Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Non-typical Keystone State bull might be recognized as the 6th largest ever taken by a hun

Nice bull. Anyway you look at it and anywhere it was taken given fair chase. Not sure I've even seen anything near that in Unit 10 AZ. Or the White Mountains on the Rez. 400's yeah, but not like that one.

"Flat", I do believe, is a relative term. First time I lived in PA in '79, I ran with some other young folks, one of whom had a cabin "in the mountains". We left town, drove for a little while, then topped out on a ridge. First thing I asked when getting out of the car to drink some of the keg was "Where's the mountains?" I had hills that tall in our neighborhood in SoCal.

Then two years in NW PA in '99 and '00 and I found out there are some steep places, but no real mountains. So, yep, not flat perhaps, but flatter than a whole lot of places. All relative as I mentioned.

Someone mentioned a 1500' rise in their 25 mile drive home. By the crow flying, about 5 miles from where I sit typing, there's a "butte" (not even called a mountain here) that's +/- 2000 feet in elevation higher than where our property is. It would take me about 10 miles driving, going around the ridge behind our place, to get there, so much less flat than a 1500' rise in 25 miles. If I went the other direction, 25 miles straight over the hills and valleys, I could get to a mountain 5500' higher than our property. To get to the top I'd have to walk as it's in a wilderness though.

Now realize, we live at 1200' feet higher than the highest point in all of PA, so flat looks different to us.

It's all relative. Folks in SE AK, and parts of the Rockies think the county where I live is "flat". Compared to there, it is.

And you won the Smartest Man on the Campfire last year?


Beaver, something smells rotten around here, and the wind isn't blowing from Denmark.

PA elk is about as close as you get to a Texas style pet herd without high fences and broadcast feeders.

Technically they are wild animals and not livestock. But in the same vein as Yellowstone bison herds.

Here we go...

Beans.

No Beans.

I guess I never thought of Pennsylvania as being steep.. isn't the highest point in the state about 3,000 ft? Shoot, we have volcanoes here that are over 11,000.. and a river gorge that is 2500 ft deep.
But that IS a hell of an animal.
And I like beans.

3213' Mt Davis

As for steep (not flat) there are actually some very nice canyons there. And climbing up to the Allegheny Plateau from the river bottom can be a bit of a workout .

But, as a couple of folks familiar with the place mentioned already. It ain't ID, MT, or CA, or OR, etc.

I've never been to PA so I won't comment on the "flatness" of its elk country, but this 1500 vertical foot statement is a bit surprising to me.....that's just a Monday morning mule deer hunt. I had friends who dropped about that much elevation on the 5 mile drive to high school each morning.

OK, maybe it was more like 7-8 miles but most of the descent was on a fairly short part of the drive, then on the flat valley bottom into town. They didn't even live in the good elk country. Had to go higher yet.

Incredible size of the bull in the OP, regardless of the circumstances.

...when I was a kid, I had to walk to school. It was up hill both ways...

No doubt there are actual wild elk in Pennsylvania that can be difficult to hunt.

But these big massive bulls are not likely any of those.

These are private land pets.

This particular outfitter has a history of violations which include using a motor vehicle to locate elk, shooting on or across highways, shooting at the elk after alighting from a vehicle while being within 25 yards of the traveled portion of the roadway and so on.

They are closely scrutinized by local authorities due to their tactics and as a result, complaints.

Near-by land owners claim to hand feed apples to theses big bulls.

This outfitter has gained the rights to "hunt" on some local private land, enough cash and you can get anything.

The 2019 Keystone Elk Country Alliance raffle ticket hunt went something like this.

Elk County Outfitters would call Prentiss (the 2019 raffle tag winner) when a large bull had been scouted.

The call came on Sept. 11 — a massive bull had been located. Prentiss made the 90-minute drive from his home in Lycoming County into the elk range.

Big elk hunt coming, they got me a trophy bull standing in someone's apple orchard.

He hunted with guides and a videographer from TomBob Outdoors that evening and the following day. Then, on the morning of Sept. 13, they relocated the trophy bull on private property.

The luck continued. According to Elk County Outfitters, Prentiss made a 136-yard shot with his 6.5 Creedmoor and hit the elk a second time at 175 yards. The bull was down at 7:20. Its large antlers were gross green scored at 458 inches. Prentiss had a big supply of meat and the trophy of a lifetime, or so he thought.

Video confiscated, multiple violations discovered.

Elk hunter and guides found guilty on most charges in Clearfield County

It should be noted that, in 2015, a different Elk County Outfitters guide and hunter were charged with similar offenses.

I doubt they'd raffle off a tag like this if there wasn't some public lands to hunt within the region, but to bust a world class bull like one of these I suppose a guy has to do what he has to do.

Some need to hike up some of that country…..they would get a better appreciation of “hills”. How high and how steep a place may be….can be two different things. Mountain Laurel can add another interesting twist.

Most soon learn the wise move is to kill your Deer above camp.

Bringing a Deer out thru Mountain Laurel on flat ground is something most don’t want to do twice.

Even better may be parts of West Virginia.😂

Been on two Mountain Goat hunts and wondered around the Bob three times….New Mexico a couple times….and have a comparative appreciation for country that is difficult to get around in.

One could make a Pa Elk hunt as hard or difficult as they want and your abilities to do so...No restrictions on having to have a local guide....and nothing to stop one from going back in on their own, killing one and bringing it out in pieces. Years ago, I ran into some back in and they were on alert and spooky.

Also been on a New Mexico ranch were they acted little different than some you may cross paths with here.

Friend drew a Maine Moose tag and daily received mail from local outfitters. He wanted to go on his own. Him, his Girlfriend, Dad and I went to Maine. A stop at LL Bean was advantageous, because they went and introduced us to a sales guy who knew his draw area and gave him some spots to checkout on the map.

His Dad and I hunted Grouse while he and the GF scouted for a week. First morning we all went Moose hunting...He called one in and we brought it out. The locals thought it odd.

If a person has fair-chase hunted, bagged and hauled out big elk bulls deep into public land in the West, the comparison with this PA event is striking. On occasion, we bag some really big racks out this way, but that one is really impressive.

Or even Tule.

Love those crowns for sure.