With how the state’s Fish and Game regulations work, some Idaho residents may never have the opportunity in their lives to harvest certain animals. For example, an Idaho hunter must complete a semi-lengthy process just to enter a raffle for the chance to acquire a moose tag. Even if you go through the process, there is still no guarantee you will be selected. Ever so often, though, you hear about someone beating the odds.

Kellogg native and local dentist, Steve Rinaldi, recently became one of those lucky people. This hunt in particular had him going after a less traditional type of game.

For 26 years, the Troy Lions Club has held a buffalo hunt raffle that brings in money from all over the county. This year’s raffle had more than 6,000 tickets sold and brought in roughly $30,000 for the organization. Ten of these tickets were purchased by Steve’s wife, Ginny Rinaldi, as a Christmas present for him and it certainly paid off. The Troy Lions Club informed Steve that he had won a guided hunt on the Tatonka Buffalo Ranch just outside Troy, Idaho.

Steve and Ginny arrived in Troy the night before the hunt and had dinner with members of the club. On Jan. 13, the couple put on some camouflage (and a coon skin cap for good measure) and met with hunting guides Tim Johnston and Neal Wadley to begin the hunt.

With the help of a Weatheryby 338-378. hunting rifle, Steve was able to take down one of the big beasts with only one shot. Lions Club members told Steve that he is only the second person in 26 years of the raffle to down the buffalo with a single bullet.

With the bull weighing in at 997 (skinned), there was sure to be a lot of meat to go around. Keeping with their ethos of giving back to the community, the Elks made Steve an offer.

“Part of the deal was if I donated a fourth of the meat back to the club, they would process it all for free,” Steve explained. “Of course I did, and they plan to use their quarter for Troy Days in July to sell burgers and kick off next year’s raffle.”

With a head full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences and a freezer full of meat, Steve had nothing but good things to say about his hosts in Troy.

“I can say that the Troy Lions Club is a class act of extremely fine upstanding individuals.”

The Troy Lions Club has used the funds raised from this raffle for several community projects such as assisting with funding for new city park playground equipment, $20,000 to aid in the new Troy Fire Department building addition, $18,000 to fully equip the Troy ambulance, $10,000 to aid in the local food bank building expansion, scholarships for graduates of Troy High School, and relief for local natural disasters such as wildfires and mudslides.