Deer hunting season may end up setting N.H. record

FILE - In this March 4, 2010, file photo a small herd of deer feed on the grounds of Spruce Cone Cabins and Campground, in Pittsburg, N.H. Deer biologists across northern New England are dusting off their plans for dealing with a fatal disease that has been spreading across North America for a half-century and was recently discovered again on a Canadian game farm. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) Jim Cole

Monitor staff

Published: 11/28/2018 4:11:24 PM

A healthy deer herd plus early snowfall that makes it easier to track animals is leading to a successful deer-hunting season that may end up being the biggest on record in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Fish and Game said that as of Sunday, hunters reported killing 11,648 deer, a 5 percent increase over last year at this point and the highest in nine years.

“Given the trend in harvest rates this season, the state is on pace to set record harvest levels,” the department said in a press release.

Hunters must register their deer kills at state-overseen weigh stations, which is where the data comes from.

Hunters in Merrimack County were doing particularly well, having registered 900 deer, a 30 percent increase over last year at this time. This is the biggest percentage increase in the state except for Coos County, which saw a whopping 60 percent rise in hunter success.

The regular firearm season runs through Dec. 9 in most of the state, except for northernmost New Hampshire, where the regular firearm season ends Dec. 2. Archery deer hunting continues through Dec. 15 in most of the state.

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David Brooks is a reporter and the writer of the sci/tech column Granite Geek and blog granitegeek.org, as well as moderator of Science Cafe Concord events. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in mathematics he became a newspaperman, working in Virginia and Tennessee before spending 28 years at the Nashua Telegraph . He joined the Monitor in 2015.