Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Some Massachusetts wildlife questions- wayyyyy OT

Well the house is all sorted, the wife moved in, the belongings sailing across the pond and the cats ready to embark to their new home......just the house to sell here but popping over at the end of the month to help Sandy set stuff up and try and scare the local kids at halloween

I was wondering about some of the local critters roaming the woods as it would appear that im stuck living in the middle of them.

Do pople who have cats have a problem with raccoons, chipmunks n skunks going through cat flaps and getting in the house?

I like a bit of venison ----- if a deer goes on my land - can I just top it and pop it in the freezer or are there certain times that I can only shoot em? The same goes for turkeys.

Every time I ask the missus she kinda looks a bit worried about me planning to go blatting off rounds and has this nervous twitch that I never noticed in the UK

Errrrr I''m thinking I'd better get me rifle first though

ya gotta have a liscense my limey friend.That may entail having to take a hunters safety course before you can go buy one.The same goes for any game critter including and especially turkeys.If you have coons and such and you have a cat door,rest assured that coons are very curious and may find your house very entertaining.If your cats run free and you are very rural there will also be foxes that just love to eat cat.Do the feline a favor and keep it inside.

Wadda ya mean Graham, a bit of "get orf moi laaaand?

As for the turkeys, shooting people is still murder even if they are turkeys,

WARNING USA!!

This guy is gettin' a gun



So if you live in Massachusetts don't go for a walk in the woods.

Sounds like an adventure Graham all the very best mate

You have to go thru a gun safety course just to get an "FID" card. As for hunting there is certain seasons when you can hunt and limits to how many you can get and where you can hunt= NO DISCHARGING OF FIREARMS NEAR RESIDENT'S. Check with your local P.D. (police dept.)!! You have to go there to find out where the gun safety courses are anyway.
You can join a rod and gun club and shoot till your heart's content!!!

Oh, Your gun lic. and hunting lic. are separate, even your hunting lic. depending on what your hunting, like waterfowl, requires "stamps". I haven't been hunting in a few years, so, talk to the local authorities... things change from year to year...

Gawd help the squirrels!!

Graham will be ready to immediately grill his kill

Oh, and the occasional crazed wild turkey has been known to attack a Triumph motorcycle and her rider waiting for a light to change at an intersection. (Not a fun experience, just sayin'.)So, Graham, watch for that...I wonder though, in that case, if one shoots the turkey, could one claim self-defence even without a MA hunting licence?

I kinda figured on getting licenced n stuff. Fortunately for me there is a rod and gun club literally 300 yards up the road and they do the safety courses (and apparently the bar isn't too shabby either).

I was just really curious as to where you stand if stuff goes on your land rather than in the wild - fair game or a bit of a no no.

The cats - I figure they are going to be pretty ok as they tend to leg it on the first opportunity of anything bigger than them.

I was looking at some cat collars that have electronic tags so they can only operate the cat flap so that might be an answer to one of the problems. Trust me Id rather that, than have two cats who are used to being outside, going mental on the inside.

Despite the pictures ........I am a responsible member of society......honest! So hopefully getting licences sorted out shouldn't be too much of a problem, I loved going shooting when I was in the army and wasn't too bad so it'll be quite nice to go n get reaquanited with that after quite a while.

Just make sure you know the password though if you visit the house.

Seriously,Im thrilled to have a Brit over here with us where we take our freedoms so lightly.Hunting and shooting is something you fellas have gotten the crappy end of the stick with.Here you will be able to do it.I used to be an avid competative shooter and could not imagine that part of my life with out it.Welcome to our shores,please enjoy the freedoms we yanks take for granted.More of our Limey cousins should come here if just for awhile and enjoy the shooting sports and take the understanding of it back with them.Maybe you guys could reverse the crap gun laws that have been forced upon you.Welcome,,I mean that.Watch out for the coons,as our boy Gump said,just shoo them off the porch with a broom.