Sargent wma Newton nh

whacko

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Because I bought my NH hunting license for the first time ever figured I'd check out some southern NH wma land to take advantage of the earlier start to grey squirrel season. Checked out Sargent wma in Newton nh after work to check the parking spots so Itll be easier to find Saturday morning. Damn the NH wma is different than MA. In MA the boundaries are all clearly marked and the parking lots have signs that let you know it's definitely a wma. We drove around for quite awhile looking for the parking spot that is marked on the NH wma map......it's on bear hill road between the entrances to whipoorwill drive according to the map. We drove past it about 4 times........looked like someone's driveway but I finally saw a white "visitors parking" sign at the far end of the driveway and figured that's gotta be it. f***ing really NH? Visitor parking sign like 150 yards down a right of way with a private driveway? Not even a hint of signage that says "wildlife management area"?

I'm good at this point since I found it ......ma makes it a hell of a lot easier to find the boundaries that's for sure.
 
Well the upside to it being hard to locate is that you shouldn’t have much competition from other hunters!
I hunted squirrel there twice already. Got a couple. There was a pair of younger guys hunting one morning but we didn't interfere with each other.
One thing that's odd there is the amount of 4 wheeler traffic. Holy crap there are 4 wheeler trails all through that place. One afternoon wheelers were running through there left and right. Didn't think atvs were allowed to run through wma property......I know in mass the wma rules specifically say no wheeled vehicles.
 
Funny I grew up right there, frequent the area to this day, know a lot of the neighbors, and never heard of this WMA. Is the entrance on Benjamin's property? Ie the log house with all the wood piles, antique cars, that abuts the house w/ the small man-made pond out back?

Yes ATV's are used on all those trails and the sand pit (or were anyway, we did as kids although the cops might occasionally show up and chase you out). Be aware that area is a stones throw from the state line, wander too far into the pit and you cross into MA.

I hear alot of shooting from that vicinity sometimes, believe someone has a range or backyard range in the area too.
 
Funny I grew up right there, frequent the area to this day, know a lot of the neighbors, and never heard of this WMA. Is the entrance on Benjamin's property? Ie the log house with all the wood piles, antique cars, that abuts the house w/ the small man-made pond out back?

Yes ATV's are used on all those trails and the sand pit (or were anyway, we did as kids although the cops might occasionally show up and chase you out). Be aware that area is a stones throw from the state line, wander too far into the pit and you cross into MA.

I hear alot of shooting from that vicinity sometimes, believe someone has a range or backyard range in the area too.
As far as the shooting it's less than a mile from country and fish and game that might be it. I have a mass hunting license as well as nh and am a mass resident so If I wander into mass I'm good lol. Here is a screen shot from my onx hunt ap. The light shaded land is the wma. Seems your right with the wma having a right of way is on land owned by a benjamin.
Screenshot_20200911-143600_onX Hunt.jpgScreenshot_20200911-143600_onX Hunt.jpg
 
It's so secret, I lived in that town for 7 years and never knew it existed.
Check out the screenshot of the onx hunt app. The Light green shaded areas are all WMA land in or near Newton. There is another section of Sargent WMA but it's very small only 10 acres. The onx hunt ap is very handy works as a gps and tells you exactly what land you are standing on including private land.....the name of the owner of the land and their address. Public land is highlighted yellow.....actual WMA and conservation land is highlighted light green. its all sat imagery and you can find out how close you are to houses and roads Screenshot_20200911-175855_onX Hunt.jpg
 
How long have you been using that app? I just downloaded it earlier today and was looking for any feedback.
2 years. It is a good app. I like knowing how close I am to boundaries houses and roads just by glancing at my phone. The tracking feature is good too.....let's you know the route you walked.....you can drop waypoints if you find sign when scouting or mark your parking spot to find your way back etc ..
 
2 years. It is a good app. I like knowing how close I am to boundaries houses and roads just by glancing at my phone. The tracking feature is good too.....let's you know the route you walked.....you can drop waypoints if you find sign when scouting or mark your parking spot to find your way back etc ..

Thank you for the info.
 
It's so secret, I lived in that town for 7 years and never knew it existed.

I'm in my 40s and been around the area my whole life and never heard of it until today - but then I don't hunt. Haven't been out there in 25 years but used to take trucks & quads on that trail all the time, ran back into the sand pit.

Add: I know the Benjamin's, faintly remember a little drama possibly stemming from people using the area at odd hours, may have been a gated entrance or something at one point which is basically one of two ways into their driveway. I just thought it was private property (that I had permission to be using) but maybe I never realized there was public access there.
 
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As far as the shooting it's less than a mile from country and fish and game that might be it. I have a mass hunting license as well as nh and am a mass resident so If I wander into mass I'm good lol. Here is a screen shot from my onx hunt ap. The light shaded land is the wma. Seems your right with the wma having a right of way is on land owned by a benjamin.
View attachment 388918View attachment 388918

I'm pretty sure as the crow flies CP is 2 miles from whippoorwill or more. That shooting is close and seems to come from the "east" side of bear hill in that whippoorwill drive vicinity.
 
I'm pretty sure as the crow flies CP is 2 miles from whippoorwill or more. That shooting is close and seems to come from the "east" side of bear hill in that whippoorwill drive vicinity.
There is a sandpit that borders the property might be locals using that as a range.
 
I'm in my 40s and been around the area my whole life and never heard of it until today - but then I don't hunt. Haven't been out there in 25 years but used to take trucks & quads on that trail all the time, ran back into the sand pit.

Add: I know the Benjamin's, faintly remember a little drama possibly stemming from people using the area at odd hours, may have been a gated entrance or something at one point which is basically one of two ways into their driveway. I just thought it was private property (that I had permission to be using) but maybe I never realized there was public access there.
I can see the possibility of drama existing from how that land is arranged. The problem is there is no hours restricting access to wma land so I'm sure there have been instances where the Benjamin's had to deal with some bullshit. Not all hunters are respectful of the boundaries. First thing I thought when I saw how the right of way and parking is set up is oh boy,........I bet there is drama here from time to time.
 
There is a sandpit that borders the property might be locals using that as a range.

Could be yes, suspect one of the neighbors in that row I haven't met has a back yard range. The reason I get interested is purely selfish :)..

The pit there we deposited a lot of lead into as kids, unfortunately even if it was legal then it clearly isn't now (for us NH residents), though I have had the thought that maybe part of the pit isn't in MA and it might be a potential. There are some very perfect backstops out there if you can imagine.
 
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