![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Abner-Skvarla-Conaway-L-to-R.jpg\")
From left: Abner, Skvarla, and Conaway. Photo courtesy Michael Skvarla<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter<\/p>\n
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Michael Skvarla of Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, is by anyone\u2019s measure one of this year\u2019s luckiest bowhunters. For his 40th birthday celebration the Penn State research professor had planned a Maryland trip to bowhunt Sitka deer.<\/p>\n
But he had a major change of plans when the Pennsylvania Game Commission informed him he\u2019d been successful in its annual elk bowhunting license lottery. Only 15 bull tags were issued to 50,000 lottery applicants, and Skvarla was one of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a once in a lifetime opportunity,\u201d Skvarla tells Outdoor Life. \u201cI\u2019ve been bowhunting deer for 20 years, but this was an elk \u2013 not a whitetail. Because I don\u2019t know much about them, I decided to hire an outfitter for my hunt, and I\u2019m sure glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skvarla hired Trophy Rack Lodge and started hunting private land in Centre County for the short season, which runs September 12 to 27. He hunted alongside guide Mike Conaway, caller Abner Druckenmiller, and his own sister-in-law Abbi Ottoman for two days. The party called in bulls, but didn\u2019t take an elk.<\/p>\n
From left: Abner, Skvarla, and Conaway. Photo courtesy Michael Skvarla<\/p>\n
Then, on the morning of Sept. 15, Skvarla lucked out again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe set up in the dark and there were about five different bulls bugling \u2013 one was close,\u201d Skvarla says. \u201cBut the close bull didn\u2019t come in. I think the farthest away bull was the one that Abner called to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Druckenmiller called from his set up about 75 yards behind yards behind Skvarla and Conaway, who used small pine trees as cover. Ottman stayed well behind the bowhunter, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbner moved around a lot while he was calling,\u201d Skvarla says. \u201cHe was trying to imitate multiple cow elk in the area, thinking that might draw a mature herd bull into bow range.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it did.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/record_bull_PA.jpg\")
The bull green-scored 428 inches. Photo courtesy Michael Skvarla<\/p>\n
Conaway spotted a huge bull headed up hill toward them, and Skvarla spotted it at 70 yards. It bugled as it moved closer, as the archer raised crossbow. When the bull was at 42 yards, he squeezed the trigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was a good shot. He ran just 20 yards and fell. In a few seconds he got up on wobbly legs, then fell again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bowhunter thought the bull was down for good, but incredibly the elk stood up and ran out of sight.<\/p>\n
They waited 30 minutes before beginning their search \u2014 and found a very faint blood trail.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy arrow didn\u2019t exit and the trail was tough to follow. I\u2019m glad there were four of us looking. We\u2019d find a little blood and someone would stand by it, while the rest of us looked for the next blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it turns out, the bull only ran about 100 yards, and the hunters had little trouble finding the massive elk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of elk in my work as a researcher for Penn State,\u201d Skvarla says. \u201cBut the size of this bull was just incredible. It took all four of us to load it into a pick-up truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Skvarla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/record_bull.jpg\")
Skvarla and his tagged bull. Photo courtesy Michael Skvarla
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The elk was an 8\u00d78 typical with an estimated weight close to 900 pounds. It was green scored at 428 inches and, even after a 60-day drying period, the bull should replace the current state archery record<\/a> of a 381.1-inch bull taken by Christopher Sebulsky in 2021. (The PGC groups crossbow and vertical bow records within the same category.) It would also be the biggest typical on record in the state, since the No. 1 typical elk in the PGC\u2019s firearms category scored a little over 407 inches.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also possible the Boone and Crockett Club may recognize Skvarla\u2019s bull as a new state record if he submits it to the B&C books. The largest typical elk taken by any method in the state, according to the B&C books, is a 415 2\/8 bull taken in 2022 in Clinton County. <\/p>\n That bull was also taken from Centre County on a guided hunt with Conaway.<\/p>\n![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Abner-Conaway-Skvarla-Ottman-L-to-R.jpg\")
From left: Abner, Conaway, Skvarla, and Ottman, back at the lodge. Photo courtesy Michael Skvarla<\/p>\n