Who and Where We Are
Massachusetts
Contributors to this thread:
I'm not playing secretary :) But everyone seems to like the idea of sort of knowing where we all are so they can PM to potentially share ideas. So... Post your info here.
Will: Eastern Z6 and 5, NW Z8, West Central Z9. Combo Private and Public land.
Eric z10 nothshore area all public.
Spike78: Bow zone 7 public and private. Gun zone 2 and 6. Public.
Shawn. Southcoast Z11 area mostly private access public areas and public access public area
notme's Link
https://youtu.be/WYkUNuMD8pc
And now you know......lol....couldnt help it
mike: all over zone 9 haha
Mike, South Coast Z11 private and public
Bill: Z11 and where ever Moons aint.... ;)
Jim....Zones 6 & 7 My street dissects the zones...depends on which side of the road I hunt...lol....
hahaha^
Moons, z10 zoo. Just kidding. I have 2 private spots in zone 10, and a private z9 farm. Only public spot i've hunted is that spot in Medfield, and always a morning hunt during the week. Can get ugly in there...
Have a buddy that is getting into hunting this year so i'll most likely be hunting z11 with him too. Norwell area. He's already got some connections to private land down there.
Len, Zones 8,7 Mostly public, a little private here and there
Jake: NH Unit M public no longer hunt MA but used to hunt Zone 5 (central), 9 (central / north), & 10 (north) all public lands
zone 11 and 12, some private mostly public
Eric : Zone 11 South /East coastal Private and semi private with backup public . Rochester, Accushnett, Mattapoisett ,Marion, Fairhaven . Moved from z11 west last season.
Zone 7 private and public, 4 private
Notme.....Now that's funny!!! Great link would love to watch FTroop back in the day
Hi, I'm Mark. Sometimes I say inappropriate things.
I live and hunt in Zone 11, some Zone 10, private farm in Rhody with some buddies. I hunt for meat, but tend to let the little ones walk. Most of my hunting is in town, but I like hunting Hockomock, because it is a challenge.
Hi, my name is Dennis I live on the boarder of z9 and z5 I hunt both. mostly Ashby, Townsend, Pepperell, Ashburnham, 99 percent public land. I like long walks in the deer woods, my turn on's include old wool, cold fronts, and estrus by candle light. my turn offs include noisy squirrels, and blaze orange. people say Im a sarcastic know I all... maybe that's why I hunt alone. looks like theirs a lot of city boys on hear, not too much western or central ma, must be scared or something...shussssssssss.....If you quiet you can here the Banjos .
Zone 10 all over the place,public and private.
Xi, Wayne, hunt my own private land in 4S and zone 3 public here in MA. Private lands 4Z in NY. And public, zones 8 and 20 in Maine. Enjoy growing foodplots and deer more than I do killing them, 95% meat hunter. Me and a buddy killed 2- 3 1/2 year olds and a 4 1/2 year old that scored 139 gross last year off the property in 4S.
Tautog season is here (black fish) mrw you hear if they're in good yet?? I hope it's a good year, should be because of no commercial spring season for them this year. Rob z11 wareham
Jim, Zone 11, all private (but... I just snuck into Moons' garage and put a GPS locator in his favorite stand... you'll find me 50 yards upwind of him this year).
:o)
That is awesome Wayne! I would love to manage a big property that is mine to hunt
Nick - Zone 9, particularly NW by the Zone 5 border and SE by the Zone 10 border. Also hunt Maine and Southern NH a little bit. All public.
I've talked to a few guys on here who hunt NW Z9 and would be happy to talk with anyone else in the area. I haven't hunted the area for too many years, but there's plenty of woods and you can get some really beautiful spots to yourself, which is rare in some parts of the state.
Rob, I haven't been wet lately, these last storms have the viz down to nothing. Mike/BowandSpear IS the man with his ear to the ground aquatically. All the local divers report in to him regularly, he's like Neptune or something. 6 Tog per day Oct 15th in Rhody!
