That thing is a pig with fur and horns! 7x8?? Crazy!!
PA Elk Tag Drawing
- Thread starter BigCountry14
- Start date
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buellsfurn
Ultimate Member
No I wish but if you stop in the Benezette hotel restaurant ask for Matt or cant think of his first name but Mr Combs will work they could likely know Combs family are from to the area many years
- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Hah, thanks. Had to ask just in case. Sometimes its a small world.
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buellsfurn
Ultimate Member
wish i could say it was me
- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Filled my tag at 650 yesterday morning. More pics and story to come.
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Awesome! Congrats. Looking forward to the details.
Congrats!! I'm jealous...
- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Story time....
Hunting PA elk is incredibly awesome, and at times equally frustrating, but ultimately was an amazing experience. Before I drew the tag, my wife and I had a trip planned for the PBR world finals in Vegas this week, so I had an immediate conflict. Our first vacation in 3 years with out kids or inlaws and I draw an elk tag during the same week. We moved our flights to accomodate extra hunting time, but we already had too much money tied in to outright cancel.
Then, throw in the fact my wife and kid have been passing illnesses back and forth for 3 weeks, the entire time id manage to avoid it, then 8pm Sunday night, right before opening day, i come down with a sore throat and congestion....great start.
I drew zone 8, which is just east of the visitor center and Benezette. Its about 75% public land, but unfortunately 90% of that is a waste of time, as its land the elk just dont populate. They have a few core areas in the zone they hang on. In the trips up previously, we had located several nice bulls, all on private ground. One guy denied us permission on one strip where a nice bull was hanging, but was nice enough to give us access to 70 acres farther away where we ended up going in. Another lady who works with our outfitter for catering consistently has 10-15 bulls in her yard, but always denies permission. I swear she feeds them or something, because everytime ive been there there have been at least a dozen bulls in her yard. The weekend before the hunt, we found one in a field we had access too, but he didnt show at all Saturday or Sunday, only a young, smaller 7x7 was hanging out there.
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Hunting PA elk is incredibly awesome, and at times equally frustrating, but ultimately was an amazing experience. Before I drew the tag, my wife and I had a trip planned for the PBR world finals in Vegas this week, so I had an immediate conflict. Our first vacation in 3 years with out kids or inlaws and I draw an elk tag during the same week. We moved our flights to accomodate extra hunting time, but we already had too much money tied in to outright cancel.
Then, throw in the fact my wife and kid have been passing illnesses back and forth for 3 weeks, the entire time id manage to avoid it, then 8pm Sunday night, right before opening day, i come down with a sore throat and congestion....great start.
I drew zone 8, which is just east of the visitor center and Benezette. Its about 75% public land, but unfortunately 90% of that is a waste of time, as its land the elk just dont populate. They have a few core areas in the zone they hang on. In the trips up previously, we had located several nice bulls, all on private ground. One guy denied us permission on one strip where a nice bull was hanging, but was nice enough to give us access to 70 acres farther away where we ended up going in. Another lady who works with our outfitter for catering consistently has 10-15 bulls in her yard, but always denies permission. I swear she feeds them or something, because everytime ive been there there have been at least a dozen bulls in her yard. The weekend before the hunt, we found one in a field we had access too, but he didnt show at all Saturday or Sunday, only a young, smaller 7x7 was hanging out there.
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- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Sunday night came and our plans were in disarray. The bulls we had access to disappeared, and the others seemed content on private ground we couldnt access. The other bull hunter in my zone and his guide had found a group of bulls on public ground near the dents run viewing area, right by the pa game commisions elk cam they run in early fall. There was a big 7x8 in there, and a heavy 6x6 or 7x7 with him. They decided the best plan would be for us both to go in and try to shoot at the same time, with him taking rhe 7x8 and me taking the other.
We were at the gate of the land by 5am, but sat in the the trucks for almost an hour as it was pouring rain. Legal shooting time of 0622 was not happening, as it was way too cloudy. Shortly after 6 we exited the vehicles and started getting together. It was quite a large group as we had myself, my father, my guide, the other hunter Ross, his guide, dad and friend who was also filming, along with a cow hunter, his friend and his guide.
