McClory: At last, deer hunting season is here

Monday, hunters in this state will enter the woods at sunrise, dressed in hunter orange for the 2014 opening day of deer season.Because of the mild winter conditions of last year, wildlife managers are predicting above average harvest numbers. If you are planning to hunt this season, take advantage of the opening day crowd. Remember, the average hunter never travels any more than 200-300 yard into the woods from his or her vehicle. Get up and go out an hour earlier and put your compass or GPS to work. Take a reading and get in deep! Determine where the most hunting pressure will come from and position yourself to be in the path of a wary buck. Typically on opening day, because of the increase in activity in the woods, whitetails will be out of their comfort zones and moving unnaturally. Set up near a major escape route that leads to the thickest of the thick, and make sure the wind is in your favor. Be patient and stay put, and be ready because it usually takes a while for deer to get there. Remember, midmorning is when antsy hunters get up to move and could unknowingly push a heavy-weight buck into the direction of patient hunters. Locally, the season will be open for two full weeks until a half hour after sunset on Dec. 13. The best opportunity to encounter a deer is still from the central part of the state to the east. As a bonus, black powder season starts on Dec. 15 and runs to the end of the year. Don’t forget you need a doe tag to shoot a doe and a primitive firearm stamp. Good luck, and be safe.If you are fortunate enough to harvest a deer it must be checked in within 48 hours from the time of kill. The Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife reminds deer hunters that during the shotgun deer season all harvested deer must be checked at a physical check station. Online checking through MassFishHunt will not be available during this time. Reporting deer at check stations during this time period allows DFW biologists to collect valuable data needed for deer management.The following is a list of local deer checking stations in this district: MassWildlife Northeast District HQ, 85 Fitchburg Road (Rt. 2A), Ayer, 978-772-2145; Martin Burns WMA, Orchard St., Newbury, 978-465-8012; Harold Parker State Forest, 301 Middleton Rd. North Andover, 978-686-3391; Hunter`s Trading Post, 0 Winter St., Weymouth, 781-331-1151; Danvers Fish and Game, 20 Birch Rd., Middleton, 978-774-9870; Essex Agricultural and Technical High School, 562 Maple St., Danvers, 978-265-3220; Merrimac Sports, 130 E. Main St., Merrimac, 978-346-8835; A. Arena & Sons, 159 Ash St. Hopkinton 508-435-3673; and Tepee Archery 120 Main St., Acton, 978-635-0550.Over the years I have noticed a lot of hunters neglecting to tag their deer prior to dressing it and dragging it to their vehicles. Here are the steps required by law to insure that you do not have your deer confiscated if you are caught by a warden. Attach your tag to a black bear, deer or turkey immediately upon harvesting the animal. Report the harvest of the black bear, deer or turkey by bringing the field-dressed (not skinned or butchered) carcass animal to a check station within 48 hours of the harvest where an official metal or plastic seal will be attached to the animal. Keep the official (metal or plastic) seal attached to the game until butchered, brought to a meat processor or a taxidermist to be prepared for mounting or tanning, or the pelt is tanned or sold.New Hampshire’s regular firearms deer hunting is going well, as hunters look forward to time afield during the Thanksgiving holiday week. Through Nov. 16 hunters took an estimated 8,119 deer in New Hampshire. The statewide total to date represents an 11 percent decrease for the same time last year. “While down a bit from the past two years, the deer kill to date is still the fourth highest in the last nine years,” said Dan Bergeron, deer project leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “The next couple of weeks, including the