Hunters happy with rifle season

After a slow start to Vermont’s 16-day rifle season for deer locally, hunters brought a near-record number of bucks to be weighed at Addison County’s wildlife reporting stations.

Many hunters were successful locally as Vermont’s 16-day rifle season for deer opened this past weekend — but not as many as in most recent seasons.

Eighty-eight young and first-time hunters brought deer they’d shot to Addison County’s wildlife reporting stations during Youth Hunting Weekend on Oct. 22-23.

Hunters are gearing up for the start of Vermont’s traditionally popular 16-day regular deer season that begins Saturday, November 12, and ends Sunday, November 27. 

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking hunters for help gathering biological data on the state’s deer population.

The time that deer are most active, during the dawn and dusk hours, are times of especially low visibility.

Vermont’s 2022 archery deer season begins Saturday, Oct. 1. There are two sessions of the season — Oct. 1-Nov. 11 and again from Nov. 28-Dec. 15.

A quiet walk down a hidden woods road, bright fall foliage coloring the canopy overhead and the crisp, cool air of an early morning — these are just some of the elements of a great Vermont upland gamebird hunting experience. 

Deer hunters who applied for a Vermont muzzleloader season antlerless deer permit by the Aug. 3 deadline can now go to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) to see if they won a permit. 

This year’s youth waterfowl hunt will take place the weekend of Sept. 24 and 25. Hunters 17 years of age or younger may hunt ducks and geese in the Lake Champlain and Interior Vermont waterfowl hunting zones on those dates.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says bear hunting season starts in September and reminds hunters about the bear hunting regulations.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department now has information on its website about the 2022 controlled waterfowl hunts at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison.

Vermont’s resident Canada goose hunting season will be held Sept. 1-Sept. 25 to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from Canada.

If you or someone you know would like to go hunting this fall but have never taken a hunter education course, this is the time to act: Vermont’s volunteer hunter education instructors are now holding a limited number of courses throughout the state.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has announced the 2022-2023 migratory game bird hunting season dates and bag limits.