Prepare For The Twin States’ Youth Deer Hunting Weekends
Gary Moore
October 16, 2025
New Hampshire’s youth deer hunting weekend is Saturday and Sunday October 25–26. It is the perfect time to take a young person hunting. The special weekend gives youth aged 15 and younger the opportunity to go deer hunting with an adult mentor without the pressure of competing with adult hunters.
Accompanying adults must be licensed hunters and are not permitted to carry a firearm.
Prospects for this year’s youth season are excellent, according to Becky Fuda, Deer Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “New Hampshire’s deer population is healthy and will provide excellent opportunities,” said Fuda. “Last year’s adult buck harvest was the sixth-highest on record, and deer numbers remain strong throughout the state.” In 2024, young hunters took 361 deer during the weekend, a 45 percent increase from the year prior.
Vermont’s youth deer hunting weekend is also October 25-26.
A resident or nonresident youth, 15 years of age or younger on the weekend of the hunt, who has successfully completed a hunter safety course may obtain a free youth deer hunting tag to hunt during this season. The youth must also purchase a Vermont hunting license at a license agent by either showing proof of satisfactorily completing the hunter safety course or proof of having held a valid hunting license previously. The youth hunter’s parent or guardian must sign the hunting license application in the presence of the license agent.
When hunting, the youth hunter must be accompanied by an unarmed
adult over 18 years of age who holds a valid Vermont hunting license. The adult may accompany no more than two youth hunters at any given time.
The adult must have direct control and supervision, including the ability to see and communicate with the youth hunter without the aid of artificial devices such as radios or binoculars, except for medically necessary devices such as hearing aids or eyeglasses.
It is important to remember that Vermont law requires landowner permission in order to hunt on private land with a youth deer tag
during youth deer weekend.
Landowners are not exempt from the requirement to purchase tags to
hunt on their own property on youth weekends.
A Vermont youth deer hunting tag is valid for one deer of either sex on youth deer weekend, and the antler restriction that applies in other deer seasons does not apply.
I especially like the fact that the amount of fine will be doubled for a violation on Youth Deer Hunting Weekend, and the fine shall be assessed against the licensed adult who has the youth hunter in his or her charge.
Youth weekend offers hunters a chance to pass on a tradition to a new generation and make sure they learn to hunt safely and ethically.
Bits and Pieces
If you are aware of poaching, trespassing, destruction of property, littering, or theft taking place in New Hampshire, call Operation Game Thief immediately. I f you see someone taking an over-limit of fish, shooting an animal out of season, shooting from the road, or leaving trash in an area where they have been hunting or fishing, let Operation Game Thief know about it.
You can report violations to Fish and Game's Operation Game Thief online anytime at http://www.wildnh.com/ogt, or call the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-344-4262. Confidentiality is guaranteed. Rewards are paid for tips that lead to arrest or citation.
***
The next meeting of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission will be held on Tuesday, October 21 at 1 p.m. Commission meetings take place on the third Tuesday of each month unless scheduled otherwise.
The October meeting will be held at the NH Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive in Concord. Meetings of the NH Fish and Game Commission are open to the public. As they become available, meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings are posted at http://www.wildlife.nh.gov/about-new-hampshire-fish-and-game/nhfg-commission.
Following the Fish and Game Commission meeting, the second and final biennial public hearing of 2025 will be held at 6 p.m. at Fish and Game Department Headquarters.
***
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department held its annual permit lottery for muzzleloader antlerless deer permits on September 9 and says it still has unallocated muzzleloader antlerless deer permits available for use in the antlerless-only October 30-November 2 muzzleloader season and the December 6-14 muzzleloader season.
These permits can be purchased on F&W website, www.vtfishandwildlife.com/, or at any local license agent on a first come, first served basis at a cost of $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents.
The Wildlife Management Units that still have muzzleloader antlerless permits available online and at local license agents statewide as of October 6 are: A, B, F1, F2, G, J1, J2, K, N, O, and Q.
