A big day for New Hampshire’s 60,000+ hunters is on the horizon, as the state’s regular firearms deer hunting season opens Wednesday, November 11.
New Hampshire’s firearms deer season runs from November 11 through December 6 in most of the state.
In Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) A, the northernmost in New Hampshire, the season closes on November 29. Hunters should check the New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest for WMU-specific regulations. This go-to publication is available online at www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh, at license agents around the state, and at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. You will find additional information about deer hunting in New Hampshire on the Fish and Game Department website at www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/deer-hunting-new-hampshire.
Successful deer hunters have the option of registering their harvest online. To register your deer online, or to learn more about what to do following a successful harvest, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/deer-hunting-new-hampshire/how-register-your-deer.
Physical registration stations also remain an option for those who prefer the experience of registering in person. To allow for collection of biological data, online registration will be not be available during the first 3 days of firearms season, November 11, 12, and 13. Hunters must register their deer in person at a registration station on these days. Visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/check-stations-registration for a list of registration stations in New Hampshire.
State officials are reminding hunters not to use urine-based lures. These products can potentially spread chronic wasting disease (CWD), a neurological disorder that is always fatal to white-tailed deer and moose. Synthetic lures are strongly recommended. If the bottle or package does not say “synthetic” the product is likely natural urine.
Hunters traveling out of state should also remember that whole deer carcasses cannot be brought into New Hampshire from any jurisdiction that has documented CWD. A full list of CWD-positive jurisdictions and a list of what can be brought back into the state can be found on the Fish and Game website at www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wildlife-related-diseases/deer-diseases.