McClory: Here’s how hunters can take back their weekends

What did you do last weekend? Did you get a chance to go out and play, or did the weekend slip by without your getting out to hunt or scout for the upcoming firearms deer season? If you were like me, you probably worked on the honey-do list. In an effort to help sportsmen and women reclaim their Saturdays and Sundays from the dreariness of the to-do list, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is encouraging hunters to adjust their schedules and take back their weekends. The “Take Back Your Weekend” campaign is aimed at helping average people who work hard all week long, only to find themselves swamped with chores when Saturday rolls around. The basic idea is very simple; fine-tune the timing of your weekly chores so that you can make time to go hunting this fall. Pick a project that can be done in the morning before work. Go into work an hour earlier than usual so that you can get home early to complete a project or chore. In other words, do your raking and shopping during the week. Realistically, it’s a small change to make to take back your weekend.This Saturday morning, we’ll be heading up to Maine to set up our deer camp for the season. Resident rifle hunters of Maine will already be hunting, taking advantage of “Residents Day,” as it is called. While at camp on Saturday, we get to listen to the echo of shots all day. Early Monday morning, Nov. 3, we will be dressed in orange and headed to our stands at first light for the start of Maine’s rifle season for deer. According to Maine officials, last season’s above-average winter severity did impact the deer population. Deer hunters should still find plenty of opportunity with deer populations still higher than years ago, the highest level since the 1950s. Preseason scouting can be critical in the success of any hunt. The most successful hunters will be those who have thoroughly scouted their hunting areas and know deer feeding and travel patterns. By the way, the mast crop in southern Maine is unbelievable!Each year, I like to mention the basic rules of safe hunting as a reminder to all that step into the field with a weapon in their hands. Treat every gun as if it were loaded, point your gun in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot and be sure of your target and beyond. Remember, hunting is very safe. Hunt smart, think safety, and good luck.If you were lucky enough to be chosen to receive a doe permit for Maine and are wondering where your permit card is, please be informed: Maine IF&W will no longer be mailing any-Deer permits to permit winners, as part of a cost-saving initiative. Instead, permit winners will need to record their permit number and report the permit number to the registration station when tagging their deer. The Department suggests that permit winners write down their permit number and keep the number with their hunting license so it is readily available when needed at the registration station. Hunters can find their Any-Deer permit number by visiting Maine’s Inland Fish and Wildlife website at http://deer.informe.org/index.htm.New Hampshire’s 2008 moose season was a success, with preliminary figures showing that hunters took 333 moose. With 516 permits issued, this represents a statewide success rate of 65 percent. About 54 percent of the harvest was bulls, according to Kristine Rines, Moose Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The nine-day moose hunt ended on Sunday, Oct. 26. In 2007, by comparison, hunters took 482 moose (with 675 permits issued) for a statewide success rate of 71 percent.Did you know that approximately 204,000 people hunt in Maine each year, and those hunters generate more than $241 million in economic activity in Maine? Approximately 83 percent of the hunters are Maine residents. Each hunter spends an average of $1,359 in equipment, licenses, memberships and trip-related expenses, and spends approximately 13 days engaging in the sport, according to the 2006 Nation