HorizontalHunter
NES Member
My shotgun is still in the safe.
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Who the hell uses as shotgun out where we live?My shotgun is still in the safe.
Too bad no snow, you could have tracked him if you wanted to try for him.I had a good size four pointer cross in front of me.. unfortunately I was in the truck 30 seconds from the parking lot. I did pass the guy that must have pushed him walking in.
I used to tag out with the bow as well. Those days are over near me. I can say i pass more deer than I used to, and don't hunt archery as much either. But cameras the last few years and roadkill and lack of deer in the fields at night don't lie.It's rough reading about the state of deer hunting in mass. As crowded as it is there, I thought that years ago mass did an excellent job of managing the herd. I would tag out every year during bow season. But I agree with many of your comments. I hang around on a local hunting forum and I've noticed the harvest is down.
As for dog walkers. I always hated them. And I own and love dogs. I would never bring my dog into the woods during the season. Now if, they paid a user fee than it's a different story. But they don't. They never ever should be off leash though. That to me is hunter and wildlife harassment. In many states off leash dogs on public land is considered a form of wildlife harassment. So, you can shoot the dog. I have no issue with that.
One of the worst things in the woods is the spandex wearing 30 something with her three off leash dogs running wild. I came across one here in Montana while hunting grouse. The dogs come barking and bolting toward me. A kindly told the woman she should leash her dogs because people are hunting in here and some will not be as tolerant as me and will shoot her dogs. I get to the parking area and notice out of state plates on her vehicle. Shocking. So even starting to deal with it here. Fortunately, they don't go in far enough to become a real bother and the acreage of public here is considered small if its under 100k acres.
There is a state leash law in MA, and being in the woods does not make you exempt. So if someone had a dog running around off-leash in the woods, that could be presumed as a coyote by a lot of people who shoot first and figure it out later. Just saying. I completely agree with you - such people are stupid.It's rough reading about the state of deer hunting in mass. As crowded as it is there, I thought that years ago mass did an excellent job of managing the herd. I would tag out every year during bow season. But I agree with many of your comments. I hang around on a local hunting forum and I've noticed the harvest is down.
As for dog walkers. I always hated them. And I own and love dogs. I would never bring my dog into the woods during the season. Now if, they paid a user fee than it's a different story. But they don't. They never ever should be off leash though. That to me is hunter and wildlife harassment. In many states off leash dogs on public land is considered a form of wildlife harassment. So, you can shoot the dog. I have no issue with that.
One of the worst things in the woods is the spandex wearing 30 something with her three off leash dogs running wild. I came across one here in Montana while hunting grouse. The dogs come barking and bolting toward me. A kindly told the woman she should leash her dogs because people are hunting in here and some will not be as tolerant as me and will shoot her dogs. I get to the parking area and notice out of state plates on her vehicle. Shocking. So even starting to deal with it here. Fortunately, they don't go in far enough to become a real bother and the acreage of public here is considered small if its under 100k acres.
WowZone 7 from sun up to sun down today 2 different spots didnāt hear a single shot or see another hunter or a deer
Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?Wow
It Will be interesting to hear the reports of other hunters.
Wow is what I thought.I consider myself a decent hunter have killed plenty of deer so something seemed off. I did see deer last weekend in zone 8 during archery also saw 2 coyote.Wow
It Will be interesting to hear the reports of other hunters.
Yes, in part to the lower deer numbers out in this part of the state.Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?
Wow is what I thought.I consider myself a decent hunter have killed plenty of deer so something seemed off. I did see deer last weekend in zone 8 during archery also saw 2 coyote.
Pete,Do you think the number of hunters is on the decline in the state?
Absolute truth. I enjoy being in the woods. Grew up on a farm and the forest was my backyard. Itās never left my system.I have been hunting Connecticut much more than Mass the last 8-10 years. Shocking I know, but hunters actually like to see a deer once in awhile.
Same here. Always loved being in the woods.Absolute truth. I enjoy being in the woods. Grew up on a farm and the forest was my backyard. Itās never left my system.
This season however it feels like im playing dress up, not going hunting.
I worked with a guy that came back from a hunting trip with a funny story: He'd shot a waterfall.It's a Blue state city mentality. My wife, who is pretty conservative, won't go into the woods at all - EVEN ON MARKED TRAILS from now until Christmas, except on Sundays because she might get shot by a hunter. LOL. She thinks that hunters are out to shoot anything and everything and are behind every tree or bush.
I have no "problem" with deer drives. Used to take part years ago with a group of army buddies. I started hubting alone 4 years ago......stand hunting and still hunting......and for me it's much more satisfying to basically ambush a deer where you have figured out the likely areas they will go. I'll probably never do another deer drive for me it's just not the same experience. Congrats on your group effort and glad you are filling your freezer! Nice work.Hey all NES deer. Hunters! I wanted to relate my recent experiences during the Mass Shotgun & Muzzle loader seasons hunting on the South Shore.
