be interesting to hear the reports of other hunters.

 

[peterk123]

Wow

It Will be interesting to hear the reports of other hunters.

Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?

 

[Sparkey]

Wow

It Will be interesting to hear the reports of other hunters.

Wow is what I thought.I consider myself a decent hunter have killed plenty of deer so something seemed off. I did see deer last weekend in zone 8 during archery also saw 2 coyote.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?

Yes, in part to the lower deer numbers out in this part of the state.

I have been hunting Connecticut much more than Mass the last 8-10 years. Shocking I know, but hunters actually like to see a deer once in awhile.

Wow is what I thought.I consider myself a decent hunter have killed plenty of deer so something seemed off. I did see deer last weekend in zone 8 during archery also saw 2 coyote.

Same here. I’m no Daniel Boone but I have been hunting for 40 plus years. What really got my attention this year is the total lack of roadkill during the rut this year not to mention the dismal numbers from Connecticut.

The last couple of years I have hunted very little. This is the first time ever I haven’t hunted a single minute of the first week of gun season.

Between the lack of deer and the trouble I am having getting around now the “juice isn’t worth the squeeze“ anymore for me.

 

[Mark from MA]

Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?

Pete,

I think its both. But one would think one would offset the other...meaning in my part of the state....definately less hunters but you would think there would be more deer. I don't think that is the case at all. I think the deer pop has gone down.

Case and point......I sat for 8 hours on our opening Saturday yesterday. I heard one shot in the morning and no shots in the afternoon. Sitting the same stand 15 years ago.....5 shots per hour would ring out at least til 10am...then it would taper off. Then pick back up in the afternoon. Yes...one shot all day. There were a few guys off the roads, not like it was years ago for sure.

The MA F&W says its lack of hunters pushing deer around.....wrong.

Again...then if there are no hunters why aren't there more deer overall? Why aren't we overrun with them? No idea, my guess, habitat sucks more, coyotes and predators are just killing shit, and no more deer sanctuaries like Quabbin....and maybe some people shooting does without permits...but if there are no shots...then hard to blame that situation isn't it.

Eastern MA....I think there are plenty of hunters and a decent amount of deer on private land...and the hunters are going there more or staying home and not going west. But land is way harder to find to hunt making everyone pack into available state land.

 

[rogerk]

I have been hunting Connecticut much more than Mass the last 8-10 years. Shocking I know, but hunters actually like to see a deer once in awhile.

Absolute truth. I enjoy being in the woods. Grew up on a farm and the forest was my backyard. It’s never left my system.

This season however it feels like im playing dress up, not going hunting.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Absolute truth. I enjoy being in the woods. Grew up on a farm and the forest was my backyard. It’s never left my system.

This season however it feels like im playing dress up, not going hunting.

Same here. Always loved being in the woods.

Numbers an are way down and the food sources have shifted with it being a light acorn year so deer aren’t in my usual closer spots. I can’t hit my deeper spots cause I can’t get there.

 

[5king]

Hey all NES deer. Hunters! I wanted to relate my recent experiences during the Mass Shotgun & Muzzle loader seasons hunting on the South Shore.

I loved fishing but I wasn’t exposed to much hunting as a kid, and didn’t start hunting until my early 40’s in Maine about 15 years ago (we bought a house in Bethel 20 years ago and I met a guide). I never had much success in the big Maine woods rifle hunting with the low deer density up there. With my growing frustration in Maine, I bought a bow for the first time in 2012 and started exploring the small wood plots near my home on the South Shore In 2013. I saw lots of deer and sign. I took my first small buck in 2014. I haven’t even deer
hunted Maine since 2016.
Since then, when I’ve been Hunting on the south shore over the last 10 years I usually just continued, and rolled my archery hunting season right through the December shotgun and muzzle loader seasons. Many of these S.S. towns I hunt do not allow discharge of firearms within town limits. I’ve always gotten at least one deer each season since then.