A person may only hold one antlerless permit at a time. After taking an antlerless deer with their permit, they may purchase an additional unallocated permit if they are still available.
***
Newbury’s Tucker Mountain Town Forest, https://tuckertownforest.org/, has new children’s book installed on its Vance Brook Trail.
Willow and the Storm by Vermont Forester Ethan Tapper is illustrated by Francis Cannon. It is a book about ecology, regeneration, resilience and the end of life.
Willow lives on a little farm with her parents and grandfather who every day takes her on a walk in the woods and teaches her about the trees, plants and animals of the forest.
***
Maine’s 2023-2024 Game Species Conservation and Management Report provides harvest data and trends, current research and monitoring, management updates and more.
To view it got to: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/25-MDIFW-25-R+M-REPORT-2023-24-Game.pdf.
Parting Shots
Linda and I went to White River Jct. to see Come From Away at Northern Stage the previous weekend. We highly recommend it.
It is based on the 9-11-01 diverting of 38 planes to Gander Newfoundland and how the citizens of Gander and the surrounding villages took in thousands of stranded passengers and housed and fed them for five days.
The show runs through October 26. For tickets and information, go to https://northernstage.org/.
***
What a difference a week makes. The previous weekend weather was spectacular with record high temps in many areas. I spent most of the weekend working in the woods felling and skidding out trees for next year’s firewood. I had to keep reminding myself that it was October.
That Monday was also unseasonable warm so we became leaf peepers and drove a long winding route through parts of Orange, Caledonia, Orleans, Lamoille, Franklin and Washington Counties. Included on our journey were Hazen’s Notch and Smugglers Notch.
The past weekend was much cooler and the Thursday night frost ended our flowers outside and and at the pond.
I did not mind two days of training with the state hazmat team and being inside much of the time.
***
This column marks 48 years since it was started in the Journal Opinion on October 12, 1977. It has run in papers from the Massachusetts to Canadian borders, 52 times a year.
That has been made possible by your support, encouragement and most of all, your tips and suggestions on things to cover.
God willing, it will make it to 50 years.
Thank you.
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.
copyright 2025 Gary W. Moore
Accompanying adults must be licensed hunters and are not permitted to carry a firearm.
Prospects for this year’s youth season are excellent, according to Becky Fuda, Deer Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “New Hampshire’s deer population is healthy and will provide excellent opportunities,” said Fuda. “Last year’s adult buck harvest was the sixth-highest on record, and deer numbers remain strong throughout the state.” In 2024, young hunters took 361 deer during the weekend, a 45 percent increase from the year prior.
Vermont’s youth deer hunting weekend is also October 25-26.
A resident or nonresident youth, 15 years of age or younger on the weekend of the hunt, who has successfully completed a hunter safety course may obtain a free youth deer hunting tag to hunt during this season. The youth must also purchase a Vermont hunting license at a license agent by either showing proof of satisfactorily completing the hunter safety course or proof of having held a valid hunting license previously. The youth hunter’s parent or guardian must sign the hunting license application in the presence of the license agent.
When hunting, the youth hunter must be accompanied by an unarmed
adult over 18 years of age who holds a valid Vermont hunting license. The adult may accompany no more than two youth hunters at any given time.
The adult must have direct control and supervision, including the ability to see and communicate with the youth hunter without the aid of artificial devices such as radios or binoculars, except for medically necessary devices such as hearing aids or eyeglasses.
It is important to remember that Vermont law requires landowner permission in order to hunt on private land with a youth deer tag
during youth deer weekend.
Landowners are not exempt from the requirement to purchase tags to
hunt on their own property on youth weekends.
A Vermont youth deer hunting tag is valid for one deer of either sex on youth deer weekend, and the antler restriction that applies in other deer seasons does not apply.
I especially like the fact that the amount of fine will be doubled for a violation on Youth Deer Hunting Weekend, and the fine shall be assessed against the licensed adult who has the youth hunter in his or her charge.
