2007 Deer Season Report

The 2007 hunting season was, for all intents and purposes, poor. To say otherwise would be dishonest. Coming into the season we felt that there were plenty of deer, because of the amount of sign we were seeing during scouting and setting up stands.

The weather during the season was typical. We had seasonable temperatures, which was a big improvement over the 60 degree weather we experienced at times during the 2006 season. Windy and rainy days were nothing out of the ordinary. Lack of snow was a problem throughout the season, and normal late season behavior patterns never developed until after the rifle season. The season also started very early (Oct. 29) which always makes the first weeks harder. Over the whole season our sightings were up significantly from 2006, especially of does, and were comparable to 2005.

Overall, we felt that we should have done better. We had a number of blown chances for one reason or another …… bucks coming up behind stand hunters without being seen until too late, plus a couple of tough shots that didn’t connect. It has happened before, and it will happen again. It’s always a matter of weather, skill and luck. If all 3 don’t fall together at the right time, the deer win. We feel that the deer herd is healthy and, with a reasonable winter, should be in good shape for next fall. We also feel that the later start to the rifle season in 2008 (Nov. 3) will help.

We’d like to thank each and every person who hunted with Northern Outdoors this past season. There were some great individual efforts. And, there were some very respectable bucks taken. As always, thanks to the sportsmen who passed up all the smaller bucks. They’ll be trophies in due time! We certainly could have bragged about a greater “success rate” had our hunters shot all the bucks they spotted. But that’s not what hunting at Northern Outdoors is all about.

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Stanley Lech Southampton, MA	Joe Jankowski Keansburg, NJ	John Chester Haverhill, MA
William Copperthite New Haven CT Joe Faso Alden, NY
2007 Rack of the Year Len Heikkila Middleboro, MA RACK OF THE YEAR CONTEST Each year we award a $500 Northern Outdoors hunting gift certificate to the Northern Outdoors hunter who shoots the best Rack of the Year. The judging is done by our guides, and their decision is final. Congratulations Len!

Northern Outdoors Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway 1771 US Route 201, PO Box 100 The Forks, Maine 04985 (800) 765-7238 (US & Canada) (207) 663-4466 (all others) info@mainedeerhunting.com