The nearly 30-year-old archery world record for Shiras moose may have finally been broken. The Pope and Young Club announced on Monday that a bull moose harvested last October by Bobby Herbert of Golden, Colorado may eclipse the current record.
“I am incredibly grateful to have taken part in this once-in-a-lifetime hunt,” Herbert told Pope and Young. “I literally shed tears of reverence and joy, giving thanks to the Man upstairs.”
The current world record belongs to a 185 6/8 moose harvested by Richard E. Jones in Wyoming in 1987. Herbert’s moose measured 8 and 2/8 inches higher. Of course, the moose will have to go before a panel of judges to account for shrinkage or mis-measurement before it can be certified as the official world record.
“We were making our way around to where I had been calling the night before, when my hunting partner, Mike told me to stop,” Hebert recalled. “He thought he could see a moose in the trees ahead. I slowly raised my binoculars to find it was the bull we had named, 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.
“The massive bull grunted with every step as he walked by me at 9 yards. I took a single step and let loose with my arrow, watching it strike home. He ran off about 40 yards and fell over. When I returned with Mike to see my harvest, the bull was standing up. I maneuvered around him for another shot, but he disappeared into some trees. We found him lying down with his head behind a pine about 20 yards away. I nocked another arrow, let it fly and it hit true. He ran another 35 yards and collapsed.”
Pope and Young said the record is currently pending, and Records Chairman Ed Fanchin had a few words of praise for Herbert’s massive harvest.
“The Pope and young Club is excited that Bobby Herbert has entered his magnificent Shiras bull moose into the Records Program as a pending Pope and Young Club world record,” Fanchin said. “The size of the moose is a testament of sound conservation work and game management. It’s great to know that animals of this class are currently roaming the woods. What I like most is the story behind Bobby’s hunt, and how it was a true example of Fair Chase, ethical bowhunting.”
Shiras moose are native to several western US states, including Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington. They are on average the smallest subspecies of moose in North America, but their antlers can still grow to massive sizes.
Image courtesy Pope and Young Club
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Beautiful Shiras and congrats. I have never been able to hunt a Shiras, but have seen some beauties very upfront in WY while mulie hunting. Beautiful animals.
If he cant kill it first time then he shouldn’t be using a bow to hunt. Back to the range for practice.
Maybe wait at least 30 min before searching. This gives the animal time to “bleed out.” – Jerry
It should be a quick clean kill first time, not waiting 30 minutes or having to take another shot. I’m sick of reading about sloppy hunting, this bleeding out you are talking about is pretty primitive and makes us hunters look like cruel fools.
It is rare for an animal to die immediately from an arrow. Hollywood shows buffalo dying quickly when shot by a Indians arrow, but that rarely happened. They would shoot it then it would run off bleeding out. They’d collect it later. Same with modern bows. It is rare to drop an animal in its tracks unless the spine is hit, usually on deer size animals. I would say this moose died rather quickly.
If you rush in and not wait a bit especially if the animal has run out of site, you have a chance of causing the animal to run further away and reduce your chance of collecting it.
Sorry chris, this is not a video game. That is not how arrows work. Seems like us hunters may not actually include you.
Having harvested a B&C Shiras moose in 2004,,this is a truly magnificent bull.. and Colo has no wolves to eat way too mnay of them…yet…congrats to the fellow traditional bowhunter
ahh yes, another paranoid wolf-hater has to chime in with nonsense again…
I do not know who you are but you are a typical ass. Living in NW Montana, the wolf packs that have flourished since the winter of 1994-95, have decimated our moose herd. Moose are solitary animals in the winter, and thus have become easy prey by these packs. Ask any MT FWP biologist and they now blame it on global warming…sic climate change…but our numbers are way, way down from the early 90’s. And over-hunting is not the reason. 23 wolf packs (7 animals per pack}, one black bear per square mile, grizzlies continuing to increase in numbers, untold mtn lions, and lots of coyotes have all taken their toll on these ungulates. Why do various groups continue to fight wolves coming back to Colo???HHHMMM
so was this a high fence moose ?????
Congrats to Robert Herbert on a magnificent animal! Bleeding is not a sentient activity — meaning you can’t feel yourself bleed. Since hunting arrows are tipped with razor blades, usually animals feel no pain as they bleed out. I’ve shot a couple that simply went back to feeding after the arrow passed in and out the other side. Herbert’s first arrow was all that was necessary. He followed up with a second shot, just to end things more quickly.