Is it possible to escape hunters, ATVs and noise in a rural area? (Boston: fit in, how much)

[mdovell]

I grew up on the South Shore. A rifle range was down the town. Gunshots are like white noise, it's more of an echo. Also rifle ranges are not considered hunting so it doesn't stop on Sundays.

I've never seen animals strung up. Do you really want to live in a rural area or just visit a park?

Rural in mass are towns of 10,000 or less. You'll most likely have a well, a septic tank, have a harder time with cell and data, public lighting.

Maybe try Barre or Plympton

[msRB311]

I lived in Vermont for about 5 years and I never had to deal with seeing people hunting. I recall one time seeing a truck drive by with a dead deer on it. There were times I'd see dead deer in the road because they'd been hit but that was rare as well.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Tupaloop

Hello Mass folks, I desperately need your insight.

My husband and I are looking to relocate to somewhere in New England. We have our sights on western Mass and southern NH (Peterborough area). But we are running into massive obstacles and I'm afraid what we are seeking may not exist.

We have strong aversion to hunting and don't want to see it or hear it. We also don't want to see dead animals strung up from trees in people's yards. We don't vibe with that culture at all and want to get as far away from it as possible, short of moving to Hawaii or California. We want to be able to hike during all seasons without covering ourselves in blaze orange from head to toe to avoid being shot.

Peace and quiet is also extremely important to us. We eventually want to turn our property into a wildlife sanctuary with the intention of donating it to a trust after we're gone.

I've heard the horror stories of people on rural properties being awoken by gunfire, finding gut piles and tree stands on their posted land, or having hunters' arrows go whizzing by their heads.

Can anyone point me to rural towns in western Mass that are not full of hunters and ATV trails? Any towns with state parks with ample hiking trails that prohibit hunting?

Thanks!

You are in for a shock in CA or HA. Unless you are right on the coast looking at dead fish you are going to be in zones that allow hunting and shooting. There is probably more land in CA that allows unlimited hunting and shooting than any other State. I've never heard of a hiker getting shot and we don't even force people to wear orange. All we wear is camo.

Horror stories.... ah ha ha hha haaaa ha. Hilarious.

[Amontillado]

Earlier this month,

Hiker Accidentally Shot by Hunter After Being Mistaken for Turkey: 'Should Have Never Happened':


https://people.com/human-interest/mi...-for-a-turkey/

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Amontillado

Earlier this month:

https://people.com/human-interest/mi...-for-a-turkey/

15 million hunters in the US. Compare that to big city ghetto/barrio shootings. I think you are much safer in the woods. You'd have a bigger chance of getting covid and ran over by a moose all in the same day than an accidental hunting issue. I've never had a gun pulled on me in the woods but have in the city.

[Amontillado]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

15 million hunters in the US. Compare that to big city ghetto/barrio shootings. I think you are much safer in the woods.

There you are correct. But is there anywhere to escape careless guys with guns? (Or downright malicious guys.)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by timberline742

You're going to need to purchase a very large lot of land to buffer yourself. Very very large.


The state parks without any hunting are few (archery at least is allowed on most, even a lot of the formerly closed to hunting DCR quabbin land allows it now), but they're going to be in eastern mass in towns with discharge prohibitions. And they'll be small.
You may find some places in Sheffield/Great Barrington areas owned by TNC/TTOR that don't allow hunting, but most are coming around to at least allow archery hunting of deer, for good reason.
Honestly, hunting is part of rural life.
But you can hike Sundays without safety orange as hunting is not allowed on Sundays. So.
And snowmobile and ATV trails are common as well and part of rural life.
Hunters are supposed to bury gut piles, or cover them with leaves, but some are better than others.
Unless you're wealthy enough to buy hundreds, if not thousands of acres, you will not find what you're seeking.
VT and Mass harvest roughly the same amount of deer every year, 15k plus or minus. Mass would surpass it if we had Sunday hunting like VT. Maine has double, but its a much larger land mass. Plenty of hunting in Mass.

Normally gut piles disappear overnight from coyotes.

I love hunting the edges of these "preserves". It's like a grocery store of dumb animals. High fences would be the only way to keep game animals in and that's talking millions of dollars for any ranch of any size.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

15 million hunters in the US. Compare that to big city ghetto/barrio shootings. I think you are much safer in the woods. You'd have a bigger chance of getting covid and ran over by a moose all in the same day than an accidental hunting issue. I've never had a gun pulled on me in the woods but have in the city.

Not in Vermont with drunk out-of-staters during deer rifle season. The locals get their deer that first Saturday morning and get out before the yahoos show up. Then it's dogs indoors, cows in the barn, and no walks in the woods for a couple of weeks. There's a big difference between Vermonters who grow up with firearm safety and the flatlanders in hunting camps.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Not in Vermont with drunk out-of-staters during deer rifle season. The locals get their deer that first Saturday morning and get out before the yahoos show up. Then it's dogs indoors, cows in the barn, and no walks in the woods for a couple of weeks. There's a big difference between Vermonters who grow up with firearm safety and the flatlanders in hunting camps.

Drunk hunting isn't legal in any State. Why isn't it being enforced?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Drunk hunting isn't legal in any State. Why isn't it being enforced?

Yeah funny I'm not aware of a North Woods Law "Vermont", but you'd think with the popularity of those shows people wouldn't be so stupid.