Even if you weren’t selected in last month’s antlerless deer permit lottery, you still have a chance to get a tag for this season.
The state on Wednesday is rolling out the second phase of its new antlerless deer permit system. All hunters, including those who did not apply for the lottery, those who received a permit through the lottery, and those who applied to the lottery but did not receive a permit, are eligible to buy a permit online on a first-come, first-served basis.
Permits cost $12 each, plus a $2 agent fee.
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, there will be 38,048 permits available for sale, the bulk of which are designated for areas across southern and midcoast Maine — specifically Wildlife Management Districts 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29 and subunit 25a.
Hunters can check out the listing of remaining permits here to see the WMDs and sub-units where they are available.
The state on Wednesday is rolling out the second phase of its new antlerless deer permit system. All hunters, including those who did not apply for the lottery, those who received a permit through the lottery, and those who applied to the lottery but did not receive a permit, are eligible to buy a permit online on a first-come, first-served basis.
Starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, DIF&W will make the unclaimed antlerless permits available on its website. Hunters will be placed in the queue in the order their requests were received.
Here’s what you need to know:
To buy a permit online, users must go to the DIF&W’s antlerless deer permit page online and click “Purchase Permit” under the “Over the Counter Permit” section.
When the process goes live, those who enter the antlerless permit site will be placed in a line and given an estimated wait for their turn.
Customers should pick at least two or three WMDs in which they would like to apply, in case there are no permits available for their top choice.
Hunters may purchase only one antlerless deer permit online as part of this process.
Logged in customers will be able to see, in real time, how many permits are available in each WMD or sub-unit.
If any permits remain unclaimed once the firearms season for deer begins, a hunter may then purchase one additional permit. DIF&W will announce any availability in early November.
The state earmarked 96,340 antlerless permits for this year and received 81,627 applications. Of that number, 64,342 permits were awarded in the lottery, although 6,050 winners forfeited their permit after failing to claim and pay for them.
Fewer permits were awarded in the lottery than the number of applications received because hunters could only request two WMDs. Once those were filled, the remaining permits could not be assigned.
The state set up the new antlerless deer permit system to help better meet antlerless deer harvest goals and to provide funding for the purchase and management of deer wintering areas.