Updated Elk Hunt Results: Courtesy Of Carol Mulvihill

It was cloudy with rain in the forecast as I drove up Winslow Hill on Friday morning October 2, 2009. This was the last morning of a nearly two week trip to document the Pennsylvania elk rut. The area around the Gilbert Viewing Area had been extremely active during the last few days, but much of the vegetation was freshly planted grasses or grain, which made excellent food for the elk, but somewhat less than ideal backgrounds for photographs.

Fellow outdoor blogger Brad Myers ,of Bradley Myers Photo Blog, and I found a solitary bull with a small group of cows in a portion of meadow that was reclaimed two years or more ago, and had more photogenic appeal than much of the surrounding area. It began raining lightly as we worked into position and settled in for an excellent photo session with these animals.

As best as Ronald "Buckwheat" Saffer and I have been able to determine, this animal is bull #40. I saw this animal a few years ago when he still had a collar, but the numbers were torn off. At that time Buckwheat identified him as #40, as he had seen him when the numbers were visible and thought it was the same bull. Since that time he lost the collar entirely. In short there is slight room for error in stating that this is in fact bull #40, but the preponderance of the evidence points to it being him. If anyone knows differently please let me know.

Bull 40: The Final Encounter

I ran into bull #40 almost everywhere I went this year, but it seems that this would prove to be the final encounter. Again this was an animal that had no fear of humans--at least when he was in the Winslow Hill area.

At any rate, noted outdoor writer and elk enthusiast Carol Mulvihill (the elklady) was kind enough to provide us with a summary of the results of the elk hunt as she knew them as of November 9th and included in the report is the fact that #40 was taken this year.

She spent the first three days of season at the check station and also interviewed elk biologist, Jon DiBerti on Thursday of that week. She received the final summary of the hunt from Mr. DiBerti early this week and will be reporting on this in this Saturday's edition of The Endeavor News, a newspaper which covers events in Potter and Cameron Counties and surrounding areas. Ms. Mulvihill is a regular columnist for the paper. After two weeks, stories are available to the general public to be read in their entirety online(only the beginning portion is initially available). One may purchase a subscription to the online edition of the paper and read the article immediately upon publication.

Here is the information that Ms. Mulvihill provided us:
There were 59 licenses for the regular season 6-day Nov. PA elk hunt 2009, 20 bull tags and 39 cow tags. A total of 43 elk were harvested in the regular Nov. season this year: 19 antlered and 24 antlerless.

This compares with 45 licenses for last year's (2008) hunt, when 40 tags were filled during the regular season, 17 bulls and 23 antlerless elk were taken, and 5 antlerless tags remained unfilled.

So even though there were more licenses issued for this year's elk hunt, the harvest was very similar to last year.

These are the collared animals taken:

Collared bulls harvested: 9B, 5C,13, 47, 23, 7B, and 40 (remember this big bull #40, Willard? He lost his collar in the rut a couple years ago, still had ear tags. He came from Quehanna to Winslow Hill ( a distance of 18 air miles) each year for the rut, and then returned home.

Bull 7B was the 10 x 11 bull from Sinnemahoning State Park. It was seen at Hicks Run Cemetery and near Grant, during and after the rut. This bull was killed by woman elk hunter Lisa Banesick late on Wed 11/05/09., guided by Cody Ball, Janet Colwell's daughter, of Hicks Run Outfitters. It was brought in to the check station on Thursday -- it's the one that Jeff Thomas told you about.

Collared cows harvested: 80, 28, 3C, 48, and 74.

According to DeBerti, the highest green-scored bull this year was taken on day-one (Monday) in Frenchville by Reed Bamberger, guided by Jack Manack. The antler net green score of his bull was 422 in the non-typical category. Lisa Banasick's bull, taken Thursday, was not green-scored at the check station.

PGC regional staff, Rick Macklem and Tony Ross did the green scoring at the check station on Mon-Wed, then had to return to the regional office Wed. afternoon. The scoring drew a big crowd and was fascinating to watch.

Anyway, the net green score of 422 for Bamberger's bull is significant. Remember John Shirk's bull from 2006 hunt, that is currently #1 Non-Typical record elk in Pennsylvania. Ultimately, after being challenged and rescored, it ranked 13th in the World, instead of 7th in the World.

After rescoring, the final net Boone and Crockett net score of Shirk's bull was 425 and 2/8. Since then, some of the world records have been broken, but Shirk's bull is still #1 Non-Typical bull elk in PA. I know this because I was at the PGC awards ceremony when he was honored in Sept. 2008.

Bamberger's bull will receive a final Boone & Crockett score after a 60-day drying period. Usually several inches fall of the score due to shrinkage that occurs.
Above Information courtesy of Carol Mulvihill


Coming Soon: Some thoughts on the elk hunt as expressed in a letter by a prominent member of the firearms and hunting community.

This'n That-News From The Elk Range

9x8 That Was Killed On First Day

It has been confirmed that the 9x8 that frequented the Gilbert Viewing Area this fall was killed on the first morning of the Pennsylvania Elk Season. According to outdoor writer Carol Mulvihill writing in The Endeavor News, the animals was killed by Gary Kolenski of Schwenksville, who was guided by Eric McCarthy of Elk County Outfitters.