Things immediatly got off to a bad start as Ross managed to muzzle sweep the entire group twice in a span of about 15 seconds. I told my guide that were about to have an issue and he better say something to the other guide. He then did it again and my guide jumped on him about it. With that settled down, we started in, working our way along the access road to the top field.
We got to the field edge just in time to watch 5 bulls come off a hill and into the field. Things got a bit confusing as the bulls were in a tight group and identifying them was tough. Just as they started to separate and we figured out which ones to shoot, the two we were targeting turned and began sparring, spinning themselves in a circle. It took about 5 mintes for everyone to sort out again. Then the guides were trying to figure it out. They marked the bulls off at 275 yards. "You take the 3rd from right, you take 4th. No you take 3rd, you take 4th, now 5th, no 3rd" By now my bull was a solid 285 yards out. Then came "Have at it boys"....nothing. "Have at it"......Finally I got my rifle settled, and lined up behind the shoulder for a split second. I fired first.
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We were at the gate of the land by 5am, but sat in the the trucks for almost an hour as it was pouring rain. Legal shooting time of 0622 was not happening, as it was way too cloudy. Shortly after 6 we exited the vehicles and started getting together. It was quite a large group as we had myself, my father, my guide, the other hunter Ross, his guide, dad and friend who was also filming, along with a cow hunter, his friend and his guide.
Things immediatly got off to a bad start as Ross managed to muzzle sweep the entire group twice in a span of about 15 seconds. I told my guide that were about to have an issue and he better say something to the other guide. He then did it again and my guide jumped on him about it. With that settled down, we started in, working our way along the access road to the top field.
We got to the field edge just in time to watch 5 bulls come off a hill and into the field. Things got a bit confusing as the bulls were in a tight group and identifying them was tough. Just as they started to separate and we figured out which ones to shoot, the two we were targeting turned and began sparring, spinning themselves in a circle. It took about 5 mintes for everyone to sort out again. Then the guides were trying to figure it out. They marked the bulls off at 275 yards. "You take the 3rd from right, you take 4th. No you take 3rd, you take 4th, now 5th, no 3rd" By now my bull was a solid 285 yards out. Then came "Have at it boys"....nothing. "Have at it"......Finally I got my rifle settled, and lined up behind the shoulder for a split second. I fired first.
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- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
My shot rang out and all hell broke loose. Ross fired quickly after and there were 3 bulls on the ground and two runnings. I was trying to find my follow up, but there was a knoll between us and i didnt have a shot. All i could see was a head. Which i then realized was not the bull i shot. At that point I finally heard my guide John and my father telling me not to worry my bull was down. As Ross fired off two more shots, the two that were down by mine, got off and ran away. They hadnt been hit, they just layed down when the shots were fired. Ross' bull dropped in the field about 100 yards from us.
We started walking towards the bulls as a group and when we were about 20 yards from Ross' bull, its eyes got real wide, it jumped up and started coming at us. With a wounded leg, it didnt was able to charge us effectively and it turn and ran back toward my bull, Ross fired another shot and it fell to the ground. As we approached again, my guide was telling him he needed to get more shells in that gun as he was down to only one. As we got 10 ft away the bull kicked up again, Ross fired one last time, hitting it in the neck, finally finishing it.
We were pretty close to having a major issue at that point. I was fuming that it took so long to put that bull down, and if his last shot hadnt finished it and he had to dig around for more shells, I would have put it out of its misery myself. May not have been the legal thing to do, but definitely would have been the right thing.
We got over to my bull, and it was down, not moving. Upon field dressing the bull and collecting the samples for the PGC, we found that my shot decimated both lungs. At the check station my bulled weighed 524lbs dressed, estimated to be 682 live weight. The 6x6 rack had a spread of 50.5 inches. Fairly typical, which is not normal in PA, and a quick gross class estimate put it in the 300 class (there is a busted tine on the side they measured, so it may come in a little higher). The G3 on the right side could go either way as typical or abnormal, the scorer said its close and pretty much is a judgement call. Ross' bull weighed 575 dressed, estimated 742 live. The 7x8 had a spread of 46 inches, and had a gross class estimated on 390, non typical.
