428-Inch Bull May Be Pennsylvania’s New Record Elk
Michael Skvarla of Port Matilda had planned a Maryland Sitka deer bowhunt for his 40th birthday. That changed when the Pennsylvania Game Commission notified him he’d drawn one of the state’s coveted elk bull tags. Just 15 were issued against 50,000 lottery applicants.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Skvarla, a Penn State research professor. “I’ve been bowhunting deer for 20 years, but this was an elk – not a whitetail. Because I don’t know much about them, I decided to hire an outfitter for my hunt, and I’m sure glad I did.”
The Hunt
Skvarla booked Trophy Rack Lodge and hunted private land in Centre County during the short September 12–27 season. Working with guide Mike Conaway, caller Abner Druckenmiller, and sister-in-law Abbi Ottoman, the party called in bulls over two days without connecting.
On the morning of September 15, roughly five bulls were bugling at first light. The closest wouldn’t commit, so Druckenmiller, set up about 75 yards behind Skvarla and Conaway, moved around imitating multiple cows to pull a herd bull into range.
It worked. Conaway spotted a large bull climbing toward them, and Skvarla picked it up at 70 yards. He triggered his crossbow at 42 yards.
“I knew it was a good shot. He ran just 20 yards and fell,” Skvarla said. The bull got up on wobbly legs, fell again, then stood and ran off. The party waited 30 minutes before taking up a faint blood trail with no exit wound. The elk had gone only about 100 yards.
Record Potential
The 8×8 typical weighed an estimated 900 pounds and green scored 428 inches. Even after the 60-day drying period, it should top Pennsylvania’s current archery record, Christopher Sebulsky’s 381.1-inch bull from 2021, in a category that groups crossbow and vertical bow together. It would also beat the state’s top firearms typical, which scored just over 407 inches.
The Boone and Crockett Club could recognize it as a state record if submitted. The largest B&C typical taken by any method in Pennsylvania is a 415 2/8 bull from 2022, taken in Clinton County. That earlier bull was also guided by Conaway.
“Mike told me that the bull I shot isn’t the biggest one in that area,” Skvarla said. “I can’t even imagine what size that elk is.”
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