How do I Use a Rifle to Hunt Deer in Carroll County, Maryland?
Carroll County, Md.'s generous 10 antlerless and two antlered deer bag limit combined with the further incentive that you have to shoot two antlerless deer before you can take a crack at a buck seems a pretty strong indication that the state of Maryland wants its deer herd seriously culled. However, if your weapon of choice is a rifle, your options for public hunting are limited to the 337-acre Hanover Watershed Cooperative Wildlife Management Area or by winning a spot in the Patapsco Valley State Park special hunt, managed by the Department of Natural Resources.
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Things You'll Need
- High- to mid-caliber deer rifle
- Region B general hunting license
- DNR-managed hunt permit
- Scentless soap
- Odor-blocking detergent
- Central Region public hunting permit
Instructions
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How to Hunt Deer in Carroll County
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Purchase a Region B hunting license. As of 2010, this costs $24.50 for adult residents and $130 for adult nonresidents. This license will also allow you to hunt in the surrounding counties.
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Choose a caliber deer rifle that you feel comfortable shooting and that will effectively kill deer. 30-06 or a .308-caliber rifles will kill deer most effectively, though this is not to say that plenty of trophy bucks have not been taken with mid-caliber rifles like a 30-30.
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Shower profusely with scentless or scent-blocking soap before taking to the field and wash your clothes with an odor-blocking detergent. Deer have an astute sense of smell though only moderate vision and will flee at essentially any smell that's out of the ordinary. Washing off your scent can immensely increase your chances of avoiding detection.
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Shoot whitetail deer or the fallow deer in the area around the middle of the shoulder when you get a broadside shot. This area of a deer contains two vital organs, the heart and lungs, as well as a condensed area of bone, shoulders and ribs, and tissue. Place your shots here to effectively and humanely kill deer and to limit the chances of the animal fleeing if by chance you miss a vital organ.
How to Hunt on Public and Private Lands in Carroll County
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Apply for the free Central Region public hunting permit to hunt on the Hanover Watershed Cooperative Wildlife Management Area. Note that this is pretty much your only option for rifle hunting in Carroll County. Bring your hunting license to the Gwynnbrook Wildlife and Heritage office from 7:30-11:30 a.m. Monday to Friday, or mail a request to: Gwynnbrook Wildlife and Heritage Service, 3740 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills, MD 21117. Include in your request your address, phone number, a photocopy of your hunting license and your vehicle's license plate number.
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Call the Department of Natural Resources at 410-356-9272 to enter the lottery for the Patapsco Valley State Park managed hunt. This hunt is limited to 140 hunters and will allow you to take four antlerless or possibly one antlered deer aside from the bag limit imposed by your hunting license. Note that you may hunt only in designated portions of the McKeldin Area of the park, which is in Carroll. Purchase a DNR managed hunt permit for $35 if you plan on hunting this tract of land.
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Hunt on private land or farmland by securing the permission of the landowner or hunt on your own property in Carroll County. If you or your spouse owns land in Carroll County, neither of you need a deer license to hunt deer on your own property.
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References
- Bay Gateways: Patapsco Valley State Park--Ellicot City, MD
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Licenses
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Public Lands
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources Patapsco Valley State Park-McKeldin Area
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources: The Managed Hunts on Public Lands
Resources
- Photo Credit whitetail does image by Bruce MacQueen from Fotolia.com
