Maine, 2027 shed season

Maine Shed Antler Season 2027

Q: When is shed hunting season in Maine?

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife lists its Maine shed rules without dated closures, so they hold year round. The weeks that matter most are the ones when antlers drop.

Q: Do I need a permit to collect sheds in Maine?

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's published shed rules name no permit, course or license for collecting. Landowner permission and the land manager's own rules still apply wherever you walk.

Q: When do deer shed antlers in Maine?

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife names white-tailed deer and moose among the antlered animals of Maine. For whitetails, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March: "Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March."

Q: Who sets the shed antler rules in Maine?

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The rules here were read from its own pages on September 21, 2026, and each one links to the page it came from. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip.

Maine lets anyone buy or sell naturally shed deer or moose antlers without a hide dealer's license.

“Deer, Bear, or Moose: A person may, without a hide dealer's license, buy or sell naturally shed deer or moose antlers.” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Sale and possession

Rule type

from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Rules quoted

each linked to the agency page

None named

Course or permit

in the agency rules quoted below

September 21, 2026

Rules read

from the agency page

The rule

Shed antler rules in Maine

Sale and possession

Raw antlers from a killed deer or moose are handled differently: they may only be sold to a licensed hide dealer, tagged or documented with the hunter's name and address. Both rules are printed in the hunting law book from Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Statewide

Naturally shed deer or moose antlers may be bought or sold without a hide dealer's license.

Deer, Bear, or Moose: A person may, without a hide dealer's license, buy or sell naturally shed deer or moose antlers.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

Raw antlers from a killed deer or moose may only be sold to a licensed hide dealer and must be tagged or documented with the killer's name and address.

* Raw antlers, bear fat (not attached to the meat), and bear gallbladders may only be sold (including for money, barter, or trade) to a licensed hide dealer, and they must be tagged or accompanied with documentation containing the name and address of the person who legally killed the animal.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Courses, sale and state land

More Maine shed rules

Buying and selling sheds

Naturally shed deer or moose antlers can be bought or sold without a hide dealer's license.

Deer, Bear, or Moose: A person may, without a hide dealer's license, buy or sell naturally shed deer or moose antlers.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in Maine

For white-tailed deer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March.

Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Read it at the source

A large elk antler lying in green grass with snow covered mountains in the distance — An elk shed on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, with the Tetons behind. Elk winter range in the West is where most dated shed closures fall, because the closures exist for the animals wintering there. “Shed Antler on the National Elk Refuge (53662858076)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Maine shed antler questions

Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in Maine?

When is shed hunting season in Maine?

Do I need a permit to collect sheds in Maine?

Can you sell shed antlers in Maine?

When do deer shed antlers in Maine?

Who sets the shed antler rules in Maine?

Shed antler rules in other states

Maine deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for Maine, read from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.Maine deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.

A bull moose with broad palmate antlers walking across a snowy flat — A bull moose near Soda Butte, Yellowstone. Colorado Parks and Wildlife dates the moose drop from November through January, the earliest of the antlered animals it names. Photo: Jacob W. Frank, NPS. “Bull moose near Soda Butte (b95e1acc-f297-4abd-8b01-bd4f25a9a6a5)”, Jacob W. Frank, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from 2024-2025 State of Maine Summary of Laws & Rules Hunting, MDIFW and the other Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.