Over the last few years however, I‘ve met other bow hunters and gotten friendly with a great group of hunters down in the Whitman - Hanson area. They have welcomed me into their Deer Drive team. We get together as often as we can during the December smoke pole seasons and plan Deer-Push hunts through various pieces of public property land down in that area. We meet at a local breakfast joint by 6am to plan which properties to target and our approaches for that day. Some days we have 8 guys, some days our group gets up to over a dozen guys. At 58, I am one of the ‘younger’ guys. Most are in their 60’s and early 70’s. We have also recruited more young bucks (sons & their friends) to keep the group fresh (and help with the dragging and pushing ). We also genuinely want to pass along these traditions to the younger generation. We can usually do three morning pushes before we break for lunch. Then we get back out for one or two pushes in the afternoon depending on how the morning went. It’s been a great experience with this group.
Usually at least one or two deer fall for us, but some days we do very well !!! Our record is Six (6) deer in one push. One of our guys has a huge Barn down in that area that we use a base for deer processing. He has a hoist, freezers, cutting tables, grill, etc..
Yesterday was a pretty good day, with a strong group of 11 guys participating. We ended up with 2 bucks and 2 does on Saturday. On Monday’s opening day, we had a smaller group of 8 and took another two does.
All who can make it, will be at the barn this afternoon for Butchering & vacuum pack duties. We use, and share the venison as a group and provide some at a few local Game Diners at some of the outdoor / gun clubs. With Massachusetts now finally allowing venison to be donated to the homeless, we are talking about potentially getting involved with any excess Venison.
Anyhow, I wanted to relate this story because originally growing up in Quincy, I was not exposed to much Hunting. Hunting was not a big thing, in my experience, back then in the Boston and surrounding suburb areas growing up. Wildlife like deer, turkey, eagles, hawks, fisher cats, coyotes, now Bear were somewhat rare for us back then. Obviously things have changed and the wildlife populations have exploded in Eastern MA (now with extended archery and unlimited doe tags). This group are salt of the earth guys who all worked hard throughout their lives and raised their families. Now they are doing their part to keep up the hunting and firearms traditions as well as bring in the next generation.
I never know there were so many Massachusetts Rednecks until I got involved with this group.
Thanks for listening. 5king

Yesterday:

Past Hunts, our Record day, processing:

 

[MisterHappy]

It's a Blue state city mentality. My wife, who is pretty conservative, won't go into the woods at all - EVEN ON MARKED TRAILS from now until Christmas, except on Sundays because she might get shot by a hunter. LOL. She thinks that hunters are out to shoot anything and everything and are behind every tree or bush.

I worked with a guy that came back from a hunting trip with a funny story: He'd shot a waterfall.

Me: "WTF?"

Him: "I saw something moving behind some leaves, so I shot it. Then, I went over, and it was only a small waterfall."

Hunters are not the ones to worry about - it's the idiots with licenses that are the concern.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

I've seen deer here in 11. Nothing I wanted to sling an arrow at though. Passed a 6 point, which was the biggest animal I put eyes on. A little disappointing, but I don't get discouraged. I have sat out gun season thus far - but I usually sit out the first week of shotgun anyway. So that is not abnormal. Things calm back down after that first week and I'll get back out there again - and try to find where all the deer got pushed to. That's the toughest part about gun seasons here IMHO. Throw out whatever you thought you knew from spring scouting. It all goes out the window after the gun opener. Our wood plots aren't big so no place avoids being trampled. It takes work and a lot of boot leather, but you can still get on some deer. But those pre-hung sets prob aren't going to produce at this point. Time to step up the ground game and go find them.

You can always drive if you have a party. But the deer learn quickly and after the first week, those left know where to go to avoid that too. You have to hunt them down... That's my take.

 

[whacko]

Hey all NES deer. Hunters! I wanted to relate my recent experiences during the Mass Shotgun & Muzzle loader seasons hunting on the South Shore.

I loved fishing but I wasn’t exposed to much hunting as a kid, and didn’t start hunting until my early 40’s in Maine about 15 years ago (we bought a house in Bethel 20 years ago and I met a guide). I never had much success in the big Maine woods rifle hunting with the low deer density up there. With my growing frustration in Maine, I bought a bow for the first time in 2012 and started exploring the small wood plots near my home on the South Shore In 2013. I saw lots of deer and sign. I took my first small buck in 2014. I haven’t even deer
hunted Maine since 2016.
Since then, when I’ve been Hunting on the south shore over the last 10 years I usually just continued, and rolled my archery hunting season right through the December shotgun and muzzle loader seasons. Many of these S.S. towns I hunt do not allow discharge of firearms within town limits. I’ve always gotten at least one deer each season since then.

