Hunting in New Hampshire FAQs

Hunter and Trapper Education classes are held in spring and summer throughout the state.

Read information about becoming a Hunter Education instructor.

New Hampshire residents should apply for a Pistol/Revolver License at the police station in the town where they live. Pistol/Revolver Licenses for non-residents are issued by the New Hampshire State Police, Licensing & Permits: (603) 271-3575.

Yes

In New Hampshire, feral wild boar are considered private property. In southwest New Hampshire, where the vast majority of our feral boar exist, they are considered property of Blue Mountain Forest Association, a privately owned preserve located in Croydon, NH. Permission is required to hunt free-ranging wild boar that escape from their property. If granted permission (which typically is granted), you need to have a current regular NH hunting license, and you must hunt within legal hunting hours. Note that feral wild boar are limited in number and are difficult to locate without local knowledge. 

Yes. Unit M Antlerless-only Permit holders can harvest an antlerless deer in WMU M through the end of the regular firearms deer season. Permitholders also possessing an archery license may harvest a doe in WMU M through the end of the archery season, December 15.

Detach your tag from the license and fill it out completely upon killing a deer, then attach it securely to the animal. Most people poke a hole in one of the deer's ears and either pin or tie the tag to the ear. A good practice is to attach it so that the tag is on the inside of the ear, so that you can either tie or wrap some tape around the ear to close it around the tag. This helps prevent the tag from being ripped off as you drag the deer out of the woods.

Yes. You may use the assistance of a licensed leashed dog tracker/leashed tracking dog to assist in the recovery of deer, moose or bear. View a list of the leashed dog trackers licensed in New Hampshire. When tracking wounded or dead big game, the licensed tracker shall wear two articles of hunter orange clothing to include a solid-colored hunter orange hat and a jacket, vest, coat or poncho which is a minimum of 50% hunter orange. Those who wish to become licensed leashed dog trackers, complete the print-and-mail application.

An annual archery hunt takes place on Long Island in Moultonboro, NH. It is open only to bow hunters who have obtained written landowner permission on a form that can be picked up at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord; or individuals can call the Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461 to request a form by mail. Attached to the forms are the pertinent rules and laws that govern this hunt. The hunt begins the first weekday in October and runs through December 15 except for certain weekends and holidays that are outlined in the rules. Once the landowner forms are completed, permits must be purchased at Fish and Game headquarters starting August 1.

Hunters age 16 and older are required to have a current NH Hunting License, as well as a state of NH Migratory Waterfowl License and a Federal Duck Stamp. The license can be purchased at any license agent. To order a NH Duck Stamp or collector stamps or sheets of stamps, complete the print-and-mail order form. The federal stamp can be purchased at many U.S. Post Offices, at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department in Concord or at Fish and Game's Region 2 office in New Hampton. You also are required to have a Harvest Information Program (H.I.P.) Validation Number issued.

The boundaries for the VT/NH border are in Vermont from Interstate 91 to Route 2 to Route 102 to Route 253 (running south to north) -- read more information and obtain a map. Even though the interstate and routes are in Vermont, they fall under NH regulations. NOTE: IF YOU ARE HUNTING ON THE VERMONT PORTION OF THE BOUNDARY YOU MUST HAVE A VERMONT HUNTING LICENSE AND FOLLOW THE NEW HAMPSHIRE REGULATIONS. If you have questions about specific areas, you should speak with the local conservation officer.

• Read more information and obtain a map
• The Coastal Zone begins at the Maine-New Hampshire line in Rollinsford, that portion of the State east of a boundary formed by State Highway 4 west to the city of Dover, south to the intersection of State Highway 108, south along State Highway 108 through Madbury, Durham, and Newmarket to the junction of State Highway 85 in Newfields, south to State Highway 101 in Exeter, east to Interstate 95 (NH Turnpike) in Hampton, and south to the Massachusetts line.
• The Inland Zone is that portion of the state west of the above boundary.
• There is also a Northern Zone.

View the list of towns scheduled to be stocked with pheasants and the number of sites to be found in each town. This list also includes the public lands to be stocked. Because of an understanding we have with private landowners, we agree not to give out specific landowner names and addresses. You can contact local sporting goods and convenience stores for more tips on where to find the birds, as well as looking for suitable habitat in the area. Read more about pheasant season.

• New Hampshire Wildlife Management Areas
• Topographic Maps of NH 
   

We also suggest keeping a DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer of New Hampshire available; if you don't have one, it's available at most bookstores and convenience stores. The front of the atlas lists most state-owned properties and they are also highlighted on the maps within the book.

Conservation lands can also be mapped using GRANIT at https://granit.unh.edu/.

Currently, the farthest east that CWD has been found is New York State. In all likelihood, it is not in New Hampshire. Along with most northeastern states, we sample a number of harvested deer each year for testing as a means of CWD surveillance; all NH samples to date have tested negative. Testing is ongoing.

Hunters and butchers can take the same precautions as they might to protect against other blood-borne pathogens or diseases by using rubber gloves and suggest people avoid eating brain, spleen, eyes, and lymph nodes. Also, don't cut into the spine before you bone out the meat. Although it will not help inactivate/kill the abnormal protein that causes CWD, it is always good practice to fully cook all game meats.

Important! Fish and Game prohibits the importation into New Hampshire of hunter-killed cervid (deer family) carcasses or parts of carcasses from any of the jurisdictions in which CWD has been detected, except for de-boned meat, antlers, antlers attached to skull caps from which all soft tissue has been removed, upper canine teeth (a.k.a. buglers, whistlers or ivories), hides or capes with no part of the head attached, and finished taxidermy mounts.

Read Facts About Chronic Wasting Disease, which includes a current list of jurisdictions where CWD has been detected. For more info and updates on CWD go to www.cwd-info.org, a national clearinghouse.

The Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Newington holds a special hunt on the first weekend of the regular firearms season. The shotgun-only white-tailed deer hunt serves the dual purposes of supporting the state's effort to control the deer population in Unit M and providing recreational opportunities on the 1,100-acre refuge.

A total of 40 hunters (20 each day) are selected through a free lottery for one-day hunting permits. Applications are typically available each year from the Refuge by September 1. Interested hunters can pick up a lottery application at the Reserve's information kiosk on Merrimack Drive (accessible via Pease Tradeport). Read more information and obtain an application.