LEWISTON – It’s been a wild year for Junior “Bert” LaBrecque. In May, the 64-year-old broke his back in a fall. Doctors did not expect him to walk for at least two years.

Then LaBrecque won the moose lottery after nearly a quarter-century of missing out. It was a high point, but it seemed unlikely he would be fit enough in time for the October moose season.

As it turned out, LaBrecque was more than fit enough. On Tuesday, the second day of the season, he shot a gargantuan moose weighing 1,020 field dressed.

“He shot it from 180 yards while the moose was on the run,” said 36-year-old Dwayne LaBrecque, Bert’s son.

LaBrecque shot the moose in a woodlot at Enchanted Ponds near The Forks. He fired from a .444-caliber rifle and struck the animal. Dwayne followed up with a blast from a .300 Winchester Magnum and felled the moose.

Experts estimate the moose weighed 1,300 pounds before it was shot. The antler spread was measured at 53 inches. At the tagging station, the sight of the beast was enough to draw attention even in the well-known hunting grounds near Bingham.

“People were stopping, looking it over and shaking my hand,” Bert LaBrecque said. “A lot of them were taking pictures. It was great.”

A moose weighing in at over 800 pounds is considered large in this state. The moose LaBrecque shot Tuesday is the largest killed so far this season, which opened Monday and ends Saturday.

By Tuesday night, Bert and his son, a registered hunting guide, were taking their kill to a butcher in Greene. The pair has been trying for 24 years to get a moose permit through the state permit system.

“It’s been 24 years of disappointment,” Dwayne LaBrecque said. “And now this.”