Third day a charm for elk hunter
Largest cow elk taken by Butler hunter
By Carol Mulvihill For the Endeavor

At the elk check station, 67- year-old Robert Domachowski of Butler and his guide Lance Brewer were still high on adrenaline as they talked excitedly about their hunt to anyone willing to listen.

The cow elk, shot by Domachowski on the season's third day, had an estimated live weight of 590 pounds and a dressed weight of 454 pounds. It was the heaviest of the 19 antlerless elk taken during the six-day season. A total of 33 elk were harvested in the November hunt, with 40 licenses issued, including 14 bulls (15 licenses) and 19 antlerless/cows (25 licenses).

Domachowski recruited his friend Brewer, a licensed guide, to accompany him. During the first two days, Bob brought along his 11-year-old grandson. They were lucky enough to see a big gobbler, a 300-pound bear, a doe and an 8-point buck, as well as two spike bulls and a few cow elk.

But Bob, 67, did not find the shot he wanted to take until Wednesday at 2:15 pm. He and Brewer walked out a gated forest road near the village of Grant in Elk County, Benezette Township, where he spotted a cow so large that it looked like a bull without antlers.

He had a good broadside shot at 50 to 60 feet, and didn't hesitate to take it with his 270 Remington pump using a 150- grain bullet.

"The first shot hit the vitals and the cow jumped, and ran toward me," the hunter said. "I'm glad it didn't run in the other direction because there was a steep drop-off there. The second shot hit the shoulder and the third one hit the neck and took the animal down."

It took three hours for the two men to drag the cow 300 yards. With 50 more yards to go, they got assistance from two other men. At that point, they attempted to use a deer cart, but the enormous weight of the elk crushed the frame, and bent the axles and wheels beyond repair. They had to use a winch to pull the elk to the truck and load it.

The animal was one of ten cow elk in the Pennsylvania herd that was wearing a GPS radio collar for research purposes.

"The collar records and stores the GPS location of the animal every three hours," explained Game Commission biologist Jon DeBerti. "A computer program plots the various locations recorded by the collar on a map that shows the parameters of the home range of the animal as well as seasonal movement, and feeding locations."

There are no restrictions on shooting collared free-ranging elk during the hunt.

A few days after his successful hunt, Bob, who loves to cook, raved about the tender and delicious elk roast that he had prepared with onions, peppers, and bacon in a crock pot for his family and friends to enjoy.