CONCORD, NH – If you want to hunt moose in New Hampshire this fall, now is the time to enter the 2020 moose hunt lottery and try your luck 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 non-residents. A total of 49 permits will be issued this year.
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. Applicants without internet access may call 603-271-2461 to request an application by mail.
Applicants are encouraged to apply online and early, so there is less chance of submitting an incomplete application. Moose hunt lottery applications for 2020 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight Eastern Time on May 29, 2020. Because of restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in NH, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit completed applications online or through the mail well in advance of the deadline should drop off become unavailable as an application delivery option.
Winners will be selected through a computerized random drawing on June 19 at Department headquarters.
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 77, while resident applicants with a total of 16 points had a 1 in 33 chance of being drawn. For nonresidents, the odds increased from 1 in 341 overall to 1 in 153 for applicants with 16 points. Your chance of being drawn and offered a permit in the lottery will improve if you rank all wildlife management units on your application. You will have the option to decline a permit if drawn for a unit you prefer not to hunt.
In 2019, 5,875 people entered the lottery for the chance to win one of 49 permits. More than 1,100 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 five 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 percent, 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.
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 the third Saturday in October. This year’s hunt runs from October 17-25.
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 their physical condition and productivity and provides a unique recreational opportunity. Learn more about moose hunting in New Hampshire at www.huntnh.com/hunting/moose.html.
