An Awesome Book of Moose Hunting Stories

Roger Lambert has lots of wonderful moose hunting stories and I am very pleased that he has published some of them in his book, The Great Maine Moose Hunt. Subtitled “Celebrating 40 Years of Modern Moose Hunting in Maine” it is all of that and lots more.

Roger would tell me some of his amazing moose hunting stories, and when I urged him to write them down, he would insist that he couldn’t write. So I convinced him to tape record his stories, and our friend James Cote typed them up.

I think Roger made a good decision when he invited some of his clients and other guides to add their best moose hunting stories to the book. And I was fascinated by all the wonderful photos in the book.

One of the stories and photos is about the time more than 1000 of us, at the Skowhegan Fair Grounds, set a Guinness world record for the most people doing a moose call together. My wife Linda and I are in the crowd and photo. And the call was organized and led (of course) by Roger Lambert.

In 1980, Maine reestablished its moose hunt and a group quickly qualified a citizen petition to stop the moose hunt. I worked in the campaign to defeat that initiative and was very pleased when the people of Maine did just that.

One of my favorite stories in this book was about Roger’s moose hunt in 1980 with his dad, Elbert Lambert, who won a permit. They shot an awesome bull moose. There’s a great photo of Roger and his dad with their moose. I can tell you that you’ll feel like you are right beside Roger as you read his stories.

Fairly quickly after that hunt, Roger became a moose hunting guide, and quickly earned a reputation as one of the best. Wait ‘til you see all those huge moose his clients shot!

Maine’s moose hunt is an amazing experience, even if you don’t get the moose you wanted. While it is never – or at least not usually – an easy hunt, we have a surprisingly high success rate. Many moose hunters hire guides like Roger Lambert which really improves their opportunity to be successful. Roger is a very busy guy, including work on his farm, and he knows the woods and just where those big bull moose roam. Anyone who hunts with him is very lucky.

I’ve never won a permit, but I’ve enjoyed moose hunts with a friend who has a camp on the north end of Moosehead Lake. I hope you know that you can enjoy moose hunting with your friends even if you are not the shooter.

As Lonnie Humphrey wrote in her story in the book, “Please remember, the hunt isn’t about the trophy. It’s about the scouting, the preparation, the meals, the time around the campfire, and most importantly, the time spent with family and friends in the great outdoors.” That is so true.

You may be able to find Roger’s book in your local book store, but you can also order it at greatmainemoosehunt.com. A lot of people have been ordering a bunch of the books to give them to family and friends.

I hope you enjoy a moose hunt this year. And I guarantee if you read Roger’s book, you’ll want to do that.

 

 

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.