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88-year-old moose hunter

He did it! And quite an accomplishment it was!

Merle Routledge filled his once-in-a-lifetime moose tag on opening day, October 7. While harvesting a moose may not seem to be out of the ordinary, consider that Routledge is 88 years old and uses a walker!

“My son said he put in for a moose for me and I got a tag,” said Routledge. “I had to go along with him and shoot one. It was a nice moose.”

Indeed it was. Routledge’s bull measured a very respectable 40 inches. It was downed with a single shot from a .30-.06 at a distance of approximately 75 yards.

“I watched this particular moose for about 10 days,” said Merlin Routledge, Merle’s son. “We found him about a mile north of where I had been seeing him.”

The bull was taken in unit M9 on Routledge land north of Glenburn. Routledge had shot white-tailed deer previously, but his last was several years ago. The rifle he used to down the moose was borrowed from his son.

“He put him down with one shot,” said Merlin Routledge.

“I was pretty tickled when that thing went down,” added Merle Routledge.

Putting a moose on the ground and getting it loaded up are two different things entirely. Fortunately for Routledge, his moose was taken on very favorable ground.

“We drove right up to it and picked it up with a tractor loader and took it home,” said Merle Routledge.

Routledge and his son both said they are looking forward to when the processing of the moose in complete. The processor estimated the animal would produce more than 300 pounds of boneless meat.

“I never tasted moose yet,” remarked Merle Routledge. “I don’t know what it’s like. We’ll have roasts, steaks and mooseburgers. It’s a good deal.”

The 88-year-old Routledge is a resident of Brookdale Brentmoor where the moose has been a major topic of conversation. The head and antlers of the moose are being done as a European mount and will be placed on display at Brookdale Brentmoor.

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