HUNTING -- Alex Harris of Coeur d'Alene has been putting in for Idaho's once-in-a-lifetime bull moose tag for 10 years and even at that he was lucky to draw a 2013 tag.  

Some hunters have applied for decades and are still coming up zip.

So the 37-year-old hunter made his opportunity count.

"I have hunted the St. Joe River drainage in Unit 6 for elk, deer, bear, grouse and turkey since the fall of 1996 and have seen many nice moose in the area where I was lucky enough to spot this monster," he said in an email with the photo above.

"It is also in the same area that my Aunt and Uncle (my hunting mentors) have taken two 40-plus-inch moose in the past." 

This season was different on all counts, since it was Harris who had the moose tag in his pocket.

He said he'd passed up a few smaller bulls during the early stages of his hunt last week, but couldn’t resist the chance to take this bull -- the rack measures 52 inches wide -- on Sept 19,  the evening of the fifth day of moose season. 

"I will be doing a European mount of the head and (wife willing) will be hanging it in our living room," he said.  "I had to go out and purchase a new freezer in anticipation of the meat returning from the butcher. Enjoyed fresh moose tenderloin last night and probably liver and onions by the end of the week."

Harris's moose-chasing companion found adventure simply by being WITH the holder of a coveted Idaho moose tag:

Hunting partner, heavy lifter, and expert knot tier Jacob Rothrock snapped the photo just before a smaller bull moose charged him trying to get to the newly single cow who had bedded down above us.