I loved fishing but I wasnāt exposed to much hunting as a kid, and didnāt start hunting until my early 40ās in Maine about 15 years ago (we bought a house in Bethel 20 years ago and I met a guide). I never had much success in the big Maine woods rifle hunting with the low deer density up there. With my growing frustration in Maine, I bought a bow for the first time in 2012 and started exploring the small wood plots near my home on the South Shore In 2013. I saw lots of deer and sign. I took my first small buck in 2014. I havenāt even deer
hunted Maine since 2016.
Since then, when Iāve been Hunting on the south shore over the last 10 years I usually just continued, and rolled my archery hunting season right through the December shotgun and muzzle loader seasons. Many of these S.S. towns I hunt do not allow discharge of firearms within town limits. Iāve always gotten at least one deer each season since then.
Over the last few years however, Iāve met other bow hunters and gotten friendly with a great group of hunters down in the Whitman - Hanson area. They have welcomed me into their Deer Drive team. We get together as often as we can during the December smoke pole seasons and plan Deer-Push hunts through various pieces of public property land down in that area. We meet at a local breakfast joint by 6am to plan which properties to target and our approaches for that day. Some days we have 8 guys, some days our group gets up to over a dozen guys. At 58, I am one of the āyoungerā guys. Most are in their 60ās and early 70ās. We have also recruited more young bucks (sons & their friends) to keep the group fresh (and help with the dragging and pushing ). We also genuinely want to pass along these traditions to the younger generation. We can usually do three morning pushes before we break for lunch. Then we get back out for one or two pushes in the afternoon depending on how the morning went. Itās been a great experience with this group.
Usually at least one or two deer fall for us, but some days we do very well !!! Our record is Six (6) deer in one push. One of our guys has a huge Barn down in that area that we use a base for deer processing. He has a hoist, freezers, cutting tables, grill, etc..
Yesterday was a pretty good day, with a strong group of 11 guys participating. We ended up with 2 bucks and 2 does on Saturday. On Mondayās opening day, we had a smaller group of 8 and took another two does.
All who can make it, will be at the barn this afternoon for Butchering & vacuum pack duties. We use, and share the venison as a group and provide some at a few local Game Diners at some of the outdoor / gun clubs. With Massachusetts now finally allowing venison to be donated to the homeless, we are talking about potentially getting involved with any excess Venison.
Anyhow, I wanted to relate this story because originally growing up in Quincy, I was not exposed to much Hunting. Hunting was not a big thing, in my experience, back then in the Boston and surrounding suburb areas growing up. Wildlife like deer, turkey, eagles, hawks, fisher cats, coyotes, now Bear were somewhat rare for us back then. Obviously things have changed and the wildlife populations have exploded in Eastern MA (now with extended archery and unlimited doe tags). This group are salt of the earth guys who all worked hard throughout their lives and raised their families. Now they are doing their part to keep up the hunting and firearms traditions as well as bring in the next generation.
I never know there were so many Massachusetts Rednecks until I got involved with this group.
Thanks for listening. 5king
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Pete,
I think its both. But one would think one would offset the other...meaning in my part of the state....definately less hunters but you would think there would be more deer. I don't think that is the case at all. I think the deer pop has gone down.
Case and point......I sat for 8 hours on our opening Saturday yesterday. I heard one shot in the morning and no shots in the afternoon. Sitting the same stand 15 years ago.....5 shots per hour would ring out at least til 10am...then it would taper off. Then pick back up in the afternoon. Yes...one shot all day. There were a few guys off the roads, not like it was years ago for sure.
The MA F&W says its lack of hunters pushing deer around.....wrong.
Again...then if there are no hunters why aren't there more deer overall? Why aren't we overrun with them? No idea, my guess, habitat sucks more, coyotes and predators are just killing shit, and no more deer sanctuaries like Quabbin....and maybe some people shooting does without permits...but if there are no shots...then hard to blame that situation isn't it.
Eastern MA....I think there are plenty of hunters and a decent amount of deer on private land...and the hunters are going there more or staying home and not going west. But land is way harder to find to hunt making everyone pack into available state land.
My Maine neighbor puts a lot of resources into yotes and bear. I didnāt know until our conversation how big of a threat they are to the deer numbers.I am wondering if fawn mortality is a greater issue. I have 5 does regularly in my yard all year round, sometimes 7 at times. I have another 6-7 on my land a few miles away that I see and are regularly on game cameras. 13-14 does total, and only one fawn among all of them this year, which was/is shocking to me because 5-7 years ago there would be at least 4-5 fawns, likely more. Too many predators perhaps, I see shitloads of coyotes and bobcats, of course, but I believe that the increasing number of bears are having a greater impact than we know.
"As far as efficiency, black bears take the highest percentage of newborn whitetails. In states with thick black bear populations, predation rates on newborn fawns can exceed 80%, meaning only 2 out of 10 newborn deer will survive until fall."
What Kills the Most Deer in a Year? | Deer & Deer Hunting
STOP! Donāt answer that question without reading this post, because you are probably going to be wrong! First, the question needs some qualifiers. The main question is centered on predation of whitetails across the continental U.S., and it includes all deer from newborn fawns all the way up to...www.deeranddeerhunting.com
It isnāt just bears and it isnāt just fawns.