With every big moose comes a huge story. Moose are large mammals that can weigh as much as 1.500 pounds. There are around 1,000,000 moose in North America according to Wikipedia. In North America we have, from smallest to largest, Shiras moose in the states, Canadian Moose, and the Alaskan Moose.

People all over the world spend vast amounts of money to hunt this solitary beast with palmated antlers. Here in Idaho, moose is a once in a lifetime hunt. It is hard to draw out on and once you do you can kill only one and never be allowed to hunt one again here.

For me this was the hunt of a lifetime. I drew out my first time putting in, which is unheard of, I have family that has been putting in for 30 years and never drawn. We put trail cams out in July and started the hunt for a trophy animal with little success. Throughout summer we had little guys visit our cameras along with a few cows. First day of hunting season comes and we decide to try a completely new area. We hike in and after a few ridges we spot a group of cows flocking to the bull. In the rut the bulls lose their minds and will do anything for their cows. I see the biggest shiras moose I had ever seen and I line up the shot. The bull drops instantly, little did I know they do that when you hit the antler. We wait a few minutes and he stands up. I shoot again and nail him in the spine. We walk up closer and I put him down with a shot to the neck. He is covered in battle scars from the years of rut. We take care of him and get about 700 pounds of meat for the freezer. I just received the Boone and Crockett certificate saying he will go in the record books with a score of 163 2/8.

My kids may not have experienced the hunt but that moose will be an heirloom to be passed on just like hunting as a way of life for our family