It is the time of year when the ungulate residents of Northern Maine begin shedding the excess bony weight on top of their heads that we refer to lovingly as “sheds”. Due to the diminished deer herd, I am predominately talking about moose antlers. I have had “shed fever” for over a month now, but despite my best efforts and hundreds of miles riding snow covered roads I have not a single piece of bone to show for it. The moose antlers have been dropping, as several people I know have been finding a few antlers, but all in all I have found the results to be very poor. I think one of the primary factors is the sheer amount of people out looking for the antlers. In the past there were always a few people that went out and scoured their favorite roads, but there was lots of opportunity to find a road that not a soul had traveled for at least a couple weeks. On my most recent excursions I was struggling to find a road that hadn’t been drove on in the last week. I will continue the hunt, but I am afraid my results will be limited by snow depth soon. Below are a couple of pictures from other “shed hunters” in my area. Take note of the one showing an antler hung up in a tree. This was the first time I had ever seen that happen! If you would like to book your own moose antler hunt, there are a couple of local guides that I recommend for your chance at success: Allagash Guide Service and The Legend Guide Service. See the page of recommended guides for links to their websites.
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