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Outdoor Recreation

Instant Award Antlerless Deer Permit Instructions

White-tailed Doe(Jump to Instructions below)

With the the new MassFishHunt licensing system, the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (MassWildlife) has changed the way in which Antlerless Deer Permits are issued. There is no longer a public drawing based on the last digit of the hunting/sporting license number, postal notifications and remittance postcards will not be mailed to deer hunters.

Beginning August 1st and continuing through December 31st, 2012, (the Instant Award Period), hunters who applied for an antlerless deer permit by the July 16th deadline must return to the MassFishHunt licensing system to try to win their antlerless deer permit. With the new system, permits will be based on a computer-generated random number that is given to each customer when they return to "play". This random number is then compared to the chance of winning a permit in that zone and the computer determines if the customer has won a permit or not. This is not a first-come first- served system. The odds of winning a permit during the Instant Award Period are the same whether a customer logs into the MassFishHunt system in August, November, or anytime during the Instant Award Period. This eliminates the need to rush to a computer on August 1st.

There are three ways in which a hunter may participate in the Instant Award Period:

  1. The Internet: Hunters may return to the MassFishHunt website using a personal home computer or use the computer at a local library to try to win an antlerless deer permit (see instructions below).
  2. MassWildlife Offices: Hunters may visit any office and the MassWildlife staff will try to win the permit on your behalf.
  3. License Agent Location: Hunters may visit any authorized MA licensing agent and the clerk on duty will log in the information for you to see if you win a permit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the possibility of heavy Internet traffic on August 1st and possible computer performance issues, MassWildlife strongly recommends hunters visit the MassFishHunt site on a date later than August 1st to try to win a permit. Hunters have one chance to try for an Instant Award Antlerless Deer Permit.

Instructions for checking Instant Award status:

  • Log into MassFishHunt system with your last name and customer ID#
  • Click the [Enter Sales] button at the bottom right of the screen
  • On the Main Menu on the left, click "Hunting Permits and Stamps"
  • Click the [Add] button next to "Antlerless Deer Permit" in the middle of the screen
  • The Zone for which you previously applied will appear on the next screen. Click the [Select] button to check whether an Antlerless Deer Permit has been won for that Zone.
  • One of two messages will "pop up" in the center of the screen indicating the Antlerless Deer Permit win/lose status:

    Either

    "Congratulations! You have been awarded an antlerless deer permit which has been placed in your shopping cart. Close this window and click check out to purchase it."

    Or

    "Unfortunately you did not win this product"

In the case of a "Win", an Antlerless Deer Permit will be placed in the Shopping Cart, and you may proceed to Check Out to complete the purchase. Antlerless Deer Permits will remain in the Shopping Cart until purchased or expired. Winning hunters are reminded to print their Antlerless Deer Permits upon completion of the transaction. ALL Antlerless Deer Permits expire on December 31, 2012. If you did not win a permit you do not have to take any further action.

Chances of Winning Instant Award Permits by Zone

Zone
Chance of Winning
1
35%
2
13%
3
53%
4-N
18%
4-S
19%
5
38%
6
46%
7
66%
8
66%
9
91%
10
100%
11
100%
12
43%
13
100%
14
100%