Over the last few years however, I‘ve met other bow hunters and gotten friendly with a great group of hunters down in the Whitman - Hanson area. They have welcomed me into their Deer Drive team. We get together as often as we can during the December smoke pole seasons and plan Deer-Push hunts through various pieces of public property land down in that area. We meet at a local breakfast joint by 6am to plan which properties to target and our approaches for that day. Some days we have 8 guys, some days our group gets up to over a dozen guys. At 58, I am one of the ‘younger’ guys. Most are in their 60’s and early 70’s. We have also recruited more young bucks (sons & their friends) to keep the group fresh (and help with the dragging and pushing ). We also genuinely want to pass along these traditions to the younger generation. We can usually do three morning pushes before we break for lunch. Then we get back out for one or two pushes in the afternoon depending on how the morning went. It’s been a great experience with this group.
Usually at least one or two deer fall for us, but some days we do very well !!! Our record is Six (6) deer in one push. One of our guys has a huge Barn down in that area that we use a base for deer processing. He has a hoist, freezers, cutting tables, grill, etc..
Yesterday was a pretty good day, with a strong group of 11 guys participating. We ended up with 2 bucks and 2 does on Saturday. On Monday’s opening day, we had a smaller group of 8 and took another two does.
All who can make it, will be at the barn this afternoon for Butchering & vacuum pack duties. We use, and share the venison as a group and provide some at a few local Game Diners at some of the outdoor / gun clubs. With Massachusetts now finally allowing venison to be donated to the homeless, we are talking about potentially getting involved with any excess Venison.
Anyhow, I wanted to relate this story because originally growing up in Quincy, I was not exposed to much Hunting. Hunting was not a big thing, in my experience, back then in the Boston and surrounding suburb areas growing up. Wildlife like deer, turkey, eagles, hawks, fisher cats, coyotes, now Bear were somewhat rare for us back then. Obviously things have changed and the wildlife populations have exploded in Eastern MA (now with extended archery and unlimited doe tags). This group are salt of the earth guys who all worked hard throughout their lives and raised their families. Now they are doing their part to keep up the hunting and firearms traditions as well as bring in the next generation.
I never know there were so many Massachusetts Rednecks until I got involved with this group.
Thanks for listening. 5king

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Past Hunts, our Record day, processing:

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I have no "problem" with deer drives. Used to take part years ago with a group of army buddies. I started hubting alone 4 years ago......stand hunting and still hunting......and for me it's much more satisfying to basically ambush a deer where you have figured out the likely areas they will go. I'll probably never do another deer drive for me it's just not the same experience. Congrats on your group effort and glad you are filling your freezer! Nice work.

You'll encounter many deer hunters that say drilling them is unethical and wrong....I don't agree with that crowd......its how many hunters have fed their families for centuries and is a tradition that I understand and appreciate. For my personally though I have a better experience alone in the woods or sitting with my son.

 

[Mark from MA]

Back in the 90's we hunted the Berkshires. 4 was our group record in one day all stuffed into my 1994 Tacoma. One 140 class 180 pound buck, one 130 pound six point and two 120 pound does all dressed. We didn't shoot small stuff even back then. Back then you could only shoot one deer a day per person. We didn't drive, those were all shot on different spots by different people standing. We had a few days of two and three deer as well. Around 2000 the herd really started to dwindle....and we'd be lucky to kill a decent size deer in a weeks hunt.

Thats when I started just bowhunting CT. We killed a ton of deer there in the beginning.....truckloads of 7 came home sometimes. Then it was just too many deer, so we started to just shoot big bucks only and a doe or two for meat. Now the hunting isn't as good there either.

Hunting around my house was pretty good for 2000-2010.....now same thing, less hunters less deer.......big land though, and tracking could be fun out here and out west in the Berks. Low deer populations now for the most part on big state land and your gonna work for the deer. But there are some super bucks around here...mostly noctournal.....but if you work for them they can be had. It takes many hours to get one usually.

You guys in Southeastern MA have it good, it wasn't so good back in the 90's there as there were few deer around and everyone went west. How things have changed....and will probably change again......

I was never a drive person or into that at all, too many cooks in the kitchen for me and not my type of thing......nothing wrong with it for putting meat on the table if the deer population is there to support it. Of course, being a bowhunter is almost the opposite of a driver. Pre-scouting, hanging stands, getting deer close, watching and waiting, maybe being selective. Where driving is just going into a spot you probably never scouted, with bunch of guys and just making noise and shooting any thing that's brown on the run. Two totally opposite disciplines. The only time I'm really not a fan is when guys shoot deer they don't have the correct tags for, which out by me happens Im sure.

