New Hampshire deer, moose and bear hunting: WMUs, harvest and 2026 seasons
New Hampshire hunters took 14,387 deer in 2025, the most on record, including 8,673 adult bucks, along with 1,097 bears and 23 moose. The 2026 firearms deer season opens November 11, and how many days any deer may be taken depends on the Wildlife Management Unit.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary. Seasons: NHFG Deer Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 dates); NHFG Dates and Seasons.
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When are New Hampshire's 2026 seasons?
| Season | Dates, 2026 | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Deer, archery | September 15 to December 15 | WMUs B to M (WMU A to December 8) |
| Deer, youth weekend | October 24 to 25 | Statewide, any deer |
| Deer, muzzleloader | October 31 to November 10 | Any-deer days vary by WMU |
| Deer, regular firearms | November 11 to December 6 | WMU A to November 29 |
| Bear, general | September 1 to November 10 or 30 | By bear unit |
| Bear, baiting | September 1 to 28 or October 5 | By bear unit |
| Turkey, spring | May 1 to 31 (youth April 25 to 26) | Statewide |
| Turkey, fall shotgun | October 12 to 18 | WMUs D2, H1, H2, I1, J2, K, L and M |
| Moose | October 17 to 25 | By permit |
Sources: NHFG Deer Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 dates); NHFG Bear Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 seasons); NHFG Dates and Seasons; NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management.
How many deer are taken in New Hampshire each year?
Adult bucks taken statewide, summed from NHFG's WMU columns, rose from 6,615 in 2016 to 8,673 in 2025. Total deer: 12,277 in 2024 and 14,387 in 2025, 4,922 of them by archery in 2025.
| Season | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult bucks | 8,103 | 8,339 | 8,295 | 7,925 | 8,673 |
Sources: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary; NHFG 2024 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary.
New Hampshire's deer WMUs
The most deer in 2025 came from WMU M (2,222), WMU J2 (2,113) and WMU L (1,610). The last column counts the 2026 any-deer days in muzzleloader and firearms seasons.
| WMU | Square miles | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Adult bucks, 2025 | Per sq mi of habitat | Any-deer days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMU A | 585 | 508 | 398 | 396 | 0.91 | 0 + 1 |
| WMU B | 346 | 161 | 148 | 125 | 0.49 | 0 + 1 |
| WMU C1 | 206 | 121 | 83 | 78 | 0.62 | 0 + 1 |
| WMU C2 | 257 | 160 | 117 | 117 | 0.69 | 0 + 1 |
| WMU D1 | 241 | 238 | 200 | 181 | 1.1 | 0 + 1 |
| WMU D2E | 116 | 24 | 27 | 23 | 0.23 | 1 + 2 |
| WMU D2W | 367 | 827 | 839 | 549 | 2.44 | 5 + 6 |
| WMU E | 783 | 135 | 125 | 117 | 0.2 | 1 + 2 |
| WMU F | 483 | 200 | 166 | 167 | 0.44 | 2 + 2 |
| WMU G1 | 433 | 738 | 725 | 501 | 1.9 | 6 + 6 |
| WMU G2 | 240 | 163 | 148 | 109 | 0.75 | 2 + 2 |
| WMU H1 | 410 | 908 | 814 | 598 | 2.45 | 4 + 5 |
| WMU H2 | 720 | 1,262 | 1,142 | 833 | 1.98 | 4 + 5 |
| WMU I1 | 368 | 499 | 444 | 308 | 1.56 | 3 + 3 |
| WMU I2 | 396 | 438 | 347 | 330 | 1.26 | 2 + 2 |
| WMU J1 | 507 | 666 | 576 | 476 | 1.53 | 4 + 4 |
| WMU J2 | 929 | 2,113 | 1,550 | 1,169 | 2.93 | 4 + 5 |
| WMU K | 658 | 1,394 | 1,145 | 793 | 2.5 | 4 + 4 |
| WMU L | 514 | 1,610 | 1,403 | 779 | 4.16 | 11 + 12 |
| WMU M | 722 | 2,222 | 1,880 | 1,024 | 4.94 | 11 + 12 |
Harvest: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary; NHFG 2024 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary. Days: NHFG Deer Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 dates).
Where are New Hampshire's 2026 moose permits?
7,283 people entered the 2025 lottery; 32 lottery permits took 23 moose, a 72% success rate.
| Moose WMU | Region | Permits 2026 | Moose taken 2025 | Success 2016 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMU A1 | Connecticut Lakes | 3 | 1 | 76% |
| WMU A2 | Connecticut Lakes | 7 | 4 | 84% |
| WMU B | North | 8 | 8 | 93% |
| WMU C1 | North | 4 | 4 | 80% |
| WMU C2 | North | 5 | 5 | 87% |
| WMU D1 | North | 1 | 0 | 48% |
| WMU L | Southeast | 3 | 0 | 39% |
| WMU M | Southeast | 2 | 1 | 22% |
Sources: NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management; NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary.
How much of New Hampshire is public hunting ground?
17.5% of New Hampshire is state or federal land: national forest 754,341 acres, state forest and park land 169,675 acres, Fish and Game land 64,334 acres, national wildlife refuge 32,665 acres, Army Corps of Engineers 18,169 acres and National Park Service 2,029 acres. Most of it is the White Mountain National Forest. Town, land trust and private land open to hunting is not counted here.
