Caribou question

[James Riley]

Maybe I'm not situationally aware, but it seems to me that caribou sheds are not a big deal. They don't flood ebay and people don't brag much about their finds, etc. You'd think there would be a cajillion metric shit tons of them laying all over the place up in Alaska.

Am I just missing something, or is there some kind of law protecting them, or are they just remote and far from population centers, or maybe so common people don't care, or their lack of symmetry reduces their desirability, or the squeekies up there eat them in short order, or they are too much like "domestic" reindeer, or ??? Just curious.

I wouldn't mind hiking around looking for a nice pair.

 

[Kaitum]

A little of everything you mention. Fly over the right area and you'll see tons. Often they're in remote areas where few people find them, or at least find them before they're bleached and gnawed. Depending on land ownership they can be collected or not. I saw a truck pulling a trailer in Fairbanks once that was stacked four feet high with caribou sheds, most bleached white. They had plates from the lower 48, always wondered what they had planned for 'em....

 

[Bambistew]

I've found quite a few, but walked a long ways for most of them. The spots where I go, they're found in waist high brush, as thats what their eating during shed seasons... They don't hold up to the elements like other antlers, they tend to rot fairly quickly, and bleach out fast. There is some sort of fungus/mold that deteriorates them and turns them gray/green in short order. Critters (bears or porkies) will eat the shovels and tops off when their fresh, but usually don't seem to touch them after they've been there a while.

Here's a few I've packed out in the last fall while hunting, from left to right, #2 and 3 are B&C bulls... I probably have 5 miles in each one of these, or more. I find quite a few smaller one like #4, but don't pack them out unless they're brown. This one got a free ride home because it was on the way back to the truck. I have found areas where they're lying everywhere, but they're usually junk and really old, with years worth in one spot, which is kind of rare because they don't have traditional winter ranges, other than areas the size of some east coast states.

I've found a couple thousand pounds worth of antlers over the years, elk, deer and moose, and will say caribou are not any easier than the rest, acutlaly probably one of the harder ones to find brown in good shape contrary to numbers.