Today the Boone and Crockett Club and Pope and Young Club announced that an elk from Montana taken on public land during the archery season in 2016 is a potential new archery World's Record typical American elk.

After the mandatory 60-day drying period, the elk's official entry score was confirmed at an astounding 430 inches. The bull was taken on a solo hunt early in the Montana archery season by a resident hunter, Steve Felix, who then brought the bull to the attention of the Boone and Crockett Club, headquartered in Missoula, Montana.

"History was made right here in Montana," said Justin Spring, Boone and Crockett Club's director of Big Game Records. This is the fourth-largest bull in our records, which date back to before 1900, the largest since 1968 and the largest from the state of Montana."

The current B&C World's Record taken with a rifle scores 442-5/8. The second and third largest typical elk were taken before 1900.

"It's a milestone in the success of our commitment to this iconic species," Spring continued. "Animals of this size do not happen by chance. It takes the combined commitment of wildlife managers and biologists, landowners, sportsmen and, above all else, it takes the best habitats we can set aside for elk in elk country."

The last step in the process, in order to obtain an official score for Pope and Young Club World's Record status, is to have the antlers panel scored by a group of highly qualified P&Y and B&C Measurers. This will take place just prior to Pope and Young Club's Biennial Convention and Big Game Awards Ceremony April 5-8, 2017, in St. Louis, Missouri, where this exceptional animal will be displayed and honored.

Using the B&C scoring system for big game, the Pope and Young Club maintains records for archery taken trophies. B&C records animals taken by all legal hunting methods.

"We're excited, not only for the health of our elk populations and bowhunting, but to be able to share this outstanding specimen with the public for the first time at our biennial convention," explained Joe Bell, executive director for the Pope and Young Club.

The current archery World's Record typical elk scores 412-1/8 and was taken in 2005 from Arizona.

Both organizations point to the fact that a free-ranging elk of this size, living a long life on good habitat, is just one more indicator that wildlife conservation and management is working well.

"Elk of this size are a sign that we're doing something right out there," said Spring. "And the end result couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. He's been bowhunting a lot of years and really gets the spirit of the chase, the importance of conservation, and what records keeping is all about-honoring the animal and what it took to make sure we still have elk with us, and the opportunity to see and hunt them."