It didn't take long for hunters to score big during this year's limited entry area hunt for bull elk in Eastern Kentucky. By the end of opening day, Oct. 2, an 11-year old girl and a grandmother had stolen the show with two of the most impressive animals taken since modern-day elk hunting began in 2001.
All 13 hunters in the field had taken a bull elk by the third day of the hunt, and a majority of the elk taken scored in the 260 class or better (using Boone and Crockett Club standards). A handful unofficially measured around 300 or more.
As we noted, the 2004 hunt featured two firsts: A woman likely will hold the state record for elk while the youngest hunter ever to participate in Kentucky's quota elk hunts - 11-year-old Stephanie Gavin of Butler, Ky. - took a bull whose unofficial score is just a few points shy of last year's state record. Antlers must dry at least 60 days before they can be officially scored.
Rita Tharp, a grandmother who raises tobacco on her 120-acre farm in Trimble County, is posed to be Kentucky's new record holder for elk in Kentucky. Jon Gassett, wildlife division director for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, found that Tharp's bull unofficial B & C Club score was 324 net.
The current state record, a 6x6 bull taken by Floyd County resident Terry Ratliff last year, scored 304 2/8.
Tharp took her bull with a single 163-yard shot with a rifle borrowed from a friend. She was hunting at Starfire Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Breathitt County at the time. "When you think about elk, you think about going to Colorado or some place out west," she said. "The fact that it happened here in Kentucky is exciting beyond words."
Gavin's hunt on Begley Wildlife Management Area in Bell County proved just as successful. Dan Wackerman, Gavin's guide, used a series of cow calls to lure an impressive bull within 20 yards of his hunter. Gavin dropped the bull with her first shot from her father's .30-06. The youngster was overwhelmed with emotion as she realized what she had achieved, and a new life-long memory now accompanied her history-making accomplishment. Her 6x8 trophy's antlers were nearly as long as she is tall.
Not all shots were as close as Gavin's 20-yarder. Louisville resident William Earnhart III placed two shots within inches at 400 yards with his .30-06 rifle to down a large 6x6 bull on opening day.
The limited entry area hunts for bull elk were held at Begley and Starfire WMAs. Another limited entry area hunt for cow elk will occur in December. A number of elk tags are designated as at-large, meaning hunters can take elk anywhere within the 16-county elk zone in Eastern Kentucky, with the exception of limited entry areas. The at-large season started Oct. 2 and will run through Jan. 17, 2005.
This year, Kentucky issued 41 elk hunting permits. All previous hunts were limited to 12 participants.
Modern day elk hunting started in 2001, five years after the start of an ambitious program to restore elk to the southeastern portion of the state. With an estimated 4,500 animals, Kentucky has the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi River.