There will be more hunters in the woods starting Monday when the second week of moose season begins.
The Oct. 9-14 week has the largest number of permit holders at 1,595, who will join game bird, bear and archery deer hunters already in Maine’s woods. There are 4,106 total permits for the three regular moose season weeks, plus the adaptive hunt days.
The success of September’s hunters should be an inspiration to the next group hitting the woods on Monday. Hunters filled 776 of the total 1,050 tags designated for the Sept. 25-30 hunt through the state’s lottery system that determines who gets to pursue Maine’s iconic animal.
The second week of bulls-only moose season will be open in 20 of Maine’s 29 wildlife management districts, encompassing most of the state, minus midcoast and southern coastal areas.
The first week was bulls-only as well, but was confined primarily to northern and central Maine districts. Several large bulls topping 1,000 pounds were tagged at registration stations in Aroostook County.
There are eight districts, mostly in western Maine, included in the second week that were not part of the first one.
Hunters will be able to shoot antlerless-only moose during the final week of the regular season to be held Oct. 23-28. The adaptive hunting season has a separate set of dates that go into November.
