It's hard to see one and not touch it. The bone is cool, yet still strongly linked to the animal that carried it from April to January. The shapes are unique and the colors subtle, ranging from cream to taupe. I think they're pretty amazing pieces of art in themselves. They've even become valuable.
Collectors travel to auctions to find big or unusual racks.
It's legal to keep any antlers that are shed by deer and moose, according to Terry Hunter, an investigator for the Maine Warden Service, but if someone finds antlers still attached to a skull, they should leave them in place and report the location to the local game warden. An investigation is necessary, because it's possible the animal was killed illegally, he said. If not, the finder can get a permit to keep the skull and antlers. That's a real sought after trait. A lot of points, points coming out down by where the antler hooks to the head of the deer, that's a sought-after trait.