Summer hunters heading to the Massachusetts woods can only harvest gray squirrels, and that season is open only in late summer.
Summer, as defined in
the Farmer’s Almanac, begins the third week of June and runs through the third week of September, but for hunting purposes, the only animal legally hunted at the end of this time frame is the gray squirrel.
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A state-issued hunting license is required to take any animal in Massachusetts, and hunter orange must be worn while in the woods. The
state's Division of Fisheries & Wildlife website specifies special permitting requirements.
All hunters must successfully complete a basic hunter education course to buy a Massachusetts hunting license or have held a license prior to 2007. Non-residents must have a valid Massachusetts hunting license to take any animal in the state by any means,
the MDFW said.
Beginning at the end of the third week in September, hunters will be able to take gray squirrels in zones 1 to 9. The end of the season for hunting these tree critters is the 2nd of January.
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Gray squirrels are abundant in Massachusetts with adults averaging 15 to 20 inches in length and weighing up to 1.5 pounds. Typically they are gray, but there are also black squirrels in the Westfield area. Red squirrels are usually found everywhere except Nantucket island. Although they are an important natural resource to the state, gray squirrels are also classified as a game species, according to the
Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Gray squirrels can be hunted with rifles and handguns of any caliber permitted in the hunting zones; however, no netting or trapping is allowed. Shotguns or bow and arrow are only allowed for hunting the squirrels during pheasant and quail seasons, and they must be taken between half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Those hours adjust from sunrise to sunset during open season on pheasant and quail. Hunting with birds of prey is allowed under special permit from the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, but consult the dates and regulations for their use during migratory bird season. That list is published yearly in September.
This article is for information only. Please check current regulations before hunting.
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