Hunting in Maine: 3 Things To Know About Urban Deer Hunting in Cities and Suburbs

Maine’s expanded archery season is designed to make it easier for city and suburban residents to hunt deer in their communities and prune their areas of excessive wild animals. In some instances, however, the initiative can conflict with local policies.

Here are three things to know about urban deer hunting in Maine.

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1. The expanded archery season aims to reduce the deer population in residential areas.
Scheduled in 2015 for Sept. 12,  through Dec. 12, the annual expanded archery season is designated for use in parts of Maine that aren’t open to firearms hunting because of municipal firearms discharge ordinances. Typically, these areas consist of extensive residential developments mixed with small woodlots.

The expanded archery season is much longer than the regular archery season for deer, which takes place for one month statewide. Regions designated for the expanded season include Wildlife Management Districts 29 and 24, and nine smaller areas, Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said. These parts of southern and central Maine include areas around Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Waterville, Lewiston, Camden, Elliot and Castine.

2. The initiative doesn’t apply to all areas of the targeted region.
Even if you live in the designated areas of the expanded archery season, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can just pick up your bow on Sept. 12, walk over to the nearest wooded grove and start shooting deer. The Eliot area, for instance, includes only parts of the towns of Eliot, Kittery and South Berwick.

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Rules also vary by municipality. Portland residents are advised that, since the city bans the discharge of both firearms and archery equipment, hunting deer anywhere in Portland (including coastal islands) is prohibited. Waterville residents are urged to contact their local police department for information on municipal ordinances affecting the discharge and possession of a bow and arrow.

3. Tag fees and bag limits apply to the expanded archery season.
Adults and 10- to-15-year-old kids can both take part in the season. An adult needs a valid Maine archery license, while a child needs a valid Maine junior hunting license. Each hunter can take one buck deer free of charge, plus a second buck for a tag fee of $32. Hunters also can take limitless antlerless deer at tag fees of $12 apiece, according to Skinnymoose.com. So ideally, while helping to trim the deer populations in congested urban and suburban areas, families can fill up their freezers with venison.

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