New Hampshire's moose
hunt is nine days, starting the third Saturday in October. The 2010 hunt will take place October 16-24, 2010. By permit only. Permits are distributed by lottery. The 2010 lottery has closed.
Winners and alternates for the 2010 NH Moose Hunt Lottery were selected through a computerized random drawing on June 18, 2010. Click for winner or alternate list:
Thanks to the recovery of moose populations, N.H. has had an annual moose hunt since 1988. That year, 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country. The availability of moose hunting permits, with some issued for every area of the state during the nine-day season, is made possible by careful management of moose populations. The resulting sustainable annual harvest of moose helps to regulate moose numbers and provides a unique recreational opportunity considered by many the adventure of a lifetime.
NOTE:You must have landowner permission before using an
ATV on privately owned land. All hunters should be prepared
to get their moose out of the woods on foot.
Respect landowner rights:
Hunters are advised to seek landowner permission before hunting on any properties, including timber company lands. ATV use is prohibited in the state of the New Hampshire without written land owner permission. Please respect landowner’s rights and never tamper with closed or locked gates or block roads.
Moose
Season Quick Facts
Average dressed weight of all yearling bulls taken in 2009 was 435 pounds. The average dressed weight of all bulls aged 5.5 and older in 2009 was 751 pounds.
The largest bull moose ever taken in N.H. weighed in at 1,040 pounds, dressed weight, taken in 1993. Live weight of this moose would have been approximately 1,400 pounds. The largest cow ever taken dressed at 815 pounds. These two animals came from Zone A2 and both were taken in 1993.
Greatest antler spread measurement for moose taken in New Hampshire is 68 inches. This bull was 9.5 years of age, had 22 points and weighed 785 pounds dressed. The antler beam diameter was 67mm. This animal was taken in A1 in 1996.
Moose have been taken with the use of conventional firearms and archery, handguns, muzzleloaders (including flintlocks) and the longbow. In 2009, 97% of hunters took their moose using conventional firearms (rifle or shotgun).
61% of the harvest occurred in the first 3 days of the 2008 season.
Moose Hunt Basics Each permit holder (permittee) may select one person
of any age (subpermittee) to join him or her on the moose
hunt.
Both either-sex and antlerless-only permits may be issued
in some units.
The limit is one moose per
permit, which may be shot by either hunter. Those drawing
an antlerless-only permit may take one antlerless
moose. All other permit holders may take either an antlered or
antlerless moose.
Archery, muzzleloader, and regular firearms hunting are
allowed, according to the hunting license type the hunter possesses.
Hunting is permitted by unit assignment, made as a result
of the preferences listed on the application form and the order
in which the applicant ranks in the drawing. Hunters may hunt
only in the unit assigned to them.
The percentage of permits issued to nonresidents is
the same as the percentage of hunting licenses sold to nonresidents
in the previous year (recently about 15 to 17 percent of the
total.)
The odds of winning a New Hampshire moose hunt permit
in the 2009 lottery were 1 in 22 for New Hampshire residents, and 1 in 63
for nonresidents, some of the best odds in the nation for
moose hunting.
Moose hunters must carry
their valid moose permit and N.H. hunting license with
them at all times while hunting and registering their moose.
License and permit fees
Resident
Nonresident
Hunting
$
22.00
$103.00
Archery
$
22.00
$
73.00
MoosePermit (regular hunting or archery license also
required)
$150.00
$500.00
Moose Hunt Lottery
Moose hunting permits are offered to successful lottery applicants
following a computer-generated random drawing. Anyone who
obtained a moose permit in 2007, 2008 or 2009 was not eligible
to obtain a permit in 2010. Click here for FAQs about the lottery.
Bonus Points: N.H. Fish and Game has a bonus point system to improve the
chance of success for unsuccessful applicants who apply each
year. Unsuccessful applicants accrue one point for each consecutive
year that they apply for the lottery. Each point translates
to a chance in the drawing. Don't forget: Applicants lose all accrued
points if they do not apply to the lottery for one year, or
if they are offered and accept a moose permit. Click
here for more about the bonus point system.
Lottery Drawing/Unit Assignment Permittee candidates
are selected through a computer-generated random number draw.
The 2010 drawing took place in June.
Each applicant selected in the lottery drawing is assigned
to hunt within a unit of his or her choice, except when
the permit quota for that unit has already been filled. In
cases where the quota in the applicant's first choice unit
has been filled, the applicant will be assigned to the next
unfilled unit of his or her choice, as indicated on the application.
Applicants are considered for antlerless-only permits if no
either-sex permits are available and the application indicates
the applicant is willing to accept an antlerless-only permit.
Any unit not ranked on the application form indicates that
the applicant does not wish to hunt in that unit, even if
it is the only unit where a permit quota has not yet been
filled. Alternate candidates are selected to fill any permits
not taken by the original applicants selected.
Notification of winners Successful applicants
are notified within 10 working days of the drawing. Moose hunting
information packets are mailed in mid- August, and permits are mailed in mid-September.
If your name is drawn, a nonrefundable payment of $150 for
residents and $500 for nonresidents must be postmarked no
later than midnight July 16, 2010, or received at Fish and
Game headquarters in Concord, N.H., no later than July 30, 2010.
Failure to submit payment by the deadline will result in disqualification
of the applicant and the permit will be offered to an alternate
candidate.
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