Massachusetts Hunting Season Continues With Strict Rules Across The State

Hard to believe it's almost the end of 2026 already. Where has time gone? With cooler weather here, it's not too late to talk about hunting season. While I'm not a hunter, I do have a few buddies who take advantage of this sport every year.

Some people are against this sport altogether because they think it's cruel to wildlife; hunters are mean because they shoot animals for fun. This isn't true because the Commonwealth has strict rules and regulations governing hunting.

Aerial view of traffic moving on Interstate 95, Miami, Florida, USA.

So which places prohibit hunting here in the Baystate?

While Western and Central Massachusetts have plenty of wilderness full of wildlife, the biggest issue for hunting seems to be in Eastern Massachusetts, past I-495, heading toward Boston. It makes sense: with crime as bad as it is, you don't want to mistake gunfire near the city for something else when it's just an innocent hunter hunting wildlife.

Hunting isn't completely forbidden in Eastern Massachusetts, but there are rules and regulations, as with everything else. Mainly, you need written permission from property owners, since much of the land in this part of Massachusetts is privately owned. Also, the law states that you cannot discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a residence.

Here's a list of towns that require permission from property owners to hunt on their land or from the authorities in that town:

• Acton
• Essex
• Milton
• Swampscott
• Andover
• Framingham
• Monterey
• Tolland
• Alford
• Georgetown
• Natick
• Topsfield
• Bedford
• Gosnold
• Needham
• Tyngsboro
• Beverly
• Groveland
• New Marlboro
• Tyringham
• Billerica
• Hamilton
• Newbury
• Walpole
• Blandford
• Hampden
• North Andover
• Waltham
• Bolton
• Harvard
• Northboro
• Wayland
• Boxford
• Holliston
• Norwood
• Wellesley
• Boxborough
• Hull
• Peabody
• Wenham
• Brewster
• Ipswich
• Reading
• Weston
• Brookline
• Lincoln
• Rowley
• Westboro
• Carlisle
• Littleton
• Sandisfield
• Westford
• Chelmsford
• Lunenburg
• Saugus
• Westwood
• Concord
• Medfield
• Seekonk
• West Newbury
• Cuttyhunk
• Methuen
• Sheffield
• West Stockbridge
• Danvers
• Middlefield
• Sherborn
• West Tisbury
• Dover
• Middleton
• Southboro
• Wilbraham
• Dracut
• Millis
• Stow
• Dunstable
• Sudbury
• East Longmeadow

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