Get your orange on

It’s hunting season in Maine. Here are useful tips for hunters and hikers.

Robin Hutchins of Penobscot with his first partridge. Photo courtesy of Luke Hutchins.

By John Boit

It’s hunting season in Maine, and that means it’s time to don blaze orange if you plan on enjoying the great outdoors, hunters and hikers alike.

On the Blue Hill Peninsula, archery season for deer runs through Oct. 31. Turkey hunting ends on Nov. 7. The season for partridge, also known as Ruffed Grouse, runs through Dec. 31.

Duck hunting has two seasons in our area, one that ends on Oct. 11 and a second season that runs Nov. 6 to Jan. 6.

And then, of course, there’s deer season, which across Maine starts on Nov. 1 for Maine residents and opens to all hunters Nov. 3-29. Bow hunting is allowed now through Oct. 31.

For bigger game, bear hunting is allowed across the state now until Nov. 29. But if it’s a moose you’re after, you’d best head north. It is illegal to shoot a moose on the Blue Hill Peninsula, although we have a few of them around.

Luke Hutchins of Penobscot took his son, Robin, age 7, on a partridge hunting trip last week near the St. John River. The younger Hutchins, who already has his lifetime hunting license in Maine, got his first partridge on Oct. 3 with a .410 shotgun.

“He actually did it all on his own,” Luke Hutchins said. “I was close behind, but he saw the birds, cocked the hammer and followed through. He might be a natural!”

Whether you are hunting or just walking in the woods, always wear blaze orange. Avoid walking in the woods at dawn and dusk when hunters and game are most active and when visibility is diminished.

“Although being out in the woods is often about peace and quiet, hunting season is no time to walk silently through the forest. Talking with your companions, whistling and singing loudly are great ways to make yourself known to hunters. If you hear shooting close by, yell to alert hunters to your presence and location,” the Maine Forest Service advises.

Local land preservation groups, such as Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Island Heritage Trust, allow hunting on some of their lands. Check their rules before you hunt or hike, and always wear blaze orange. 

Last year, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife issued “do not eat” warnings about deer and wild turkey in two areas—near Unity and Skowhegan—after PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” were found in wild game tissue samples. No such advisory has been issued this hunting season, and none has ever been issued for game on the Blue Hill Peninsula.

Robin Hutchins looks out at the St. John River while on a hunting trip with his father on Oct. 3. Photo courtesy of Luke Hutchins.