Jeff Thomas of Glen Rock, also confirms the killing of the 9x8, and reports that a large 10x12 was taken near Grant. He saw this animal on the scales at the check station on Thursday November 5th.

On a positive note, we wish to extend hearty congratulations to Ronald J. "Buckwheat" Saffer for having one of his photos selected for the front Cover of the November-December Issue of "Bugle Magazine", the official publication of The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The issue features a stunning close-up photo of "The Spring Run Bull", an impressive animal that was later taken in the 2008 hunt.

"The Spring Run Bull-Gilbert Viewing Area " : W.Hill 2008

(Note: This shot is not nearly as dramatic as the one taken by Mr. Saffer, but is of the same bull. Buckwheat is known to mutter "Front Cover Shot" under his breath, as he depresses the shutter release on a bull in the right position and lighting).

Mr. Saffer, Pennsylvania's leading elk photographer, is known for his dedication to both the preservation of the Pennsylvania Elk herd and the pursuit of excellence in the field of wildlife photography. Mr Saffer is widely published. One of his photos, a superb portrait of the famous character bull, Fred Jr. is featured on the jacket of the 2 Hr.-42min. documentary film, "The Truth About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd".

Also, I was fortunate to have two photos published in the same issue. "They appeared as part of an article "Elvis Has Left The Building" by Scott McMillion, which deals with the life and death of a Yellowstone National Park Character Bull, Bull #6, which was famous for chasing tourists and damaging vehicles around park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs. I photographed him there during late August of 2008.

Bull#6-Mammoth Hot Springs: W.Hill

Bull#6-Ranger's Vehicle: W.Hill

He died in a freak accident in Gardiner, Montana in February, 2009. In many ways he was like our character bull Fred, in that he spent the winter living in the town. There the similarity ended as Bull #6 became a "holy terror" during the rut, but Fred Jr. has remained a " gentle giant" insofar as his relation with humans has been concerned, although during his prime he was certainly not found wanting in his response to challenges from other bulls.

A Morning At Shenandoah National Park

Few things are better for the photographer that is fascinated with the Whitetail deer, than a trip to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. My brother Coy and I traveled there Friday, for a morning photo shoot.

Dawn found a beautiful 8 point and a doe standing on the skyline in Big Meadows. A strong, cold wind was blowing and it was brutal out there, but what is a whitetail addict to do but face the elements and get into action.

Shenandoah Dawn: Canon 40D 70-200mm F2.8

It is best to not focus exclusively on the meadow, as many times one may find excellent opportunities while traveling on the Skyline Drive. In this case we spotted one of the largest bucks I have yet photographed as he was working the woods by the side of the drive in search of does.

Shenandoah Monster: Canon 40D 70-200mm F2.8

Later in the morning, we saw a buck breed a doe far away in the meadow with no chance to photograph the event. Later we found the deer had moved closer to the roadway and we parked the vehicle and spent some quality photographic time with them.

8 Point Buck And Doe At Big Meadows: Canon 40-D 70-200mm F2.8

8 Point Buck At Big Meadows: Canon 7D-500mm F4

For more Camera Critters Photos, Click Here!

Elk Hunt: The First Day-A Report From Elk County

Reports Indicate This Bull Was Taken

Here is a first hand report as it were, of some of the action on the first day of elk season.

I met a couple during my first year or so in Elk County. They are dedicated outdoors people who love watching and photographing the elk. They were kind enough to e-mail me a report about their experiences of the first day of the 2009 elk season as they got to see it first hand.

They started the day by checking the parking lot at the end of Dewey Road and found 16 vehicles there. From this point I will go to their exact words: "Went to Gray Hill on top where the camps start on the left side of the road (about half way to apple orchard) there were 10 Bulls together around the camps but about 20 hunters and guides (so it seemed) NOT GOOD. No 47 (brown collar) which was the biggest bull in group, was there and we took last live pictures of him. We had stopped but was getting in their way. Anyway we left so they could carry out game plan, put hunter in front, then bulls walk right to them. No 47 went down and next biggest one. Not sure what it was. "

As I understand the hunting digest, this is Elk Hunt Zone 8 and should be all of the bulls allocated for Zone 8. I have no current photographs of bull 47, but he was featured in a post by Steve Friel on October 7, 2009. To see this photo visit Photos by Steve.

Dominant 9x8 At Gilbert Viewing Area

They also had news as to the dominant 9x8 bull that was seen almost daily at The Gilbert Viewing Area this fall. They had seen hunters walking a road toward game lands as they (my correspondents) were heading out in the morning. When they returned to the area after being on Gray Hill, they saw the 9x8 being hauled out on the back of a truck. This is in Elk Hunt Zone 2.

They then went to the check station from 12:30 until 3:00. There were 6 cows and 6 bulls checked by that time.

It is important to note that this is the situation as I understand it and as it was reported to me. It will be interesting to hear or read the accounts of these hunts from the perspective of those that participated in them.

Something I do know is that during the period from September 20, through October 2,2009, the 9x8, had no fear of humans. Absolutely none!

No Fear

It is a difficult task for wildlife managers to arrive at a management policy that considers the concerns of hunters, tourists, property owners and other interested parties, while at the same time safeguarding the resource itself. Progress has been made in addressing some of the more critical problems, but it is time to strongly consider increasing the size of the No Hunt Zone to protect more of the large bulls.