Western Mass deer hunting

[groundtender]

Whenever I drive in Massachusetts west of Connecticut River I always think the woods and hills look like great deer habitat. I likewise have heard over the years that a deer hunt out there can be very enjoyable. Are there any commercial hunting lodges, or even just guides with good familiarity of the woods? Wouldn’t matter to me if was just south of VT border or all the way down to the southwestern corner. Probably MZ season. Just something I have always wondered about. Thank you

 

[lester2]

Whenever I drive in Massachusetts west of Connecticut River I always think the woods and hills look like great deer habitat. I likewise have heard over the years that a deer hunt out there can be very enjoyable. Are there any commercial hunting lodges, or even just guides with good familiarity of the woods? Wouldn’t matter to me if was just south of VT border or all the way down to the southwestern corner. Probably MZ season. Just something I have always wondered about. Thank you

A buddy and I have travelled down to Mass from northern and central VT to hunt for the last 7 years. We do both shotgun and MZ seasons. I really enjoy hunting down there, we see a lot of deer and there’s hardly any pressure on the public land we hunt. We are more central than west, and not far at all from the border with VT. We struck up a friendship with a local who lets us park on his property which is adjacent to the state land. This gets us away from the other side of the WMA and it’s only parking lot. License cost is reasonable, for now. I did get an email recently from MassFishHunt that said fees will go up in ‘22, and by the looks it will be a pretty steep increase. We’ve always made it a DIY thing. We get a motel room and do a Thu-Sat hunt a couple times and the occasional day trips. Check it out, you may like it.

 

[groundtender]

Thanks L2, looks like good advice. Probably the route to take. But I’d still like to know if there are knowledgeable and reliable guides that can have ground blinds or ladder stands all in place for an old fart like me. Thanks again

 

[lester2]

Thanks L2, looks like good advice. Probably the route to take. But I’d still like to know if there are knowledgeable and reliable guides that can have ground blinds or ladder stands all in place for an old fart like me. Thanks again

GT, did you ever find what you were looking for in MA? My buddy and I are heading down Wednesday morning for 4 days of shotgun hunting. Of the 5 states we hunt this is the most enjoyable for us both!

 

[groundtender]

Lester - Haven’t done anything about it, but it sounds like I should. I have heard that the muzzleloader season there is a lot of fun too. Good luck on your hunt, and thanks again.

 

[groundtender]

Part 2 - Just looked up stuff on Mass Wildlife Dept site. MZ season starts Dec 13. NR license is reasonable at $94.00. I will do more research on public lands, etc. Thanks again

 

[lester2]

Part 2 - Just looked up stuff on Mass Wildlife Dept site. MZ season starts Dec 13. NR license is reasonable at $94.00. I will do more research on public lands, etc. Thanks again

We’ll be there for MZ season too. Good luck!

 

[mowbizz]

We’ll be there for MZ season too. Good luck!

Does Mass allow in-line, rifled, sabots yet? Last time I went out to western Mass it was smoothbire only…(long time ago)

 

[lester2]

Does Mass allow in-line, rifled, sabots yet? Last time I went out to western Mass it was smoothbire only…(long time ago)

Yes they do!