Hunters are enthusiastic about Vermont’s upcoming archery deer hunting split season, Oct. 4-26 and Dec. 6-14, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
“Deer are moving about and being seen more now with cooler weather to stimulate activity,” said Cedric Sanborn at R&L Archery in Barre.
“This year is very different because, unlike last year, there are very few apples in the woods and a lot of deer are feeding out in fields,” he added. “Hunters will do well to set up stands along deer trails leading into those fields.”
A hunter may take up to three deer in Vermont’s two-part archery season with three archery licenses. No more than one of the deer taken during archery season may be a legal buck. A “legal buck” is a deer with at least one antler having two or more points one inch or longer.
In order to purchase an archery license, the hunter must show a certificate of satisfactory completion of a bow hunter education course, or show a previous or current bow hunting license from any state or Canadian province, or sign an affidavit that they have previously held an archery license.
Hunters must have a standard hunting license in order to purchase an add-on archery deer hunting license, except that nonresidents may purchase an “archery only deer license” costing $75. Licenses may be purchased at www.vtfishandwildlife.com.
It is now legal to carry a pistol or revolver while bow hunting deer in the bow and arrow season. However, the pistol or revolver MAY NOT be used to take game or dispatch the deer. It is illegal to carry a rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader while bow hunting deer in the bow-and-arrow deer season.
According to the regulations, “A person shall not take any wild animal by shooting a firearm, muzzleloader, bow and arrow or crossbow while on or within 25 feet of the traveled portion of a public highway, except a public highway designated Class 4 on a town highway map. A person while on or within the traveled portion of a Class 4 public highway shall not take any wild animal by shooting a firearm, muzzleloader, bow and arrow, or crossbow.”
Hunters planning their first Vermont archery deer hunting trip or looking for new hunting areas should get a copy of the “2013 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report,” which gives the number of deer taken in each town in last year’s deer hunting seasons. For more information visit vtfishandwildlife.com.
