Huge moose from Brooks Range

[Dand]

Bully into record books — Giant moose bound to go down in history
By Joseph Robertia



Photos courtesy of Bob Condon. Bob Condon, of Soldotna, poses with the 1,500-pound bull moose he shot in the Brooks Range in September.Redoubt Reporter
Hunters who take to the woods in pursuit of moose harbor some sort of hope for success — whether it’s a modest desire to fill a freezer with meat or daydreams of a record-setting specimen. The moose Bob Condon, of Soldotna, bagged last month exceeded even his wildest wildlife daydreams.
Weighing more than 1,500 pounds with an antler spread of more than 73 inches, beams measuring roughly 10 inches in circumference at the base, and palms large enough to hammock a grown man, Condon’s bull was nothing short of a behemoth. In fact, it may end up being the second largest ever taken down.
“I knew he was a real shooter, but I didn’t know the true caliber of animal he was until I got up on him. I’ve hunted and guided nearly all my life and never gotten one over 950 (pounds), so getting one weighing 1,500 was a real treat, and it’ll be in the all-time books for sure,” Condon said.  ......

read more:  http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/bully-into-record-books-giant-moose-bound-to-go-down-in-history/
[font=georgia, 'bitstream charter', serif]Just note folks - take the antlers to camp LAST.  I believe statewide you are required to salvage the meat before antlers.  This is due to the old too often heard practice of bringing in the head only then claiming a bear ruined the rest of the meat.  Waste of meat is strictly prohibited in Alaska.
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[Graybeard]

I don't doubt that it is a big bull but photos like that intended to make it look like some monster that might have walked the earth tens of thousands of years ago do a disservice to the actual size of the animal.

[Buckskin]

A 73" bull is a true monster no matter how you take the picture... Even if laid in the palms it would look huge.

[Dand]

Yeah GB I agree, I hate it when you can tell the hunter is hunkered down 3-10 feet behind the animal to make it look bigger. If you follow the link to the main article, the hunter is shown reclining inside the palms of the antlers with room to spare.  I keep wondering how they know it weighed 1500 pounds when they had to gut it, skin it, cut it in pieces to get it to  & in the plane.  Still its no doubt a mighty big moose - and old.  I'm glad I didn't have to pack it out.


Another interesting part in the original article is how the hunter got gored and stomped by a 56 inch moose a few years ago - he laid down his gun too soon and discovered that moose was't dead yet when he walked up to it.  And the guy has had a several by-pass surgeries and heart attacks and the Drs have told him quit hunting.

[Buckskin]

Didn't read the full article yesterday. Wow, what a great story! 73 year old guy shoots a 73" moose!!! And after several bypass surgeries to boot. Good for him. I cannot imagine laying your rifle down when going to check on a moose though, lucky he lived to tell the story.
 
 
The 1500 pounds is an estimate, although pretty easy to get good at judging an animals weight when you are around them all your life.  I grew up around cattle and I can usually tell you within 50 pounds of what one weights. And you could get a pretty good estimate based on the amount of meat you took out plus antlers/cape.

[Dand]

Yeah Buck- I'm aware you can estimate reasonably well.  But growing up and living here in Alaska I've heard so many 2000 pound moose and brown bear stories that don't add up later that I am very very wary of most seat of the pants estimates.  The fact this moose rack is so big and the hunter doesn't seem to be one of those egomaniac trophy hunters lets me trust the estimate a bit more.   


I admire his pluck and I'm very happy for him.  Yep, bad idea to assume your game is dead from a distance.  My son's moose tried getting up right in front of us and had to be hit again.  Once I had a caribou jump up after I poked his rump. Even a small bull caribou rack is an impressive sight when its pointed at you from 4 feet. I was glad I had approached from the rear - something told me he might not be permanently down so I was cautious and had my rifle ready.