Up until recently, if sportsmen wanted to harvest an elk they had to travel to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana or New Mexico. Locations that turn out to be pricey hunts.

But if you were to draw an elk tag in Pennsylvania, the hunt would be a fraction of the cost of traveling out West.

A lucky bunch of Pennsylvania hunters stayed home and were able to score on one of our country's most majestic game animals.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, nearly 85 percent of hunters participating in Pennsylvania's 2013 elk hunt, took an elk.

There were 72 elk harvested during the one-week season that ended Nov. 9. For those who had antlered tags, they experienced 100 percent success rate.

Of those, 14 bulls each weighed an estimated 700 pounds or more, with the heaviest bull tipping the scales at more than 847 pounds (estimated weight). This particular bull sported a 6x7 rack that green scored 340 1/8 Boone and Crockett points.

The largest bull, points wise, was an 8x8 taken Nov. 4 by Jeff G. Trought of Muncy. His bull had an estimated weight of 676 pounds and its rack green scored 389 7/8 points.

The bull scoring the most points was a 7x7 also shot Nov. 4 by Tom Schneider of Conshohocken, Pa. His bull green scored 403 inches and weighted an estimated 724 pounds.

While the PGC received permission to publish the names of eight other lucky hunters, most were sportsmen from out of the Lehigh Valley area.

Locally, Jason Henry of Hamburg and a district administrator for Parkland School District, was lucky enough to draw a bull tag. His bull elk scored as a nontypical 6x6 with a 56-inch antler spread and an estimated live weight of 780-pounds.

When asked for particulars on his trophy, Henry said "My elk had a gross green score of 399 5/8, but with a 27-inch eye guard on one side and a drop tine, it made it a nontypical."

Henry shot the bull in Goshen Township in Clearfield County and hunted with guide Jack Manack of Elk County Outfitters in Clearfield.

The largest antlerless elk taken weighed an estimated 621 pounds and was shot Nov. 4 by Tim Mazol of Danville, according to the PGC. In total, the PGC reported that 33 of the 72 elk harvest were taken on opening day (Nov. 4), and 25 of the 72 elk were bulls.

WILD TURKEY COOKER

With the fall turkey-hunting season under way in 11 WMUs until Nov. 22, there's also a three-day extension (Nov. 28-30) in those same areas.

For successful turkey hunters who may have a bird in their freezer, Camp Chef has an accessory that can make that bird, even a domestically raised (Thanksgiving Day) bird, taste better.

If you've eaten wild turkey that was prepared conventionally, you probably noticed that the meat, particularly the white meat, is very dry. Reason being, wild turkeys have little fat compared to domestic birds.

Camp Chef's Turkey Cannon can shoot some moisture and flavor into your bird while it's being roasted.

The Turkey Cannon is a patented stainless steel infusion roaster that can roast anything from a four-pound chicken to a 20-pound turkey in half the time. Its tubelike design allows users to pour their favorite beverage or marinade inside the tube.

A bird is then slid onto the cylindrical tube and cooked in an oven or on a grill, whereupon the liquid inside the tube begins to steam.

This process cooks the meat from the inside as well as the outside. And it's quick. The Cannon can cook a 12-pound turkey in about an hour and a half.

To learn more about the Turkey Cannon, check www.Camp Chef.com.