![]() ![]() 338 Ruger Compact Magnum round hurtling toward the animal at nearly 3,000 feet per second. He set the crosshairs roughly nine inches above the bull elk's back, relaxed and squeezed the trigger, sending a. Resting his rifle on a tree he attempted to control his breathing and excitement. "My range finder said it was 387 yards and he was 200 feet up the mountain," he said.īanks initially wasn't sure whether he should make an attempt, but after briefly conferring with his buddy, who had faith in Banks' shooting skills, he decided to go for it. It was the bigger bull, and even he was a long way off. I stalked them, from tree clump to tree clump, but I just couldn't make it work for the cows," he said.Įvery time he got close, the herd seemed to have shifted position, and some natural obstacle prevented a clear shot.įinally, he moved to where he had a clear line of sight on an animal. "I was in the trees when I spotted them from about 500 yards away. On the third day, about a mile from camp and roughly 80 feet up a mountain, he spotted another small group of cows accompanied by a two bulls competing for the females. He saw a herd about 50 yards away on the second day, but a large ravine separated him from the animals. Tough getting closeĪfter drawing a permit to hunt an elk of either sex, Banks hoped to harvest a cow, but said he never got an opportunity the first two days. "It is very rugged terrain, difficult to make your way through and even make a shot from, much less retrieve and pack one out," Banks said. That's when Banks realized his endeavor would not be easy – stepping over downed timber, bushwhacking, and lots of uphill hiking. The first day he and his hunting partner set up camp and did some scouting. "When you hear it in the field, it resonates in your soul," he said.īanks heard the elk's bugle on the second of a four-day hunt at the end of September. ![]() He was maneuvering – arduously – through forest at the northern tip of Afognak Island, the second largest in the Kodiak Archipelago and the place he has called home for the past 10 years.īanks has spent a lot of time hunting bear and black-tailed deer in that time, but he said there is something special about hearing the guttural, primal bellow of a rutting bull elk. The sound of the bugling elk reverberated through the chilly morning air and the raw wilderness around Bob Banks as he trudged through thick brush and dense Sitka spruce. It’s the 7th largest elk ever taken in the world and will be listed in the Boone and Crockett record book.ĭownload the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.įollow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. It broke the state archery record and is the second largest bull ever taken by a hunter with any weapon in Pennsylvania. It was a 11x7 and scored 446 and 0/8 inches (462 and 2/8 gross). I gotta build a room.”Ī Boone and Crockett scorer measured the bull’s rack on December 12, 2022. “I never dreamed I was going to get anything like this. “I thought I had a chance of getting a nice one,” said Kammerdiener. They believe this elk was more than 850 pounds and officially a new state record. “And then I get down, and then I’m like oh my god I thought. “All I seen was them horns stick up, and I’m like holy cow,” said Kammerdiener. ![]() They went back to the lodge to regroup and brought a horse with them when they returned to the woods for help. “This is the second bull I shot on my birthday,” said Kammerdiener. Finally let it rip and it sounded like it hit a 5-gallon bucket.”Īs luck would have it, with only a couple minutes left, he got it from about 45 yards out. “My guide said holy cow,” said Kammerdiener. Then on September 15th on Dave’s 66th birthday, with about an hour left to let the arrow fly, Kammerdiener and his guide spotted the massive sought-after elk. ![]() “They had seen a nice bull there,” said Kammerdiener. They hiked 6-10 miles a day and spotted several elk along the way. “My guide has been trying to get this thing for a couple years.” “Seen this bull on camera, and my guide said he finally showed back up,” said Kammerdiener. They immediately started scouting with Trophy Rack Lodge Guide Matt Lutz. Kammerdiener and his friend Bud Slagle traveled from Templeton in Armstrong County to the Quehanna Wild Area in Clearfield County. ![]()
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