NH Fish and Game Hunter Survey Winners Announced

CONTACT:
Dan Bergeron: (603) 271-2461
Linda Verville: (603) 271-2461
October 7, 2021

Concord, NH – Five new firearms and one compound bow were recently awarded to six lucky recipients by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Wildlife Division. Winners became eligible through participation in one of five hunter surveys conducted throughout the year during the Granite State’s fall 2020 and spring 2021 hunting seasons.

Hunter surveys help to improve wildlife management. Understanding what hunters have seen in the field or harvested helps wildlife biologists better develop hunting seasons that will continue to guide wildlife populations toward healthy and sustainable levels. The NH Fish and Game Department administers five surveys annually which are important to the scientific management of both game and furbearer species: The Deer Hunter Mail Survey, the Small Game Hunter Survey, the Ruffed Grouse Wing and Tail Survey, the Bow Hunter Survey, and the Spring Turkey Hunter Survey.

Congratulations to the latest winners:

• Michael Gagnon of NH won a 77/22 rifle donated by Sturm, Ruger and Company for his participation in the 2020 Small Game Hunter Survey.

• Christopher Randall of NH secured a Benelli Nova Pump 20-gauge shotgun donated by the Ruffed Grouse Society for his participation in the 2020 Wing and Tail survey.

• Roscoe Blaisdell of NH was awarded a Prime Model Black 5 compound bow donated by Prime Archery and Morse Sporting Goods of Hillsborough, NH for completing the 2020 Bow Hunter Survey.

• Maurice Salmon, II, of NH was awarded a certificate for an American Rifle donated by Sturm, Ruger and Company for responding to the 2020 Deer Hunter Survey.

• Matthew Tilton of NH won a certificate for a Woodman Arms Patriot Muzzleloader donated by Woodman Arms of Fremont, NH, for participating in the 2020 Deer Hunter Survey.

• Randy Rugar of NH earned a Mossberg Maverick 88 Field Bottomlands Camo shotgun donated by the NH Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation for his participation in the 2021 Spring Turkey Hunter Survey.

The Department values the data supplied by participants and is grateful to the generous donors who support these important hunter surveys. Sturm, Ruger and Company of Newport, NH, has supplied firearms to booster two different surveys since 1994. The Ruffed Grouse Society, either the national or state chapter, has furnished a shotgun for the Wing and Tail Survey raffle since its inception in 2005. Woodman Arms of Fremont, NH, continues to provide a muzzleloader annually, and the Barn Store of Salisbury, NH assists survey winners in the transfer of their firearms in accordance with federal regulations. Prime Archery in conjunction with Morse Sporting Goods of Hillsborough, NH, have donated compound bows in support of the Bow Hunter Survey, while the NH State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has donated shotguns and turkey hunting gear since the Spring Turkey Hunter Survey started. The
support of these generous contributors’ increases hunter participation in these important surveys. Thank you!

And thank you to all survey participants. If you have never participated in these surveys in the past, the Department encourages you to do so this fall. It doesn’t take much time and gives hunters the satisfaction of knowing that they have made an important contribution toward improving species management for the future.

To participate in the Ruffed Grouse Wing and Tail Survey, hunters should pick up survey packets at advertised locations throughout the state. To learn more visit https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/surveys/ruffed-grouse.html.

The Small Game Hunter Survey is a diary tracking survey that can be completed and submitted by any small game hunter. Prior year participants are automatically mailed a survey for the upcoming season or a survey can be printed by visiting www.huntnh.com or by calling 603-271-2461.

The Deer Hunter Mail Survey, Bow Hunter Survey, and Spring Turkey Hunter Survey are mailed to successful prior-year(s) deer and turkey hunters. If you receive one of these surveys in the mail, record your diary data and mail in the completed survey by the specified deadline.

Wildlife research and management in New Hampshire is funded in part by the federal Wildlife Restoration Program, a user-pay, user-benefit program supported by your purchases of firearms, ammunition, and archery supplies.