Hadley-Robert Hartwig is not your typical bow hunter.
After hunting with a compound bow Hartwig, 48, a Hadley Township farmer decided to revert back to the classic recurve bow. And during the past six years his success hunting with the pre-compound era bow has been outstanding by any hunter’s standards. Five white-tail deer from his local farm, a Utah elk and a turkey in six years should make any hunter proud.
Yet despite his success Hartwig’s encounter with a massive bull elk on Sept. 27, the third day of a week-long hunt near Flagstaff, Ariz. would assuredly transcend any hunter’s expectations.
The guide spotted the bull just after daybreak at about 60 yards, thrashing its antlers on a tree.
‘My guide told me just don’t look at the antlers,? said Hartwig. ‘The bull (elk) was preoccupied with the tree and another bull elk that had been screaming at him.?
Hunting with a 72-pound recurve bow, Hartwig stalked within 20 yards of the bull that was shrouded by small trees.
Hartwig shot between two trees about 10 inches apart, hitting a vital area on the big bull. After about a three-hour wait Hartwig and his guide found the elk, which had run about 400 yards before dropping.
The 8-by-7 bull scored 420 points, according to an official from the Pope & Young archery records organization. The estimated age is 10 to 12 years old.
Since the rack is an odd configuration it’s considered non-typical and gross score is 457 5/8. A nontypical bull is one whose antlers are not symmetrical.
The massive rack includes a 47-inch spread between the main beams with one 42-inch brow tine.
Hartwig says the 640-pound bull could be the fifth-largest nontypical bull taken with a bow and arrow and a world record for a nontypical bull elk killed with a recurve bow.