Massachusetts
90000
Est. Whitetail Population
84000
No. Licenses Sold Annually
$27.50
Resident hunting license is $27.50 plus $5.10 archery stamp and $5.10 primitive firearms stamp.
Resident hunting license and deer permit
$99.50
Nonresident big game license is $99.50 plus archery and primitive weapons stamps.
Non-resident hunting license and deer permit
193 3/8"
Taken by Kajetan Sovinski in Franklin County in 2002, ranked No. 67 of all time.
Record B&C Typical Stat
17
Total B&C Typical Entries
189 2/8"
Taken by Robert Heyes in Worcester County in 2004.
Record B&C Non-Typical Stat
6
Record B&C Non-Typical Entries
Season Dates (2013): Archery season runs Oct. 21 to Nov. 30. Shotgun season goes from Dec. 2-14. Primitive firearms season is Dec. 16-31.
The Grade: C+
Massachusetts is a pretty densely populated place (third in the country), but there's still some good deer hunting here. Annual harvest runs around 10,000 deer, you can take two bucks in a year, and antlerless tags are practically unlimited. The only drawback is that public land doesn't abound. Nevertheless, there's a decent Wildlife Management Area system and most state forests and parks permit hunting.
Antler Nation Knowledge: Massachusetts isn't known for its huge bucks, but they do roam here. Suburban areas and bowhunting are your best opportunities for a bruiser. As you go to the western side of the state, big woods give bucks a chance of growing old, but antlers generally don't grow as large due to the poorer soil.
