The Pope & Young Club announced a potential world record Shiras moose Monday. Bobby Hebert of Golden, Colo., shot a 194-inch bull Oct. 8, 2015, surpassing the previous record by nearly nine inches.
Hebert took the animal after spending years in pursuit of Shiras moose. He and a friend, Mike, had tried calling in a bull the evening of Oct. 7. The next day’s dawning found the men back in the same area, with Hebert a mere nine yards away from a bull they had nicknamed “Yukon Jack.”
“Mike told me to stand behind some pine trees and he proceeded to walk away. The moose seemed to watch my hunting partner disappear into the trees beyond me and started towards my direction,” Hebert told Pope & Young.
The moose moved closer, grunting as he approached. Hebert loosed an arrow from his recurve when the bull was nine yard away. It ran 40 yards and fell.
The excitement wasn’t over just yet. When Hebert returned with Mike, the bull was standing where it had fallen. He shot again, with the moose running another 35 yards before piling up.
“I literally shed tears of reverence and joy, giving thanks to the Man upstairs,” Hebert said. “I am incredibly grateful to have taken part in this once-in-a-lifetime hunt.”
Hebert’s bull must still be officially scored by panel judging, but it is on track to break the previous world record Shiras moose by 8 2/8 inches. His Shiras is part of Pope & Young’s 30th Recording Period, which encompasses the two-year span between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2016. Trophies are held for consideration until the end of the biennium. At that point they are officially scored, with world records proclaimed at the Pope & Young biennial convention and awards banquet.
The previous Shiras moose world record was set in 1987. Richard E. Jones shot a 185 6/8-inch bull in Sheridan County, Wyoming. While both represent massive amounts of bone, they fall short of the world record Canada moose (222 1/8 inches) and Alaska/Yukon moose (249 1/8 inches) recognized by Pope & Young.