Maine hunters will have an excellent chance of bagging a deer of either sex this fall. That’s because the Commissioner’s Advisory Council of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has approved the issuance of the second largest number of any-deer permits.

An any-deer permit holder is eligible to shoot a male or female deer. Those without a permit are allowed to shoot bucks only. A random drawing takes place before the season, based on the last two digits of a hunter’s license.

The Council approved the issuance of 72,600 any-deer permits for the 2003 hunt. The highest allocation ever was 76,989 in 2002. The 2003 number was recommended following a review of harvest data pertaining to Maine’s 30 wildlife management districts (WMDs) and impacts of the 2003 winter.

Along with approving the large number of permits, the Council also approved a new application process for the Any-Deer System. Hunters are now allowed to choose up to three WMDs for their permit. If permits are available, they will be assigned by chance in order of their preference. If there are unallocated permits available in a district after the drawing, bonus deer permits will be issued for that WMD. Hunters must indicate on their applciation a WMD choice for a bonus permit to be considered.

The number of any-deer permits for each WMD is as follows: WMD 1, 0; WMD 2, 0; WMD 3, 0; WMD 4, 100; WMD 5, 0; WMD 6, 0; WMD 7, 750; WMD 8, 650; WMD 9, 300; WMD 10, 300; WMD 11, 0; WMD 12, 1,900; WMD 13, 1,900; WMD 14, 400; WMD 15, 3,550; WMD 16, 6,500; WMD 17, 15,450; WMD 18, 200; WMD 19, 0; WMD 20, 4,500; WMD 21, 4,100; WMD 22, 5,350; WMD 23, 15,550; WMD 24, 3,500; WMD 25, 3,500; WMD 26, 3,250; WMD 27, 0; WMD 28, 0; WMD 29, 0; WMD 30, 850.