anyone hitting the woods september 15?

[piebal]

Deer season is upon us and fast approaching and we are fourtunate to live next to a states with early deer seasons minus the steep tag fees. I will find mysell in connecticut the 15th kicking off the season battling the misquitos and heat. though the tag fee is 135.00 n/r fee it is worth it for me. The state gives you four tags for bow and two are buck tags.anyone else hitting the woods? Good luck this year guys!

[scotty00]

We just moved to Mass. from Wisconsin and I am going to miss my normal hunting grounds back there this year.

How is deer hunting here in the state? Is the deer population generally abundant, scarce, or what? Can anyone provide any insight to the goings on of the deer hunting here and where the best areas would be go hunting? I'm primarily a meat hunter, but wouldn't mind a nice rack too Btw, I live in Boston.

[Proline]

Yikes! If you like seeing deer pack up and move back to Wisconsin! Massachusetts is nothing like that. You can sit for days here sometimes weeks and see nothing. If your in Boston, you are close to the two most deer populated zones we have, Zone 10 &11. Zone 11 is south of Boston and Zone 10 is basically north. I cant speak for south of Boston becuase I live in 10. Most of the towns in Zone 10 are tough to get permission to hunt private land. Most towns in Zone 10 require written permission for private land. THere is a fair amount of stateland though but you will have company on it. Log onto the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife website and you can look up State Land. If you didn;t already buy your license and apply for a doe tag you missed the lottery for doe tags. The good news is Zone 10 & 11 sell surplus tags and they put them on sale in October right before the archery season starts. You can buy a license on line and then try for a tag. Good luck. Any more questions fire away...

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreati ... g_home.htm

[piebal]

Scotty00,
Proline forgot to add a few things ...in this state they require you to take a hunter saftey course before you can get a hunting licence if you took a course in wisconson thats all you need to get a licence. The other thing is the gun laws are the strictest in the country if you brought guns in the state HIDE THEM!!! you need a special licence to carry permit!! DO NOT GET CAUGHT WITH THEM!!! You can purchase a muzzleloader without a permit and hunt the shotgun and muzzloader seasons. Im not trying to scare you but get educated asap!!! Everything proline told you about hunting in this state is spot on. Our heard is 100,000 head of deer and harvest about 12,000 a year between bow shotgun and muzzleloader.
P.S. massachusetts deer season dosent start till october 10 this year. If you wanna hunt in september you have a choice to hunt our neighboring states maine,vermont new hampsher and connecticut and i believe they all start september 15 or around.

[woodsalta]

Scotty00 - Welcome to MA. The deer seasons are as follows:

Archery Season Oct 17 - Nov 26
Shotgun Season Nov 28 - Dec 10
Muzzleloader Season Dec 12 -Dec 31

Legal light is 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sundown. The charts are available online or in the hunting absracts booklet you get when buying your hunting license.

I just dont want you get caught in the woods a week early and get in trouble. Also there is no hunting on Sundays. Massachusetts does not allow rifle or pistol hunting in the state.

Zone 10 &11 are the most populated zones in the state, but like someone said getting permission to hunt there isn't easy. It's thickly settled and the residents don't like hearing gun shots at 6 am

Alot of information is located at http://www.Masswildlife.org What you could also do is contact some of the out lying towns. Alot of them are doing "deer control" hunts and they take place on town conservation land. They limit the number of hunters in each area and it's usually bow only, but it's a place to start.

[Proline]

Good point Piebal. I hadnt thought of that. If you planning on gun hunting you need to go to your local Police Department and apply for an FID (Firearms Identification Card) card quickley. Takes abit of time to get and the season is right around the corner. And yes, you will need to take a class in order apply. Alot of local rod and gun clubs offer the course. Don't get caught with guns without an FID card here. If you do not only are you going to lose your guns but your going to rack up a hefty legal bill. If you have hanguns the FID won;t do you any good. you need an LTC. (License to Carry). Contrary to what your local PD may tell you, you don't need to register your guns.

[bobow]

Good point Piebal. I hadnt thought of that. If you planning on gun hunting you need to go to your local Police Department and apply for an FID (Firearms Identification Card) card quickley. Takes abit of time to get and the season is right around the corner. And yes, you will need to take a class in order apply. Alot of local rod and gun clubs offer the course. Don't get caught with guns without an FID card here. If you do not only are you going to lose your guns but your going to rack up a hefty legal bill. If you have hanguns the FID won;t do you any good. you need an LTC. (License to Carry). Contrary to what your local PD may tell you, you don't need to register your guns.

I didn't think there would be any place worse than IL but youz guyz in MA are right up there with the insane gun laws. But at least you have CCW even if hard to get.

I will be hitting the woods 9/15 here in IL but only to set up my blind again after the last attempt this weekend ended up being a problem. Oh Well!

[scotty00]

Thanks for all of the info everyone; I appreciate it!

So there are only 100k deer in the state?? That many are killed in the first day of Wisconsin's gun opener! I just moved here a few weeks ago so I missed the doe tag deadline and don't know many other people, much less landowners outside of the city, so I might sit this season out here in Mass. as I'll be heading back for WI's gun opener anyway. Thanks for all of the insight...it will help with planning for next year. Oh, and as for the hunters safety course, I took that back when I was 12 (25+ years ago). Would I need to show proof that I took the class (I certainly don't have the certificate this many years later) or could I just state that I took the class?

As for the gun topic and permits required, I also previously lived in the City of Chicago, so I am unfortunately used to living under an iron fist (Mayor Daley...). Anyway, this is all just a theoretical discussion because I would never bring any gun into a state without first knowing all of their laws... ... but as for the references above about needing a FID or LTC, you're saying I would need a FID to possess a shotgun or rifle and a LTC for a handgun? For the LTC, does would I need that just to possess a gun, or are you referring to a concealed weapon permit?

[Proline]

The FID card will cover you for the long guns unless they are large capcity. For the handgun you have to have the LTC. The LTC comes in two forms "Class A" and "Class B". Class A is for large capacity (handguns with better than 10 rounds). Class A will allow you to carry concealed. Class B you can have non large capacity handgun but I do not believe you can carry it concealed. You will have to check on the hunters safety course. They may waive it if you present your prior license from your other state. Find a good gun club and join. That is about the only way you can shoot here. A good source of info on guns is GOAL Gun Owners Action League.

[piebal]

Scotty00,
sorry about the bogus archery date of october 10 and thank proline for correctting me. But under no circumstances should you be sitting this season out. Go to your local sporting goods store and purches a muzzleloader dont be the guy standing on the outside looking in. You dont need a fid or ltc there is alot of state land to hunt and its never to late to take a drive in the country and wear your knuckles down knocking on doors or get familiar with berkshires big big woods lots of woods not tons of deer but you could shoot a booner there. there are some monster whitetials in the berkshires just not the numbers and bring your GPS.......DO NOT SIT HOME!!!!!! i wish you well!
P.S. i can help you find places to hunt that way just send me an e maill if you want to know.