Grade your season
Massachusetts
Pat has included a grade your season link. I’m curious how your scores will be.
Just did it. I am increasingly amazed at the size of bucks MA produces every year - amazing animals. The numbers are just so centralized to eastern MA and pockets around urbanized/suburbanized areas. The rural areas are generally so low in deer numbers at this point - as is west central and western MA... Thus, while I love MDFW and all they do, I'd like to see some tweaks to deer management. That's what 'd have rather written in the reasoning box :)
Will I hate to keep bitching but it Is almost not even worth getting up in the morning here. Definitely doing CT next year. I used to hunt different states like CT, NY, Vt, RI etc and I could shoot a deer in a week. Here I’m sucking wind even in areas I’ve known for years. I went to CT a few years ago scouted for a couple days and shot a buck on my 5th sit. Night and day difference. I’m thinking about just going for a monster in MA at least I will know what to expect lol
I hear you guys out in central/western mass. I've been hunting in Nh since I was 12, never killed a deer at my camp. Lucky if I see one or two a year. It's tough. But, here in eastern mass there are deer everywhere. Z9, 10, 11... loaded! If you can gain access to private land in this area you're gonna kill deer... there are a lot of big bucks out here too.
Ha Ha, I want the Muzzleloader season reduced to 1 week in zones 1-4, or closed for the last 2 weeks of December that can currently be legally open each year. Why, the amount of deer yards that are absolutely molested with out of zone Doe permits is crazy. This state is so screwed up, go back to MANDATORY check stations. Make all Doe permits mandated zone inclusive reporting. The state of Ohio is a great example of this. The size of the bucks we have here is amazing. Right now google Lanesboro deer poaching investigated by Mass Environmental Police.
Or public land in zone 9...
despite what Moons suggests above..... there are no deer in zone 11... stay away! ;)
Yeah nothing in 11 STAY AWAY
Send some nothings out west here , please .. :)
Spike - keep in touch, happy to hook up to hunt those areas we both know (or check some others) in CT. I just saw a guys post on FaceBook that lured be back here. He is a trucker I guess and noted all the sign he saw basically up to 190, after that over about 30 miles he saw 2 sets of tracks. That fits my observations... 190 is the "new" 495 from 15-20 years ago. So... With that logic, our Z6 areas should be overrun with Z10-11 numbers by about 2045 :).
I still think we should all pool $$ and pay Lee and Tiff or the Drury's to come shoot a show out here. The only rule is that they have to be west of a vertical line drawn through the state from Oakham. (close to half way between Worcester and the Quabbin Res for those not familiar). #TheStruggleIsReal :) #DeerHunterFirstWorldProblems...
I had a good season just not in Massachusetts. To be fair I didn't hunt as much I usually do.
Will, we should definitely hook up. I have a spot over that way that I haven’t checked out in a while. Could be great or so so not sure. I also have CT 15 minutes from my house to scout. Now all we need is the snow to stick around for a bit. I will be doing some predator calling on Saturdays and scouting on Sundays.
Same here Murphy, work was way too busy for me and I didn’t use all my vacation days once again. It was damn depressing reading all the posts here while I was at work. Sunday hunting would help me out big time.
No Deer in Zone 11, just wabbits, wots of wabbits, more than you can count! Happy New Year Folks! Let's Go
No deer in 11, good luck finding the spots if you do come! All private access and the legal WMAs here are littered with ATVs.
Zone 11 is a whitetail wasteland. You can go minutes down here without seeing a deer.
Yup . nuttin' in Z11 , more hunters than animals . And those are rodents . There was a deer on display once. A circus deer. Very small, Blind and only 3 legs. I have a black and white photo. We have quahogs and Geese .
I feel like I had a great season in MA Z2. even though I never harvested a deer. I learned alot and explored alot. Had 10 cams up at one point. Alot of large bucks roaming where I hunt. It has me excited for next year. I already have 4 places for stands. About 6 places to make natural ground blinds. Next year is going to be stellar!
It's funny reading through the grade your season threads Pat put up for us. I see a somewhat common thing with people saying the deer management needs revamping ( one buck only / shot a doe earn a doe tag / antler tags based on zone ). But what I also see is Sunday hunting allowed. Now if they allow Sunday hunting won't that add extra days in the field to take more deer? So that seems counter productive to try and increase the deer herd. Seems some people want more days afield to have the chance to take more deer, while others want a reduction in tags allowed to allow the deer population to grow.
Personally I think the deer densities vary by zone and within those zones they vary by area. This is why the biologists can't get an accurate number of deer densities and why I think there won't be many changes in the seasonal bag limits or tags available. Add into that the tree huggers and property owners who post their land for non hunting purposes and it's a conundrum!!!!
I would have to give myself an A- for this season. Harvested a small button buck in early November first deer with a bow and first in Massachusetts. With the three remaining days I hope to turn that A- into an A+. Thanks to everyone on here for your post tons of great advice and lots of great reading to pass the time in my stand. Happy new year to everyone.
VT - this is a fun forum - lots of guys chiming in and offering info which I know has helped me over the years I've been on here. Glad you are enjoying it too - and had a successful year.
DFA - True. I thought it was interesting how all of us who go to other states rate them higher than our home states. Have to validate our $ and time :) some how.
I really feel like, changes in tag allotment or what not could be a simple ish fix. Here's Sunday but here are fewer doe permits per zone and single buck in other zones or something like that (that's a random example).
