Is it possible to escape hunters, ATVs and noise in a rural area? (Boston: house, buying)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Drunk hunting isn't legal in any State. Why isn't it being enforced?

Rural Vermont towns don't have police. Vermont state troopers are happy to bust DUIs because there's a big pile of revenue in it. They're not going to head into the woods looking for drunk flatlanders with hunting rifles. Fish & Game has 130 staff to cover the whole state. My Massachusetts town of 32,000 has 70+ cops on payroll.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Drunk hunting isn't legal in any State. Why isn't it being enforced?

Who says it's not enforced? Like any other law violation police respond to either an incident committed in their presence or a report. I'm sure some states do directed patrol and inspections of hunters, but there aren't armies of rangers or cops roaming the woods.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by Tupaloop

Hello Mass folks, I desperately need your insight.

My husband and I are looking to relocate to somewhere in New England. We have our sights on western Mass and southern NH (Peterborough area). But we are running into massive obstacles and I'm afraid what we are seeking may not exist.

We have strong aversion to hunting and don't want to see it or hear it. We also don't want to see dead animals strung up from trees in people's yards. We don't vibe with that culture at all and want to get as far away from it as possible, short of moving to Hawaii or California. We want to be able to hike during all seasons without covering ourselves in blaze orange from head to toe to avoid being shot.

Peace and quiet is also extremely important to us. We eventually want to turn our property into a wildlife sanctuary with the intention of donating it to a trust after we're gone.

I've heard the horror stories of people on rural properties being awoken by gunfire, finding gut piles and tree stands on their posted land, or having hunters' arrows go whizzing by their heads.

Can anyone point me to rural towns in western Mass that are not full of hunters and ATV trails? Any towns with state parks with ample hiking trails that prohibit hunting?

Thanks!

Ive never seen this ever. You must be really unlucky where you go to in MA.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by msRB311

This is an odd post. I've lived in the Boston area my whole life and I've never seen dead animals strewn up in someone's yard. This isn't VT or rural ME.

They aren't looking to live in the Boston suburbs.

[msRB311]

Yeah thanks I figured that out.

[Tupaloop]

So many helpful responses. I will be researching the great suggestions today. Please keep them coming and thank you!

Just for additional clarification, we definitely aren't rich! But we have managed to save enough to escape the crowds and immerse ourselves in quiet solitude, if we are able to find it. We are nature-loving loners from South Jersey who no longer want to bump shoulders with neighbors. We know exactly what we want but it's proving very difficult to find a rural location that isn't overrun with guns and people with noisy pastimes.

To the nice folks that have suggested this, we have considered buying more land to create a buffer, but we don't want to deal with the stress of having to continually post and patrol that land (every year fresh signs, name and address, every so many feet, etc, etc) in order to keep it safe. Being a terribly anxious person, I will be in a constant state of stress about who is on our land and why, so that won't work unfortunately.

And by the way, we love Mass on paper and google maps, but admittedly haven't spent all that much time there. We've been to the Berkshires twice, but that's the extent of it. We've spent a whole lot more time vacationing in NH, but I don't think we would survive living there with all the hunting and ATV (noise) culture. So we think maybe western Mass would be closer to our comfort level since it's mostly liberal, less crowded and has an abundance of natural beauty. Is our vision of western Mass a skewed fantasy?

As far as the sanctuary we want to create, it's mostly going to be geared toward pollinators and birds - they really do need the help. But being advocates for all animals, we also envision a place for wildlife to feel safe and welcome. We are more comfortable around animals than people and don't mind deer eating our flowers. They can have all they want - we humans have taken enough away from them - we want to give back without conditions. I cannot stress enough how much we both love animals and that is why having to listen to them being shot on a regular basis would be profoundly detrimental to our mental health.

So on paper, the following towns look promising because it's our understanding that hunters are required to get written permission from landowners to hunt their land, unlike the open land policies elsewhere that put the burden on the landowner to keep trespassers out. I would love to hear what you know about these towns:

West Stockbridge
Middlefield
Sheffield
Sandisfield
Blandford
New Marlborough
Tyringham
Alford
Monterey
Tolland

Thanks again to all the nice Mass people for your insight! So far you are not living up to your unfair reputation. Being from NJ we get the same bad rap, so I feel for you.

[Tupaloop]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I certainly see deer strung up and tagged in my town. The deer population is out of control here and hunting is a good thing. Around here, more deer are taken during archery season than gun season.

May I ask what area you are in so we can be sure to avoid it? With dead dear hanging from trees in plain sight, it sounds like our worst nightmare. And I'm sure you don't want the likes of us moving next door to you anyhow.

[NaleyRocks]

I don’t have any knowledge of these areas but wanted to say kuddos to the OP for looking for a place that fits your values. As someone who lives in upstate rural NY, I appreciate that you’re looking for a place where you fit instead of moving to a place and trying to change it. I hope you find what you’re looking for- we should all have a place we can enjoy.

[Tupaloop]

Originally Posted by mdovell

I grew up on the South Shore. A rifle range was down the town. Gunshots are like white noise, it's more of an echo. Also rifle ranges are not considered hunting so it doesn't stop on Sundays.

I've never seen animals strung up. Do you really want to live in a rural area or just visit a park?

Rural in mass are towns of 10,000 or less. You'll most likely have a well, a septic tank, have a harder time with cell and data, public lighting.

Maybe try Barre or Plympton

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check out those towns.

I didn't realize target practice was permitted on Sundays in Mass. Btw, it does appear that pro-hunting groups are lobbying the state to allow hunting on Sundays and there is a bill up for consideration. I hope it gets shot down (pun intended). Hikers, bikers, birders, etc should have at least one day a week in the woods during any and all seasons where they don't have to fear for their lives.

To answer your question, we don't necessarily have to live in a rural area, but since we want a decent amount of land (min 10 acres) we thought rural would be our best/only option. We are certainly open to living on the outer edge of a small quiet town, especially if that town has strict hunting and noise regulations, to avoid being in a rural zone.

Thanks for the feedback!

[BostonMike7]

I’m somewhat immersed in that lifestyle and I don’t see it as much as the OP claims. Mass is probably one of the better states for this. Hunting isn’t as big here as it is in other states. Plenty of my peers leave the state to do their hunting elsewhere just because of some of the limitations and lack of decent hunting areas where we all live.

While I think you can find solitude from hunting, it will be tough to escape the snowmobiles and atvs that ride around in rural areas. Those are more prevalent and even where illegal you will find it being done, especially in rural areas where police aren’t as prevalent.

Of course it’s tough to get a sense of how “rural” you are talking about. It’s entirelynposssible to find secluded areas inside 495 where you can still get to shopping and other essentials within 15/20 mins. However, there are still shooting ranges and such where you will hear gunfire. I can hear gunfire from a firing range near my work near I95. Mass might not have a strong gun culture, but it’s far from devoid of guns.