Ian Craig of Harrisville is in the state hunting record book.

A huge bull elk he harvested in September has officially set a new state record for nontypical archery elk.

The bull’s 10-foot-by-8-foot antlers measured a little over 400 inches, eclipsing the original record by about 28 inches that was set in the first archery elk season in 2019.

“Ian Craig is the new No. 1 in the nontypical elk archery category with his bull taken in 2021 that scores 400 2/8 inches,” said Bob D’Angelo, Pennsylvania big game scoring program coordinator.

Craig, 24, said last year was only the second year he applied for the Pennsylvania Game commission’s elk license lottery.

On the ninth day of the hunt with a guide from Elk Country Outfitters, Craig said he saw several bulls in a clover field and was getting ready to take a shot at one when his guide pointed him to a bull on the other side of the field.

“He said, ‘This is the one you want,’“ Craig said.

Eagerly responding from 250 yards away to the guide’s calls, the elk approached to about 24 yards from Craig.

“My guide did some calling and it came right in,” Craig said. “Within 10 minutes, he was on top of us. Maybe sooner.”

The shot was true. The elk fell after running about 50 yards.

The size of the elk and its antlers left everyone in shock. Craig said they suspected the antlers were large enough to qualify for a state record.

“We knew it was close, but you have to let it dry,” he said.

State big game record rules require hunters to elk and deer antlers to dry for 60 days before an official measurement is conducted.

A representative from the outfitter who performed an unofficial measurement after two weeks said the antlers are a new state record and gave Craig the Pennsylvania Game Commission paperwork he had to fill out and submit to be considered for the record book.

During the post-60-day measurement, a game commission official told him he set a new record.

“They sent an email a couple days later congratulating me,” Craig said.

The commission opened the first archery elk season in 2019. Craig’s name is on the top of a list of five entries in the nontypical record. A hunter from Utah harvested the number 2 nontypical archery elk last year in Clearfield County. His antlers measured 397 7/8 inches. Both broke the previous record of 372 6/8 inches set in 2019 by a state resident hunter in Clinton County.

A new typical archery elk record also was set last year with a bull measuring 381 inches, eclipsing the previous 10-year-old record of 349 inches.

Typical antlers have the same number of tines on typical locations along the main beam. Nontypical antlers have tines in various locations that protrude in different directions.

Craig said he plans to submit paperwork to the Boone and Crocket Club and the Pope and Young Club, which document record-setting game animals, for his elk.

He said the antlers on his elk have a 47 7/8-inch spread and the main beams are 48 1/2 inches long. Its estimated live weight was 850 pounds. After the elk was cleaned and skinned, it weighed 550 pounds. Craig, whose family owns a meat market, said he got about 400 pounds of meat from the animal.

“Enough that I bought 15 cubic-foot freezer. It’s about full,” he said.

He has more reasons to feel proud and lucky.

His father, Tom Craig, accompanied that day and watched the hunt unfold.

“My dad was 10 yards behind us in the woods, so he could see it all, which was cool,” Craig said. “Definitely one of those experiences I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

He said people he knows and people he has spoken with since the hunt have told him they have entered the elk license drawing since it began. They lottery started in the early 1980s.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of gig. This was my second year applying, so I got lucky,” Craig said.

Commission regulations prohibit a hunter who draws a bull license from applying for another license for five years. Craig said he will apply for another license in five years.

The antlers and cape from his elk are in the hands of a taxidermist who is making a shoulder mount. Craig said he has an 18-foot-high ceiling in one part of his house that will accommodate his massive trophy.