PIERMONT —New Hampshire Fish and Game is offering a reward of at least $2,000 for information related to the death of a deer killed out of season in Piermont.
On Jan. 3, a shed hunter, looking for racks deer or other antlered animals have shed, notified the agency of a dead 10-point buck located along the edge of a farm field near Route 25C. Conservation Officer Nicholas Masucci said it had been killed within 24 hours of when it was found.
“This deer was an absolute trophy of a deer,” Masucci said, lamenting the loss of the animal, which weighed more than 200 pounds.
“A lot of people in the area had him on their game cameras and despite all odds he made it through the hunting season,” Masucci said.
The season for hunting white-tailed deer in New Hampshire began on Sept. 15 and ended on Dec. 15.
“This deer was taken very, very far outside the lawful firearm season,” he said.
The bullet that killed the animal also was smaller than is legally required and could have been used for shooting squirrels, Masucci said.
Though the bullet, marred from the shot, is being examined to determine the exact caliber, Masucci said it was “definitely a small rimfire caliber, either a .22 or a .17.”
“Something of this size is not a legal size bullet for taking deer,” he said.
Law requires a larger caliber bullet, such as a .30-06 or a .308, “because it’s more lethal,” Masucci said. With a larger caliber, “we know it’s going to put the deer down humanely,” he added.
No suspects have been identified, Masucci said. The shed hunter who notified Fish & Game observed vehicle tracks accompanied by footprints in the field where the buck was found.
“It looked like they stopped, turned around, got back to their vehicle and just left,” he said. “It was the most minimal effort to retrieve the deer or locate it.”
At least a $2,000 reward is being offered for information on those responsible after Fish and Game matched a $1,000 pledge from a resident.
The person responsible is likely to face misdemeanor charges for killing a deer out of season, using an unlawful caliber of bullet, leaving the deer to waste and, as is suspected, having shot the animal at night after legal hunting hours, Masucci said.
Under New Hampshire state law, hunters who shoot animals unlawfully are required to pay back Fish and Game the approximate value of the animal, up to a maximum of $1,000.
Additional fines are associated with each violation, Masucci said, to be determined by the court.
“I would expect quite a few thousand dollars (in fines) for this,” Masucci said.
Each misdemeanor also comes with the possibility of jail time, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Masucci at nicholas.a.masucci@wildlife.nh.gov or New Hampshire State Police Troop F Dispatch at 603-846-3333.