Anyone deer hunting in Mass?!?

[MP-In-The-Wind]

I've been in the woods almost every day (at least for the morning) in Mass since deer/shotgun opened. I heard ONE shot on opening day (Zone 10)...and MAYBE another one this
passed Saturday. Has anybody been hunting?!?

BTW: I've only seen 2 does so far...and will finish the month using blackpowder.

Good luck everyone!

 

[nitsy33]

Ive seen 1 guy twice bowhunting in 1 spot, 1 guy 3 times in another. 1 car at rocky gutter during bow, heard 5 or 6 shots opening day in freetown. Fine by me as more woods for me but seems like it's been an off year for hunters.

 

[nitsy33]

Oh all this is zone 11

 

[peterk123]

When I visited Mass last week I took my old hunting buddy to one of my old spots. We went out at 1pm. By 2:30 he had a deer down. They are in there. Just in the thick stuff. Sitting still doesn't work in my opinion. You have to nudge them this time of year.

 

[Mark from ?]

When I visited Mass last week I took my old hunting buddy to one of my old spots. We went out at 1pm. By 2:30 he had a deer down. They are in there. Just in the thick stuff. Sitting still doesn't work in my opinion. You have to nudge them this time of year.

After bow season/rut.....in MA...if your not pushing...your wishing/hoping.

Big woods north central...deer are locked down noctournal on a food source recovering from the rut. They aren't moving far with all these acorns, and they aren't moving during the day much.

My buddy monitors my spot and I passed 4 does and a forkie in mid October and they were there edge of daylight til like mid November on and off. After that nothing....and deer just started returning.....now.....his latest pics are all at night.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

After bow season/rut.....in MA...if your not pushing...your wishing/hoping.

Big woods north central...deer are locked down noctournal on a food source recovering from the rut. They aren't moving far with all these acorns, and they aren't moving during the day much.

My buddy monitors my spot and I passed 4 does and a forkie in mid October and they were there edge of daylight til like mid November on and off. After that nothing....and deer just started returning.....now.....his latest pics are all at night.

They will start moving better the further we get away from the end of the gun season.

 

[Sparkey]

Less shooting than normal in zone 7/8 I have gotten into a few herds of doe 5-8 but we had to kick them up.
They are in the thick stuff now and don’t need to move to eat.
Saw a ton of deer during archery season.

 

[ccm75]

My first BP deer today.
Good size doe, probably 3-4 years old.
20 yards with a .50 cal sabot.
Shot was high but double lung. Didn’t bleed much til she got down into woods a ways. Great morning with the fresh snow. Easy tracking!!

About a 3/4 mile drag. I’ll feel it in the morning I’m sure. Fresh tenderloin for lunch…Tomorrow will be meat cutting, beer and football….

 

[Patriot]

^^^Will you leave her hanging outside overnight? Might be coyote food as it doesn't look like she is very high in the tree.

 

[ccm75]

Yes. It’s a concern. I got her as high as I could but I’ll probably move it at nightfall.
Appreciate the input.

 

[Patriot]

Yes. It’s a concern. I got her as high as I could but I’ll probably move it at nightfall.
Appreciate the input.

Congrats, by the way!

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Congratulations on a nice doe. BP deer in this state are a big accomplishment and hard to come by.

Nicely done,

Bob

 

[ccm75]

Thank you sir. Very happy to have another for the freezer!

 

[Wickedcoolname]

It's been very quiet in my part of zone 9 this year. Not a lot of deer moving around in my usual spots. Only a handful of does near my stands and the two bucks in the area have been nocturnal.
Very little pressure in my area. There have only been one or two trucks parked where there are typically four or five.
Lots of acorns on the ground in my area, so they don't really need to travel to feed. Also, there has been a large coyote in front of my cameras almost every night. That's not helping.

 

[peterk123]

My first BP deer today.
Good size doe, probably 3-4 years old.
20 yards with a .50 cal sabot.
Shot was high but double lung. Didn’t bleed much til she got down into woods a ways. Great morning with the fresh snow. Easy tracking!!

About a 3/4 mile drag. I’ll feel it in the morning I’m sure. Fresh tenderloin for lunch…Tomorrow will be meat cutting, beer and football….

Congrats! Not a lot of deer get dropped in mass this time of year. Well done.

 

[Sparkey]

7.6 miles today and nothing notable at all
Not even a tail

 

[HorizontalHunter]

7.6 miles today and nothing notable at all
Not even a tail

Tough time of year but a great day to be out there chasing them with a little snow on the ground.

 

[detra]

Not a lot of movement in my zone 9 spots this year. Seems this is due to the massive acorn crop. Will keep at it to year end.

 

[Jay77]

I’m in zone 9 and not much deer action and even less human action in the woods. The deer are there but mostly nocturnal and not much pressure. My kid shot a 4p the first Friday of shotgun and I shot a good size doe last night. But the number of hunters has definitely dropped. I think they all went to NH lol…. I’m on the boarder

 

[Woodsloafer]

Pretty nice buck taken in north central MA:

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Pretty nice buck taken in north central MA:

View attachment 947556

View attachment 947557

View attachment 947555

Beautiful buck. I always thought that it was cool the way the hair on the top of their heads change to that brown color from their forehead glands when they are rutting hard.

 

[Roof gunner]

Missing my first year in the woods in 30 years ! Working weekends , getting the house ready to be put on the market. Life just got in the way this year

 

[ccm75]

^^^
Ya, and God forbid they allow Sunday hunting in MA ….

 

[Roof gunner]

^^^
Ya, and God forbid they allow Sunday hunting in MA ….

I hope it’s allowed in South Carolina

 

[Sparkey]

I hope it’s allowed in South Carolina

Only on private land

 

[Roof gunner]

I hope to build a tree fort/stand in my back yard down there in a couple months ! I’m retiring on Friday and listing the house on Monday

 

[Mark from ?]

Only on private land

There are some WMA's and National Forests that allow it. Passed in 23.

 

[Jason m]

https://www.mass.gov/news/public-hearing-on-proposed-deer-regulations-set-for-january-23

Not going to help imo, but the state is def seeing the decline. And now that it's going to lead overpopulation and diseased deer they will need to address it.
But hey Jack up the license fees again maybe that will help.

 

[RDG]

-Authorize the use of the Youth Deer Permit for any open deer season

I like this change..... my kids either sex deer tag would be good all season instead of just the one day. Just like the youth turkey tags are good all season.
For some people it won't matter.. but doe permits are tough to get in 4S... so this will be nice for ML season when he gets to deer hunt alot.
Plus next year he'll be 15 with a FID and be able to carry his own firearm.

 

[5king]

After bow season/rut.....in MA...if your not pushing...your wishing/hoping.

Big woods north central...deer are locked down noctournal on a food source recovering from the rut. They aren't moving far with all these acorns, and they aren't moving during the day much.

My buddy monitors my spot and I passed 4 does and a forkie in mid October and they were there edge of daylight til like mid November on and off. After that nothing....and deer just started returning.....now.....his latest pics are all at night.

I hunt zone 10 Archery from the tree stand and am usually successful for at least a doe, or a buck (sometime both), but as soon as December rolls around it’s off to Zone11 with the boys to push those deer out of the thick. We do well!

We also get together for the butchering duties and all get to share the venison! Sure some don’t like the push tactic, but nothing goes to waste.

Great bunch of guys. Some in their 30’s up through their 70’s. Not every day is this successful, but we’ve had some good days.