Updated March 6, 2010

By Art Lander Jr.

OutdoorsKentucky.Com

                    2009-10 Elk Season Harvest

    The 2009-10 elk season harvest was 276 bulls and 502 cows.

    “The bull harvest includes bulls taken during the youth hunt, on tags awarded by the Commission, and calves shot as antlerless elk,” said Tina Brunjes, elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “On the tags awarded by lottery, the hunter success rate was 91 percent on bulls and 75 percent  on cows. Seventy hunters that drew cow tags chose not to purchase permits.”

    Kentucky’s 16-county elk zone is divided into six elk management units (EMUs), and EMU 6, is further divided into five sub-units. “Elk permits are allocated by the number of elk in each unit, and hunter access,” said Brunjes. “Areas with poor hunter access are issued fewer permits.”

    Knott county led the state in harvest last year with 250 elk (94 bulls and 156 cows), and Leslie was second with 113 (44 bulls and 69 cows). “Knott County was our first release site,” said Brunjes. “Elk have been there a lot longer and numbers have built up.”

    While Kentucky’s elk zone is a wooded mountainous region, elk herds are concentrated around reclaimed mined lands. Elk are grazers and prefer grasslands.

    Since elk hunting began in Kentucky in 2001, hunters have taken many large bulls (see record list). Hunters who draw bull tags are restricted to elk with 4 x 4 antlers (four points on each side), or larger.

    Elk grow faster and develop larger antlers faster in Kentucky than many areas of the western US  because of higher soil fertility and an abundance of succulent forage. “A 300-inch bull is about 5 to 6 years old elk here,” said Brunjes.

    During the 2009-10 season no elk were killed in McCreary or Whitley Counties. These two counties, which contain 189,135 acres in Daniel Boone National Forest (142,617 acres in McCreary County and 46,135 acres in Whitley County), were the last two counties added to Kentucky’s elk zone, during the 2004-05 season.

    In 2009-10 the Commission raised the number of quota elk permits to 1,000. During the previous season (2008-09), only 400 elk permits were awarded.

    For the 2010-11 season hunters must apply online for elk permits. The application deadline is April 30, 2010. Lottery applications are $10 each.

    Kentucky’s elk herd is now estimated to number about 11,000 animals.

           

Updated February 6, 2010

Staff Report

               World Record Bull Elk Taken in Utah

    Perhaps the largest elk ever produced in the wild—a Utah bull taken in 2008 by a hunter on public land—has been confirmed as a new World’s Record by Boone and Crockett Club.

    Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair-chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship, and is the universally recognized keeper of the records of native North American big game.

    A special judges panel determined a final score of 478-5/8 B&C non-typical points, an incredible 93-plus inches above the Boone and Crockett minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk, and more than 13 inches larger than the previous World’s Record.

    It is the only elk on record with a gross score approaching the 500-inch mark, at 499-3/8. Official data dates back to 1830.

    The giant bull has 9 points on the left antler and 14 points on the right. The larger antler has a base circumference topping 9 inches.

    The Boone and Crockett scoring system, long used to measure the success of wildlife conservation and management programs across North America, rewards antler size and symmetry, but also recognizes nature’s imperfections with non-typical categories for most antlered game. The bull’s final score of 478-5/8 inches includes an amazing 140 inches of abnormal points.

    “Along with measurements that honor the quality of the animal, Boone and Crockett Club records also honor fair-chase hunting,” said Eldon Buckner, chairman of the Club’s Records of North American Big Game committee. “Through our entry process, signed affidavits and follow-up interviews with the hunter, his guides, and state and federal officials, we were satisfied that this bull was indeed a wild, free-ranging trophy and that the tenets of fair chase were used in the harvest.”

    The hunter, Denny Austad of Ammon, Idaho, hunted the Monroe Mountain District in south-central Utah. Hunting with a self-designed rifle, Austad killed the bull on Sept. 30, 2008. He hunted for 13 days before connecting with the trophy, dubbed “spider bull” for its unique antler configuration.

    On behalf of the Boone and Crockett Club, Buckner congratulated Austad and credited his new World’s Record to the tremendous management of habitat and wildlife by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Fishlake National Forest.

    “Utah’s conservation professionals really deserve a pat on the back, as do the citizens of Utah for their support of their state’s wildlife programs,” said Buckner. Across North America, ever-improving conservation practices have translated to flourishing big game populations, with balanced age-class and mature, trophy animals. Over the past 30 years, qualifying Boone and Crockett records book entries for American elk have increased 193 percent from a total of 14 in 1977 to 41 in 2007.

