One line for the river towns
Taunton Game Meats takes referral calls from the city and from the towns around the Taunton River, Hockomock Swamp WMA, and Erwin S. Wilder WMA. This line connects you with a trusted processing shop in the region. The processor sets the price. The drop-off place is confirmed on the call. This page does not add a street, a drop-off schedule, or a rate, and it does not treat Assonet as a separate town. Assonet is a village of Freetown, so Freetown callers and Assonet callers are on the same list.
The state zone map places the center of Taunton in Wildlife Management Zone 11. That zone fact is why a replacement antlerless permit from a whole-deer donation is worth reading carefully. The permit can cover zones including 11. It usually takes two to four weeks. Before Thanksgiving the program tries to issue it before shotgun. After Thanksgiving the replacement is for the next year. Hunters must use the official Hunters Share the Harvest map. This referral does not claim a trusted processing shop in the region is on that map.
Raynham, the swamp, and Wilder
Raynham callers often come from Route 24, Route 138, or the Prospect Hill Street side of Hockomock Swamp WMA. The published swamp parking is a five-vehicle dirt lot. Erwin S. Wilder WMA borders that swamp country, so a drag can end at a small dirt lot. Quartered acceptance is not confirmed. Until the deer is reported, it stays intact except for field dressing.
Report within 48 hours through MassFishHunt or a check station, and write the confirmation number on the harvest tag. From Monday, November 30 through Saturday, December 5, every deer also needs an in-person check station. Station streets are not listed on this site. Use the official check-station map. Week two, December 7 through December 12, is when online reporting resumes. December 6 is a Sunday, and Sunday hunting is prohibited.
Berkley, Dighton, and the river
Berkley hunters come north into the Taunton conversation after a morning on their side of the Taunton River. Dighton follows Route 138 and the river. Both towns still need a Massachusetts tag and a report before anyone talks about cuts. Deer-derived scents are banned. Un-deboned deer-family carcasses from outside New England are barred. Chronic wasting disease has not been found in Massachusetts. Wear gloves and avoid brain, spinal, and lymph tissue.
A warm October day on the river is a meat-care day. A donation deer is field dressed within four hours unless the air stays under 37°F, and dropped off whole within 24 hours. Meat you keep should not sit in a truck while you search Route 138 for an unpublished address. Call first. The deer processing referral covers unconfirmed cut sheets, sausage, jerky, skin-only work, caping, other species, and capacity. Taxidermy is a separate business. The processor sets the price.
Freetown, Assonet, and Somerset
Freetown and Assonet sit down Route 24 from the Taunton exchanges. Say the village name when you call so the zone conversation stays specific. Somerset callers come along Route 138 and the river, and the town center is in Zone 11. This line connects you either way. It does not publish a different street for a south-of-the-river deer.
Archery in 2026 runs October 5 through November 28. Youth deer hunting is October 2 and October 3. The paraplegic hunt is October 29 through October 31. Shotgun is November 30 through December 12, and primitive firearms run December 14 through December 31. Sundays inside those seasons are closed. The 2026 transport-visibility rule was removed, so the tag, the 48-hour report, and the confirmation number remain the steps that matter.
- Say Taunton, Raynham, Berkley, Dighton, Freetown, Assonet, or Somerset when you call.
- Say whether the deer came from the river, the swamp, Wilder, or Route 140.
- Have the confirmation number on the tag before you ask for a processor.
- Use the official check-station map during shotgun week one.
- Use the official donation map if the deer is a whole-deer gift.