Christmas comes early for Maine deer: hunting season's over

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The final phase of Maine's annual deer hunt is coming to an end for 2017.

Saturday is the last day of the year on which it is legal to hunt deer via muzzleloaders or archery. The deer hunting season began three months ago this year.

Hunters are limited in terms of where they can harvest deer. Muzzleloader hunters can only hunt in 14 of the state's 29 wildlife management districts. Archery is limited to designated areas around a handful of urban locales in the state.

Maine has separate hunting seasons for firearms, archery and muzzleloaders. The state gave out thousands more firearms permits this year because wildlife managers said the deer population could withstand more hunting.