king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated Magazine Dec/Jan 2008 - Coyote Crazy! - Index

The archery, muzzleloader and early rifl e
seasons had passed and Ron Skoronski was
starting to worry. Utah’s elk season was
coming to a close and he still had not heard
from his guide, Doyle Moss of Mossback Guides
and Outfi tters, if he had found a monster bull.
While scouting earlier in the year, a sevenpoint,
monster, single elk shed was found by
Caleb Taylor. Doyle had informed Ron of the
elk shed and he was excited for the opportunity
to hunt this potential record bull.
The MossBack crew and Ron were both
puzzled by the date that the bull had shed
the antler and when he entered the wintering
grounds because of the rough terrain. With his
past experience guiding for trophy elk, Doyle
decided it would be best to wait and hold out
until the late rifl e season in hopes that the bull
would make it through the earlier hunts. Ron
was anxious to get out and hunt the big bull and
had been practicing with his .308 Lazzeroni
Patriot rifl e. To potentially have a chance at a
bull of this caliber was truly a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity and Ron wanted to be ready. The
decision was made to hunt the last rifl e season
and Ron was confi dent in that decision based
on the fact that Doyle had guided him on three
400-class bulls over the past four years.
Finally, after a month of scouting,
MossBack spotter Jace Farnsworth called with
the great news that he had videoed a giant 6x6.
It was four days before the late hunt started.
After reviewing the footage, Doyle confi rmed
that it was the same bull that had left the
monster shed.
Opening day fi nally arrived and the
waiting was over. Guides Doyle Moss and
Tory Brock picked up Ron and gave him the
good news that the bull had been spotted. With
spotters Jace, Caleb, Wayne and Mike on point,
the stalk was on with Ron. When they stopped
to rest, Doyle began to glass to make sure that
they wouldn’t spook the elk out of the basin.
Shortly after they all settled in, Doyle spotted
the bull. Ron and Tory immediately got set up
for the shot. Doyle indicated the range at 375
yards. The bull stepped behind some brush with
only his huge antlers showing. An instant later,
as the bull cleared the brush, the familiar thump of a .30-caliber bullet dropped the elk. Fighting
to choke back the surge of adrenaline, Ron stayed focused on the bull just in case he took off. The
Lazzeroni proved its worth as the bull lay where he was hit.
Incredibly, the bull had dropped just 200 yards from where Caleb had found the shed. A
seven-point single shed had now lead to the taking of the greatest 6x6-point elk ever! With the
opportunity that not many hunters receive, Ron’s 6x6 bull offi cially scored 434 7/8 gross and 428 6/8
net B&C making it the new Utah state record, the largest six-point elk ever known and the #4 typical
elk in the world.
44
The seven-point single elk shed (left) found
in the spring of 2006 next to the single side
(replica) antler from the elk taken later that
year that grew into a record 6x6
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