Moose Hunting

Vermont moose hunting permit lotteries are held for a 7-day archery season (Oct. 1-7) and a regular season (6 consecutive days beginning the third Saturday in Oct.). Several hundred permits are usually issued. An additional five permits are auctioned in mid-summer. Moose hunting information and applications will be available on Fish & Wildlife’s website.

General Moose Hunting

Moose hunting permits are issued by lottery. Applications are available online (www.vtfishandwildlife.com), and 10 percent are allocated to nonresidents.

Application fees are $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. The permits cost $100 for residents and $350 for nonresidents. Permittees must also hold a current Vermont big game hunting license before their permit may be validated.

A person may accumulate one additional chance, or “bonus point,” to win the lottery for each consecutive year that person submits a completed application and fee but is not selected to receive a permit. A person may accrue a bonus point without entering the lottery by submitting a completed application and fee and indicating a person does not wish to be entered into the lottery for the current year. A person’s accrued bonus points will be lost if the applicant fails to provide a completed application with fee for each consecutive year’s lottery, or the successful applicant is issued a permit.

Moose Hunting Party

Permit winners may designate a subpermittee, or “second shooter,” who may be armed and may fill the one tag, but this person must always be accompanied by the permittee.

Permit holders will also be issued a “guide license” which they may give to a third member of the hunting party. The guide may direct, aid, assist and instruct the permittee and subpermittee during the hunt but may not take a moose nor carry or shoot any firearm or bow.

A guide license may be carried by different persons at any time during the moose hunt, but only one person at a time may serve as a guide for each hunting party.

A person may simultaneously serve as a guide for more than one permittee but must carry the proper guide license for each guided party.

The hunting party shall not exceed three persons until a moose is legally tagged. An unlimited number of persons may help extract the moose from the woods. Moose carcasses (whole or quartered) must be reported to an official big game check station within 48 hours.

Legal Calibers & Weights

To take a moose, a hunter may use:

• A centerfire rifle or centerfire handgun not less than .25 caliber;
• A muzzleloading firearm of not less than .50 caliber with a minimum barrel length of 20 inches and designed to be fired from the shoulder;
• A muzzleloading pistol of not less than .50 caliber with a minimum barrel length of 10 inches;
• A shotgun not less than 12 gauge with slugs;
• A bow of not less than 50 pound draw weight.