    Across all categories of native North American big game, the overall trend is even higher with 344 qualifiers in 1977 up to 1,151 in 2007—a 234 percent increase.

    The previous World’s Record for non-typical American elk was 465-2/8 B&C points. That bull was found dead, frozen in Upper Arrow Lake, B.C., in 1994, and was entered into Boone and Crockett Club records by the provincial Ministry of Environment on behalf of the citizens of British Columbia.

    For hunter-taken non-typical American elk, the previous top bull scored 450-6/8 B&C points, taken in 1998 in Apache County, Ariz., by Alan Hamberlin.

      Kentucky Trophy Bull Elk Taken by Firearms Hunters

                        Prior to 2009 Season

                                  Typical Antlers

               371 0/8 Greg Neff, Bell County, in 2007

               367 0/8 Bill Auxier, Knott County, in 2007

               361 4/8 Franklin Scott, Knott County, in 2006

               341 1/8 Troy Asher, Leslie County, in 2006

               334 4/8 Eric Hart, Leslie County, in 2006

                               Non-Typical Antlers

                367 7/8 Kelvin Jackson, Harlan County, in 2008

                349 2/8 Andy Kidd, Perry County, in 2006

                348 0/8 Ken Peters, Perry County, in 2007

                342 3/8 Danny Waldroup, Knott County, in 2006

                320 2/8 Matthew Hall, Bell County, in 2005

Posted February 15, 2010

By Lee McClellan

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

              New State Record Non-Typical Elk

Kentucky has a new state record non-typical bull elk -- Terrell Royalty’s 7x7 elk that scored 372 6/8.

The Harrodsburg resident’s bull bested the old record of 367 7/8 taken in Harlan County in 2008. Royalty took his record elk from a wildlife management area in Knott County on October 4, 2009.

“This new state record shows the quality elk hunting we have on our public lands,” said Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Jon Gassett. “In addition to the great elk hunting on private lands, Kentucky boasts world-class elk hunting on public lands as well.”

Royalty’s elk had seven points on each main beam. The score is the total measurements of the main beams, tines, width and mass. The trophy could not be officially scored until after a 60-day drying period.

“I’ve hunted all of my life, I’ve had buck fever and all, but this bull was by far the biggest adrenaline rush of my life,” said Royalty, 52. “Once it hit the ground, I felt like I was being stabbed with a million needles and it lasted two or three hours. I was almost in shock.”

Royalty said he scouted the area with help from his friend Paul Moore, who participated in the 2008 cow elk hunt. “We started scouting well before the hunt and found this bull,” Royalty said. “Paul and I grew up together, and he helped me a bunch.”

The first week of the 2009 bull elk season started Saturday, October 3rd. Royalty’s hunt proved fruitless for a day and half. Then, about 2 p.m. Sunday, Royalty, who was hunting with his best friend, Brad Smith, and guide Bob Hunter, heard a bugle.

“After we heard that bugle, we moved to get out front and downwind,” he said. “We tracked and tracked to stay out in front of this bull. About 5 p.m. or so, a cow calf came out and we cow called back and forth. Then, the one cow calf turned into about nine. The cows came out in twos and got older and bigger as they came out.”

The trophy bull then appeared in the clearing and bugled at another bull in the distance. “He turned broadside and everything was perfect,” Royalty said. “It took 15 minutes to get the right angle on him.”

Royalty, who estimated that he was 340 yards away from the bull, aimed his .300 Winchester Short Magnum rifle and shot only once.

Tina Brunjes, big game coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, was not surprised to learn the record had been broken. “Kentucky continues to produce new state records with regularity,” she said. “Each year drawn hunters can reasonably expect a chance to beat the state record.”

Posted November 13, 2011

By Art Lander Jr.

OutdoorsKentucky.Com

        Elk Archery Harvest May Jump in 2011-12

Not many archers have harvested an elk in Kentucky.

In fact, only 172 of the 2,204 elk harvested in the state since 2005 were taken with a bow or crossbow. That’s likely to change this year, as 320 of the 800 quota elk hunt permits were awarded to bow and crossbow hunters.

Rifle hunting for elk in Kentucky typically involves taking a long shot at a cow or bull that’s in the open.

For archers it’s an up close and personal hunt. Successful elk hunting with a bow requires hunters to get within 40 yards or less – a major challenge when elk bed in the open and dozens of eyes may be on the lookout for danger.

“With bow hunters it’s the distance factor,” said Prestonsburg elk guide Trinity Shepherd. “The biggest obstacle is getting close enough for a shot.”

Clark County resident David Banks personally knows the challenge of hunting elk in Kentucky with a bow. Banks, one of nearly a dozen successful archers guided by Shepherd over the past six years, took a cow elk with a bow during the 2009 season.

