Four Days After a C-Section, Shayla Beckler Shot a Moose on Opening Day of North Dakota’s Rifle Season While Her Husband Waited in the Truck With Baby Stella
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department runs moose hunting as a lottery season open only to state residents, and its 2026 regular season, which allows any legal firearm or bow, opened Oct. 9. Shayla Beckler of Beulah shot her moose on opening day of rifle season, four days after giving birth to her daughter, Stella, by C-section, KFYR-TV reported. Her husband, Jacob, stayed in the truck with the baby.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Tag in a Lottery-Only Season
Beckler described the tag as a once-in-a-lifetime one and told KFYR she was not willing to give it up. The station did not say how she obtained it, and it reported that Jacob has applied for moose tags for years and has never been drawn.
The state’s moose page explains why drawing one is rare. Moose is a lottery season for North Dakota residents only, the 2026 application deadline was March 25, and all licenses for the year have been sold. The 2026 Moose, Elk and Sheep guide adds that anyone who received a lottery license for a species in a previous year cannot apply for that species again, apart from certain landowner licensees.
The bow season ran Sept. 4 to 27, and the regular season runs Oct. 9 to Nov. 1. License holders can hunt both seasons but only in the unit and for the type of moose on their license, with a bag limit of one.
Monday C-Section, Wednesday Home, Friday in the Field
KFYR reported the timeline in days of the week. Beckler had the C-section on a Monday, went home from the hospital on Wednesday and was hunting by Friday. The report did not give calendar dates for the birth or the hunt, and it did not mention a doctor or hospital.
She had hoped to fill the tag during archery season. According to KFYR, she had not bow hunted in about 10 years, got close and missed her shot, and archery season closed before she had another chance. Her brothers helped track the moose.
Jacob and Baby Stella in the Truck, and a Photo With a Stuffed Moose
Jacob stayed in the truck with Stella to keep her warm and to keep an eye on Shayla, KFYR reported. Stella’s older brother, Bryson, missed the hunt because of a football game. Shayla said Stella weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces at birth.
Her main goal was a photo of Stella with a stuffed moose on the antlers. The family plans to process the meat themselves, with Stella present.
Another recent birth story on the site, Irwin mom Kaitlin Blake’s emergency C-section after 37 hours of labor, shows how different the road to a cesarean can look.
What the NHS and Mayo Clinic Say Recovery From a Cesarean Looks Like
The report describes one family’s choices and does not offer medical guidance, and the usual advice is more cautious. The National Health Service in England says most women leave the hospital after 1 or 2 days, can hold and carry their baby at home but should avoid lifting anything heavier, and should avoid strenuous exercise until they feel able, which may not be for 6 weeks or so. On its recovery page, the NHS also says women cannot drive for a few weeks, and that returning to normal activities generally takes about 6 weeks.
Mayo Clinic’s C-section recovery guidance says to keep moving, to avoid lifting anything heavier than 10 to 15 pounds for the first couple of weeks and to rest when the baby sleeps. It lists redness, swelling, leaking fluid and fever among the signs of a wound infection that call for contacting a health care professional.
The Game and Fish guide includes one more deadline for anyone holding a moose license this year: harvest information is due by Jan. 15, 2027, and failing to report costs a hunter eligibility for all lottery licenses in 2027.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: USFWS Mountain-Prairie – Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
