2014 New Hampshire Moose Hunt Lottery Opens
OutdoorHub 01.28.14
New Hampshire’s 2014 moose hunt lottery is now open. Enter today to try your luck on the adventure of a lifetime — hunting moose in the rugged woods of the Granite State. Entering the lottery costs $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents. The odds of being selected in last year’s lottery were 1 in 35 for New Hampshire residents and 1 in 121 for nonresidents, some of the best odds in the nation for moose hunting!
To enter the N.H. moose hunt lottery, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm, where you can enter online or print out a mail-in application, or buy one in person from any Fish and Game license agent or at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. Moose hunt lottery applications for 2014 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight Eastern Time on May 30, 2014, or delivered to the Licensing office at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord before 4:00 p.m. that day. Winners will be selected through a computerized random drawing on June 20 in Concord.
Each applicant can enter the moose hunt lottery once a year. A bonus point system improves the chances for unsuccessful applicants who apply each consecutive year. For example, last year resident applicants who had a total of 10 points had a 1 in 16 chance of being drawn, and a nonresident with 10 points had a 1 in 58 chance.
Last year (2013), more than 13,000 people entered the lottery for the chance to win one of 275 permits. More than 1,300 people continued to accrue bonus points because they submitted an application for a point only. Hunters from 15 different states won permits.
While people travel from all over the country to take part in the New Hampshire moose hunt, the majority of permits (about 85%) go to New Hampshire residents. The number of permits available to nonresidents is capped, based on the prior year’s sales of nonresident hunting licenses.
Since 2014 is a biennial season-setting year for Fish and Game, the exact number of moose hunt permits that will be offered for this fall’s hunt has not yet been determined. Because of the continued decline in moose numbers in some areas, permit reductions are likely in parts of the state, according to Wildlife Programs Supervisor Kent Gustafson. Permit allocation proposals for 2014 will be developed through the state’s formal rulemaking process, with public hearings planned for late March/early April 2014. The initial draft proposal can be viewed on the Fish and Game website at http://www.huntnh.com/Newsroom/2014/Q1/Wildlife_rule_proposal_initial_011714.html.
While permit numbers will likely be reduced in 2014, your chance of being drawn and offered a permit in the lottery will be improved if you rank all wildlife management units on your application, Gustafson noted. You will have the option to decline a permit if drawn for a unit you prefer not to hunt.
New Hampshire’s nine-day moose hunt starts the third Saturday in October. This year’s hunt runs from October 18-26, 2014.
N.H. 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 4,000 animals. The availability of moose hunting permits, with some issued for every area of the state, is made possible by careful management of moose populations. The resulting annual harvest of moose helps to regulate moose numbers, provides valuable information on the physical condition of moose and provides a unique recreational opportunity. Learn more about moose hunting in New Hampshire at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.
