The Strangest Of Places

Don Merry, a bowhunter from Duxbury, a town in the South Shore of Massachusetts, drives up a winding gravel driveway to a large white colonial home. He steps out of the truck and sprays a scent-concealer onto the soles of his shoes before walking over to greet the homeowner, Katina Manning. “You mind if I scout out some spots for the stand and set up a camera?” he asks. Don Merry has 10 stands on eight different public properties and backyards throughout the town of Duxbury, and has been hunting Katina’s property for the past six years. Open communication and even friendship with a wide range of property owners is key to hunting in these suburban woods.

“You are always welcome,” shouts back Katina. They spend the next 20 minutes catching up about family, summer fun, work and, of course, hunting.

An archer can legally hunt as long as they are at least 150 feet away from any public road or highway and 500 feet from a residential home, or have explicit permission from a homeowner to hunt within that 500-foot limit. Navigating the regulations of where an archer can hunt in these suburban environments is tricky. The rules change with the type of land and vary from town to town. Colin Dowd, an archer from Marshfield who was introduced to suburban hunting in the area by Don, says that you cannot hunt in any town-owned conservation land in Marshfield, but you can in Duxbury, which is the next town over. In some cases there are non-hunting zones within a swath of legally huntable forest, depending on what it abuts, such as a campsite. But when it comes to being a private landowner, “If you don’t post your property and it meets the criteria, then it’s huntable. So, basically, you can go anywhere in the state with the exception of some conservation lands,” says Don. In recent years, Don has advocated for himself by going in front of the town's conservation commission to petition to hunt on carefully selected areas of conservation land and has won every time. Lots of dedication is spent learning the law, advocating for the safe hunt, and building relationships with community members in order to hunt comfortably in this human-infused environment. “It takes a lot of research to hunt here, but once you figure it out, it's all worth it,” says Don.

Dave Cederlund, a bowhunter from Hingham, has had a relationship with Anne and Charlie Gregory in Duxbury for 20 years and has been hunting their 10 acres for most of that time. “Dave always gets something,” says Anne as she hands him a gift of homemade bread and butter pickles in appreciation.

Massachusetts is the third-most densely populated state in the country next to Rhode Island and New Jersey, with approximately 6.8 million people squeezed into 10,565 square miles. The deer population in the same area is estimated at 100,000 by state Fish and Wildlife, and the suburban deer like to stick close to the houses. They feel safer next to the homes, where there seems to be no threat, but when they smell humans off the beaten path they instantly become wary. An urban bowhunter is not only navigating the usual hunting challenges, such as learning territory ranges, behavior, biology and tracking techniques, but also a world of tight regulation and taboo.

To be a successful bowhunter in suburbia, one has to be respectful, transparent and understanding of peoples’ discomfort with hunting. It takes time to build healthy relationships with the community and to gain the trust of a property owner. Don says that it's all about respect. “I would love to just dress the deer on site and dump 100 pounds of guts before the drag, but we can't always do that. What if a dog gets into it? Or a person stumbles upon it during a walk?” That kind of behavior would make hunting look bad. A big difference between hunting coastal Massachusetts versus wild open spaces is the culture. “Coming out of the woods dressed in camo with a bow or a gun here, you will get looks,” says Don. “But in Idaho or places like that you'll get a nod and a ‘How'd ya do?’” Fighting any stereotype is a challenge, but Don, Colin, Dave and the others like them seem to be representing the best side of hunting.

Bowhunting between homes in the Bay State is a new tradition in the making. Hunting Plymouth county in this way started to gain traction sometime in the early ‘80s, according to local hunters, with towns such as Andover opening up hunting opportunities as recently as 2010. Don Merry says that “if you were to ask an old-timer right now, they would never think of hunting these woods. They would make their annual trips up to Maine, Vermont or New Hampshier to hunt.” He continues, “Now my son and his friends are getting into it and some of my younger co-workers, like Colin, are also into it now. Sure, I have lost some spots,” he says with a chuckle, “but it's great to see the younger generation picking it up.”

While there is a slight downward trend in hunting across the nation, here in the Northeast, regulations seem to be loosening, opening up new or historically huntable areas. In 2015, deer hunting was made available in the Blue Hills State Reservation for the first time in a century, and is the closest place to Boston where hunting is allowed. Zone 11, Plymouth County, which is home to around 520,000 people, was the most productive zone in the state in 2018, and there are active public hearings to extend the archery season.

Dave Cederlund says, “I never considered hunting Massachusetts. But then I saw all of these deer and thought, ‘Why am I hunting in areas with a lower deer density?’ My success here per hour in the stand is way better than in Vermont and Maine.”

Hunting these fragmented sections of woods close to home is an effective way to manage the inflated deer population, provide local meat and connect with nature. “Because they don't have as much space here, it’s much easier to pattern the deer in the suburbs,” says Dave. Over time, native predators have been eradicated, such as cougars and wolves, and humans have fragmented the lands, thus disrupting the food chain. This has led to an overpopulation of deer; when populations get too high, they increase the threat of tick-borne illnesses and impact the understory of a forest. With larger trees blocking out sunlight, they can eat away at habitat for smaller animals such as chipmunks, rabbits, birds, racoons and foxes, to name a few. Don says that conservation groups all over the country are letting hunting take place for that reason.

Dave Cederlund says, “I never considered hunting Massachusetts. But then I saw all of these deer and thought, ‘Why am I hunting in areas with a lower deer density?’ My success here per hour in the stand is way better than in Vermont and Maine.”

Hunting these fragmented sections of woods close to home is an effective way to manage the inflated deer population, provide local meat and connect with nature. “Because they don't have as much space here, it’s much easier to pattern the deer in the suburbs,” says Dave. Over time, native predators have been eradicated, such as cougars and wolves, and humans have fragmented the lands, thus disrupting the food chain. This has led to an overpopulation of deer; when populations get too high, they increase the threat of tick-borne illnesses and impact the understory of a forest. With larger trees blocking out sunlight, they can eat away at habitat for smaller animals such as chipmunks, rabbits, birds, racoons and foxes, to name a few. Don says that conservation groups all over the country are letting hunting take place for that reason.

The whir of commuting cars and the distant sound of children playing start to fade away with the falling of the sun as the archers relax into position among the tight strips of forest outlining soccer fields, horse farms and homes — there they wait. “I bow hunt for whitetails because I feel a huge connection to them, to nature and the food that they offer,” says Don. With a deep appreciation for the wild, for the animals and the community of people who open up their yards, urban and suburban archers discover that the hunt will take them to the strangest of places.