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Date: 12/7/2022
HUNTINGTON — At 4 p.m. on Dec. 3, with four hours to go in the first week of shotgun season that began on Nov. 28, 55 deer had been brought to the MassWildlife Deer Checking Station in the parking lot of 22 E. Main St., outside of B&D’s Variety Store.
“This has been my busiest week in a few years,” said Jacob Morris-Siegel, stewardship biologist at Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, who has been checking in deer at the Huntington station for the past 16 years.
Licensed hunters can receive two buck tags for antlered deer a year, and may also apply for an antlerless tag. The tags are pieces of paper attached to a license that must be filled out and attached to a deer when it is killed.
The biggest deer of the season arrived on Saturday morning, a 192-pound 10-pointer caught in Granville. Morris-Siegel said on opening day, he had a 185-pound buck caught in Worthington, and on Nov. 30, a 180-pound buck harvested in Russell. “They were my biggest,” he said.
The most deer, 11, were caught in Huntington, followed by Blandford and Chester each with five, and Westfield with four. Other deer that were brought in were bagged in Agawam, Becket, Cummington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Northampton, Southampton, Southwick, Tolland, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Windsor.
Morris-Siegel said he isn’t sure why it was such a strong week — whether there were more deer around, more people hunting in the right locations, or something else.
“Without snow, it’s surprising. Probably a lot of luck in it, too,” he said.
No bears were brought in during the week, although they have been brought in to the Huntington deer checking station in the past. Hunters may apply for a tag for one bear per year.
Morris-Siegel said he didn’t see any problems with the deer that came in, no obvious health concerns. Most come in on the backs of pickup trucks, although this year, he had two come in a Subaru wagon. He said, years ago, two deer were brought in a Mini Cooper.
All deer harvested during the first week of the shotgun deer season, which lasts from Nov. 28 to Dec. 10, must be brought to an official check station for biological data collection.
“We collect age, weight, number of antler points and antler beam diameter,” Morris-Siegel said.
Deer were also brought to the MassWildlife offices in Dalton at 88 Old Windsor Rd. and Belchertown at 341 East St.
Huntington has been a deer checking location for decades. Before MassWildlife took it over, the shop owner used to check in the deer, Morris-Siegel said.
“Used to be, you had to bring all animals in,” he said. Now it’s just required during the first week. After that, animals may be checked in at massfishhunt.mass.gov, or brought to one of the MassWildlife offices.
During hunting season, hunters must wear blaze orange, and hikers are also advised to wear blaze orange or neon colors. According to MassWildlife.com, “Although hunting is one of the safest ways to enjoy the outdoors, wearing blaze orange will help minimize your chances of being mistaken for game animals during the hunting season. While hunters are required to wear blaze orange during certain seasons, all outdoor users who are in the woods during hunting seasons should wear blaze orange clothing as a precaution. Pets should also wear an orange vest or bandana for visibility.”
Hunting is allowed half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset, six days a week. All hunting is prohibited on Sundays in Massachusetts.
Although shotgun season ends on Dec. 9, it will be followed by a primitive firearms season this year, Dec. 11-30.
Outside of hunting season, Morris-Siegel, who does not hunt himself and does not eat very much red meat, manages the 50,000 acres of MassWildlife conservation areas in the district, Mount Tekoa in Russell and Hiram Fox in Worthington. He said he’s responsible for boundary marking and monitoring encroachment.