I usually apply for all the eastern states that I can hunt moose or elk. I have about 60 points for Maine, so I was praying I would draw a tag in the East. I put in the draw for some states out west also. My son, grandson, and I have been applying for elk in Wyoming, but again were not successful, and just about all the states in the East were not successful.
This year, I just about missed the deadline for applying for Pennsylvania elk. I was sawing wood at home on Saturday, July 29th when I missed a phone call. I checked my phone later and the message said I drew a bull elk tag in unit 12 with a bow. I was given a number to call for what to do next. I called and they said I had to buy a license and elk tag and they would send me information. After it all sank in, I thought, why did I apply for bow and not just gun?
I hunted out west a few times and shot a few elk non-guided with a gun, but with a bow, I only shot deer in Michigan. I can get really excited, so I wondered how I was going to shoot that big of an animal at close range and be able to hit him for a killing shot.
I got a couple calls from outfitters in Pennsylvania, and one was Elk County Outfitters. Brian Hale is the owner. He congratulated me and said unit 12 was a great unit. He lived in that unit and would be happy to guide me. He seemed really honest. He said not all hunters get an elk but most do. Some pass on smaller bulls to get a bigger one, and in the end, they get none. I checked on hunters from previous years in the Huntin’ Fool magazine and some went with Elk County Outfitters. I called Brian back and set a date and accommodations. He said I would have two guides with me and pretty much promised they would get me a shot at a good bull.
My wife went with me and would stay at the cabin that would be our home for the week. We arrived a day early from Michigan and met Brian and his wife. They were really nice. I also met Kelly and Joe, my guides.
The first day we hunted was Saturday. We saw elk but couldn’t get them to come close. The wind was swirling terribly all day.
There’s no hunting on Sunday in Pennsylvania. Monday and Tuesday were worse. The bulls would not come to the calls. We saw them at a long distance. Kelly was getting upset. We hiked six to seven miles a day and were busted many times.
Wednesday, we had some smaller bulls come in a little ways away. All this time, I tried not to get excited because I thought I would not be able to hit him anyway and I didn’t want to make a poor shot and wound an elk and not find him. Come to find out, Monday and Tuesday, elk weren’t responding because of the hurricane aftermath that went through the Virginias.
Thursday morning was better with the rut kicking in. Thursday afternoon, we set up again under a tree. Kelly and Joe bulged and called, and a few bulls answered. Kelly was right by me, and Joe was further back. Kelly had videotaped a few of the bulls coming in on earlier days. I didn’t know it, but a nice bull came into the calls at under 20 yards. Kelly said, “Don’t shoot. A bigger bull is out there.” He could tell by the bugles. Later, the bull came to the call.
Kelly must have said shoot, but I was so excited that I didn’t remember him saying anything or even shooting at the big bull. He was walking in at under 20 yards broadside when I shot. I used my crossbow to take him down. After a bout with shingles and Covid, I don’t have the strength to use my favorite compound bow that I have taken so many deer with in Michigan.
Kelly was so excited that he forgot to turn his video on. He said I hit the elk a little far back. After finding blood and the bolt, Joe said we’d find him. We backed out. Kelly called Brian, and he said to wait a couple of hours to make sure the bull was dead. It was a long wait. Joe said it was a good shot. We went back a couple hours and found him down a deep ravine long after dark. We didn’t get really good pictures because of the dark, the trees, and the creek he died by.
We had about seven people who helped cut the hide off and quarter him there. They put the meat in game bags while a couple of coyotes howled nearby and then carried it up and out to the truck. Kelly took the head and antlers out on his backpack and was covered with blood on his back. We got back to the cabin at about 3:00 a.m.
The next day, we brought the meat to the processor and then the head and antlers to the Game Commission to get checked. The biologist was really nice. They took a tooth out to age the elk. He said I drew the bull elk tag out of 57,000 applications. It was roughly scored at 350”. The elk was a 7x8. Everyone was so happy for me and very friendly. Brian, Kelly, nor Joe ever drew a bull tag. People came to the check station to see what elk came in, some even wanting to take pictures and congratulated me.
The price for applying was only $11.97. The eastern states don’t rip off non-residents like the high cost of applying out west. Some states out west, you have to buy a non-refundable license even to apply. I would like to thank Brian, his wife, Dee, Fisher, John, Kelly, Joe, and the Good Lord for such a great hunt-of-a-lifetime.
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