CONTACT:
Kent Gustafson: (603) 271-2461
Mark Ellingwood: (603) 271-2461
Jay Martin: (603) 271-3211
April 3, 2019
CONCORD, NH — The 2018 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary is now available. The publication presents final data on the 2018 New Hampshire hunting seasons summarized by Fish and Game’s wildlife biologists. This annual publication provides a complete analysis of hunting season statistics, including some information by town and Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).
The 2018 N.H. Wildlife Harvest Summary is available online at www.wildnh.com/hunting/harvest-summary.html (select 2018). A limited number of print copies are available at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department in Concord and regional Fish and Game offices in Durham, New Hampton, Lancaster, and Keene.
The report shows that New Hampshire’s 2018 deer season resulted in a total harvest of 14,113 deer. The adult (antlered) buck kill of 8,029 deer was the largest number documented in the state since recordkeeping began in 1922. Archers took 3,962 deer, the youth weekend accounted for 393 deer harvested, and muzzleloader and regular firearm hunters took 2,705 and 7,053 deer, respectively.
The Harvest Summary includes data from the NH Trophy Deer Program, run by the NH Antler and Skull Trophy Club, which annually recognizes hunters who harvest deer with a weight of 200 pounds or more by each of the three hunting methods: archery, muzzleloader, and regular firearms. 2018’s heaviest deer, weighing 278 pounds, was taken by James Koleser of Monroe, CT, using a muzzleloader.
The 2018 bear harvest total was 1,053 and exceeded the previous record of 898 in 2016. This increase in harvest is largely the result of extremely scarce fall mast crops in much of the state in 2018, which also led to increased bear-human interactions. The spring 2018 turkey harvest was 4,204, a decrease from 4,482 turkeys in 2017. The average annual harvest has been about 4,000 turkeys for the past 10 years. The 2018 fall turkey harvest of 1,283 birds was up significantly from 2017 when only 450 turkeys were taken. Like bear, fall turkeys were more vulnerable to harvest as a result of the scarcity of food. The 2018 N.H. Wildlife Harvest Summary also provides statistics for moose and furbearers.
Wildlife research and management activities in New Hampshire, including production of the annual NH Wildlife Harvest Summary, are funded through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, a user-pay, user-benefit program supported by the purchase of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.
Learn more about hunting in New Hampshire at www.huntnh.com/hunting.
