Solid numbers throughout Franklin County highlighted the opening day of the 2018 Massachusetts shotgun deer hunting season.
Monday’s foggy and damp conditions did little to deter local hunters, which combined for 91 deer in the five area checking stations. The total was down from last year’s 110 deer checked on Day 1, but still was the fourth-highest in the past 11 years on opening day.
The lone 200-pound deer of Day 1 was checked into Sunderland Hatchery. Hadley’s Ronald Keith put down a 200-pound, 9-point buck that set the high bar for the season one day into shotgun season.
At Gould’s Sugarhouse in Shelburne, an area-high 35 deer were checked on Day 1 with Dave Fuller, biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife.
Colrain’s Tasha Gilbert bagged her first-ever deer Monday, checking as the first one at Gould’s in the morning with a 142-pound, 6-pointer. Conway’s David Thibault was also a notable check at Gould’s Monday. The 68-year-old made his hunting debut with his son, and snagged a 145-pound, 4-pointer on his maiden voyage.
Grrr Gear in Orange totaled 17 checks Monday, including a slew of sizable bucks. Athol’s Tom Parker scored an 8-point, 181-pound deer, while Leo Paradis of New Salem (176-pound, 9-pointer) and Leverett’s Matthew Howard (176-pound, 6-pointer) also brought in big deer. Just a few days removed from closing out his high school football career with Franklin County Technical School, Erving’s Jared Bergmann put down a deer on opening day with a 175-pound, 7-pointer checked into Grrr Gear.
Sunderland had 14 deer checked on Monday’s opening flurry, including a 10-pointer from Whately’s Timothy Baj. He wound up taking home two bucks on Monday, with deer checking in at 143 and 136 pounds, respectively.
The best name of opening day came from Bitzer Hatchery in Montague. Greenfield’s Craig Hunting lived up to the billing, bagging a 109-pound doe as one of 19 deer checked at that station Monday. The largest deer at Bitzer came from Whately’s Alexander Ross, who turned in a 149-pound, 8-point buck. Montague’s Cody Guilbault was right behind with a 148-pound, 8-pointer. Leverett’s Ethan Howard III checked a 10-point buck at Bitzer, which finished with 19 checks on Day 1.
Here’s a list of all the Day 1 checks:
Gould’s Sugarhouse (35)
Tasha Gilbert, Colrain, 142, 6; Eric Burrington, Northfield, 195, 9; Doug Denn, Northfield, 143, 10; Mark Williams, Williamsville, Vt., 157, 8; Wayne Coulombe Sr., Greenfield, 103, 4; Eric Wallin, Billerica, 93, 4; Kristofer Billiel, Colrain, 166, 8; Christopher Herrman, Conway, 108, 8; Brian Culver, Goshen, 142, 7; Daniel Brisson, Greenfield, 106, 3.
Daniel Brisson, Greenfield, 160, 7; Scott Roberts, Colrain, 188, 8; Deane Roberts, Colrain, 104, doe; Jason Deane, Bernardston, 107, 3; Russell Rosinski, Vernon, Vt., 104, 2; Michael Douglas, Danville, N.H., 116, doe; Joshua Hall, Colrain, 65, doe; Stockton Woodruff, Guilford, Vt., 96, 2; David Thibault, Conway, 145, 4; Drew Haerer, Ashfield, 129, 9.
John Cowan, Northfield, 134, 4; John Holden, Buckland, 164, 8; Art Belanger, Westhampton, 132, 6; Devin Szoc, Northfield, 127, 9; Bradford Lackey, Jacksonville, Vt., 136, 8; Gary Hicks, Lawrence, 93, 2; Nelson Lanoue, Charlemont, 122, 6; Derrick Call, Colrain, 77, bb; Timothy Squires, Guilford, Vt., 126, 6; Douglas Beckwith, Bernardston, 154, 8.
Bradley Baker, Leyden, 138, 8; Richard Lanoue, Ashfield, 145, 8; John Thorndike, Ashfield, 102, 3; Sean Dupuis, West Halifax, Vt., 105, 5; Steven Richard, Enfield, Maine, 155, 6.
Bitzer Hatchery (19)
William Arsenault, Northfield, 107, 6; Cody P. Guilbault, Montague, 148, 8; Alexander Ross, Whately, 149, 8; Robert Drumgool, Deerfield, 146, 8; David LaBelle Sr., Erving, 111, 2; Anthony Bompastore, Greenfield, 113, 5; Donald Johnston, Greenfield, 83, doe; Christopher Allen, Leverett, 134, 8; Daniel Gray, Warwick, 92, 2; Lance Bristol, Greenfield, 121, 6. Geoffrey Ellis, Turners Falls, 64, doe; Jacob Salls, Brookfield, 145, 6; Philip Harrington, Erving, 117, 6; Peter Glazier, Leverett, 108, 5; Ethan Howard III, Leverett, 139, 10; Michael Chamberlain, Greenfield, 123, 5; Paul Curtiss, Erving, 126, 5; Craig Hunting, Greenfield, 109, doe; Stephen Terounzo, Turners Falls, 131, 6.
Grrr Gear (17)
Dustin Fisher, Orange, 103, 4; Omer Arsenault, Gardner, 73, bb; Brandon Breault, Erving, 136, 2; David McKemmie, Sunderland, 105, doe; Ronald Rich Jr., Barre, 107, 6; Stephen Salkaus, Petersham, 110, 7; Dwayne Bezio, Erving, 141, 5; Paul Vescovi Jr., Athol, 96, doe; Kris Lusco, Winchendon, 153, 8; Jared Bergmann, Erving, 175, 7.
Thomas Richardson, Wendell, 114, doe; Phillip Colby, Petersham, 92, 5; Matthew Howard, Leverett, 176, 6; Leo Paradis, New Salem, 176, 9; Tom Parker, Athol, 181, 8; Leonard Crossman Sr., Orange, 103, spike; Robert Hubbard Jr., Warwick, 107, 3.
Sunderland Hatchery(14)
Daniel Telega, South Deerfield, 119 pounds, 4 points; Richard Adamcek, Whately, 101, doe; Ronald W. Keith, Hadley, 200, 9; Mark Haradon, Holyoke, 110, 2; George Kamansky, Leverett, 155, 8; Roger Baranoski, Guilford, Vt., 145, 6; Timothy Baj, Whately, 136, 4; Timothy Baj, Whately, 143, 10; Alan Sanderson, Whately, 145, 5; Edwin Thurston, Whately, 121, 6. Adam Williams, Deerfield, 123, 5; Michael Dagilus, Montague, 195, 7; David Kordiewski, North Hatfield, 110, 6; Shauna Visneau, Pelham, 95, 2.
Overwatch Outpost (6)
Peter Ward, Buckland, 150, 9; Joseph Thane, Rowe, 101, 3; Michael Laffond, Rowe, 180, 3; Jesse Burdick, Drury, 153, 7; Christopher Monroe, Somerset, 101, 3; Brian Johnston, Colrain, 139, 7.