Let's Go here! Zone 11 south shore, Marshvegas-Duxbury. Private & town land. Enjoy, Let's Go
Andrew- Z10 north shore area all public
JJ zone 10 both public and private. Looking for his first deer!
stillhunter, I grew up out there, some awesome woods. too far for me to travel to but loved those woods growing up
It really is a hunter friendly part of the state, lots of hunters out hear but lots of land too. I grew up in chelmsford and used to drive out here to hunt during gun season. So when i moved i already knew the area well
Whats Marshvegas? I Know many MF'rs that Fly the OFD...
Erik Zone 11 all public- Abington, hanover, norwell and some down in freetown. new hunter 2nd year in the woods...been a lurker a lot the past couple years and have definitely picked up a lot from you guys.. thank you...still looking for the my first shot at let alone take down of a deer
stillhunter, I've recently been thinking of checking out the NH side in that area. was out in Hollis for a soccer game this past spring and thought, not that bad a drive, little over an hour but ...... it is hunter friendly. good luck!
Stillhunter, I grew up in Chelmsford as well. Your family own the nursery?
My grandparents owned it. Sold it in the mid 80s. But they kept the name the same.
Z11 in MA (and Z7 in Maine.) Sort of all over the Map on public and private. New to the area down in MA. Planning on spending some time down in Rocky Gutter. See LOTS of stands down there. Anyone on here get down that way?
Well now that I know there are lots of stands in rocky gutter. I won't be going there. Thanks for the info it saved me a trip
That's sort of why I was asking ha. I've walked all over there. Off one of the main trails within 30 yards I counted 12 stands in about a quarter mile..
I have a stand in rocky gutter and have noticed far less stands in there than in haskell swamp or some zone 12 spots, what general area were you in?
pondboy I've spent a bit of time hiking around from France St. to the power lines. Jumped a nice buck on those lines mid-summer and did a circle just to check out the area(s) in the woods near where that deer was bedded. Counted 3 stands in a 100yrd radius. Couple were older.. not sure if they are still in use or no. Moved on to some other trails off those lines and cut 9 more stands. I've got a few other spots I'm going to be hunting a lot harder, but was looking for some backup areas.. not sure how much I'll end up down there.. Near where you are?
Mike & pat, zone 10, all public. Anybody from the andover/north andover area?
Nope, I go in off rocky gutter road I think it's called, the west entrance. Noticed a lot of stands in the south part near the power lines as well... I find the most sign more towards the middle of the peice. Most stands are right off the path that I've noticed
Seth, All public, Z10,11,9.
Rich: North 8-9 border, public and private, second year hunting, learning a lot here…. thanks.
BC- Zone 10 suburbs. Mostly private, some public. Also hunt out of state.
Austin - Zone 2 public. I actually live in Saugus but travel back home to my parents every week during the season to hunt. Spend most of my time in the smaller hilltowns (Peru, Hinsdale, Washington).
z11, public / private. VT J2 private.
Len K Zone 4N and 5, public and private.
Jason, live in zn6,hunt mass NW zn5, Ct zn11
Z10 Wilmington,billerica,andovermostly public
YB, be careful in Wilmington.
From the town bylaws: Section 25.1. Hunting on public lands of the Town of Wilmington is prohibited per M.G.L. 131, Section 59.
Zone 10, fortunate to have some private land to hunt, but hunt a lot of public so as to not burn out the private spots. Public anywhere within a big semi-circle from Middleton to Newbury to Gloucester
Z2 public, Z1 public and private
Maybe Z3 private, will be starting in NY 4U next week
Doug, zone 5&9, both public and private...
BruceP Private land i hunt in wilmington
I hunt mostly z10, although I am at the intersection of zones 9,10,11, it just depends which way I drive out of my house
Joe, North shore area of Z10 all public and once or twice a season on private in Z11.
Rick . Z 10 mostly public all within 20 mins from my home . Some of you may have some good pictures of me on your deer cams .
Zone 9, public and private land. Lost my spot across the street from my house thanks to a residential development. The spot was guaranteed deer every year for ten years. I was so pissed that I stopped hunting for about four years. Been scouting/hiking all year with my dog and I found two good spots. Hoping for a good season. Tough state for hunting. Pete
Upon review of this thread,..
