Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game New England moose hunting.

The odds of drawing a moose tag in VT, ME, and NH are low and with only 10% going to out of state residence the odds are even lower for them. I have been entering the lottery in VT for eleven years now and slightly shorter for ME and NH. I was wondering how many years others have gone? Are you a resident or nonresident, and how many years till you were drawn or how many years of not getting drawn?

Well it's all changed now. In 2003 I got drawn for VT moose the first time I applied and the next year I got drawn for NH the second time I applied. That same year my wife was drawn for VT the first time she applied. 2003-2004 were good times for moose up there. I haven't drawn since so in 2009 I bought an auction tag for VT. Now the Moose are largely gone and the permit allocations are down 90%.

Maine still has good numbers. I'd put my eggs in that basket.
If by some miracle you or I pull a VT tag next month we still have an uphill battle. The part of Caledonia county VT I hunted in 2003 was filthy with moose sign. In 2009 I hunted the exact same place and there wasn't even half the sign. In the winter of 2012 I went there on a scouting trip and only found one set of tracks in the snow. Now, a local guy tells me the moose aren't even around there anymore.

Maine moose permits are down over thirty percent of what they were several years ago.

Whats causing such a sharp decline in the moose population?

Up here...winter ticks and too many permits. IF&W had way too many permits and finally cut back on the number in the northern zones.

VT and NH say winter ticks and brainworm. But I can tell you first hand they were decimating the herd through too many permits before the tick problem hit.

I've applied every year since Vermont began its moose season and I've never been drawn, I think I'm 0-23. I don't apply in very many zones so that reduces my chances to some degree. I had 2 daughters drawn back in 2010.
VT was intentionally reducing the moose population in some zones which is why the number of permits was so high from '05ish to '10. About the time they'd reduced the moose population to where they wanted it we had a couple mild winters which caused the winter ticks to explode and took a toll on the now-reduced moose herd.

After 18 years, I just drew a Maine bull tag for zone 7.

Sweet!

Congratulations CWD! Have a great hunt and good luck.

I have probably put in for a Maine tag for about 15 years.

I used to apply to Maine,did so for about 10 yrs,never got lucky,and havn't applied for about 10 yrs

I've been applying for Non-Resident Maine moose for almost 25 years, no luck.

I went out to the mailbox on Friday and found a brochure from a Maine outfitter with a handwritten address. Then another. And another.

Now I had checked this years results and so did the guy I enter with. We both missed my name, due to a spelling anomaly it wasn't where it should be, but I went back in the house and I found it on the page. Finally drawn for a bull in Zone 2.

Now the research begins, finding an outfitter, figuring out how to transport the kill. The fun stuff.

Congrats RecoilRob. Get a big one. What gun you planning to use?

Couple of choices available, I like vintage stuff so perhaps a Sav. 99 in .358, a Rem. 720 in 30.06, 8mm Mauser, haven't decided.
I will be bringing a Stainless/plastic MRC .308 if the weather's bad.

All good choices!

Congrats Rob. That's some nice country up there. Working in that unit this summer some actually out in the bush. I worked unit 4 two weeks ago and saw 7 moose in 3 days just riding roads.

Hope you smack a nice bull. One outfitter that comes to mind is Tyler Kelly camps up near there. All of those rifles will kill, load some nice bullets and put them where they are supposed to land.

Good luck and if you need anything holler.

KAMO GARI shot a moose in NH a few years ago. IIRC, he wrote it up on AR.

Rob; I drew a bull permit last year for zone 3 after 26 years of applying. I used Jesse Cote at Backwoods Guide Service in Caribou 207-227-8531. He runs a serious hunting operation. Primarily bear hunts but he knows moose and puts together a good bunch of guides, butcher shop, has a nice camp and a good taxidermist too. He treats veterans right which closed the deal for me.