The 2017-2018 Summary of Maine Hunting Laws (PDF) is now available.

Printed copies will be out soon, but the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is urging as many hunters as possible to download the PDF version instead. Here’s why:

1. It’s convenient. Even without cell or internet service, smartphone users can access their pre-downloaded law book to check a technical rule, confirm legal hunting times, etc. If you always keep your phone on you (and charged) to take photos or use the GPS, this is a no-brainer.

2.  It’s easy. Save yourself the trip to Town Hall, and simply follow these instructions:

From your iPhone: In Safari, go to mefishwildlife.com/huntinglaws.Click the link for the PDF you want to download. When it opens, tap on the first page, then tap Open in iBooks. The file is now saved in your iBooks app.

From your Android: In Chrome, go to mefishwildlife.com/huntinglaws.Tap on the menu (3 dots) on the right, then tap Download. The file is now saved to your Downloads app. (some Android users will also need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader app).

From your Computer: Go to mefishwildlife.com/huntinglaws to save a copy and/or print just the pages you need.

3.       It’s flexible. You can download the full law book, and/or one of our (new!) quick-reference guides. You can also look up specific laws or rules any time on our website.

4.       It helps the Maine outdoors. Every year, we print over 250,000 hunting law books. That’s (a) a lot of paper, and (b) a lot of money that we think would be better spent preserving Maine’s fish & game and their habitats. Trusting that many of you will agree and opt for the digital version, we reduced the number of printed copies a bit this year, and will base next year’s order on this year’s data and feedback.