November 2026
Passing It On: A Washington Shiras Moose Hunt in the Selkirks
Hunter: Ryan Ward
Species: Shiras Moose
Location: Selkirk Mountains, Washington
Method: Rifle
In June, I was given an early Christmas present via an email informing me that I had just been selected as one of the winners for the once-in-a-lifetime bull moose tag in the Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington state—a location, up until then, that I had never hunted. Of course, sharing this news with your hunting buddies is exciting (it’s always good when you get them a little jealous). And in classic hunting buddy fashion, I had no problem finding one to help out. I was also pleasantly surprised at how past tag holders reached out and shared information about the hunt locations through the Hunt Washington forum. I will have to pass that knowledge on this year, and I look forward to sharing with next year’s lucky winner.
Scouting GMU 113
This any-bull-moose hunt was located in the Selkirks in Game Management Unit 113, and I’d be taking my Ruger M77 7mm. My initial scouting efforts were focused on scouring onX using my laptop and talking to friends in order to figure out the road system and terrain in the area. I had a very helpful chat with the game warden and a good phone call with the local WDFW biologist. I met with two previous tag holders, who both had the “pass it on” mentality given the once-in-a-lifetime nature of the tag. Finally, I spent fifteen days driving around the roads in trucks and quads.
Three Trips, One Bull
We broke the hunt up into three trips over the two months. The first hunt trip was amazing, as we hit the rut at the beginning of October. One little guy came in on day one to within thirty yards, but I passed on him. I almost regretted that decision; the question of “would you shoot it on the last day?” kept playing in my mind. We saw three other bulls, but nothing within range. There was no kill on that first hunt.
We headed back mid-season and saw another four bulls. None were in range, and it was definitely a lot slower during the post-rut period. The final hunt was over Thanksgiving weekend. We loaded up and headed out, doing day trips from my friend’s house. Fortunately, with one day to spare, we were driving the quads in the snow when, out of nowhere, we spotted this forty-six-inch bull standing on the side of the hill about eighty yards above us. One pull of the trigger and he was hit. One follow-up shot to put him down. The time of day was 7:30 a.m., so we had the benefit of the entire day to deal with processing him and getting him out of the woods. We were back at the ranch by around 2:30 p.m., sitting around the campfire and filling everyone in. I am blessed to have a great core group of hunting buddies that would drop everything to help out. I could go on, but I figured I’d try to keep this as short as I could.
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