“The bull scored 442 7/8! It’s seventh in the world!” hollered
Jeff Colwell, hunt guide and founder of Hicks Run Outfitters in Elk
County, as he and his wife Janet, also an outfitter, returned home
from Lancaster County where they had witnessed the official Boone
and Crockett scoring of hunter John Shirk’s bull elk.ð

The 10 x 11 bull that scored phenomenally high was harvested
with a Remington .30-06 by licensed hunter John Shirk of Goodville
on Nov. 6, 2006, at 4:45 p.m. during the regular elk hunting season
in Pennsylvania.

The bull, with a field dressed weight of 656 pounds and a live
estimated weight of 849 pounds was taken on state forest land in
East Keating Township, Clinton County, in Elk Hunt Zone 7 in the
Quehanna wilderness.

Colwell and his brother Chuck had guided Shirk in the historic
hunt.

Shirk and his family and friends were joined by the outfitters
at Martin’s Taxidermy shop in Farmersville on Jan. 17 to witness
the official scoring of the antlers, following the 60-day drying
period required prior to scoring.

Boone and Crockett scoring officials Carl Greybill and Steven
Homyack carefully and methodically measured the massive antlers of
the bull elk, categorized as non-typical. The crowd in the small
shop swelled from 15 to 30 by the time the scoring was
completed.ð

After Homyak and Greybill recorded and calculated the
measurements, Greybill reported, “According to our measurements,
this remarkable animal scored 442 7/8 in the Boone and Crockett
Club’s official scoring system for North American big game animals,
in the non-typical American elk category. It currently would be
seventh in the all-time record book, as of the day of this scoring.
First place of all-time is currently 465 2/8.”

The score of Shirk’s bull surpassed the 408 7/8 score of an
impressive 7 x 10 bull elk harvested by Ken Mountain during the
2005 Pennsylvania elk hunt.

Many people are familiar with Pennsylvania’s famous bull,
nicknamed “Crazy Legs.”

A full mount replica of this bull is currently on display at
Cabella’s in Hamburg, Pa.

The majestic bull, with an outside antler spread of more than
six feet, was illegally killed in 2000 and scored 406 7/8, but
never qualified for the record books because it was poached. Boone
and Crockett Club, world-renowned scoring authority, requires that
animals listed in their awards and record books must have been
taken in a legal hunt. The bull, at that time, would have ranked in
the top 30 for North American elk in the non-typical antlers
category.

The Boone and Crockett scoring system measures the lengths and
circumferences of the main beams and the lengths of antler points,
including typical and abnormal points.

Shirk’s bull was a non-typical 11 x 10, or in other words, a 7 x
7 typical with 7 abnormal/additional points. “With a total of 21
scorable points, the challenge of this animal was to determine
where the main beams are,” scorer Greybill later explained.

Three spread measurements were taken: tip to tip spread,
greatest spread, and inside spread of the main beams. The spread
credit score may equal but not exceed the length of the longer of
the two main beams.

Although the greatest spread was 62 5/8 inches, the length of
the longer main beam (the left) was only 46 5/8 inches. Spread
credit was recorded at 46 5/8.ðð

Then the lengths of the normal points on the right and left
sides were recorded and added up. The right side measured 180 3/8
and the left was 183 inches.

Differences in the lengths of the points (comparing right to
left) are recorded as deductions. The greatest difference was in
the lengths of the third points, for a mere 3 5/8 inches
deduction.

Four circumference measurements were taken, each at the smallest
place along the main beam between the first and second, second and
third, third and fourth, and fourth and fifth points,
respectively.

Differences in these measurements comparing right side to left
are also recorded as deductions.

Differences in the lengths of the two main beams, differences in
lengths of the regular points (7 right and 7left), and differences
in the beam circumferences (4 right and 4 left) collectively
totaled only 14 5/8 inches of deductions.ð

At this point, the lengths of the seven additional abnormal
antlers were added to the score. This totaled 47 4/8 inches,
bringing the final score to 442 7/8.

The remarkable and unique thing about this bull, besides the
obvious length and mass of the points, according to Greybill, was
that it was very symmetrical in the typical points, therefore
taking few deductions.

The addition of the length of the seven “abnormal” points also
added significantly to the score of this bull in the non-typical
category.

He went on to explain that every three years, the Boone and
Crockett Club conducts an awards program in North America.
Contenders for top spots are panel scored. The most recent
qualifying period just ended in December 2006.ð

“In the three years between now and the next awards program,
there will likely be other contenders,” but according to Greybill,
“the odds are not likely that you will have numerous elk in North
America score bigger than this in the next three years.

“In that three-year time period, the antlers will shrink some
more, maybe as much as an eighth of an inch on the various
measurements,” Greybill commented in response to questions about
shrinkage and the potential of any change in the standings.

“The panel score is final. But whether this amazing animal ends
up 7th or 10th or 12th in the Boone & Crockett all-time record
book, it is a remarkable trophy,” Greybill pointed out, putting all
speculations, fears and questions into the proper perspective. He
and fellow scorer Steve Homyak graciously congratulated Shirk on
his trophy bull and encouraged him to enjoy it and have fun with it
starting right now.

The smile on John Shirk’s face said it all. Amidst feelings of
amazement and gratitude, he pondered what was ahead. Even before it
became a world record, an exhibition of his elk mount was already
scheduled to be held at the Mennonite Church he attends. He has
received monetary offers for the purchase of the antlers and
exclusive rights, and continues to look to Colwell for guidance
through the maze of offers and opportunities.

The trophy mount will be on exhibition at the Eastern Sports and
Outdoor Show in Harrisburg for at least a couple of days of the
show which runs Feb. 3-11. Look for it at the Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation’s (RMEF) Great Elk Tour booth, which features mounts of
some of the largest and most distinctive bull elk in the world.

Plans are also being made to have the new mount displayed at the
RMEF (St. Marys Chapter) annual banquet at the Royal Inn in Ridgway
on March 10.

In the meantime, happy hunter John Shirk and his family are
enjoying a brief winter respite in Disney World.