CONTACT:
Linda Verville: (603) 271-2461
Henry Jones: (603) 744-5470
May 11, 2020
CONCORD, NH – If you want to hunt moose in New Hampshire this fall, now is the time to enter the 2020 moose hunt lottery and try your luck on the adventure of a lifetime—hunting moose in the rugged woods of the Granite State. The lottery entrance fee is $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents. A total of 49 permits will be issued this year.
To enter the New Hampshire moose hunt lottery, visit www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html where you can enter online or print out a mail-in application. Or you may also call 603-271-2461 to have an application mailed to you.
You can also pick up an application at any operating New Hampshire Fish and Game license agent. As the COVID-19 public health emergency evolves in the Granite State, applicants should call ahead to ensure that their local license agent is open and stocked with applications before visiting.
Applicants are encouraged to apply online and early, so there is less chance of submitting an incomplete application. Moose hunt lottery applications for 2020 must be postmarked by Friday, May 29,2020, submitted online by midnight Eastern time on Friday, May 29, 2020, or delivered to the Licensing Office at NH Fish and Game Department headquarters in Concord before 4:00 p.m. that day. Winners will be selected through a computerized random drawing on June 19 at Department headquarters.
Applicants can enter the moose hunt lottery once per year. A bonus-point system improves the chances for unsuccessful applicants who apply in each consecutive year. Each point translates to a chance in the drawing. For example, last year the overall odds of a resident applicant being drawn were 1 in 77, while resident applicants with a total of 16 points had a 1 in 33 chance of being drawn. For nonresidents, the odds increased from 1 in 341 overall to 1 in 153 for applicants with 16 points. Your chance of being offered a permit in the lottery will improve if you rank all wildlife management units on your application. You will have the option to decline a permit with no loss of points if drawn for a unit you prefer not to hunt.
A total of 5,875 people entered the lottery in 2019, for the chance to win one of 49 permits. More than 1,100 people continued to accrue bonus points because they submitted an application for an additional point only so as not to lose their accrued points. Hunters from five other states won permits in the lottery.
While people travel from all over the country to take part in the New Hampshire moose hunt, the majority of permits, about 85%, are awarded to New Hampshire residents. The number of permits available to nonresidents is capped, based on the prior year’s sales of nonresident hunting licenses.
New Hampshire’s nine-day moose hunt starts the third Saturday in October. This year’s hunt runs from October 17-25.
New Hampshire has had an annual moose hunt since 1988, when 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country. The state’s current moose population is estimated at about 3,000 animals. The availability of moose hunting permits is made possible by careful monitoring of moose populations. The resulting annual harvest of moose provides valuable information on their physical condition and productivity and provides a unique recreational opportunity. Learn more about moose hunting in New Hampshire at www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html.