Youth weekend offers hunters a chance to pass on a tradition to a new generation and make sure they learn to hunt safely and ethically.
Bits and Pieces
If you are aware of poaching, trespassing, destruction of property, littering, or theft taking place in New Hampshire, call Operation Game Thief immediately. I f you see someone taking an over-limit of fish, shooting an animal out of season, shooting from the road, or leaving trash in an area where they have been hunting or fishing, let Operation Game Thief know about it.
You can report violations to Fish and Game's Operation Game Thief online anytime at http://www.wildnh.com/ogt, or call the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-344-4262. Confidentiality is guaranteed. Rewards are paid for tips that lead to arrest or citation.
***
The next meeting of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission will be held on Tuesday, October 21 at 1 p.m. Commission meetings take place on the third Tuesday of each month unless scheduled otherwise.
The October meeting will be held at the NH Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive in Concord. Meetings of the NH Fish and Game Commission are open to the public. As they become available, meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings are posted at http://www.wildlife.nh.gov/about-new-hampshire-fish-and-game/nhfg-commission.
Following the Fish and Game Commission meeting, the second and final biennial public hearing of 2025 will be held at 6 p.m. at Fish and Game Department Headquarters.
***
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department held its annual permit lottery for muzzleloader antlerless deer permits on September 9 and says it still has unallocated muzzleloader antlerless deer permits available for use in the antlerless-only October 30-November 2 muzzleloader season and the December 6-14 muzzleloader season.
These permits can be purchased on F&W website, www.vtfishandwildlife.com/, or at any local license agent on a first come, first served basis at a cost of $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents.
The Wildlife Management Units that still have muzzleloader antlerless permits available online and at local license agents statewide as of October 6 are: A, B, F1, F2, G, J1, J2, K, N, O, and Q.
A person may only hold one antlerless permit at a time. After taking an antlerless deer with their permit, they may purchase an additional unallocated permit if they are still available.
***
Newbury’s Tucker Mountain Town Forest, https://tuckertownforest.org/, has new children’s book installed on its Vance Brook Trail.
Willow and the Storm by Vermont Forester Ethan Tapper is illustrated by Francis Cannon. It is a book about ecology, regeneration, resilience and the end of life.
Willow lives on a little farm with her parents and grandfather who every day takes her on a walk in the woods and teaches her about the trees, plants and animals of the forest.
***
Maine’s 2023-2024 Game Species Conservation and Management Report provides harvest data and trends, current research and monitoring, management updates and more.
To view it got to: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/25-MDIFW-25-R+M-REPORT-2023-24-Game.pdf.
Parting Shots
Linda and I went to White River Jct. to see Come From Away at Northern Stage the previous weekend. We highly recommend it.
It is based on the 9-11-01 diverting of 38 planes to Gander Newfoundland and how the citizens of Gander and the surrounding villages took in thousands of stranded passengers and housed and fed them for five days.
The show runs through October 26. For tickets and information, go to https://northernstage.org/.
***
What a difference a week makes. The previous weekend weather was spectacular with record high temps in many areas. I spent most of the weekend working in the woods felling and skidding out trees for next year’s firewood. I had to keep reminding myself that it was October.
That Monday was also unseasonable warm so we became leaf peepers and drove a long winding route through parts of Orange, Caledonia, Orleans, Lamoille, Franklin and Washington Counties. Included on our journey were Hazen’s Notch and Smugglers Notch.
The past weekend was much cooler and the Thursday night frost ended our flowers outside and and at the pond.
I did not mind two days of training with the state hazmat team and being inside much of the time.
***
This column marks 48 years since it was started in the Journal Opinion on October 12, 1977. It has run in papers from the Massachusetts to Canadian borders, 52 times a year.
That has been made possible by your support, encouragement and most of all, your tips and suggestions on things to cover.
God willing, it will make it to 50 years.
Thank you.
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.
copyright 2025 Gary W. Moore
The fallen leaves add color to the road from home to our pond.
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