Minto man harvests large elk in NE North Dakota

MINTO, N.D. (KFYR) – A 36-year-old Minto man harvested a large elk in Northeast North Dakota on Monday.

Thomas Sitzer says he used a Hoyt RX-7 bow to take the elk. Sitzer said the elk only moved 50 yards after he shot it in a terrain mixed with some coulee systems. He plans on submitting the elk to be scored by the Boone and Crockett Club, which measures size and symmetry.

The age is not official, but Sitzer estimates it to be about 6.5 years old.

The height and weight are unknown as well until after the drying period.

“Every time I see an elk on its feet or dead, I am in awe of how big they are. I don’t know if these were my first thoughts in my mind, but they’ve certainly been my thoughts the past few days, I am extremely lucky to have drawn the tag, I am extremely lucky to have made the connections that I did with landowners. It took a lot of people to really get this done,” said Sitzer. “I had help from friends coming up calling for me, my dad picking up, dropping off, and scouting, landowners and friends up at the crack of dawn listening for bugles for me, many other hunters with trail cameras in the area letting me know what they’re seeing, my wife for taking on our 5 kids and all of their activities alone so I could go when I felt the conditions were right. A lot of people had a part in this, I was just the lucky one with the tag!”

Sitzer and the elk were featured on the Facebook page “ND Big Game Showcase.”

Copyright 2023 KFYR. All rights reserved.