CONTACT:
Henry Jones: 603-744-5470
Dan Bergeron: 603-271-1126
October 28, 2020
Concord, NH – New Hampshire’s 2020 moose hunt season closed this past Sunday with hunters taking a total of 39 moose – 29 bulls and 10 cows, according to Henry Jones, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s (NHFG) Moose Project Leader.
Hunters achieved a 75% success rate during the nine-day season. A total of 52 hunters took part in the hunt including 50 lottery permit holders, 1 permit auctioned by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire, and 1 Dream Hunt participant sponsored by the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation. In 2019, the overall success rate was 76% and has averaged 73% over the previous 5 years.
“As always, permit holders were very excited about the season, but this year’s hunters seemed particularly dedicated to preparing for the adventure and enjoying the experience whether they harvested a moose or not,” reported Jones. “The rapidly changing weather conditions during the nine-day hunt varied from heavy snow of up to 6 inches during the first weekend to temperatures in the upper 60s later in the week, which required adaptability and persistence on the part of hunters.”
There are always memorable stories from each season, and this year is no exception. The hunting party of Sharon and Jessica Covey, a grandmother and granddaughter team, hunted hard and finally had the right opportunity to fill their tag on the second to the last day of the season.
For Jones, a former UNH moose researcher, another memorable account was of a bull harvested by Brian Mumley with the assistance of Northern New Hampshire Guide Service. “The bull was taken in Jericho Mountain State Park and had ear tags indicating it was part of a 2014-2018 NHFG and UNH moose research project.” Said Jones. This moose should have also had a GPS collar around its neck, but the bull, originally captured as a calf in January of 2017 in Jericho Mountain State Park, slipped out of its GPS collar a year later and his fate was unknown. Mystery solved!”
Throughout the Granite State this season, preliminary numbers demonstrate moose hunters having a 100% success rate in the Connecticut Lakes Region, 82% in the North Region, 60% in the White Mountain Region, 67% in the Central Region, 33% in the Southwest Region, and 60% in the Southeast Region.
More than 5,300 people entered the moose hunt lottery this year for a chance to win a permit for the New Hampshire moose hunt. Additional information will be available in a future hunting report once all registration data have been verified and analyzed.
Learn more about moose hunting in New Hampshire at www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html.
