I won the lottery today!

[Debaser]

I won! I won!

I will be able to hunt this year in the 8 day, NH moose hunt. Actually, my hunting buddy won. However, the winner gets two licenses so that they can hunt in teams. Since both of us entered this year, we had twice the chance of winnning.

This was the first year either of us have tried the lottery. Even in state residents often enter every year for a lifetime without ever winning. As an out of state resident, I am lucky indeed.

I think I need to go rifle shopping this weekend.

Moose Hunt Permit Winners Announced

CONCORD, N.H. – An exciting fall is in store for 485 people who have been offered permits to hunt moose in New Hampshire this October. They were the lucky winners in the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s annual moose permit lottery drawing held today.

The winners, randomly selected by computer from a pool of more than 14,000 applicants, were offered permits to hunt moose during the October 18-26 season. Each permittee can enlist a friend or relative and a guide to help on the hunt.

More than 90 people showed up at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord to watch this morning’s drawing and talk about moose hunts past and future; four of those in attendance were selected. Jena LaValley of Webster and Everett Hayes of Franklin pushed the buttons to initiate the computerized winner selection.

Among the winners present was David B. Williams of Raymond, a lifelong New Hampshire resident who has applied for the lottery every year since it began. An avid hunter, Williams has traveled as far as Alaska and the Northwest Territories to hunt elk, bear and other big game. He’s made a point never to hunt moose on these trips, however, because he wanted his first moose hunting experience to be here in the Granite State. “I couldn’t believe it – I’ve waited so long for this chance!” said Williams. “I’m a person who really enjoys the sport of hunting, and I love New Hampshire. I am really looking forward to hunting moose here in my home state. This is very special.”

A total of 14,401 people applied for moose hunt permits this year, about two-thirds of them New Hampshire residents. The odds of winning a permit were about 1 in 23 for residents and 1 in 64 for out-of-staters. The names of the winners are posted on Fish and Game’s website: www.wildlife.state.nh.us.

Thanks to the recovery of moose populations, New Hampshire has had an annual moose hunt since 1988. That year, 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country.

The availability of 485 hunting permits this year, with some issued for every area of the state during the nine-day season, has been made possible by careful management of moose populations and improved moose habitat. The resulting sustainable annual harvest of moose helps to regulate moose numbers and provides a unique recreational opportunity.

Each permit winner is assigned to one of 22 wildlife management units (WMU’s) in which he or she can legally hunt. Fifty antlerless-only moose permits were issued in northern New Hampshire WMU’s, with the remaining 435 permits valid for taking any moose in WMU’s across the state.

In 2002, hunters took 355 moose (485 permits were offered in the lottery). The success rate for moose hunters last year ranged from 35 percent in southeastern New Hampshire to 94 percent up north, with an average of 73 percent across the state.

Hunters whose names were selected in today’s drawing will be notified by mail. Lists of successful applicants are available at the Fish and Game headquarters in Concord; at the Department’s regional offices in Durham, Keene, Lancaster and New Hampton; and on the web at www.wildlife.state.nh.us.

Some hunters this fall may see moose with radio-telemetry collars and ear tags. In a project being conducted by Fish and Game and the University of New Hampshire, 24 moose (4 cows and 20 calves) were fitted with radio-telemetry collars and ear tags this past winter in Wildlife Management Units B, C1 and C2. Research on these animals will help biologists determine the habitat use and causes and rates of mortality of North Country moose. Hunters may shoot these collared moose, but the collars and ear tags must be turned in when the hunter registers the moose. Hunters who encounter a collared moose are encouraged to record where and when it is seen, the sex of the moose, whether they believe it is a calf, yearling or adult, and if possible, the ear tag number. Sightings of these moose should be reported to (603) 449-2094.

This research and other moose management activities in New Hampshire are funded by hunting license and permit sales and by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.

[eunoia]

Congrats, you beat the odds. Ironically, your chances of bagging a moose are even better. In the north, you can just drive around until you hit one…

[viking]

This is the point where I love living in BC. 40- to 90-day open seasons on moose, depending on the region Though the .270 I should be getting in a week or two might be a little under-gunned for moose, plus I’m not sure what I’d do with that much meat, so I think I’ll stick to deer at least for now

[Archergal]

Excellent! Best of luck for your moose! This season will be just my second hunting season (traditional archery only), and I’m really hoping to get a deer this year.

[Bricker]

I bought a Ruger #1 in 7mm specfically for a moose hunt; I was convinced that my .223 was just going to piss off the moose.

I haven’t used that piece of field artillery since, interestingly enough, since it’s way too much gun for deer…

[Debaser]

LOL. I spent the weekend looking at big guns. A .338 Remington would definately do the trick. Then sit unused for decades to come.

I figure a 30.06 will be plenty. I will have to borrow one. I usually hunt with a shotgun or 30-30.

The odds for bagging a deer in NH are only about 8% success rate. The moose lottery winners however, enjoy about a 75% success rate.

[Morgainelf]

Congrats, Debaser!

[butler1850]

Glad to see that Debaser has come around to the right school of thought for our hunting trip for Bullwinkle… .30-06 borrowed.

BTW, the odds are 90% + for northern NH, shrinking to about 30% as you move further south towards the coast of NH. 75% state wide.

-Butler (The REAL lucky bastard!)

[Dinsdale]

355 moose taken in NH last year?

I’m surprised they could even FIT 355 moose in NH.

(ducks and covers)

Seriously, are moose difficult to hunt? In my limited experience with deer and moose (not hunting) deer seem to be hard to see much of the time, and when they sense a human, they quickly disappear.

Whereas moose seem about as big as a barn, and I’ve never seen one exactly shy away at my approach.

More questions: how much meat can you expect to get off of a decent-sized moose? How does the taste of moose compare to venison? How far will you have to pack that meat?

Happy humting!

[butler1850]

From my (limited) experience with Venison, it’s about 1/2 of the “cleaned” weight (no entrails). So a 600# moose (smallish) turns out 300-350# of meat.

As far as hunting them, they are big and barnlike, and do shy away from humans and our smell, but not nearly to the extent of deer. Depending on their interaction with humans and our smells some are more or less reluctant to “run” away at our approach. I’m hoping to find some that walk right up to Debaser and myself, and have a nice bullseye on their side!

NH is big by the way, bigger than MA, RI, CT, but smaller than ME, and about the same as VT. Plenty of unused land for moose (especially north of Concord NH).

-Butler

[Cowgirl_Jules]

DeBaser, did I see you on the PSE website? I read your post here, and thought, “self, did I just read this the other day?”

Anyway, congratulations! I myself just won a special Archery Hunt in California, and I’m probably almost as excited as you are. Well, maybe not - moose is really something special! Let us know how you did, OK?

Oops, on preview, I see that it was probably Butler that I saw on the other site - congratulations to you both!

[fruitbat]

As a former New Hampshire resident I will never forget the statistic from one year’s moose hunt. They gave out 500 licenses giving one the right to bag a single moose. 498 were successful in their endeavor. I often wondered if walking up and clubbing them to death might be more sporting. I don’t think most non-northerners realize how plentiful they are in the North Woods.

[Why_A_Duck]

My sister was bit by a mööse once. No really …

[butler1850]

Bowert, it was me.

-Butler (still waiting on the tips and locations in Unit J1! Come on Dopers!

[1ofthegulls]

Oh crud, I need a sugar daddy and I thought you won some money…I can’t live on moose :rolleyes:

[NurseCarmen]

Wow. Minnesota moose hunters rarely bag a moose, and are allowed only one permit a lifetime.