Record bull taken in the archery season
Vermont moose hunters had a successful hunting season, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
“A preliminary count shows that by Oct. 26 the department had received official reports of 8 moose being taken by 42 hunters in the archery season and 107 moose taken by 230 hunters in the regular season,” said Cedric Alexander, Vermont’s moose project leader. He said a few additional reports may still be sent in from other reporting agents.
For the first time in Vermont, bulls-only permits were issued in most of the 17 Wildlife Management Units open to moose hunting. This change was made to increase population growth in order to achieve goals called for in Vermont’s Big Game Management Plan. Only in northern Vermont were hunters able to take moose of either sex.
The overall regular season hunter success rate reported to date is 47 percent, down slightly from 52 percent last year. Either-sex permit holders enjoyed a 70 percent success rate, while hunters restricted to harvesting only bulls averaged a lower success rate of 36 percent.
Pre-season scouting in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom paid off on the second morning of the archery moose hunt for Tammy Miller of Fairfax, Vermont. Using a compound bow, Miller took a 931-lb. bull moose with an antler spread of 53 ¾ inches while hunting in Norton with her husband, Eric. Miller’s huge bull topped the 919-lb. previous archery record moose taken last year by Kevin Rice.
A final report on Vermont’s moose hunting season will be available in January when all of the 2015 data have been received and reviewed.