 

[rogerk]

When I was a kid, everyone around us did deer drives. It was just matter of fact, and no one questioned the method. We were all farmers, and the days chores didn’t stop because it was deer season. It was efficient and effective at adding meat to the freezer.

That being said, it was quite the bus ride a few days into the season. It was customary that the harvests were hung somewhere in the front yard, almost like Christmas lights. Times were different back then.

 

[Woodsloafer]

Pete,

I think its both. But one would think one would offset the other...meaning in my part of the state....definately less hunters but you would think there would be more deer. I don't think that is the case at all. I think the deer pop has gone down.

Case and point......I sat for 8 hours on our opening Saturday yesterday. I heard one shot in the morning and no shots in the afternoon. Sitting the same stand 15 years ago.....5 shots per hour would ring out at least til 10am...then it would taper off. Then pick back up in the afternoon. Yes...one shot all day. There were a few guys off the roads, not like it was years ago for sure.

The MA F&W says its lack of hunters pushing deer around.....wrong.

Again...then if there are no hunters why aren't there more deer overall? Why aren't we overrun with them? No idea, my guess, habitat sucks more, coyotes and predators are just killing shit, and no more deer sanctuaries like Quabbin....and maybe some people shooting does without permits...but if there are no shots...then hard to blame that situation isn't it.

Eastern MA....I think there are plenty of hunters and a decent amount of deer on private land...and the hunters are going there more or staying home and not going west. But land is way harder to find to hunt making everyone pack into available state land.

I am wondering if fawn mortality is a greater issue. I have 5 does regularly in my yard all year round, sometimes 7 at times. I have another 6-7 on my land a few miles away that I see and are regularly on game cameras. 13-14 does total, and only one fawn among all of them this year, which was/is shocking to me because 5-7 years ago there would be at least 4-5 fawns, likely more. Too many predators perhaps, I see shitloads of coyotes and bobcats, of course, but I believe that the increasing number of bears are having a greater impact than we know.

"As far as efficiency, black bears take the highest percentage of newborn whitetails. In states with thick black bear populations, predation rates on newborn fawns can exceed 80%, meaning only 2 out of 10 newborn deer will survive until fall."

What Kills the Most Deer in a Year? | Deer & Deer Hunting

STOP! Don’t answer that question without reading this post, because you are probably going to be wrong! First, the question needs some qualifiers. The main question is centered on predation of whitetails across the continental U.S., and it includes all deer from newborn fawns all the way up to...

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

 

[HorizontalHunter]

It isn’t just bears and it isn’t just fawns.

 

[pupchow]

In 4S, I'm not seeing the rubs I typically see. Maybe 10%. Scat in the usual places but very sparse. The last half hour today, I tried a fawn bleat to see if a bear would come in. A doe started blasting at me and circled around behind. She hung out in a thicket 30 yards behind me. The banter between us went on for 20 minutes. I tried using snort-wheeze and stomps, to see if something else would show. Nope. But she just stayed put. I couldn't take it anymore and had to get up and leave.

 

[rogerk]

I am wondering if fawn mortality is a greater issue. I have 5 does regularly in my yard all year round, sometimes 7 at times. I have another 6-7 on my land a few miles away that I see and are regularly on game cameras. 13-14 does total, and only one fawn among all of them this year, which was/is shocking to me because 5-7 years ago there would be at least 4-5 fawns, likely more. Too many predators perhaps, I see shitloads of coyotes and bobcats, of course, but I believe that the increasing number of bears are having a greater impact than we know.

"As far as efficiency, black bears take the highest percentage of newborn whitetails. In states with thick black bear populations, predation rates on newborn fawns can exceed 80%, meaning only 2 out of 10 newborn deer will survive until fall."

What Kills the Most Deer in a Year? | Deer & Deer Hunting

STOP! Don’t answer that question without reading this post, because you are probably going to be wrong! First, the question needs some qualifiers. The main question is centered on predation of whitetails across the continental U.S., and it includes all deer from newborn fawns all the way up to...

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

My Maine neighbor puts a lot of resources into yotes and bear. I didn’t know until our conversation how big of a threat they are to the deer numbers.

One thing is for certain, trying to manage a state’s deer population is a thankless and and dang near impossible task

 

[Woodsloafer]

It isn’t just bears and it isn’t just fawns.

Agreed, I have pictures of coyotes chasing deer in north central MA. There are more predators than ever in the woods around here and only so much food.