Another state-record bull moose emerges

After being measured and re-measured, the rack of a moose shot last fall in Pend Oreille County by Leroy Cooper of Sprague has become the state record for Washington.

Two other area men each bagged a moose that temporarily held that distinction after being scored in recent months, but Cooper’s bull topped them all with a score of 176 2/8 Boone and Crocket points, confirmed Larry Carey, Boone and Crockett Club official scorer in Spokane.

“We didn’t set out to get a trophy bull, that’s just how it worked out,” said Ted Boggs of Cusick.

Boggs stepped up to help Cooper fill his once-in-a-lifetime tag after the death of their mutual friend, Joe Steffen of Newport.

“Joe and Leroy had been putting in for a tag and were going to hunt with each other but no sooner did Leroy draw a tag when Joe was killed,” Boggs said. “So I said I’d help, sort of as a memorial.

“Leroy’s retired and crippled up, so we helped him get into an area where I knew there were moose,” Boggs said, noting that he’d never seen a really big bull there.

Boggs walked up the slope to use his moose call while his nephew, Jared Campbell of Cusick, sat in the woods with Cooper.

“I went up and called and what do you know, this big bull came in through the brush and walked about 10 yards from Leroy. I’m not real sure why he didn’t shoot at first. He was pretty excited. I called again and when the bull started moving toward me, Leroy took him.”

After the men started the hard work of cutting and hauling meat, Boggs learned that he and Cooper had a decades-old connection. “Turns out he gave a hound to a friend of mine so he could give it to me, and that was 40 years ago and I hadn’t seen him since,” Boggs said.

“I do a lot of hunting, but a moose hunt is a moose hunt and there’s always special meaning behind it. You end up with some dear friends. We’ve killed lesser bulls and they’re just as pretty and the experience is just as great. This one just happened to be a real dandy.

“My nephew had a great experience just being there with Leroy and seeing that bull come in. That young man, you could have pushed him over with a feather, he was so excited. Nothing can take that memory away from him.”

Cooper had the trophy preserved as a European mount, that is, the anglers on a bleached white skull mounted on a plaque.

“All of us call it ‘Joe’s Bull,’ ” Boggs said.