CONTACT:
Dan Bergeron: (603) 271-2461
Andy Timmins: (603) 271-3211
May 11, 2026
Concord, NH – The 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary is now available. The publication presents final data on the 2025 New Hampshire hunting seasons as summarized by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department wildlife biologists. This annual publication provides a complete analysis of hunting season statistics, including information organized by town and by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).
The 2025 NH Wildlife Harvest Summary is now available online at www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/hunting-reports-harvest-summaries. A limited number of printed copies will be available in late April at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters in Concord and at regional Fish and Game offices in Durham, New Hampton, Lancaster, and Keene.
New Hampshire’s 2025 deer season resulted in the harvest of 14,387, deer marking the largest harvest in the state’s history going back to 1922. The adult (antlered males age 1.5+) buck harvest of 8,673 was also the highest documented in the state during that same period. Archers took 4,922 deer, the youth weekend accounted for 375 animals, and muzzleloader and regular firearm hunters took 2,375 and 6,715 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 weighing 200 pounds or more and taken by the three hunting methods: archery, muzzleloader, and regular firearms. The largest deer harvested in 2025, weighing 248 pounds, was taken by James Cannon of Brentwood, NH, with a firearm.
The 2025 bear take, totaling 1,097 bruins, represented the fourth highest historic harvest and the fifth time since 2018 that the annual harvest has exceeded 1,000 bears. The spring turkey harvest totaled 4,846 birds, signifying a 6% increase from the 2024 harvest (4,562 turkeys). The fall turkey harvest of 384 birds (archery and shotgun combined), which was nearly identical to the 2024 fall harvest of 386, represented a moderately low harvest level. The 2025 NH Wildlife Harvest Summary also provides statistics for moose and furbearers.
The population management objectives for various species outlined in the 2025 summary represent previously established population targets outlined in the 2016–2025 Game Management Plan. The previous plan expired December 31, 2025. An updated New Hampshire Big Game Management Plan was adopted by the NH Fish and Game Commission in June of 2025 and went into effect January 1, 2026. This revised plan will guide the management of big game species through 2035.
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 by visiting www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh.
