For details on Maine's trophy buck records, interested hunters may contact Al Wentworth of MASTC at (207) 564-7614.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
For the last three years, winters that were milder than average combined with limited antlerless deer seasons have helped increase whitetail numbers in many areas of the Granite State and have brought deer numbers closer to population objectives in many wildlife management units (WMUs).

This has helped buck harvest numbers as well. The 2006 total kill of 11,766 was an 11 percent increase from 2005 and represents approximately 14 percent of the pre-hunt deer population.

The statewide percentage of adult males consisting of yearlings for the 2006 harvest was 46.2 percent, a decrease from 51.2 percent in 2005.

According to Roscoe Blaisdell, president of the New Hampshire Antler and Skull Trophy Club, the heaviest bucks tend to come out of the northern portion of the state, particularly Coos County.

The best bets for killing a buck in this state include opening days of the muzzleloader and firearms seasons and any Saturday.

Of course, most of the annual bucks harvested are taken during the firearms season, with archers and muzzleloaders accounting for about 35 percent of the adult male harvest.

WMU J2, near the southern Maine border, tallied the most bucks for the fifth consecutive year (8,883), followed by WMU M (751) in the southeasternmost corner.

During the 2006 firearms season, John Klucky in Merrimack County killed a new state-record typical, scoring 199 5/8 gross and 187 2/8 net B&C points.

Hunters planning on visiting New Hampshire are encouraged to contact the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 2 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301. Call (603) 271-3421, or visit the NHFG Web site at www.wildlife.state.nh.us.

Information on trophy-deer hunting in New Hampshire is available from the New Hampshire Antler and Skull Trophy Club (NHASTC), 22 Scribner Road, Raymond, NH 03077.

VERMONT
The biggest change in Vermont's deer seasons in more than 100 years occurred during 2005. In an effort to reduce the harvest of juvenile bucks, spike-horn bucks were not included in the definition of a "legal buck."

Spike-horns had averaged about 35 percent of the total buck harvest.

When authority to manage deer was taken away from the Vermont Legislature and handed over to Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department biologists, they immediately recommended restricting the harvest of spike-horn bucks as the most effective -- and socially acceptable -- means to significantly increase the number of bucks living in to older age-classes.

Vermont's habitat is similar to other New England states, but until now, it has failed to produce the kind of top-end bucks that would rival deer produced in neighboring states such as Massachusetts or New Hampshire.

According to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, the antlered buck harvest in all seasons increased 58 percent, from 4,956 in 2005 to 7,805 in 2006.

Over the last five seasons, the NBBC has scored and recorded only six bucks with gross B&C scores of 150 inches or better, compared to more than 130 bucks that score over 150 inches from neighboring Massachusetts during the same time period.