Make sure your deer hunt is a safe hunt Monday, October 28, 2002
- Be sure that someone knows where you are headed, and when you plan to return.
- Carry emergency survival gear, a flashlight, map and
compass, matches and water.
- Stop periodically to eat and re-hydrate yourself.
- Wear two pieces of hunter orange that are in good condition.
- Be sure of your target, and what is beyond it.
- Always keep the muzzle of your firearm pointed in a safe direction.
- Unload your firearm before entering a dwelling, before entering a vehicle, or before storing it.
Hunting Safety Facts
- In the past ten deer firearm seasons, there has not been one reported instance of a non-hunting person (hiker, jogger, homeowner, etc.) being injured by someone deer hunting.
- Hunting seasons for various animals and birds encompass all 12 months in Maine. In that same time span of ten years (3,653 days), there have been only two instances of a non-hunter (hiker, jogger, homeowner, etc.) being injured by the firearm of a hunter.
- Over the past five years, 52% (29 of the 56) hunting-related
shootings have been self-inflicted.
- In the state of Maine during the calendar year 2001, there were 192 vehicular fatalities, 19 homicides, 12 snowmobiling fatalities (winter 2001-2002), 12 vehicular - pedestrian fatalities, 7 boating fatalities and 1 hunting fatality.
Maine White-tailed Deer Facts:
- In 2001, Deer hunting success averaged 16.3%. Moose hunters had an 85% success rate in 2001 and turkey hunters had a 41% success rate.
- There are approximately 241,000 white-tailed deer in Maine
(estimated wintering population this past year).
- Hunters killed 27,769 deer last year, down from 35,750 in 2000.
- Maine's regular firearm season attracts the most hunters (171,000) and accounts for the greatest share of the total deer harvest, which includes two archery seasons, the firearm season as well as a muzzleloader season. In 2001, 89% of the total deer harvest was taken during the four-week firearms deer season.
- Maine's residents registered 88 percent of the deer harvest in 2001.
- Success rate of Any-Deer permit holders was 27%, the success rate of bucks-only hunters was 10%.
- In some parts of northern Maine, there is a wintering population of deer that is a low as 2 deer per square mile. Generally, northern and eastern WMDs average less than 8 deer per square mile.
- Central and Southern Maine range between 15 and 30 deer per square mile.
- Some southern coastal sections of Maine where hunting access is restricted or denied average 30-100 deer per square mile.
- This year, 76,989 Any Deer permits were issued, the most ever since the any deer permit system was adopted in 1986.
- The peak breeding time for deer in Maine is the third week of November, consistent with the peak for deer breeding activity from Nova
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