Moorhead hunter poised to claim state record elk

Hunter Brad Penas is finding out that bagging a potential state record elk has its consequences.

Penas, a Moorhead police lieutenant, shot the roughly 1,000-pound elk on Sept. 14 in Kittson County on land owned by the Nature Conservancy, where motorized vehicles are banned.

It took six people to drag the beast to neighboring private property, where it was loaded in a trailer and driven to Greenbush for registration with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The bull field-dressed at 820 pounds and had massive antlers. Penas said the taxidermist put the rack's "gross green score" at 433 inches. Once the mandatory 60-day drying period elapses in mid-November, the score should come in at 391, Penas said.

The state record typical elk stands at 371 6/8, taken by two hunters in Marshall County in 1996.

Penas, 45, said Tuesday that he and his wife are at odds over where the mount will end up in their home.

"I'm looking at one or two options," he said. "My wife is not too keen on any of those locations."

He also approached the Scheels and Cabela's sporting goods stores to see if they wanted to display the rack, but they weren't interested. So, he suspects, the mount will be relegated to his garage.

Penas also said he expects to soon pick up the several hundred pounds of meat being processed from his kill.

"The steaks are just tremendous," he said. "This is so close to beef. Lots of people wouldn't know the difference."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482