Soldotna hunter takes big bull
High scorer
http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/092906/outdoors_0929out001.shtml
By PATRICE KOHL
Peninsula Clarion


Chuck Winters, of Soldotna, packsa moose rack to camp Sept. 12. Winters said the rack's spread measured 66 inches and that its measnurements may place it in the Boone and Crockett record book.
Photo courtesy of Shawn Stephan

Chuck Winters, of Soldotna, watched excitedly as he and a hunting partner from Palmer inched toward a bull moose laying in a northern Alaska marsh earlier this month. Careful to only walk when gusts of wind masked the sound of their footsteps, the hunters had crept to within 40 feet of the moose when it stood up. Winters’ hunting partner, Matt Chambers, swiftly aimed his rifle, pulled the trigger and dropped the animal dead on the spot.

Jubilant, Winters turned to congratulate Chambers, but soon realized his excitement had been premature.

“I was fixing to give him a high five,†Winters said, as he described the moment when he and Chambers were struck by a turn in events.

Just then, the hunters realized the moose that lay dead on the ground had not been alone.

“I saw Matt’s eyes just get huge and I looked and I’m like ‘Oh my God’,†Winters said.

About 20 yards south of the moose Chambers had shot, a second and massive bull stood from behind the grasses and brush.

“I knew right away that it was not your average bull,†he said.

Quickly, Winters unslung his rifle, chambered a round and shot the moose, hitting it in the spine and dropping it to the ground.

Winters and Chambers may have been high on excitement, but the massiveness of the bull Winters shot had been no illusion. The moose weighed 1,500 pounds, the biggest moose Winters has shot in the area, which he would only describe as part of game management area 23 and above the Arctic Circle.

When he returned to Soldotna and unofficially measured its antlers with the help of fishing guide Joe Hanes, he realized his bull might be more than just big, it could be among the biggest.

Winters shot the bull on Sept. 12 and although an official measurement of its rack cannot be taken until the rack has dried for 60 days, Winters said he and Hanes’ unofficial measurement, or green score, so far places it at ninth among the biggest Alaska-Yukon moose racks in the Boone and Crockett record book.

After Winters flew back to Soldotna the word on his moose spread quickly.

“Pictures of this rack are making their way around the Internet, which has been interesting,†he said. “I’ve got friends in Anchorage that call up, ‘Hey, I just got this e-mail from a buddy in Florida with a picture of this moose.’â€

The rack which Winters and Hanes unofficially scored at 247 points could lose as many as three points as it shrinks from drying.

But if Hanes and Winters measured carefully and conservatively, it certainly could be recorded among the biggest, said Ted Spraker, one of just two official Boone and Crockett measurers on the Kenai Peninsula. Spraker has not yet seen the rack, but has plans to arrange a time to meet with Winters and measure it.


Winters poses with the bull moose. Winters said the moose weighed 1,500 pounds.
Photo courtesy of Shawn Stephan

“That’s huge and Joe Hanes is a pretty savvy, knowledgeable scorer, so I’m sure they scored it pretty close,†he said. “I’m anxious to see.â€

A moose rack’s score is determined using five measurements, and by its symmetry. The measurements are taken using the width of the spread, the width of the palms, the length of the palms, the circumference of the bases and by counting the number of actual points on each side

To make the Boone and Crockett record book, a moose rack must score at least 224 points.

If Winters’ rack officially scores 245 points or more, Spraker said it will be the largest rack he has officially scored in about 10 years, he said.

Spraker said nothing out of the ordinary needs to be done to a rack for it to be officially measured, but the rack should be kept intact.

“The only thing that is critical is that you can’t break the skull plate,†he said. “Or sometimes when they can’t get them into airplanes they’ll saw one antler off and then they’ll reattach it when they get back. But you can’t do that. You have the antlers naturally attached to the skull.â€

WOW! That bull have everything going for it to score very high. I have no doubt about the unofficial score. Lots of short points and massive palms really help the score. What a bull! The pics of big bulls Jerry Huffaker and I placed on Scott King's post about Unit 17 are excellent and Scott's bigger one I'm sure will make B&C but this bull is much larger.

I've seen bulls as wide as 78" but none anymore perfect than this bruiser. A big congratulations to the lucky hunter.

Mark

d.p.;

great bull, great photos.

thanks for posting this.

Great bull but two moose on the ground ath the same time. What a lot of work to do.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Great bull but two moose on the ground ath the same time. What a lot of work to do.

No Kidding! I would not look forward to that work. But... If my buddy had just shot a nice moose and that one jumped up, I'd do the same thing this fella did. I'd never question it.