CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire’s 2019 moose hunt lottery is now open. Enter for your chance on the adventure of a lifetime — hunting moose in the rugged woods of the Granite State. The lottery entrance fee is $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents.
To enter the New Hampshire moose hunt lottery, visit www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html where you can enter online or print out a mail-in application. You can also pick up an application at any Fish and Game license agent, NH Fish and Game Headquarters, or Fish and Game Regional offices.
Moose hunt lottery applications for 2019 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight Eastern Time on May 31, 2019, or delivered to the Licensing Office at NH Fish and Game Headquarters at 11 Hazen Drive in Concord before 4:00 p.m. that day. Winners will be selected through a computerized random drawing on June 21 at the NH Fish and Game Department in Concord.
Applicants can enter the moose hunt lottery once per year. A bonus-point system improves the chances for unsuccessful applicants who apply in each consecutive year. Each point translates to a chance in the drawing. For example, last year the overall odds of a resident applicant being drawn were 1 in 76, while resident applicants with a total of 15 points had a 1 in 34 chance of being drawn. For nonresidents, the odds increased from 1 in 359 overall to 1 in 164 for applicants with 15 points.
In 2018, 6,142 people entered the lottery for the chance to win one of 51 permits. More than 1,200 people continued to accrue bonus points because they submitted an application for a point only in order to not lose their accrued points. Hunters from six other states won permits in the lottery.
While people travel from all over the country to take part in the New Hampshire moose hunt, the majority of permits, about 85%, are awarded to New Hampshire residents. The number of permits available to nonresidents is capped, based on the prior year’s sales of nonresident hunting licenses.
The number of moose hunt permits that will be offered for this fall’s hunt has not yet been determined as harvest and survey data are currently under review according to Wildlife Programs Supervisor Kent Gustafson. If changes are proposed, final numbers will be determined later this spring.
“While permit numbers may change in 2019, your chance of being drawn and offered a permit in the lottery will be improved if you rank all wildlife management units on your application,” Gustafson noted. “You will have the option to decline a permit if drawn for a unit you prefer not to hunt.”
New Hampshire applicants should note that the NH Division of Motor Vehicles started a new driver’s license number format in 2017. As a result, New Hampshire driver’s license numbers will be changing over the course of the next five years. Bonus points are tracked via your driver’s license number. Please pay particular attention when completing your application, and if your license number has changed, indicate this on your application.
New Hampshire’s nine-day moose hunt starts on the third Saturday in October. This year’s hunt runs from October 19-27.
New Hampshire has had an annual moose hunt since 1988, when 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country. The state’s current moose population is estimated at about 3,000 animals. The availability of moose hunting permits is made possible by careful monitoring of moose populations. The resulting annual harvest of moose provides valuable information on the physical condition and productivity of moose and provides a unique recreational opportunity. Learn more about moose hunting in New Hampshire at www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html.
