Time for Muzzle-loader Hunting, and Preparing for Maine’s Winter Sports
If you did not get your deer during archery or the regular firearms season (or if life simply got in the way), our state offers another opportunity – muzzle-loader season. It offers the advantage of fewer hunters, and (frequently) tracking snow, which is handy when locating or tracking a big deer.
The December, 2024 issue of The Maine Sportsman celebrates this final opportunity, featuring a handsome 10-point buck standing in a snowy clearing; and followed up by Maine guide Jim Andrews’ special feature, “Ten Great Reasons to Hunt the Late Season” (starting on page 19).
As winter trail riding time approaches, The Sportsman continues its recent series of power sports retailer profiles, this time focusing on the good folks at White Rock Outboard & Motorsports, in Gorham. If you stop by to purchase or service a machine, tell them you read all about them in our pages.
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The holiday season is here – are you still trying to figure out what to give the sportsman or -woman in your life? Or the Mainer who moved away temporarily for schooling, the military or a job? A subscription to The Maine Sportsman is the best way to remind them what they’re missing – it’s like giving them a gift every month of the year! Click here to go to our easy subscription link.
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With snow on the ground and temperatures dropping, ice forms on Maine’s lakes and ponds, and anglers prepare their augers and shelters. Get ready for ice-fishing season with Nolan Raymond’s “Proper Care of Fish Caught Through the Ice” (p. 27), and Jon Lund’s “Cutting Holes in the Ice” (p. 30).
Were you fortunate and skilled enough to tag a 200-plus pound deer this past season? If so, you still have time to apply for a “Biggest Bucks in Maine” patch (the application is found here). If we receive your application by December 31, we’ll include your name (and perhaps even a photo) in our annual Biggest Bucks in Maine issue, in February.
Also in this jam-packed issue, we cover:
- The results (p. 34) and analysis (p. 4) of our 2024 – 2025 Maine Sportsman Readers Poll
- News on the fishing club that’s thriving at University of New England’s oceanfront campus in Biddeford (p. 14)
- Advice to parents if your kids announce they want a pet fisher cat (p. 68)
- A vintage poaching story set in the town of Merrill (p. 54)
- The latest information on bobcats, tents and firearms, and
- The best letters, quotes, jokes and cartoons southwest of Northeast Carry, and northeast of Southwest Harbor.
So prepare for Maine’s winter, enjoy and appreciate friends and family, and bring The Sportsman along with you.
Questions? Contact the editor at Will@MaineSportsman.com or the office manager at Carol@MaineSportsman.com. And call (207) 622-4242 to renew your subscription, or give a gift subscription to a deserving relative, co-worker or friend.
Best holiday wishes from all of us here at The Sportsman.
Will Lund, editor
