A massive 8×8 Pennsylvania bull elk that could shatter the state archery record is making headlines again. This time, the story is not just about the 428 inches of antler. The once-in-a-lifetime hunt is now the center of an official trespassing investigation.
On September 15, Pennsylvania hunter Michael Skvarla celebrated his 40th birthday by arrowing a 900-pound bull with his crossbow.
Drawing one of only 15 bull tags out of over 50,000 applicants, Skvarla hired professional guides Mike Conaway and Abner Druckenmiller of Trophy Rack Lodge to help navigate Centre County and call a bull into range.
The resulting harvest green scored an incredible 428 inches with a net of 395 inches, putting it firmly in contention for the state record.
The celebration was cut short when local landowners in Snow Shoe Township filed complaints about the hunting party crossing onto clearly posted private property.
After a swift investigation by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), wardens officially filed trespassing charges against both guides. Conaway and Druckenmiller have pleaded not guilty and face a November court date.
In a rare move for wildlife violations, Skvarla is walking away completely clean. Game wardens determined the hunter was simply a paying client relying entirely on his guides to navigate the local property boundaries.
The Game Commission publicly defended the decision, clarifying the legal burden of proof. State law requires a person to knowingly trespass. The PGC stated that a hunter hiring a permitted outfitter expects to be taken to land where they have legal permission to hunt.
Because investigators found no indication Skvarla knew they were bypassing posted signs or crossing boundary lines, he gets to keep the meat and the record-class antlers.
“We didn’t sneak onto the property or anything,” Skvarla told reporters after the incident. “The game warden assured me. I’m not getting charged. I can keep the elk. I’m in the clear as far as the Game Commission is concerned.”
Conaway and Druckenmiller are scheduled to answer to the trespassing charges in Centre County court on November 19.
As for the giant bull, official panel scoring will have to wait until the mandatory 60-day drying period wraps up later this fall.
If the 395-inch net score holds up and the Game Commission leaves the harvest record intact, Skvarla will officially take the crown for Pennsylvania’s top archery bull, regardless of the controversy trailing behind it.
