Western MA Hunter the buck pictured above was shot in southeastern MA, heres a photo of 3 Pope and young bucks I have taken locally. The two on the left were also from southeastern MA ( 10 pt and 7 pt)and the one on the right (9 pt) was close to you in CT Housatonic State Forest and weighed approx 215 lbs.
I really dont have a honey hole as all the bucks were taken miles from each other but try to locate mature bucks through a lot of winter and fall scouting. I truly have been blessed with my share of good fortune. At the time of entry it was believed that the center buck which had to be scored as a six point was the largest six point from Ma in the book. The CT was taken in September and has a beautifull short summer coat, the seven point I had mounted in an aggressive pose with head down and ears back and down but really am not happy with the pose and have talked about possibly having it changed.
Best of luck
BD