Whether you are a bird hunter, moose hunter, or deer hunter, the Rangeley area offers those willing to work a little a good hunt.

Partridge are usually plentiful, with the exception of some down years (a normal cyclical thing).  They can be found along any of the many logging roads. Your best hunt is to get out of the vehicle and work the old skid trails and tractor trails that branch off of those logging roads.  Hardwood ridges, along streams in the alders, and the mountain ash berries are also good places to work.  A good dog will always help.  Sometime even a bad one helps.  There are  guides in the area with very good dogs.  Check with the Chamber of Commerce.

Moose are plentiful, and most people work the clear cuts in the Kennebago and Cupsuptic valleys and the Stratton end of the Tim Pond Road.  Be careful on the Tim Pond Road, as there is some off-limits Indian land in Alder Stream.  A good foot hunt for moose can be very exciting.  They are much more wary of a man on foot.  Leave the camera crew behind if stalking.  You don't have to kill a moose beside the road in order to get it into your pick-up.  Bring it out in pieces.  That will give your camera crew ample opportunity to film, and it will be a much more rewarding hunt.  Also, build a tree stand or try hunting with a bow.  Moose-hunting permits are obtained by a State moose lottery drawing.

Bear hunting is usually done over bait, and there is also dog hunting for those who enjoy that.  There are a number of guides who specialize in either.  Try this: find a hardwood ridge, some beech trees, and sit quietly in the afternoon as you would deer hunting.  You can tell if the bear are working the trees by the claw marks and broken branches in the trees.  The success rate is not as great, but observing the activity of the other creatures getting ready for winter will reward you.  An old apple orchard is also a good place to sit.

Most hunters come to the area for deer, and the area offers a quality hunt.  There are plenty of deer, and they are big…the bucks averaging 180 - 200 pounds with some exceptional 240+ bucks.  With only three to four hundred doe permits issued for Zone 6, you are usually looking at buck hunting.  The hunter has to be willing to walk a little.  Hunt the ridges, mountains, and high ground in the early season.  Spend all day, still hunt; look at the other things around you.  If you don't get the buck, you will have fun anyway.  Mid-season, when the rut is on, you will find bucks everywhere, any time.  Later in the season they will be moving towards the yards, but by then there are about 300 less, so the odds are going down!

There is rabbit hunting in the winter and one or two guides who offer coyote hunting, which is not for the faint of heart.   Also, keep in mind that there is a real possibility that there could be a wolf around, and they are protected under both State and Federal law.  It could be difficult to tell the difference in the field, as they will probably only weigh 60-80 lbs in the lower 48 - particularly in the East.  Some of the big male coyotes can go up to 50 lbs, so be careful.