Mainely Outdoors: Moose lottery musings

    Maine’s modern moose hunting seasons began back in 1980 with a small experimental hunt. In 1981, results were examined, decisions made, regulations established and the first real lottery took place in 1982 with a tremendous number of applicants vying for one of only 1,000 permits. Odds were astronomical!
At the inhumane hour of 6 a.m. the following morning my jangling phone jarred me from a sound sleep. My bleary “hello” elicited two questions from the boisterous caller: “What’s your middle initial and what’s your post office box number?” A little later I heard, “you got a moose permit!”
My eyes snapped open and the fog cleared from my brain in an instant. Les Smith, the local Air Force recruiter and my hunting buddy, for whom 6 a.m. is a late start to any day, went on to share the news from the list of winners in the daily paper. My Dad was my subpermittee, our pre-season scouting near Shin Pond proved discouraging, but less than 30 minutes from camp on opening morning a small four-point bull wandered into the road from a bog.
I made a 210-yard shot with my .270, the moose collapsed on the spot, cleaning and loading was simple, and with driving time to the tagging station in Ashland and then to the butcher shop we were home by noon. My lucky streak continued. The meat proved delicious and I shared it with many friends and family, all the while anticipating winning my next lottery and moose permit. Little did I realize how far in the future that opportunity would be.
Faithfully each spring I’d send along my application and fee for the lottery, but year after year my name failed to be drawn. Friends and relatives appeared on the annual list over the decades, some more than once. “Perhaps my first-year luck against such odds jinxed me,” I’d lament after reading the list of lottery winners every June.
Buddy Horr, one of my longtime friends and waterfowling companions from downstate, got so tired of hearing me complain he actually entered the drawing despite having never hunted big game. You guessed it! He was drawn for a bull permit in my home zone on his very first attempt. I was dumbfounded, nonetheless I offered to house, feed and guide him and he ended up tagging a big bull late the first day. Although Buddy could not apply for three years after receiving his permit, I kept sending in my papers and accumulating bonus points that never seemed to help. When Buddy was finally able to enter the lottery again and was selected once again that very year I nearly went over the edge! Then he called and made the unbelievable offer to allow me to be the shooter since I was the subpermittee. We got a nice bull on the fourth day of the hunt and while it was satisfying and tasty, 20 years in I’d still not been selected myself.
Five more years passed, but still my name was never spit out by that miserable moose computer. Then Buddy’s son Brian Horr got selected on his initial year and I got to be host and designated guide in zone 6 once again. We managed to down a moderate-sized bull about a mile from my house on the second day of the hunt. Surely my good deeds had to be earning a few different bonus points with Lady Luck or some other helpful deity.
June 15 marked 31 years since my initial lottery moose permit and I had 30 bonus points, the maximum available to any applicant. Earlier in the day I made a joke about just being happy to be alive, healthy and still able to enter the lottery and hope. About 8 p.m. I pulled up the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website on my computer, the results were to be posted by 8 o’clock. With trepidation I went to the Gs, then slowly scrolled downward as I’d done so many years before, and then there it was: Graves, William, Presque Isle.
After over 30 years not only had my name been selected, but I’d gotten all of my choices; my local zone 6, the September season and a bull permit. The season is a ways off, but it will pass quickly and I’m going to enjoy each and every day of preparation and anticipation. My advice to those of you who have never been chosen or have waited a couple of decades or more like myself — patience and perseverance are the keys.
Oh, and bit of luck during the lottery as well as during the hunt couldn’t hurt. Good or bad, I’ll offer up chapter two of this long-awaited event in late-September. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.