All and all Im very happy with the bull i took, especially given the circumstances. Im thankful to my guide for getting me in and to Ross for letting me come in with them to the area with the bulls he found with his guide. All in all, firearm safety and marksmanship aside, he was a helluva nice guy, and he didnt have to let me come with them. His buddy Steve came along and videod the whole thing and sent me a bunch of pictures. Hes going to send me the video when he is done editing.
Review of the video showed my bull dropping where it stood, picking its head up briefly, then expiring. Not bad for a 285 yard shot with a Remington 700 in .30-06 that my grandfather bought new in 1970, with Hornaday Precision Hunter 178gr ELD-x bullets. The video showed Ross missed his first shot cleanly. Examination of the bull at the butcher showed two of his follow ups with his .338 mag broke the bulls shoulder. The final neck shot finished it off.
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We started walking towards the bulls as a group and when we were about 20 yards from Ross' bull, its eyes got real wide, it jumped up and started coming at us. With a wounded leg, it didnt was able to charge us effectively and it turn and ran back toward my bull, Ross fired another shot and it fell to the ground. As we approached again, my guide was telling him he needed to get more shells in that gun as he was down to only one. As we got 10 ft away the bull kicked up again, Ross fired one last time, hitting it in the neck, finally finishing it.
We were pretty close to having a major issue at that point. I was fuming that it took so long to put that bull down, and if his last shot hadnt finished it and he had to dig around for more shells, I would have put it out of its misery myself. May not have been the legal thing to do, but definitely would have been the right thing.
We got over to my bull, and it was down, not moving. Upon field dressing the bull and collecting the samples for the PGC, we found that my shot decimated both lungs. At the check station my bulled weighed 524lbs dressed, estimated to be 682 live weight. The 6x6 rack had a spread of 50.5 inches. Fairly typical, which is not normal in PA, and a quick gross class estimate put it in the 300 class (there is a busted tine on the side they measured, so it may come in a little higher). The G3 on the right side could go either way as typical or abnormal, the scorer said its close and pretty much is a judgement call. Ross' bull weighed 575 dressed, estimated 742 live. The 7x8 had a spread of 46 inches, and had a gross class estimated on 390, non typical.
All and all Im very happy with the bull i took, especially given the circumstances. Im thankful to my guide for getting me in and to Ross for letting me come in with them to the area with the bulls he found with his guide. All in all, firearm safety and marksmanship aside, he was a helluva nice guy, and he didnt have to let me come with them. His buddy Steve came along and videod the whole thing and sent me a bunch of pictures. Hes going to send me the video when he is done editing.
Review of the video showed my bull dropping where it stood, picking its head up briefly, then expiring. Not bad for a 285 yard shot with a Remington 700 in .30-06 that my grandfather bought new in 1970, with Hornaday Precision Hunter 178gr ELD-x bullets. The video showed Ross missed his first shot cleanly. Examination of the bull at the butcher showed two of his follow ups with his .338 mag broke the bulls shoulder. The final neck shot finished it off.
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- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Some photos
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Great story - thanks for posting!!
- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Forgot to mention, while we were in the field after cleaning our elk, we were approached by a game warden. Ive heard a lot of bad things about some of them out there, so I was a bit worried. But it turned out to be very positive interaction. Also turned out that one of the men was the PA Game Commissioner himself making the rounds on opening morning.
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To OP, congrats! Awesome story and great outcome. Not sure if wardens vary by state, but my MD NRP interactions have always been great. They usually give some helpful hints on where to scout on public land when I’ve run in to them and are usually super casual and friendly.
- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Thanks guys. It was an awesome experience. I had planned on bringing it back to cut myself, but I got sick the night before the hunt and just punted to a butcher. Going this weekend to pick it up.
From what I hear there are one or two game wardens up there in that area that have a bit of an attitude with them. I will say there was one at the check station at one point that was less than pleasant.
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From what I hear there are one or two game wardens up there in that area that have a bit of an attitude with them. I will say there was one at the check station at one point that was less than pleasant.
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- Jan 17, 2013
- 1,684
Guide just sent me this from the St Mary's Daily Press. Looking for an online link to the story.
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What a great story. Congratulations!
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