On Monday morning, Dec. 1, Massachusetts deer hunting will begin as hunters, dressed in bright orange, take to the woods. It is the traditional “first Monday after Thanksgiving” opening day of the season. Because of the severe winter conditions of last year, wildlife managers are predicting deer will be harder to find than during the last few record-breaking seasons. If you are planning to hunt this season, take advantage of the opening day crowd. Remember, the average hunter never travels any more than two to three hundred yards into the woods from their vehicle. Get up and out an hour earlier and put your compass or GPS unit to work. Take a reading and get in deep! Determine where the most hunting pressure will come from, and position yourself to be on the receiving end of a wary buck. Typically on opening day, whitetails will be out of their comfort zones and moving unnaturally because of the opening day pressure. Set up near a major escape route that leads to the thickest of the thick, and pay attention to the wind; try to have it blowing in your face. Be patient, stay put, and be ready. It usually takes a while for deer to get there. Remember, mid-morning is when antsy hunters get up to move and could unknowingly push a buck by patient hunters. Locally the season will be open for two full weeks until one half hour after sunset on Dec. 13. The best opportunity to encounter a deer is still from the central part of the state to the east. As a bonus, Black Powder season starts on Dec. 15 and runs to the end of the year. Don’t forget, you need a doe tag to shoot a doe and a primitive firearm stamp. Good Luck. Oh, yes, I almost forgot, just as a friendly reminder, if you are a bow hunter please note that you cannot hunt for deer during Thanksgiving week. This is one of those unusual years where the archery season closes on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.There is a considerable amount of public land open to deer hunting locally. The most popular are Harold Parker State Forest in Middleton, North Andover and North Reading, Rowley State Forest in Rowley, Boxford State Forest, off Route 133 in Georgetown, and Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich. If you don’t mind driving, Berkshire County has over 20,000 acres of land open to public hunting. Ideally, obtaining permission from a private landowner is most desirable, but don’t wait until opening morning. Take a ride this weekend and knock on a few doors. You might be surprised at how successful you can be.At our hunting camp in Maine, deer sightings have been scarce, mostly because of the warm and wet weather, but we haven’t given up yet. The best days of our season have yet to happen. raditionally we all head north to hunting camp in Maine after a hearty Thanksgiving meal with our families. Friday morning prior to first light we hit the woods searching for the elusive whitetail deer. Friday evening, we have what is called the last supper, where the tall tales of the season present and past are remembered and everything edible is consumed.If you are lucky enough to harvest a deer, the following is a list of local deer checking stations in this district: MassWildlife District HQ, Harris St., Acton, 978-263-4347; Willard Brook State Park, Rte. 119, Ashby, 978-597-8802; Essex Aggie, 562 Maple St., Danvers, (978) 265-3220; Martin Burns WMA, Orchard St., Newbury, 978-465-8012; Harold Parker State Forest; 301 Middleton Rd., North Andover, 978-686-3391; Hunter`s Trading Post, 427 Washington St., Weymouth, 781-331-1151; Haverhill Hounds R&G Club, Chadwick Road, Haverhill, (978) 290-0705; and The Sportsman’s Den, 666 Southern Artery, Quincy, 617-770-3884.As part of its Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance program, MassWildlife has been taking samples of brain tissue and lymph nodes from hunter-harvested deer. CWD is a contagious neurological disease fatal to deer, elk, and moose. With the advent of the deer hunting season, MassWildlife would like to remind deer hunters to consider provi