Vermont Youth Hunters Bag Deer Before Season Opens

Young hunters took part in an adult-chaperoned hunt on the weekend before Vermont's official deer season, with harvested deer checked at a St. Albans station.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Hunting

Photograph of a weathered wooden outbuilding at the edge of a forest with a hanging deer in a stone-walled clearing under soft morning light. — Vermont youth hunters bagged deer on a chaperoned weekend before the state's official season, with each animal checked at a St. Albans station for state biologists. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Young Vermonters took part in an adult-chaperoned deer hunt on the weekend before the state's official deer hunting season began. Every buck or doe killed was brought to a check station at Back Country Sports in St. Albans.

Why it matters

Checking deer before general hunting season lets biologists gather data on the state's deer herd before more hunters take to the woods. The youth weekend also serves to teach young Vermonters how to hunt as part of a broader deer conservation project.

Harper Couture, age 12, killed a deer weighing nearly 120 pounds, her 10th deer, while hunting with her father Josh Couture of Fairfax. Biologists weighed the animal, measured its antlers, and extracted its teeth at the St. Albans check station.

The players

Back Country Sports

A St. Albans outdoor retailer that hosted the deer check station for the youth hunt weekend.

Josh Couture

A Fairfax, Vermont resident who hunted alongside his daughter Harper during the youth weekend.

The details

Hunters brought deer to a check station where biologists with the state and UVM students weighed each animal, measured its antlers, and extracted teeth. After being checked, young hunters took their deer home.

The youth hunt took place on the weekend before Vermont's official deer hunting season opened.

Hunting Heritage

The youth weekend follows Vermont's long-standing deer check station program run by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, which routinely collects weight, antler, and tooth data from harvested deer. Pre-season youth hunts extend that same data collection to the earliest harvests of the year.

Vermont families planning to take young hunters out should note that every deer harvested on the youth weekend must be brought to a check station before it is taken home. Young hunters can plan around the weekend before the general season to get early experience with supervision.

The takeaway

Youth pre-season hunts give young Vermonters supervised experience while giving biologists an early look at the state's deer harvest. Families interested in taking part should complete hunter certification before the youth weekend.