You need to contact the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or the Game Wardens or both. Inquiring about the legality and methodology of hunting shouldn't be taken lightly, nor learned via reddit.

Especially with land use and hunting on that land. There are so many factors that need to be considered when hunting. Your backdrop and proximity to humans is paramount, not to mention simple permission.

Super cool you want to get into hunting, but it sounds like you have some serious research ahead of you. Safety is the name of the game - for you, the humans around you, and the animals you'll encounter.

Do your homework offline and Best of luck.

Not very easy hunting them this time of year outside of trapping. I think you should take time to study up first and give it a go next year. Read the rulebook, learn to field dress them. Download a property line map or ask your town office for property lines but generally if land doesn't have no hunting signs or purple painted trees you're good to go, but still figure out who owns what land and ask. Hunter's safety course is probably a good idea too and you can ask all kinds of questions there

12 ga with full bore turkey loads is hellish overkill. I would lean more toward 2 3/4" #6 shot with a mod or ic choke. High brass or low brass should work. #5 shot might even be better, but you can dial it in with experience. They move fast, do be ready. As you are walking, take frequent pauses of a minute or so, as this can encourage them to break cover while also giving you a chance to spot them. Lastly, i look for eyes and small, twitchy movements. The glint of the sun off an eye is a dead giveaway that you need to look closer.

Good luck. Small game hunting is fun, tasty, and a great way to learn.

Btw, the white mtn natl forest over by gilead is a huge tract of land that you can walk all day on without worry, but there are seasonal road closures. Get a maine gazeteer and look for land. Most wma properties allow hunting and the ifw site has a list of what hunting is allowed on each of them.

Happy hunting!

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting/laws-rules/season-dates-bag-limits.html

unfortunately it’s late in the hunting season unless you want to hunt rabbits or squirrels. Might be best to wait till spring

I’ve never hunted them specifically so can’t give you much advice on hares. You can look up laws on the DIF&W website or get them to send you a law book.

You can legally hunt on any land that isn’t specifically posted no hunting, so no worries there. It’s polite, but not required, to ask permission if the area you want to hunt is somebody’s backyard.

I imagine hunting hares in the winter is probably all about looking for their tracks in the snow. I know that people who manage their land for hares leave big piles of brush here and there for them to bed down in, so maybe look for brush piles. Other than that, no idea.

I have a decent amount of hares on my land. There is an area of my woods that had a spruce blight 20 years ago and most of the spruce died and blew down. It’s a little swampy. They LOVE it there. Lots of cover, young spruce and old logs.

Thank you, yes plan is snow shoe

Most successful snowshoe hare hunters are going to be using dogs. Just walking on my own and trying I only ever got one but it was a ton of fun. I had most luck finding them in swail grass and cedar areas on the edge of bogs. The thicker the cover, that’s where they will be. If the snow is crunchy, forget about it. Naturally, their hearing is excellent. I saw the most hares when the snow was soft for walking and actually if it’s snowing I think that little bit of static or white noise gave me auditory cover. I couldn’t believe how big the one I finally harvested was.

I didn't see anyone else say it, but you'll need a hunting license - which requires a hunting safety course (online or in person). That will answer some of your questions..

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting/licenses-permits.html

Depending what you are hunting, consider using a dog