BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 9, 2021
Most years, hunters don’t come close to killing enough does in the areas with the state’s highest concentrations of deer. This year, DIF&W awarded 153,910 any-deer permits, which allow hunters to tag an antlerless deer. Despite the record disbursal, only about 10 percent of those tags will be filled this season. Maine deer hunters generally fall into two main categories: buck hunters and meat hunters. For meat hunters, it’s simple: See a good-sized deer and kill it. But the allure of shooting a mature buck is ingrained in a lot of Maine hunters. I readily admit to being a trophy hunter first and a meat hunter second.