I got to say I started hunting at 13 with my dad, brother, and uncle. We hunted rabbits on Nantucket as my uncle lived there and he had some of the best beagles around. Nothing like the sound of the dogs driving and learning to shoot good as everyone, including adults, only shot .410's. My brother and I raised two female beagles out of my uncle's stock and hunted in the Dartmouth area for years. Often for just our lunch break our behind our family business. We always got rabbits and we always ate what we killed. Those days hunting with my family are something I cherish to this day. Both my dad and uncle are gone now but my brother and I hunt together as often as we can. We no longer rabbit hunt but deer hunt. My dad never deer hunted but I learned to deer hunt with my uncle from both a stand and doing drives. I do not care for drives, nor do I care for gun hunting once I took up archery. If I don't see any during archery, then I will shotgun hunt.
It took me 4 years of archery hunting until I took my first deer. It was a whole different ball game learning where to place my stand to be close enough, but not too close to spook them off their normal routines. After I got the first one, I've would say I've been pretty successful ever since. I found the best way to hunt is to learn from ONE person who is good at it and not a braggart. Don't ask too many as you will only get confused and only want to hear the positives and not the negatives. Patience is a virtue and you MUST have it when deer hunting. If you want to hunt and don't have the patience try and find a decent rabbit hunter with good dogs and ask him if you could join in a day or two for the experience. I know lots of rabbiters that enjoy taking guys hunting with them.
I have always seen a decent amount of huntable deer here on MA east coast and don't agree with a previous post that MA doesn't run it's deer program well. I think for what our licenses cost and what we get it's a pretty good deal compared to lots of states. I can hunt behind my house and yet I live extremely close to malls and highways. In my "back yard" I've taken a lot of game and then I just walk home. I've also read some posts where people say it's not the kill but everything else. I can't totally agree with that. Hunting originally was for sustenance, not for piece of mind or relaxation. Years ago if you came home with a smile of euphoria on your face and no meat in your hand, you and your family DIED! I can understand frustration when not taking anything after a few years. Deer hunting is the hardest to be successful in and there are many other animals to hunt where one can be more successful as already discussed. Hunting for me has always been the "total" experience. My family, nature, the meat, and yes, the kill. It's a package that isn't always complete so we work at it the next year to make it complete. I don't think there's one hunter that doesn't look for the complete package. If there is, then that "hunter" probably doesn't belong in the woods either as they will probably mess up things for the others. Doing things wrong because of not knowing is one thing, doing things without any thought and not caring about the results of those actions, because you just want an outdoor experience, is another. That's not a real hunter and we don't need them in the woods either. If that's what you want, save your woods time to the summer and walk a nature trail with a camera. You will most likely see more wildlife anyway.
I wished shotgun/muzzleloader season is in November.
