Deer hunting season is in full swing

Shotgun season opens on the Island.

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Daniel Resto wears his orange clothes for safety while hunting in 2014. — File photo by Michael Cummo

Updated Nov. 27

At the end of opening day of shotgun season for deer, hunters congregated at the deer check-in station near the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School to weigh their bounty.

By 5 pm, 20 deer had already been weighed in, although there were no big bucks in the pile. Tick expert and biologist Dick Johnson was helping tag and weigh the deer. Every year during shotgun season, Johnson pulls ticks off the deer and collects them in a plastic vial which he sends to Tufts University for testing. The various species of ticks and any diseases they carry can, according to Johnson, give insight into the prevalence of tick-borne illness on Martha’s Vineyard.

“It’s too early to make any projections at this point; the ticks are collected over the two-week span, and all the data is compiled,” Johnson said. Hunters and biologists alike are hoping for a strong hunting season, which is largely contingent on the success of shotgun hunting.

“We’re hoping to break 800 deer total this year; that would be ideal in lowering the deer population per square mile of habitat,” he said. “It’s estimated there are currently about 40 deer per square mile of habitat.”

The check-in station at the high school isn’t the only one on-Island — Larry’s Bait and Tackle is open to weigh deer daily through Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm, and another station is available at the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). During the second week, hunters can register their harvest online, according to Larry’s.

The shotgun season comes after a six-week bow-hunting season on the Vineyard. Shotgun season runs for two weeks.

Islanders are encouraged to sport their blaze orange hats and sweatshirts — the more orange, the safer you will be while walking in wooded areas.

According to the Massachusetts blaze orange requirements website, hunters looking for deer during shotgun season must wear at least 500 square inches of blaze orange material on their chest, back, and head. Some hunters may worry that wearing blaze orange will hurt their chances of harvesting an animal. While deer are not colorblind, they lack the ability to distinguish colors like red and orange from green and brown. Wearing blaze orange will not matter to the deer, but may save your life, according to the website.

It is illegal to discharge a firearm across any state or hard-surfaced highway, or within 150 feet of a highway. It is also illegal to possess a loaded firearm or discharge a firearm within 500 feet of any dwelling or building in use without the permission of the owner or occupant.

Chilmark and Aquinnah require hunters to have written permission to hunt on any property.

Hunting is allowed from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, Monday through Saturday.

With the deer population on Martha’s Vineyard well above the amount that is considered healthy, shotgun season is the most effective means of culling the swelling numbers. Island drivers should be wary when traveling on dark roads, and should keep an eye out for movement alongside the road; shotgun season stirs up the deer so they are crossing main roads more frequently.

Permitted hunters are allowed two antlered deer per season, and are required to report the kill within 48 hours of harvest.

The shotgun season ends Dec. 8, and is followed by the primitive firearms season, which begins Dec. 10. The deer-hunting season ends Dec. 31.

Updated to include some details from opening day. -Ed.

1 COMMENT

  1. Deer Check in Hours – Larry’s Tackle

    For the first week of shotgun 11/26- 12/1, Larry’s Tackle is open for deer check in from 10am to 3pm Monday through Saturday, and 10am to 1pm on Sunday 12/2.

    A change this year, after the first week of shotgun, hunters can register their harvest online (the same as you did during bow season)

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