Blue Hills Shotgun Deer Hunt Starts This Week

MILTON, MA – The shotgun portion of the Blue Hills Reservation deer hunt returns this week, with a broader scope than in years past. The hunt was first implemented by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Fish and Game in 2015 to control the deer population on the reservation. Hunting had previously been outlawed on the land.

According to Department of Conservation and Recreation statistics, 58 deer were killed during last year's four-day hunt, including 27 fawns. The DCR estimates that the hunt resulted in 98 fewer deer on the reservation this past spring, including the number of potential young that may have been added to the herd.

This year, the hunt includes 133 shotgun hunters on 4,026 acres of land. Seventy-five archery hunters were allotted 790 acres of land earlier this month. This is the second year that archery hunters were included in the hunt.

Last year, 15 archers were permitted to hunt on 226 acres of land, and 117 shotgun hunters were allotted 3,495 acres.

The shotgun hunt will take place on Nov. 28, Nov. 30, Dec. 5 and Dec. 7.

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