Hunters Looking Forward to Start of Vermont’s Archery Deer Season Oct. 6
OutdoorHub 09.11.12
Hunters are enthusiastic about Vermont’s upcoming October 6-28 and December 1-9 archery deer hunting season, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
A hunter may take up to three deer in Vermont’s archery season with three archery licenses. No more than one of the deer taken during archery season may be a legal buck. No antlerless deer may be taken in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) E, where antlerless deer hunting is prohibited in 2012.
In Vermont a hunter may take up to three deer in a calendar year in any combination of seasons (Archery, Youth Weekend, November Rifle Season, December Muzzleloader). Of these, only two may be legal bucks, and only one buck may be taken in each season. A “legal buck” is a deer with at least one antler having two or more points one inch or longer. All three deer in the annual bag limit may be antlerless deer.
In order to purchase an archery license, the hunter must show a certificate of satisfactorily completing a bow hunter education course, or show a previous or current bow hunting license from any state or Canadian province, or sign an affidavit that they have previously held an archery license.
Hunters must have a standard hunting license in order to purchase an add-on archery deer hunting license, except that nonresidents may purchase an “archery only deer license” costing just $75.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
Tree stands and ground blinds may only be built or used if the hunter has landowner permission. This includes portable as well as permanent stands and blinds. A hunter constructing or using a stand or blind must permanently mark his or her name and address on it so that it may be conveniently and easily read. Landowners are exempted from this requirement.
On Vermont State Wildlife Management Areas, it is illegal to use nails, bolts or screws, including screw-in climbing steps, or wire, chain or other material that penetrates through the bark.
Because additional restrictions apply, hunters are urged to read the entire law governing the use of stands and blinds on page 24 of the “2012 Vermont Guide to Hunting, Fishing & Trapping,” which is available online and where licenses are sold.
Hunters who are planning their first Vermont archery deer hunting trip or who are looking for new hunting areas should get a copy of the 2011 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report, which gives the number of deer taken in each town in last year’s deer hunting seasons. It’s available on Fish & Wildlife’s website (vtfishandwildlife.com) under Hunting & Trapping and then “Big Game.”
Vermont hunting and archery licenses may be quickly and easily purchased on Fish and Wildlife’s website (vtfishandwildlife.com).
For more information, contact Vermont Fish and Wildlife by phone at 802-241-3700, or by Email at (fwinformation@state.vt.us).
