Deer Hunting

Vermont has high-quality deer hunting due to a rural landscape, lots of public and private land open to hunting, regulations allowing opportunities to hunt with archery, rifle and muzzleloader, and plenty of deer.

The greatest deer densities are found in the northwest and southwest corners of the state and along the Connecticut River. The high elevation mountains that run north to south and the northeastern quarter of the state have fewer deer but more remote country for hunters who like to get into bigger woods.

Vermont has a four-deer annual limit, only one of which may be a legal buck. Archery deer hunting opportunities have expanded with a lengthened archery season and crossbows allowed, plus the potential for multiple archery licenses. Youth and novice hunts occur before the 16-day regular November deer season. Muzzleloader season comes in December. A four-day muzzleloader season only for antlerless deer (with permits) may be held 16 days prior to the regular November season. Check for latest regulations at our website: www.vtfishandwildlife.com.

Deer Limits and Regulation Updates

Antlerless deer harvest opportunities for each WMU are determined annually by the Fish and Wildlife Board in early summer after public notice and hearings. The Board determines if antlerless deer may be taken during archery, novice, youth, and muzzleloader seasons and the number of muzzleloader antlerless permits available by lottery. Check our website www.vtfishandwildlife.com for these and other new regulations.

Annual Deer Limit

A person shall not take more than four deer in a calendar year, only one of which may be a legal buck (see below). Youth and novice hunters shall be allowed to take two legal bucks, provided that one is taken during the youth or novice season, not to exceed the annual limit of four deer.

Hunting Hours

Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one – half hour after sunset. (See Sunset/Sunrise Table)

Tagging Deer

Deer must be tagged immediately when taken. The tag must be placed on the carcass open to view and remain there until the carcass is cut up for consumption.

Reporting Deer

A person taking deer shall within 48 hours report the taking and exhibit the carcass to the nearest game warden, official Fish & Wildlife Department Reporting Station, or to a person designated by the commissioner to receive the reports.

Deer may also be reported online during certain seasons. Check our website for more information.

A deer must be field dressed prior to reporting. A hunter must take a warden to the kill site of a deer if requested by a warden. No deer carcass shall be transported out of state without first being reported.

Biological Information

Deer hunters can contribute valuable information for the management of Vermont’s deer herd by 1) completing the annual regular November season hunter effort surveys, 2) reporting their deer at select biological check stations during the youth and regular November season weekend, and 3) collecting a tooth from their deer during the regular November season. This will enable biologists to record key information such as age, antler characteristics, and health of the harvested deer.

Transporting Deer

A tagged deer may be transported only during the open season and for 20 days thereafter.

Deer may be legally transported only under these conditions:

• By the person who shot the deer.
• When accompanied by the person who shot the deer (including moving the deer from kill-site to camp or motor vehicle).
• By a person who holds a mentored hunting license, unaccompanied by the fully licensed adult hunter.
• When transported by common carrier (for example, a shipping company) and tagged with the name of the sender and receiver, name of station shipped from and its destination.

The appropriate deer tag must be securely attached to the deer in these circumstances.

When transporting parts of a deer, the parts or package must be marked with name and address of the person who killed the deer.

Deer do not need to be visible when transported.

Also, see the Transporting and Importing sections in Big Game Hunting and the general transporting section in General Regulations.

Baiting and Deer Lures

It is illegal to hunt or take any wild animal by using bait during any deer hunting season, except that trappers may use bait in taking furbearers. Bait is defined as any animal, vegetable, fruit or mineral matter placed with the intention of attracting wildlife. Artificial scents and lures are legal, provided they are not designed to be consumed by eating or licking. Deer lures containing any cervid urine, blood, gland oil, feces, or other bodily fluids, are illegal to use in Vermont.

It is illegal to take deer by using bait. The following four circumstances are not considered baiting:

• Incidental feeding of wildlife within active livestock operations;
• Standing crops planted and left standing as food plots for wildlife;
• Grain or other feed scattered or distributed solely as a result of normal agricultural, gardening, or soil stabilization, and logging practices; and
• Vegetation or food/seed naturally deposited.

Feeding Deer

It is illegal to feed wild deer at any time except:

• Under a license or permit issued by Fish & Wildlife for scientific research, mitigation of wildlife damage or nuisance problems, or wildlife population reduction programs;
• By planting, cultivating or harvesting of crops directly associated with agricultural practices, including planted wildlife food plots.

It is also illegal to sell feed meant for deer per Vermont statute 6 V.S.A. Section 324 (d) No person shall distribute a commercial feed product in the State that is labeled as bait or feed for white-tailed deer.

Swimming Deer

It is illegal to take a deer that is swimming in any lake, pond, river or other body of water.

Definitions of Terms for Deer Seasons

Legal Buck

In Wildlife Management Units C, D1, D2, E1, E2, G, I, L, M, P, and Q a legal buck shall be any deer with at least one antler three inches or more in length.

In Wildlife Management Units A, B, F1, F2, H, J1, J2, K, N, and O a legal buck shall be any deer with at least one antler with two or more antler points one inch in length or longer.

Point

An antler projection of at least one inch measured from its base at the main beam to its tip. A broken main beam shall count as a point, regardless of length.

Antlerless Deer

Those deer without antlers or with antlers less than three (3) inches in length.

Archery Deer Season — Oct. 1 – Nov. 10 & Nov. 27 – Dec. 15, 2024

Archery season is closed during the regular November season.

Licenses

Any person wishing to hunt deer with a bow and arrow or crossbow during archery deer season must have an archery license/tag. A hunting or combination hunting and fishing license is required in addition to an archery license, except for nonresident archery-only deer license.

