Photo by Mark Werner

New England boasts some diverse deer-hunting opportunities, from suburban bowhunting in southern Connecticut to roaming the big woods during rifle season in northern Maine. While 2004 harvest information showed mixed results across the region, excellent opportunities await hunters who know where to go in 2005.

Overall, New England's deer herd appears to be in very good shape. Harvests in northern New England states declined between 2002 and 2003, but there were signs of a small rebound in 2004.

Southern New England state harvests continue to be at or near record levels, making the lower three states an attractive New England hunting destination. Relatively mild wintering conditions coupled with expanded archery and muzzleloader seasons in parts of the region point toward another bumper crop of deer and a banner year for New England's deer hunters in 2004.

Here's a recap of 2004, and a quick look at how things are shaping up in your state this hunting season.

MAINE
According to Wendy Bolduc of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, deer hunters killed 30,926 deer last fall, a small increase over the 2003 kill of 30,313.

The antlerless kill in 2004 was 13,500, down from 14,128 in 2003. But the good news is that hunters killed significantly more bucks last year (17,426) compared to 16,185 in 2003. Of the 30,926 deer killed by hunters in 2004, 1,537 were taken during the expanded archery season, 547 during the regular archery season, 599 on youth hunting day, 27,004 during the firearms season, and 1,239 during the muzzleloader season.

Hunting and weather conditions during the firearms season improved from 2003 but were far from ideal.

In 2004, the highest deer kill per square mile occurred in central and southwestern Maine's wildlife management districts 17, 21, 22, 23 and 24. Using harvest totals from 2003 and 2004 as a guide, the top-producing counties in Maine include Penobscot, Somerset and Kennebec counties, with York County coming in close behind.

In recent years, southern Maine hunters have had success in most sections of York and Cumberland counties because the highest deer densities occur along the coast. Most of these areas are developed and much of the land is privately owned in small parcels.

For more information, contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State St., Augusta, ME 04333; call (207) 287-8000, or access the MDIFW's Web site at www.mefishwildlife.com.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Recent severe winters appear to be having a continuing negative influence on the deer populations in New Hampshire. The relatively mild winter of 2004-05 may help the herd to begin to recover.

According to Kent A. Gustafson, the state's Deer Project leader, the statewide total of 10,133 deer harvested was up 7 percent from the 9,492 deer harvested in 2003.

Youth hunters killed 312 deer during their special weekend season last year, down slightly from the 2003 total. Archery hunters killed 2,158 deer, up from 1,841 deer in 2003 and 1,854 in 2002. Muzzleloader hunters shot 2,194 deer, down 6 percent from the 2,330 taken the previous year, and down significantly from the 2,911 whitetails taken in 2002. Firearms hunters did significantly better with 5,469 deer killed, up 10 percent from 4,987 in 2003.

If deer killed per square mile is a gauge for hunting success, Rockingham County led the pack in 2004 at 2.66, significantly above the statewide average of 1.14. Strafford County was second at 1.97, and Hillsborough third at 1.39.

In terms of total deer harvested, WMU M (southeastern part of the state on the MA border) produced the largest overall harvest at 1,877. WMU J2 (along the Maine border) produced the second highest overall harvest at 1,499.