Even better, create smaller zones within the larger zones or something - for example, the deer population in the areas of Sterling, Princeton and NW west boylston that I hunt is probably half what it is in areas of eastern Lancaster, or what I see walking or talking to friends etc in say Bolton. All Z9, but massively different feeling places to actually hunt and less than 10-15 miles apart as the crow flies...
That survey that was linked the other day may be the perfect medicine. I'm going to think back and do my best to fill it in and return it. Had no idea it even existed... but if people respond with that, man... What a great addition to the kill numbers to help MDFW "hear" us and better learn about the herd - and other wildlife.
Congrats on your first deer with a bow, VtT. I hope you're able to get another one in our few remaining days.
Will great points!!! The state is too broken up by development to get an accurate assessment of deer populations by zone. Yes we all know there are more deer in the eastern part than the western part, but that wasn't always the case. Years ago people were flocking to the western part to hunt because there were no deer in the eastern. Now the tables have turned. Does climate and food have anything to do with it?? I have hardly any snow on the ground at my house but west of 495 there are multiple inches coating the ground. There are more houses around me here vs. Princeton where I lived which in turn creates less forest for the deer to roam. Which creates more sightings and realistically more winter food ( my bushes!!! ). The easier winters also create a less stressful environment for the deer to survive the cold winter, but does that mean more deer or more sightings????
I would love to hear about any individual records kept by hunters who logged in ( deer sightings vs individual deer sightings / I.E. the same deer over and over ). I bet there is a discernible difference
For the past 25 plus years I have hunted several parts of the state. From Douglas / Sutton to Princeton /Rutland / Barre / Holden to Marion / mattapoisett /Rochester. I have seen differences in deer quality and quantity. More deer down here on the SC Z 11 but the quality is not as good and I do see the same deer over and over. I feel this is because there are smaller core areas due to development which in turn leads to less roaming.
I haven't hunted west of 495 for 8 years so I don't know how the deer population is in my older areas, but judging by some of the pics I have seen from you guys who hunt in 8,9 and 10 you have done alright!!! You western guys I feel for you it's big woods and less deer but your time will come just hope you live long enough to see it
I could go on and on about this topic but there are so many variables it makes my head spin.
Like Moons said " find private property to hunt and you will see deer " no matter what zone you are in. That applies to all states that you hunt. It is just better plain and simple
Well said DFA. I was just looking at the grade's and was amazed at how many folks are on but dont post often or at all. Post up folks - Everyone's input is a help and helps build the fun atmosphere we have here. Chime in folks :)!
Very slow year in MA for me, however, I do / did have some very high quality bucks on camera this year. I know the quality bucks are here... I saw 1 confirmed doe in zone 3 this season and 2 other glimpses of deer I could not tell.
I think this rate your season score card misses several points as far as success is conserned, because we all define it deferent. We all what to harvest a deer, but personaly i dont expect too every year. I find success in learning from my previous years. Every time i put my self in range of a deer i consider that a success, because frankly a whole lot more has to go right to accully put that deer in the freezer. In past years i would have jumped right on the no deer in my zone wagon, but blaming lack of managment or any other state mandate that i feel has inhibeted my ability to get a deer does nothing but discorage me. I personally look at my self and know that i am the only variable in this problem that i can change, their is no doubt that thier are way more deer on the south coast then thier are in north central ma were i hunt, and it just gets harder going west, but that pushes me to try and make my self better, and scout harder, and frankly if success ment hunting other zones than thats what i would do. This time of year is a powerful tool for a deer hunter because deer are yarded up togeather. When i see twenty or thirty deer laying togeather it reminds me that thier are plenty of deer around and that the deer are better at staying alive, then i am at killing them.
Guess i killed another post. Im Not trying to sound like an asshole and imply if you didnt get a deer that you dont know what your doing. BUT being hard on your self will get you further than being hard on the state.
It was a good season. Managed to get out for about 30 hunts, most were full day hunts. Two hours in a friends ladder stand, otherwise all hunting was from the ground. 50% still-hunting, 30% ground stands and 20% tracking. Most hunting was in 4S with a few hunts in zone 3. Also hunted NY zone 4Z archery in early October. NY sightings were average, seeing 1-3 deer every hunt plus a bunch while driving in to go hunting. Mass zone 3 was terrible. I saw a total of zero deer versus seeing deer every hunt last year. Fortunately I saw more deer in 4S than I have ever seen. -25 deer sighted with five confirmed as bucks, I'm sure there were more. -Harvested 1x archery doe (NY) -Harvested 1x shotgun buck (Ma) -2x bear sighted. One too far, one too small. -1x moose sighted.
Tekoa
What really makes me question Mass. Is that the Western part is so tuff. Yet once you cross the boarder into Ny on 90 there's frickn deer. Kinda show's how bad Mass is at managing their deer. From Chicopee to the Ny boarder 0 deer. 2 mins over the boarder. Oh there's 2 deer there. Three more over there. Sad part is that's not even one of the good areas of Ny.
Murph31, I attribute that to NY agriculture versus mature forest in most of Western Mass. Even in the Ny zone I hunt, the difference between Ag areas and non Ag areas is noticeable even though they are only a few miles apart. Unless timber harvesting in the state forests was really increased I don't see much changing. The MassWildlife deer managers don't have much leverage here. Hunting pressure is so low now that I think you are seeing a deer population at carrying capacity. We do have big bucks and I think the doe to buck ratio is very close. Personally I like the option of hunting big woods where I may see some really mature bucks who are still on their natural routines all season long (no hunter pressure) . If I feel like hunting and seeing a bunch of deer even though they will be smaller I'll drive an hour. Tekoa
