Beans Morocco

Just curious...I' m an ex-pat Yankee who has lived in Colorado the last 16 years. I grew up hunting Whitetails in VT, NH and Maine in the Rutland, Lake Sunapee and Framington areas, respectively and am curious about the state of deer hunting back on the " old sod" . Any hunting relatives or friends I had back there have either passed or have moved away. Jus' wondering. What' s your take on overall populations, buck quality and hunter density compared to a decade and a half ago?

MA Jay

Beans-

I grew up tagging along with my father in Vermont at their deer camp and can say the deer hunting is no better, maybe worse than it was then. A LOT more posted land then there used to be. NH.... I love NH. The deer herd is ok, not great, but there are some very large very cagey bucks running around. The bucks that do get shot tend to be 3+ years old with good body weights. Plus you have to love the law that states that ANY land that is not posted is open to hunting. Maine is probably the biggest change. Southern Maine has higher deer densities than ever and it doesn' t seem to be all that hard to get permission. I don' t hunt Maine very often but when I do I really enjoy it. Last year we had a lot of snow early making for some great hunting for those willing to get tired heading into the timber. The lakes region in NH has a pretty good population this year, I' d say a little better than in years past. Of the 3 states.. Vermont is by far the worst..with NH and Maine about even in my opinion. The fun thing is there are more moose then ever in southern NE and they make for some interesting experiences while deer hunting.

Hunter densities are less than they used to be across the board.

mfrofadventure

I' d agree with MA Jay' s assessment. Most of my experience is in NH...yes, Lake Sunapee reagon. We have a decent deer population, however, in recent years the winters have been very severe in terms of snow fall. Deer have suffered significantly from this, especially in Sullivan and Merrimack Counties. The amount of farm land in NH is definately down from when you left. Farmers are bailing out and selling to developers. Residential housing is going up, farmers are going away. However, there is still a substantial amount of huntable land (MOUNTAINS!) Many many acres...not too many deer per acre...lots of time to even find sign (at times). Very chalenging, but when you find deer, they' re usually very nice! As mentioned, moose populations have gone way up...saw 11 last year while deer hunting (only saw two deer!) I had a visit from a full-grown bull...five yards away from my tree stand...never saw me. Exciting.

MKMGOBL

The deer are doing great in my hunting areas This guy was taken last year in NH during blackpowder season. He tipped the scales at 179lb. The other pic was taken 2 1/2 weeks ago. I haven' t been able to get a shot off yet but hopefuly soon and I think he' ll be real close to tipping the scale around 200lb. This guy had two scapes made a few days after the pic was taken. The bear numbers are off the charts this year. I' ve got at least 6 different bears I could be hunting and two people asking me to hunt the bears that visits their yards. I' m seeing these guys every where!

Old Shep

Maine has some super deer. I' m down by the midcoast and just about everyone I know who puts in for a doe permit gets one. Some beautiful bucks around but if you' ve hunted Maine, you know " It ain' t easy" Woods are thick and not enough hunters to get them moving.. Good thing is usually we have some snow to help out.. Hunter numbers are down according to license sales.. From about 220,000 licensed hunters to about 185,000 now.. And dropping every year. Still lots of good access everywhere except southern Maine. The south counties now have so many deer that you can purchase an unlimited number of bow tags for counties like York. Just fill one and buy another!! The North Woods are about the same I think.. Not many deer but some real Monsters!! I hunted up at my camp in the Rangeley area last fall and had an enormous set of tracks criss crossing my hunting area. Never did see him but wanted too bad!! My buddys son took a great 8 pointer on the last day of the season near there but it definately didn' t have the foot to make the tracks I saw.. Mainers are ***** for a 200 pound deer!
It could be a 200 pound spike as long as it was a 200 pounder.. That' s the minimum requirement to get a big buck patch.. Rack means nothing. I saw an absolutely stunning 10 point being checked last year at Husseys General store in Windsor last year . This deer had a heavy, perfectly symetrical rack that you would die for. Video quality buck for Real tree or anyone.. When they put it on the scale it only tops 193... ONLY 193.. The guy was so p*ssed of that it wasn' t a 200 pounder that he started swearing and being a real a** hole. When he loaded the deer back into the truck he was throwing it around and kicking it because he was so mad.. He didn' t deserve to shoot a fine animal like this.. I was ashamed of his behavior for anyone that was watching his show.. Really a slob.. If there is any justice in it, it' s the fact that it' ll always eat at him.

mainehunt

Hey Beans,

I live in New Sharon, Maine. If you remember, that is 10 miles East of Farmington. I have lived here for about 15 years and the deer hunting is good. I hunt from Weld to Norridgewok. Everything from thicker than thick fir forest, to open rolling fields. Lots of fun up here, if you' re ever in the area, let me know ahead of time.

vtbuckrulrss

hey beans, get yourself a copy of this month' s buckmasters magazine. it should put to rest any thoughts that vermont hasn' t got any deer, or any big ones, left. as for the hunting, i hunt from barre, north. since ' 98, i have shot at least 8 deer, including a strectch of getting at least two a year, for a few years( last year was another one.) the biggest went 181.5, seven points. we rank second in new england for total killed only to maine, which is only right, considering the size of maine. i know, that big one for me still isn' t that big, but it gave me all i wanted when it was time to put it in the truck. there is more posting, however. if you can' t get a deer here, you are doing something wrong.