LICENSES: Hunting license is required.
The archery license allows bow and arrow hunting for all legal game throughout the year (except deer during the muzzleloading season). An archery license is required to hunt deer during the special archery and expanded archery season, and also required to hunt turkey with bow & arrow during the fall Wild Turkey season. Muzzleload license is required, in addition to a hunting license, to hunt during muzzleloader season on deer.
Bear permit required in addition to hunting license from Aug. 27 through Oct. 26.
See hunting law booklet for other recent changes.
LEGAL HUNTING HOURS: Animals: 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset. Exceptions: Spring Wild Turkey, migratory game birds, raccoons, and coyote.
See hunting law booklet for details on night hunting for coyotes.
SUNDAY HUNTING: Illegal in Maine.
HUNTER ORANGE: See hunting law book for details.
STAMPS: State and federal duck stamps required for waterfowl hunters age 16 and over.
Migratory waterfowl stamps not required to hunt Crow, Woodcock, Common Snipe, Sora & Virginia Rails, and Gallinules.
Pheasant stamp required in York and Cumberland counties.
NOTE: The state migratory waterfowl stamp and pheasant stamp are now a check off on your license, rather than in the form of a stamp.
OPERATION GAME THIEF: Call 1-800-ALERT US (253-7887) to report game law violations.
Rewards paid. Caller identification protected. Poachers are thieves — help us stop them.
Ethics are what we do when no one else is watching. Maine is a very unique place. You can be completely alone in the wild, practicing ethical behavior and no one may be there to notice. However, the landowner as well as the hunters and anglers that follow you, will appreciate it greatly. Your ethical behavior contributes significantly to Maine’s sporting future, and it encourages landowners to keep important habitat property available for all to enjoy. So remember, always respect the rights of landowners and please … ASK FIRST.
Published under Appropriation 010 09A 6010 by the Division of Public Information and Education, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
