Matt Franklin with a solid 7-point buck taken on a coastal region deer hunt. Photo by Mike Marsh.

Many of North Carolina’s public game lands have a reputation for being crowded, especially at the prime times for deer hunting during the opening dates of the season, at holidays, Saturdays and during the peak of the rut.

However, there’s a way to beat the crowd even on those high-use days. It wasn’t the school system that received the benefits of the state’s first lottery. It was North Carolina’s hunters. These savvy outdoorsmen have found out that opening the doorway to great deer hunting is as easy as learning the ins and outs of the state’s special permit hunts for selected game lands.

There are several reasons for the Wildlife Commission to go to the trouble of providing these limited access hunts, which extend not only to deer but also to other species, such as waterfowl, bears, small game, feral pig, doves and turkeys.

Some of the commission’s game lands, such as the Tar River and Brunswick County game lands, are relatively small and located near high population centers, so permit hunts for these lands help to relieve overcrowding.

Others, like the Roanoke River Wetlands, are pristine environments and permit hunts enhance the solitude for hunters who want to have a wilderness-like experience.

Yet, other game lands host the permit hunts at the request of the landowners who lease them to the commission. Permit hunts are also held to relieve the impacts too many hunters may have on sensitive public lands or on adjacent landowners’ properties.

Finally, many game lands also offer special youth hunts and disabled sportsman hunts under the lottery permit system.

The application procedures are just one more level of regulation and therefore too much bother for easy-going hunters. But navigating through procedures and taking the time is worth the trouble for those seeking quality hunting, with the opportunities to see more deer and more trophy bucks under less stressed conditions.

The best thing to remember if someone is not familiar with the procedures is to go to a local sporting goods store where hunting licenses are sold. While there are certainly exceptions, the average discount store counter person is not usually as familiar with the regulations and procedures for permit hunts as someone in a sporting goods store who is likely a hunter, and having an expert to help will help streamline the process. However, once a hunter becomes familiar with the process, he can easily do it on his own by telephone or at least do a better job of assisting a discount store worker and therefore simplify the application process.

Besides applying for special hunt opportunities through a license agent, residents may also apply by using the telephone. Non-residents may apply at a license agent, by telephone or by U.S. mail.

First, the hunter should obtain a Special Hunt Opportunities booklet by writing the NCWRC, 1722 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1722, or calling the N.C. Division of Wildlife Management at (919) 707-0050. The booklet also has an online version at the commission’s Web site, www.ncwildlife.org. The special hunts are listed by region, and then sub-listed for each region under the type of hunt. For deer hunts, archery, muzzleloader, firearms, youth, disabled and either-sex hunts are listed by category.

Each hunt has a unique item number, which in the case of draw hunts includes the specific hunt dates. Some hunts are for general entry, requiring only a $5 application fee for hunting deer any day the game land is open. Other hunts have specific dates of access, but the application fee is the same