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Bow-only public land?

Hi Everyone,

Do you know of any bow-only public spots in the state? In Arkansas, we were quite blessed with such options but here I cannot find any so far. Like many of you, I am sure, I prefer to avoid the orange army at all costs.

Check for towns with 'no discharge' laws, but still allow hunting. Public lands in these towns are essentially all 'bow-only'. Some towns also require written permission, even on public land, so be careful. This website is a good reference...http://macouncil.tripod.com/id28.htm.

Thanks. That aspect of things is new to me as well. Now living in my sixth state I can say that navigating the idiosyncrasies of the rules is never easy!

I would imagine Mass is at the top of that list.

look at the conservation land, a lot is bow only. where are you located?

There won't be any orange pumpkins in the woods until November 27th. You have almost 3 weeks to hunt without worrying about the orange army.

I am in Boston but will happily go anywhere in the state. What is conservation land, is it hard to figure out?

I am out of town next week but am going to hunt the whole week of Thanksgiving.

What still hunter said. Quite a few Land Trusts will allow bow hunting and their conservation efforts usually set aside some pretty large areas. Some get grants or help with funding from DFG to purchase them and if they are for conservation, then usually there is some type of allowance for hunting due to where the $ came from, which is "us" . Because they are considered private it is usually by special permission and in many cases bow only. I hunt a few. Just email them to ask.

Arkansas - This map shows you some awesome maps of MDFW owned "Wildlife management areas". Many are stocked with pheasants, thus can be crazy at times with bird hunters. But the areas that are mostly forested get less bird pressure and can be awesome deer hunting.

http://maps.env.state.ma.us/dfg/masswildlifelands/

This page includes some broader info, and helps you find state forest land that's huntable (vs the map above which is only wildlife management zones).

https://www.mass.gov/where-to-hunt-in-massachusetts

Keep well

Will I hunt a WMA in zone 4N during bear season that has a ton of deer in it but is crazy during pheasant season. I see deer 80% of the time I go there. I won’t go there during bird season though although it may be good deep enough in. Here is a pic of a run I took. Looks like NY!

There’s one in Littleton by the fire station off wilderness rd.

Assabet national wildlife refuge has archery only areas. There's a link on the website to buy your hunting pass. Archery is first come, first served and everything else is a lottery. With the pass I believe you can hunt three other refuge areas.

Spike,.. I think that is a four lane highway!

BB, I had a real nice buck walk by me in September there. I should try it one day.

Thanks, all! Spike, that is serious!

Sosso, for that one in Littleton you technically need permission from New England Forestry Foundation, which is easy enough to get since their office is right there. But the place also gets a lot of dog walkers.

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