Deadline to apply for an antlerless deer permit is almost here

The deadline to apply for your 2024 antlerless deer permit is coming up in just a couple of days.

Licensed hunters must submit their online applications to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, to be entered in Maine’s deer permit lottery. The drawing will be held on Aug. 15.

Maine uses the annual antlerless deer permits to help manage the state’s large herd. The associated fees help fund buying and managing deer wintering areas, mostly in northern Maine, according to the MDIF&W.

Although there is no fee to enter the lottery for one of the 128,030 permits available, winners need to claim and purchase their permits for $12, plus a $2 agent fee, by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 12.

The state increased the number of permits available by nearly 20,000 from 2023.

The permit allows hunters to shoot an antlerless deer in a specific wildlife management district, plus an antlered deer statewide. Hunters may purchase extra antlerless permits if there are some left over from the lottery, starting on Sept. 17 , on a first-come, first-served basis.

The state reports that a total of 38,215 deer were killed during the 2023 hunting seasons. There were 108,070 antlerless deer permits available last year. Of those, 58,166 were claimed and paid for from the lottery, 28,240 were purchased as bonus permits and 21,664 were not purchased.