I am stunned to see the numbers of east coast bow hunters and dearth of west,..
Just an observation scanning over the data,.. not sure what to make of that,. just an observation,.. would like to hear other comments on why ,.. is it population density of man or deer?
Curious minds want to know?
Zone 6 and 7 live on the boarder,..
BB, It seems like the hunter numbers are down in our end of the state even though I always see trucks parked here and there. The number of doe permit applicants has dropped over the last couple years I believe. Their is a greater population of people in the east but you would think most are city dwelling liberals but apparently that is not so...
Les, Hunt Z2 and Z3 for the past 30 years all public, Private land in Columbia county NY, Had private land in NW Ct that the land owner sold 3 years ago so huntwd NECT state land after that. Still nothing more exciting than a big Berkshire county buck. !!
Fess, I hear that. That is why I drive the hour and 15 minutes every year. Still waiting on my Berkshire buck though lol.
Little late to the party but Andrew-private land Z11 southcoast Westport, Dartmouth,Mattapoisett/ Marion/ Rochester area....Pi I believe my best friend Troy (Tdurr on the forum) met you the other day near his house....don’t run into many people that know where mattapoisett is lol
Spike,.. this is just wild speculation,.. do you suppose as folks,.. well the younger generation turn to technology for interaction they are less likely to venture into the woods,.. ? I mean I see how absorbed kids are with that stuff,.. sometimes I wonder if they are missing out on nature? Might that explain a reduction in permits? Cause I will tell ya the population around me has grown huge in the last 20 years,.. so it is not a lack of bodies? Why the hell are permits down? I would have thought they would be through the roof!
Dunno ?
BB, The harvest records show a greater density along the coast of NE from Maine south into RI and Conn and of course into NY and so on. Deer biologist often mention survival rate being linked to fair weather and to a degree food availability.
The east coast has an advantage in Ma and RI and extending into Maine . That advantage is our weather pattern . Weather here comes from the South and Southwest for far longer of our winter. In fact last winter the ground didn't freeze here at the coast but always does , just 1 hr west. You are even further west. I have lived in both areas within an hour of the coast long enough to have the experience of both. When I looked it up on weather statistics I was surprised by the supporting data. Not only is there longer growing season here by 40 days average p/year (as opposed to just 1 hr drive west) there also is favorable and consistent rainfall spread throughout the year . I believe that has to do with being east of the Mountain range that runs the length with predominant air travel in our direction. That being favorable to precipitation .
All together we have more growing season, more favorable weather in winter and perhaps an abundance of edge forest created by development. All contribute to deer density and natural survival rate. Your big woods condition and colder weather pattern could be the key to lower numbers and at least greater spread of population and therefore more difficult hunting conditions. Which in turn creates the condition of your inquiry. ( a Deer and hunter number corelation)
Keep hammering it Spike, there out here.
BB, the odd part is with the kids today not getting into hunting just try to get into a hunter safety course and they are always booked up.
Lol!! We’ll all have to meet up some time and talk deer
Spike , it may be due to a decline in hunter course availability. But, I am wondering about the nature of today's population and job type in general . The instant gratification trend is contrary to a successful hunting mindset. Also , the demands of working folks has magnified considerably in my lifetime . The basic cost of living has increased dramatically , commuter time , longer hours at the job and a different kind of (less seasonable dependent) work. There is very little excess time or flexibility for most working people to be in the woods.
Ryan,z11 public and private mostly Hanson
Leo here. I hunt my property in z11, plus my buddies property in z11, plus a few public spots in z11. See a trend? I get deer in my yard at all hours of the day and night. Glad I just bought this place.
New Folks , Please continue to post here and I will transfer to ( revised ) list.
I will edit out the dialogue at . Who and where we are... (Revised)
Gary Z5 state forest borders my property and New Hampshire is a 5 minute walk also private land
Bob zone 11 Easton/Brockton. This will be my second season deer hunting.
Zone 11 public and private North Attleboro, Plainville
Aziz - Z10, but have no idea where to go :). First year. Researching. Any help is appreciated.