Moose are some of the most prized big game hunting in North America. With short hunting seasons, strict bag limits and equally strict size restrictions, it can take hunters years to bag their first moose, likely only adding to the excitement of a successful hunt.

The monthlong moose hunting season for the Wrangell and Petersburg area closed Oct. 15 with another record number of moose taken in state Game Management Units 3 and 1B.

Unit 3 encompasses the islands south of Admiralty and east of Baranof, and north of Prince of Wales, like Kupreanof, Kuiu, Mitkof and Wrangell islands. Unit 1B includes the mainland across from Wrangell and Petersburg.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Petersburg recorded 162 moose taken — self-reported by hunters — topping last year’s historic harvest by 15. The majority of the moose were harvested from Kupreanof Island (57), Kuiu Island (43) and the Stikine River (32). Only two moose were reportedly taken from Wrangell Island.

Wrangell resident Michael Ottesen Jr. got his first moose while hunting up the Stikine River this year.

“I started moose hunting about five years ago with my uncle up at his camp, and basically just been up there every season, trying and trying and trying,” Ottesen said. “And this year it finally happened.” 

On the morning of opening day, Ottesen said the fog was so thick he couldn’t see farther than 50 yards away before the horizon was enveloped in gray. After about 20 minutes of waiting for the mist to clear, he was ready to grab his bag and search for a better position.

“I was kind of getting my pack ready, it was really quiet because it was so foggy,” he said. “And all of a sudden, I just started hearing stuff. You could hear stuff running through the meadows out in front of me.”

After a moment of the disembodied sounds in the distance, a female moose — called a cow — emerged. Followed by her calf, the two stopped 20 yards from Ottesen’s hunting spot to graze. Then came another cow. This cow was trailed by a bull, but he was too small to satisfy the hunting regulations.

“Then I could hear another bull grunting in the fog,” he said. “All of a sudden he came out of the fog, and I could just see his paddles as the sunlight hit him, and I saw the two brow tines on each side, and then I knew he was legal.”

The large bull was after the cow who had come ahead of him, and as the bull slowed for just a moment Ottesen took his shot, hitting it behind the shoulder. “And then it was all over. He was on the ground.”

He said he hadn’t initially realized how large the bull was — his uncle later estimated it at around 850 pounds — but with two brown tines on each side and antlers that were just over 50 inches wide, it was legal in two ways. Ottesen had landed his first bull moose.

Of the 162 moose harvested this year, 13 were too small to meet legal size restrictions for the hunting license which requires the antlers to have a spike or fork at least 50 inches wide or two-by-two brow tines on each side, or at least three brow tines on one side. 

This is nearly double the seven illegal moose harvested in 2025, according to final tallies from Alaska Fish and Game. 

One of the two moose taken on Wrangell Island was illegal. According to Wildlife Trooper Alisha Seward, there were four illegal moose reported to her in Wrangell in total this year. But she said overall it was a very successful season.

“I think all of Game Management Units 3 and 1B had a very good harvest,” Seward said.