Wildlife Management Areas with their own page
- Adams Point, 70 acres
- Barden, 122 acres
- Beaver Brook, 258 acres
- Bellamy River - West, 421 acres
- Bofinger Conservation Area, 59 acres
- Brown, 808 acres
- Carpenters Marsh, 291 acres
- Carter Brook, 824 acres
- Cascade Marsh, 454 acres
- Cemetery Hill, 99 acres
- Chadwick Meadows, 100 acres
- Church Hill, 167 acres
- Cocheco River, 140 acres
- Coldrain Pond, 62 acres
- Connecticut Lakes Nature Preserve, 14,998 acres
- Connecticut Lakes North (East), 1,084 acres
- Connecticut Lakes North (West), 4,966 acres
- Connecticut Lakes South Bay Bog, 3,962 acres
- Connecticut River Drivers, 62 acres
- Conner Farm, 220 acres
- Corey, 181 acres
- Cornish, 42 acres
- Crommet Creek, 657 acres
- Currier, 104 acres
- Danbury Bog, 233 acres
- Deer Hill, 333 acres
- Dumpling Brook, 165 acres
- Ellingwood Street, 56 acres
- Ellis R. Hatch Jr., 1,916 acres
- Evas Marsh, 98 acres
- Farrar Marsh, 620 acres
- Forest Peters, 461 acres
- Fort Hill, 427 acres
- Garland Pond, 72 acres
- Glenn Cove, 129 acres
- Glover Farm, 817 acres
- Gordon, 40 acres
- Gray, 203 acres
- Great Bay, 82 acres
- Great Bog, 263 acres
- Greenough Ponds, 1,210 acres
- Hackett Hill, 219 acres
- Hedgehog Brook, 840 acres
- Henry Laramie, 3,292 acres
- Herbert L. Webster, 90 acres
- Hirst, 156 acres
- Hoit Road Marsh, 291 acres
- Horne Brook, 275 acres
- Hosmer, 73 acres
- Kearsarge, 1,054 acres
- Kimball Hill, 2,841 acres
- Knights Meadow Marsh, 95 acres
- Kona, 321 acres
- Lamontagne, 345 acres
- Lamprey River, 419 acres
- Leonard, 988 acres
- Lower Shaker, 1,101 acres
- Marks, 289 acres
- Mascoma River, 171 acres
- McDaniels Marsh, 687 acres
- Merrymeeting Marsh, 586 acres
- Milford Fish Hatchery, 166 acres
- Morrill Pond, 76 acres
- Mount Kelsey, 1,281 acres
- Muchyedo Banks, 292 acres
- Musquash Swamp, 149 acres
- New Hampton Fish Hatchery, 151 acres
- Owl Brook Training Facility, 1,004 acres
- Pearly Lake, 796 acres
- Pemigewasset, 93 acres
- Perkins Pond, 312 acres
- Pinchard, 252 acres
- Piscassic River, 1,108 acres
- Piscataquog, 50 acres
- Powder Mill Pond, 129 acres
- Powdermill Fish Hatchery, 102 acres
- Powwow River, 108 acres
- Reeds, 72 acres
- Richard Sargent, 368 acres
- Ryan, 49 acres
- Saltmarsh, 99 acres
- Sewall's Falls Multi-Use Recreation Area, 214 acres
- Shackford Point, 58 acres
- Souhegan River, 211 acres
- Spaulding, 52 acres
- Squamscott River, 139 acres
- Theodore W. Walski, 1,308 acres
- Tuttle Swamp, 172 acres
- Union Meadows, 122 acres
- Upper Ammonoosuc River, 99 acres
- Warren Fish Hatchery, 135 acres
- Webster Lake, 151 acres
- Wilder, 59 acres
- William B. Ruger Jr. - North, 1,273 acres
- William B. Ruger Jr. - South, 1,906 acres
- Woodman Marsh, 73 acres
Questions hunters ask
When is deer season in New Hampshire in 2026?
Archery September 15 to December 15 (December 8 in WMU A), youth weekend October 24 to 25, muzzleloader October 31 to November 10 and regular firearms November 11 to December 6 (November 29 in WMU A). How many days allow any deer, not just antlered deer, depends on the WMU (NHFG Deer Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 dates)).
How many deer were taken in New Hampshire in 2025?
14,387, the most in the state's records going back to 1922: 9,451 male and 4,936 female deer, up from 12,277 in 2024 (NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary). The most came from WMU M (2,222), WMU J2 (2,113) and WMU L (1,610).
Where can you hunt moose in New Hampshire?
Only by lottery permit in the WMUs where NHFG issues them. For 2026 that is 33 either-sex permits across WMUs A1, A2, B, C1, C2, D1, L and M, plus a Dream Hunt and an auction permit, for the season of October 17 to 25 (NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management).
When is bear season in New Hampshire in 2026?
The general season opens September 1 and runs to November 10 in units A, B, C2, D1, H1 and I2 and to November 30 elsewhere. Baiting runs September 1 to 28 or to October 5 depending on the unit, and hound hunting September 21 to November 10 where it is allowed (NHFG Bear Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 seasons)). Hunters took 1,097 bears in 2025.
How many Wildlife Management Areas does New Hampshire have?
NHFG says it owns 124 WMAs covering nearly 60,000 acres, open to hunting, fishing, trapping by permit and wildlife watching (NHFG Wildlife Management Areas). FilledTag has a page for 96 of them that are open to hunting and at least 40 acres.
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Where these numbers come from
- Seasons: NHFG Deer Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 dates); NHFG Bear Hunting in New Hampshire (2026 seasons); NHFG Dates and Seasons; NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management.
- Harvest: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary; NHFG 2024 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary.
- WMUs: NHFG Wildlife Management Units. WMAs: NHFG Wildlife Management Areas. Public land: NH Conservation and Public Lands (GRANIT, via NHFG) for state and Army Corps land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land.
FilledTag is not part of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. NHFG's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.