The majestic moose is on the bucket list of many hunters, including me.

Sadly, the odds of me ever getting the opportunity to wrap a tag around one are slim to none. There are just too many obstacles standing in the way of me and a moose hunt, the biggest being money. So until I win the lottery, I ‘ll just have to admire the moose others hunters have killed.

Outdoor Life has made that easy with their photo essay of the 40 biggest moose ever harvested.

#3 Alaska
Hunter: Kenneth Best
Score: 255
Year: 1978
Location: McGrath, AK

No one, it seems, is ever looking for a world record moose; they just find one and shoot it. At least that’s the case for the top three Alaskan/Yukon moose. When Kenneth Best and hunting partner Art Beatie left camp near McGrath, Alaska, they did so in a 12 ft raft with a 12 ft ceiling of gray, wet clouds hanging over the willows. After a couple hours of floating and some unsuccessful forays onto shore to call for moose, they rounded a bend a saw this monster moose on a sandbar. They floated to within 75 yards and the moose vanished. Both men hit the ground and spilt up. Best found the moose browsing not 40 ft away from him, just opposite a patch of willows. He filled his scope with brown fur and shot the bull in the shoulder. He followed-up with a shot in the neck and spent the rest of the day wrestling that massive rack through the willows to the boat… [continued]

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