AUGUSTA – Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier for older residents to hunt deer.

A group of lawmakers is proposing an act that would allow people 70 and older to shoot antlerless deer. The new rule would afford the hunter a permit to hunt the deer and allow them to do so during the state’s fall open hunting season.

Maine uses antlerless deer hunting permits to try to keep the deer population stable.

The proposal came up for a hearing on Tuesday and could come before the state Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on Thursday.

Bill supporter Rep. Russel Black, a Wilton Republican, says the measure is a way of “honoring our longtime hunters.”

The hunter would still need a valid hunting license.