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A Pennsylvania archer recently harvested a massive bull elk poised to set a new state record. While the elk is currently undergoing a mandatory 60-day drying period, initial information suggests it could unseat the current state record, beating a 381.1-inch Centre County bull taken by Christopher Sebulsky in 2021.
The hunt for a bull of a lifetime almost didn't happen. The hunter -- Michael Skvarle of Centre County -- says he almost went deer hunting in Maryland instead, but just as he was preparing to book that hunt, he learned he had drawn one of only 15 bull archery tags for the 2026 season.
The rest is history.
Although elk once roamed the majority of Penn's Woods, the modern hunter often overlooks the Keystone State when it comes to hunting the largest member of the deer family. Although once considered extirpated from the area, restocking and conservation programs have given Pennsylvania elk a rebirth and hunters the chance to hunt one of these majestic giants in our own backyard. Today, the Northcentral Region -- which includes Elk County and surrounding Cameron, Clinton, Centre, and Potter Counties -- offers some of the most rewarding elk hunting in North America.
Part of the reason Pennsylvania Elk hunts are so rewarding goes beyond the stalk, bugling, and skill it takes to draw a legal animal into range.
It is the challenge hunters face just to get a chance to sit in the woods, ready to do so. The process for drawing an elk permit is more confusing and challenging than anything you face out west.
First, you need to purchase an annual hunting license, something some states only require if you are successfully drawn. Next, you need to apply for the drawing and pay an additional fee for the opportunity to do so. Neither of these fees is refundable regardless of whether you draw a tag. When you apply for the elk permit, you also need to select a zone, the sex of the animal you want to hunt and a hunting method.
Finally, you need to be lucky enough to draw a tag from over 50,000 applicants. That is all before you put on a stitch of camouflage.
If you are lucky enough to draw a permit and it is time to hunt, you need to find the herd. Although many hunters assume the herd is concentrated in Elk County, it’s actually spread across five adjacent counties and is consistently expanding its territory. No matter which county you hunt in, even at its peak, the herd is only about 1,500 animals spread across reclaimed strip-mines, dense second-growth forests, and high mountain meadows. Each is perfect for a fledgling elk herd but not exactly hospitable for humans wishing to hunt them.
In the coming months there will be naysayers who try to downplay this potential record-setting bull. Some will say it is not as hard as hunting out west, that the local herd is too tame or that Skvarle cheated by using a crossbow rather than a more traditional piece of equipment.
I don't view this as anything more than jealousy disguised as hunting ethics.
Rgardless of what the naysayers claim, and how this bull scores after the drying period, this was a hunt of a lifetime that culminated with a trophy bull any hunter should be proud to have harvested.