Grove City man harvests huge elk with bow
HARRISVILLE — Ian Craig may have experienced the hunt of a lifetime — and he's only 24.
Craig, a Grove City resident who works at Henry's Meat Market in Harrisville — a business owned by his wife's family — bagged a 10x8 bull elk last week while hunting with a compound bow near Benezette in northcentral Pa.
“I can't even estimate how big this thing is,” Craig said. “Absolutely huge. I'm hesitant to say it's going to be a record or anything ... It takes 60 days to officially score an elk.”
Craig was surprised he was hunting elk at all this month. He drew the single archery bull tag for Zone 4 during bow season, which ran from Sept. 11-25. He bagged the elk Sept. 21.
“This was only the second time I was in the (elk) lottery,” he said. “The more years you enter the lottery, the better your chance of having your number drawn.
“This was something I wasn't expecting.”
But he made the most of it.
Craig was on the ninth day of his hunt — working with guides Eric and John through Elk County Outfitters — and estimated hiking 55 miles during his time in the woods.
His father, Tom Craig, joined him for part of the hunt and was on hand to see his son get the elk.
“I wasn't up there the entire time with him because I had to come back and go to work,” Craig's father said. “But he put the time in and he was rewarded.
“That has to be the hunt of his lifetime. It's going to be hard to beat this one.”
Craig began hunting when he was of age, but admitted to leaving the sport for a few years. He developed an interest in shooting a bow a couple of years ago.
“I figured I may as well get back into it,” he said of hunting. “Now I enjoy bow season.”
Elk County Outfitters officials reported tracking the bull Craig eventually shot since summer, estimated the animal traveled seven miles to find its rut spot. That spot happened to be near the spot where Craig was set up.
“Eric was doing the bugle call, trying to draw the elk out,” Tom Craig said. “After a while, we detected three elk responding. Then this huge one emerges, not far from Ian.”
Craig said he shot the elk from about 40 yards away.
“I didn't freak out because I was within 25 yards of an elk earlier (on the hunt),” he said.
“It took one shot and I got him in the heart and lungs. He ran on adrenalin for maybe 60 yards, then collapsed to the ground.
“I knew I hit him square because his front legs just buckled,” Craig added.
Regardless, Craig and his hunting party approached the fallen animal cautiously.
“It was unheard of, how big that bull is,” Tom Craig said. “You don't just walk right up to a thing like that.
“This got pretty emotional for us. Ian's grandfather, who has since passed away, gave him a buck knife for hunting purposes a few years ago. Ian had that knife on him during this hunt. We both thought of his grandfather.”
Craig said he's harvested some small bucks and does while bow hunting, but never anything like this.
“I kept my composure through the whole process and I'm proud of that, but, basically, I just got lucky,” Craig said. “And I have to credit Eric and John. My guides had a lot to do with this.
“That whole experience was pretty exciting. This is going to be quite a keepsake.”
