2009 New Hampshire Deer and Bear Hunting Season Results

CONCORD, N.H. — Based on preliminary deer registration tallies, N.H. hunters harvested 10,390 deer during the 2009 season. This preliminary statewide total kill was down about 5% from the actual 2008 deer kill of 10,916, but is comparable to season results prior to 2006.

Based on these 2009 preliminary registration figures by county (which indicate where deer were registered, not necessarily killed), results were mixed, according to Kent Gustafson, Deer Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Read more

A Warning To Outdoor Users About Echinococcus, From Worms

by

Tom Remington

This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating.

Read more

Picture This!

With all the great stories, equipment, adventures and people out there I thought it would be great to get some pictures.  If you have any pictures from a hunt, your gear or best of all you geared up that would be great.  If you send in pictures I will post on our site as well as putting some of the best pictures on all our sites.  Things I am looking for, but not limited to.

•    Gear: Clothes, utility tools, ATV’s…
•    Favorite weapons: guns, bows, sticks, stones…
•    Best Duck Blind or Hide…
•    You, family or friends dressed for the hunt…
•    Where you hunt

All I need is a digital picture in any PC compatible format and a description of the picture.  You can make the description as long or short as you would like.  If there is a story behind the picture we would love to hear about it.

Send Pictures to:

Todd Krater
U.S. Hunting Today
Managing Editor
todd@ushuntingtoday.com

Note: If you want a picture posted and do not have a digital copy I would be willing to scan it for you.  Please contact me for details.

US Hunting Today reserves the right to refuse any picture for any reason as well as edit it where appropriate.

N.H. HUNTING REPORT — October 23, 2009

Greetings, hunters! Hope you’re having a good season afield. As of mid-week, more than half of moose hunters have been successful. New Hampshire’s deer herd came through last winter in good shape, which bodes well for the upcoming muzzleloader season, which starts October 31 (except in WMU-A where it opens November 2 ); and the firearms deer season, which launches November 11.

YOUTH DEER WEEKEND OCTOBER 24-25 — This year’s Youth Deer Hunting Weekend is upon us (October 24 and 25), providing young hunters 15 years of age or younger the opportunity to take a deer of either sex while accompanied by an adult hunter. The adult must be at least 18 years old, with a valid N.H. hunting license. The youth weekend provides youngsters a chance to learn deer hunting and other outdoor skills that can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. Last year, young hunters took 341 deer during their special weekend. For more info, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Youth_deer_wknd.htm. Read more

Moose Hunt Update – Half of N.H. Moose Hunters Successful So Far

CONCORD, N.H. — As of Wednesday, October 21, a total of 265 moose had been taken in the 2009 New Hampshire moose hunt (158 bulls and 107 cows). That means that just over half (51%) of hunters holding moose permits had succeeded by the mid-way point in the state’s moose hunt, very similar to the hunter success rate at this point in the moose season last year. The nine-day season runs through Sunday, October 25, 2009.

“Hunters have reported seeing a lot of big bulls this year,” said New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Moose Project Leader Kristine Rines. “People have observed quite a few groups of bachelor bulls together, suggesting that the rut, or breeding season, is pretty much over.” Read more

Skinny Moose Media Will Live-Stream Maine Moose Lottery

Mark your calendars! June 18th, 2009 will be the annual drawing for the Maine Moose Lottery. This year 3,015 permits will be drawn and as is usually the case thousands of applicants keep their fingers crossed in hopes of being one of the lucky ones.

This year’s event will be held at the University of Maine at Fort Kent and as last year, Skinny Moose Media, in conjunction with U.S. Hunting Today and Maine Hunting Today, will live-stream the video and audio of the event.

Tom Remington, Vice President of Skinny Moose Media, LLC, author of the Black Bear Blog and Managing Editor of U.S. Hunting Today and Maine Hunting Today, will be on hand at the show to conduct interviews and do the filming of the event. He will have his long time friend and Chief Photographer for Skinny Moose Media, Milt Inman with him to assist and grab tons of candid shots throughout the day and evening. Read more

Does Maine Have A Deer Management Problem? – Part III

If we are to believe the conclusions reached by compiled data at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, we can determine that the deer herd in Maine is healthy. The same data show us that in Northern Maine, most of Eastern Maine and parts of the Western Mountains of Maine have deer densities that are far below management targets and in some cases nearing unsustainable levels.

In Part I, I examined some charts that clearly showed that the number of big-bodied deer and trophy-antlered deer had dropped significantly in Maine since 2002. When Lee Kantar, head deer and moose biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife examined and compared those charts with his own deer harvest and population data, he concluded that the descending registration of trophy deer was in direct proportion to a reduction in deer population and annual deer harvest. Read more

Does Maine Have A Deer Management Problem?: Part II

Indications seem to be everywhere that hunters in Maine aren’t harvesting the big body whitetail deer bucks or the trophy-antlered bucks as they once did. The million dollar question is why?

The state of Maine is notorious for producing big-bodied buck deer, well in excess of 200 pounds on a regular basis. I’ve seen a few of the frighteningly large rack of horns Maine produces as well. Al Wentworth, a legend to many around the state of Maine, has kept track of recorded big deer in Maine for a long time and his charts and graphs show us that the number of trophy deer being registered has dropped significantly, especially between 2002 and 2008.

You can read about this and view the charts in Part I of this article. Read more

Does Maine Have A Deer Management Problem?

I’m reminded of a cartoon clip taken from an old edition of an outdoor magazine that’s nailed firmly to the wall of hunting camp. In the cartoon, two crusty old timers, obviously both have spent their time in the outdoors and have bagged more than their share of game, are reminiscing. Plastered all over the walls of the hunting camp in the cartoon, are so many deer head mounts, you would be hard pressed to find room to put up a 3×5 postcard. One man is speaking to the other and says, “Just ain’t as many deer around here as there used to be!”

Managing herds of whitetail deer in Maine is a chore and that’s an understatement. Not only am I not qualified to do the job, I’m not sure I’d want it because I don’t think I have thick enough skin to take all the heat that comes from hunters, especially when there “just ain’t as many deer around as there used to be.” Read more

Still Time To Enter The New Hampshire Moose Hunt Lottery

CONCORD, N.H. — If you want a chance to hunt moose in New Hampshire this fall, then get your application in for the 2009 New Hampshire Moose Hunt Lottery by the Friday, May 29, 2009 deadline! Enter to win one of 515 New Hampshire moose hunting permits at http://www.HuntNH.com, (you can apply online or print out a mail-in application) or pick up an application from any license agent.

Applicants are encouraged to apply online, since there is less chance of submitting an incomplete application. The entry fee is $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents (nonrefundable). Read more

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