In October 1989, Kurt Skalitzky made the record book with a Canada Moose that was larger than anyone could ever imagine.

Hunting out of Gene and George Halley's camp near Kenora, Ontario, Skalitzky took a moose that net scored 219-7/8 inches, and stands as the largest moose ever taken in the province, by any method. Here is the story as told by Skalitzky himself.

"We arrived at Halley's camp in Ontario, late on the night of Saturday, Oct. 7, 1989. It is located on the beautiful English River, 70 miles north of Kenora. The official opening of the season was the next morning, so I spent a sleepless night waiting for the clock to strike 4 a.m. Our guide Randy Nordstrom had seen a 40-inch to 50-inch bull prior to our arrival and my cousin Tim was dropped off in that area."

"Traveling by boat, Randy and I continued our way down East West Lake," Skalitzky continues. "He decided to take me to a special area where he had spotted another very large bull. We ended up in the north end of one of Ontario's finest meadows. As we walked along the riverbed, history spoke for itself. A raging fire had engulfed the meadow six years earlier and new growth had spurted forth, producing vegetation five feet high."

Two Massive Antlers
"I took my stand as time crawled," Skalitzky continues. "What seemed like an eternity was really only an hour. I tried not to make any noise, but I could hold out no longer. I leaned my rifle against a pine tree, got out my Copenhagen and took a pinch. Suddenly, I saw two massive antlers above the new growth, and my first reaction was to grab my rifle. The moose was about 150 yards out, close enough to shoot, but his body remained concealed by the trees. It then disappeared into the trees. At this point Randy returned, disappointed that he had not seen anything. I told him what I had seen and he looked for a fallen tree to stand on, to gain a better look at the meadow. He could see the big bull bedded down at the end of the meadow, so we planned our approach by slowly walking towards the bedded moose."

"We heard an electrifying crack and realized the bull must have sensed our presence," he continues. "Not a second later we heard him thrashing towards us, thrusting his enormous rack against the trees, sounding like a canoe paddle smacking the water. At about 50 yards, the moose stopped and glared at us, but the brush was still too thick for a good shot. He then took a step or two, walking broadside. I raised my .300 Magnum and fired. He flinched, as I fired again and he went down. He was mine! My guide, Randy, gave me a bear hug and said he'd never seen anything as large as this."

"We returned to camp gathering equipment for field dressing, and cleared a trail to bring out the 1,400 pound giant. It took an entire day to finally get the quarters and 66-2/8 inches of antler back to the plane," he concludes. "To shoot a moose that scores 219-7/8 inches is every hunters dream, now it has become my reality."