Vermont
130000
Est. Whitetail Population
130000
No. Licenses Sold Annually
$20-$42
Archery permit is only $20; muzzleloader permit is also $20, but a $22 hunting license is required.
Resident hunting license and deer permit
$75-$140
Archery permit is only $75; muzzleloader permit is $40 with a $100 hunting license.
Non-resident hunting license and deer permit
181"
Picked up in Rutland County in 1971. The biggest typical taken by a hunter is 170 1/8 inches, taken in 1986 by Kevin Brockney in Essex County.
Record B&C Typical Stat
15
Total B&C Typical Entries
190 6/8"
Taken by George Tice in Essex County in 1938.
Record B&C Non-Typical Stat
2
Record B&C Non-Typical Entries
Season Dates (2013): Archery season runs Oct 5-27, then again Dec 7-15. Rifle season stars Nov. 16 and goes until Dec. 1. Muzzloader season is Dec. 7-15.
The Grade: B
With ample amounts of public land, including the Green Mountain National Forest, numerous state forests and an admirable Wildlife Management Area system, Vermont has plenty of room to roam. Much of the state is the kind of place where you better have a compass (in case your GPS dies), to get back to a road. Tags are available over the counter, with a simple season structure to adhere to. You don't come to Vermont for a Boone and Crockett buck - it's the hunting tradition that counts - but some big boys do roam the state.
Antler Nation Knowledge: America once had a first family of deer hunting, known as the Benoits. A generation ago, Larry, Lanny and the gang were the talk of the hunting world with their deer tracking exploits. They would get on a track in the morning and follow it until they got the buck or had to trudge out of the wilderness in the dark. They shot some big bucks, and Vermont was their home turf (though they hunted Maine and other places as well).
