Connecticut Deer Hunting

The general trophy deer hunting hotspots are the northeastern and northwestern parts of the state, due largely to an abundance of quality habitat and relatively low hunting pressure, along with some of the states largest tracts of public land. However, trophy bucks can be found all over the nutmeg state. Seven counties have produced ten or more 150 class bucks in the past 5 years. Tolland county led the way with 17, followed by Windham, Middlesex, Litchfield, Hartford, New Haven, and our favorite...Fairfield County. Click on the link for maps of Connecticut deer hunting land open to the public.

The key to finding trophy deer hunting in Connecticut may lie in your ability to gain access to small tracts of private land. Permission may be easier to get in Fairfield and lower New Haven counties due to the huge numbers of deer found there. The state has implemented special regulations in these areas in order to curtail the burgeoning deer population. Bow hunters in these zones are offered repacement tags. For every doe that you harvest, you are issued a replacement tag. If you harvest three does, you are issued a bonus buck tag. It is a great way of reducing the deer herd, as some archers harvest upwards of 20 deer.

I know what you are thinking...What do they do with 20 deer? In order to make use of such a large harvest, a new program has been established called, Hunt To Feed. This innovative program allows a hunter to donate the venison from his harvest to the Connecticut Food Bank at no cost to the hunter...As a matter of fact...The hunter can keep the tenderloins and the backstraps at no charge, while the rest goes to feed the hungry!

The program is paid for exclusively through the fundraising efforts of the deer management consultants at Whitetail Solutions. They believe that "no child or family should go hungry with the overabundance of deer in the state of Connecticut".
Thank you Whitetail Solutions for stepping up and providing a solution to the never ending problem of hunger here in the Nutmeg State. Our hats are off to you!

Connecticut's peak rut firearms season and long archery season make it a great state to harvest a trophy whitetail like this one!