Hi all, I am brand new to hunting in any fashion, but am trying to get started with my 14 year old son. I went to a local archery range over the weekend to get a lesson in how to shoot a bow (they taught us on a recurve bow, not compound). They did sell compounds, but they were very pricey and Bass Pro Shops had some less expensive models that I will most likely end up buying. Any suggestions on archery ranges close to Melrose (in northeast Mass)? Also, my next question is how to get started with hunting, are there local guided hunts that you can take where someone is with you to teach you the ropes? Learning where to go and what to do is my biggest concern. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you
You'll be pleasantly surprised what's in your back yard... Well North of Boston anyways I personaly don't hunt Mass but my buddy does (his pic shown) 243lb. 11-pointer scoring 183" - a real corker!!! He has done extreamly well with a man cave to die for, many-many nice bucks. Mass has produced some pretty nice bucks the last 10-years, if you want to hunt deer verses shooting deer you need to put some boot leather on the ground and get creative in suburban conditions. If your looking for a guided hunt I couldn't help you much, but if your looking for some hunting advice I would be glad to make some suggestions, shoot me an email and I'll chat a bit more with specifics about some S. NH hunting that could translate to your areas...
Hey Derek, I can't help you much in the way of where to go. However, I recommend you find all the local shops, visit each one, and talk to the guys. To help save on cost, buy a good used bow. We all on here know you don't get jack for a used bow. Now visit that shop a lot. Shoot there once a week. Eventually you'll learn a lot about the hunting around.
derek, for whatever reason I was looking up the public land hunting spots in Massachusetts a month or so ago. Man you guys have a good amount of public land acreage to hunt. Here is a link... http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/wma/wma_maps.htm
I too am new to all this, well bow wise, been gun hunting for some time..... My humble advise on finding a bow, would be to find a local pro shop, if you can find a good one, they will be more than willing to help you along the way, it has been my experience that the big box stores are interested in one thing, selling you something and seeing you walk out the door, you can get to know the guys at a local shop, much better service IMO, at least in my case...... Good luck... have FUN !!!!!
Derek...don't worry about guided hunts. Go walk the grounds you want to hunt come fall and just explore. Find the deer sign. If you have difficulty finding the deer sign or don't know what to look for, just ask. We will all answer. This part of your hunting "career" should be a blast, almost magical. Just walk out into the woods, find a spot you think deer are going to cross by, and hunt. Repeat. There are some bows that bh.com sells right here. Many are "package" bows which means they are fully set-up when they arrive at your door. In your case and with your son I suggest you utilize that option. It will allow you to focus on your shooting and your scouting for new spots to hunt. Here is a link to the bows on this website. Good prices. If you buy one from Cabelas or Bass Pro get a package bow. http://www.bowhunting.com/shopping/Departments/Bows/Compound-Bows.aspx#cs
Welcome. I live in Boston but am from NH and do all my hunting up there. I'm thinking about getting my mass license this year but would only hunt in western ma as the woods get over crowded to the east. As for an archery shop/ range I recommend Big Al's Archery in Seabrook NH just over the border. They sell Hoyt and Bowtech but I go there and shoot my z7. They will work on any bow despite whether or not you bought it from them. The owner of the shop is one of the top shooters in the world. I am taking lessons from him now and man what a difference. Another shop I go to is Reedy's Archery in south east ma. Forget the exact town. Nice range in there too. They sell Mathews, hoyt, elite, mission by Mathews, as well as some others. Pretty well known shop. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Thanks for the input, we are going back to the range this weekend to shoot some more and will talk to them about fitting us for bows so we can also practice at home.
Welcome to the obession of bowhunting and archery. Hope you continue to enjoy w/ your son. Sounds like you've got some good solid advice. -Chris
Any update? Have you gotten a chance to get into the woods? I'd say the most important thing is to hunt with the wind at your face. Look for places with a lot of deer sign. The rest you will learn as you go. If you're doing it right you'll be spending a lot of time in the woods ! http://huntingmassachusetts.blogspot.com