Limit

One legal buck (see definition of Legal Buck above) may be taken during the archery season anywhere in the state not to exceed the annual limit. Check Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website www.vtfishandwildlife.com in August to see which WMUs are open to antlerless deer hunting in archery season. In WMUs that are open to antlerless hunting, up to 4 deer may be taken with 4 archery licenses in archery season.

Deer must be taken by bow and arrow or crossbow. The arrowhead must be at least 7/8 of an inch in width with two or more cutting edges.

It is illegal to carry a rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader while archery hunting deer in the archery deer season.

A hunter may possess a pistol or revolver while archery deer hunting. The pistol or revolver MAY NOT be used to take game or dispatch the deer.

Crossbow

A crossbow may be used by anyone to take game that may be taken by bow and arrow.

Unless it is uncocked, it is illegal to possess or transport a crossbow in or on a motor vehicle, motorboat, airplane, snowmobile, or other motor-propelled craft or any vehicle drawn by a motor-propelled vehicle.

Recovery of Archery Deer After Hours

Contact a licensed leashed dog tracker to pursue and recover a deer wounded with an arrow after the close of legal shooting time. In the alternative, a hunter must secure permission from the state game warden by calling the nearest state police office, giving the exact location and circumstances. Any recovered deer must be tagged, reported and exhibited to the nearest game warden.

Youth Deer Weekend — Oct. 21 – 22, 2024

Vermont’s youth deer weekend is on the Saturday and Sunday three weeks prior to the opening of the regular November deer season.

A resident or nonresident youth, 15 years of age or younger on the weekend of the hunt, who has successfully completed a hunter safety course must obtain a free youth deer hunting tag to hunt during this season. The youth must also purchase a Vermont youth hunting license at a license agent by either showing proof of satisfactorily completing the hunter safety course or proof of having held a valid hunting license previously. The youth hunter’s parent or guardian must sign the hunting license application in the presence of the license agent.

When hunting, the youth hunter must be accompanied by an unarmed adult over 18 years of age who holds a valid Vermont hunting license. The adult may accompany no more than two youth hunters at any given time. The adult must have direct control and supervision, including the ability to see and communicate with the youth hunter without the aid of artificial devices such as radios or binoculars, except for medically necessary devices such as hearing aids or eyeglasses.

Landowner permission is required by law in order to hunt on private land with a youth deer tag during youth deer weekend. All relevant game laws and regulations apply during the Youth Deer Weekend, including the prohibition on baiting and road hunting. Landowners are not exempt from the requirement to purchase tags to hunt on their own property on youth weekends.

A Vermont youth deer hunting tag is valid for one deer on youth deer hunting weekend in accordance with the rules of the Fish & Wildlife Board announced annually.

The amount of a fine will be doubled for a violation on Youth Deer Weekend, and the fine shall be assessed against the licensed adult who has the youth hunter in his or her charge.

Novice Weekend — Oct. 21 – 22, 2024 (concurrent with Youth Deer Weekend)

Novice: A person who purchased their first hunting license within the past 12 months and is 16 years of age or older.

To participate in the novice deer hunt, a qualified person must have a Vermont hunting license, follow the requirements of the youth deer season, and get a free novice deer tag.

The novice hunter must be accompanied by an unarmed adult who holds a valid Vermont hunting license and who is 18 years of age or older. An adult accompanying a novice shall accompany no more than two novice hunters at one time. “Accompany,” “accompanied,” or “accompanying” means direct control and supervision, including the ability to see and communicate with the novice hunter without the aid of artificial devices such as radios or binoculars, except for medically necessary devices such as hearing aids or eyeglasses.

No Novice hunter shall hunt under this section on privately owned land without first obtaining the permission of the owner or occupant.

Limit

One legal buck (see definition of Legal Buck above) may be taken during this season, or any deer if the Board has authorized the taking of antlerless deer during youth hunting weekend.

Muzzleloader Antlerless Deer Season

If antlerless permits are available, a muzzleloader antlerless deer season will occur for four consecutive days beginning on the Thursday 16 days prior the opening of the regular November deer season (Oct. 26 – 29, 2024) — check our website in June for an announcement. A muzzleloader license and an antlerless permit are required for this season. If this 4-day season is held, the antlerless permit may be used during this season or during the regular muzzleloader deer season.

Regular November Deer Season — Nov. 11 – 26, 2024

Limit

One legal buck (see definition of Legal Buck above) may be taken anywhere in the state. A person shall not take more than four white-tailed deer in a year in all deer hunting seasons, only one of which may be a legal buck.

Methods

A rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, handgun, bow and arrow, or crossbow may be used during this season.

Muzzleloader Deer Season — Dec. 2 – 10, 2024

Licenses

Muzzleloader license and hunting license required.

Limit

One legal buck (see definition of Legal Buck above) may be taken anywhere in the state. In addition, with an antlerless permit issued by the department, a person may take an antlerless deer within the authorized WMU.

Definition of Muzzleloading Firearm

A single-shot, single-barrel rifle or smoothbore firearm with a minimum barrel length of 20 inches, designed to be fired from the shoulder or a single-shot pistol with a minimum barrel length of 10 inches. Both rifle and pistol must be incapable of being loaded from the breach without the use of tools, and must have a minimum bore diameter of 0.43 inches and an ignition system of traditional or modern flintlock, caplock, matchlock, in-line or wheellock style.

Definition of Ammunition for Muzzleloaders

Black powder or other suitable non-smokeless propellant, and a single ball or bullet.

Definition of Loaded Muzzleloader

The muzzleloading firearm shall be considered loaded when it has been charged with powder and projectile and is primed or capped.

Special Provisions

A person hunting deer in a muzzleloader deer season shall not possess any firearms other than one single-barreled muzzleloading firearm, and shall not possess or substitute any archery equipment or crossbow while hunting deer under a muzzleloader deer hunting license.