Don't forget your "Hunter Orange"!

New regulations for hunting this year: Please be careful out there!
We are in zone 11, and there has been some changes to the hunting regulations this year:
Effective October 12, 2012-
WILD TURKEY HUNTING REGULATIONS

Effective October 12, 2012, several new hunting regulations have been promulgated which expand wild turkey hunting opportunities across the state. These regulations take effect in time for the 2012 fall turkey hunting season.

1) Wildlife Management Zones (WMZ) 10, 11, and 12, which encompasses eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, will open for the fall wild turkey hunting season. Previously, the fall wild turkey hunting season was open in only WMZs 1-9 and 13; central and western Massachusetts and Martha's Vineyard.

2) The statewide fall wild turkey hunting season has been lengthened from one week to a two- week season. Fall wild turkey hunting season will begin on the second to last Monday in October and continue for 2 weeks. The 2012 fall hunting season dates are October 22 - November 3, 2012.

3) Permissible shot sizes for wild turkey hunting have been expanded to include #7 shot. Formerly, shot sizes were limited to #4 - #6 for wild turkey hunting.
Fall wild turkey hunters are reminded that wild turkey hunting hours during this season begin one half hour before sunrise and end one half hour after sunset. Only those turkey hunters who did NOT harvest a season limit of 2 birds during the spring season are eligible for fall turkey hunting where 1 turkey of either sex may be harvested. All other regulations relative to wild turkey hunting apply.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/regulations/regulations_turkey_deer_2012.htm
More helpful links


http://www.eregulations.com/massachusetts/huntingandfishing/quick-reference-guide/
http://www.eregulations.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/12MAAB_Quick_Reference_List.pdf
Also here are some fun facts from the dept of fish and wildlife calendar for late October:

•Bullfrogs, snapping turtles and garter snakes are going into hibernation.

•Juncos, often called snowbirds, begin to arrive from their summer breeding areas in northern New England and Canada.

•Woodchucks are beginning to seek out hibernation areas. Their body temperature and breathing rate will drop and they will no longer excrete, an unusual physiological phenomenon.


http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/calendar/calendar.htm