CONTACT:
Dan Bergeron: (603) 271-2461
Jay Martin: (603) 271-3211
March 24, 2021
Concord, NH – The 2020 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary is now available. The publication presents final data on the 2020 New Hampshire hunting seasons as summarized by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s wildlife biologists. This annual publication provides a complete analysis of hunting season statistics, including some information chronicled by town and Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).
The 2020 NH Wildlife Harvest Summary is available online at www.wildnh.com/hunting/harvest-summary.html (select 2020). A limited number of print copies will be available at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters in Concord and regional Fish and Game offices in Durham, New Hampton, Lancaster, and Keene in the coming weeks.
The report reflects that New Hampshire’s 2020 deer season resulted in a total harvest of 13,044 deer. This year’s adult (antlered) buck harvest of 7,986 deer was the second largest one documented in the state since recordkeeping began in 1922. Archers took 3,785 deer, the youth weekend accounted for 295 deer harvested, and muzzleloader and regular firearm hunters took 3,166 and 5,798 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. 2020’s heaviest deer, weighing 270 pounds, was taken by Mark Evans of Wentworth, NH, using a muzzleloader. Evans’ harvest ranked among the top ten heaviest deer ever taken in the Granite State.
The 2020 bear take totaled 1,183 and is the largest harvest on record. The spring 2020 turkey harvest was 5,718, an increase from 5,092 turkeys in 2019. This was also the largest spring turkey harvest on record. This increase may be attributable to the 2019 rule that allows hunters to take a second spring bird in certain Wildlife Management Units and an increase in hunter participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 fall turkey harvest of 584 was an increase from 352 birds in 2019. The 2020 NH 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.
