A major recent trend in hunting is the rising popularity of archery. Tim Gagnon, of Brunswick, an avid hunter and an archery instructor for the L.L. Bean Discovery Center, explained why learning bow hunting skills is great for hunters.

“As a society, we’re getting more suburban areas and urban areas… the white-tailed deer can become nuisance animals, but you can’t hunt them with a gun in these areas,” he said. “You can with a bow. It’s quiet and your range is 30 yards; there’s no stray bullets going through neighborhoods or anything like that.”

To control the white-tailed deer population in overrun areas, Maine has even opened up expanded zones. One spot near Randall Road in Lewiston offers bow hunters the chance to shoot as many does as they can and one buck for just $10.

Aside from the practical advantages of bow hunting close to home, familiarizing yourself with archery can greatly extend your hunting season. “It’s a long season,” said Gagnon, “that runs from September almost right into December.”

As a working professional, Gagnon may get only eight days to utilize during gun season, but with the expanded archery season he may get nearly 40 days to hunt during the fall. The skills involved in bow hunting, specifically the short range required between hunter and prey, also offer an up-close encounter with the deer. “I like watching the deer,” Gagnon said. “It’s an added bonus of bow hunting.”

Hunters can find more information about the extended archery season and printable maps of the approved expanded zones for bow hunting in Lewiston, Auburn, and nearby areas at the website of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (http://maine.gov/ifw/).

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