          “I didn’t make any equipment changes from what I normally hunt deer with,” said Banks, who has taken numerous whitetails in Kentucky during nearly 40 years of bow hunting. “My bow is set at 62 pounds draw weight. I shoot carbon arrows, and a fixed blade 100-grain broadhead.”

          But he did a few things differently to ready himself for elk season. “I figured shots would be longer, so I practiced out to 50 yards,” he said. “I shot my elk at 18 yards, but you have to be confident at longer ranges.”

          Banks also scouted extensively to learn how elk behave in the mountains. “I had never elk hunted before and my hunting area was hilly, compared to where I live,” he explained. “It takes time to learn how elk use the terrain. They move around a lot, and as the day progresses, it seems like they move into thicker cover.”

          Kentucky’s bull elk frequently remained in the open during the initial years of elk restoration, which began in 1997. Shepherd, who serves as the naturalist at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, has observed the changing behavior Kentucky’s elk while conducting the park’s elk viewing tours.

          “There’s been a big transition in bull behavior since I started guiding,” he said. “During the rut, our elk are acting like elk out West. They’re more secluded and elusive. Bulls will be out early in the morning, then go back into the timber during the day and won’t come out into the open again until right at dark.”

Hunting strategies for bull elk center on the annual mating season. This begins when herd bulls gather harems of cows in late September. The actual breeding commences as cows come into estrus in October.

          “When I’m hunting with an archer, I prefer to spend more time in the timber, and try to catch a bull when he coming in or going out,” said Shepherd.

          Shepherd uses cow calls to bring a bull into the range of the archer. He only uses a bugle call – and sparingly - to locate a bull if it hangs up out of range.

He positions the hunter in front.

“I like to be close, so I can communicate with the hunter, to help judge distances or the size of the elk, especially if the archer is new to elk hunting,” he said. “Nine out of 10 times a satellite bull (subordinate males that accompany the herd bull) will come out first. The big bull will be in the middle or at the back of the herd.”

Cow elk hunting with a bow or crossbow, however, can be more challenging than hunting a bull. “Cow hunting is difficult,” Shepherd noted. “Because after the firearms bull hunts, cows are leery and keep a watchful eye.”

          Bull elk season coincides with the rut. Cow archery season starts Oct. 15, after breeding ends. This is when cows begin congregating in large herds, said Tina Brunjes, deer and elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

           There are two successful strategies for bow hunting cows – spot and stalk, or setting up on a travel corridor.

          Spot and stalk involves finding a herd of cows and using the terrain and prevailing winds to sneak close enough for a shot. “We had several close encounters with bulls, but opportunities for shots at cows were slim,” added Banks. “Getting close is what’s difficult.”

          The success at hunting travel corridors depends on unraveling the daily routine as cows move between bedding and feeding areas. “You have to position yourself in front of the herd and stay hidden,” said Shepherd. “If you know the terrain, they can get right in your lap.”

          But that strategy becomes more challenging as the season progresses since cows spend less time in the timber, and stay out in the open more “On blustery cold, windy days they will always be on the warmer slopes, usually bedded down,” said Shepherd.

          “Offering separate (firearms and archery/crossbow) permits is in response to hunter requests,” said Brunjes. “We anticipate that the success rate for archers will be lower than firearms hunters so we may be able to issue more archery permits in the future.”

          Kentucky’s archery-only elk season includes a two-week hunt Sept. 17-30 for hunters with bull permits only. Archers may also hunt bull elk Oct. 15 through Dec. 9, Dec. 24 through Dec. 31, and Jan. 1 through Jan. 16, 2012.

          Cow season dates are: Oct. 15 - Dec. 9, Dec. 24-31, 2011

and Jan. 1-16, 2012.

          Also new this year, hunters with archery permits may not hunt during the four weeks of firearms elk seasons, and conversely, firearms hunters may not archery hunt elk outside the seven-day firearms season. Hunters with bull permits may take any elk with visible antlers.

          Kentucky’s 16-county elk zone is 4.1 million acres, and is divided into 10 Elk Hunting Units (EHUs), with a total of 576,994 acres open to public hunting. Kentucky’s elk herd was first hunted in 2001. Last season hunters bagged 540 elk in Kentucky, including 198 bulls and 342 cows. Archers took 28 elk, and crossbow hunters bagged nine.

          “When a bull bugles right in your face (up close) it’s one of the biggest thrills in nature,” said Shepherd.

          For elk season dates, and other information on elk hunting in Kentucky visit the department’s website: fw.ky.gov.