CLEARFIELD – The Pennsylvania Game Commission awarded 140 elk hunting licenses on July 27, and one local teen was a lucky recipient.
Now, 19 year-old Luke Billotte of Clearfield is planning the hunt of a lifetime.
The commission awarded licenses for 65 antlered and 75 antlerless elk for this year’s three hunting seasons during the annual Elk Expo in Benezette.
Luke’s name was drawn out of more than 100,0000 applications received from all over the country.
“When I got the call that my name had been drawn for a tag, I was very shocked,” recalled the teen, adding he’s just “excited and happy” to have such an incredible opportunity.
Luke said he first started applying for an elk tag when he was 12 years old, and has continued every year since.
“We apply for all three seasons each year. The tag I was drawn for is during late season, Dec. 28 to Jan. 4, in zone 11 for a bull elk. Zone 11 is our local zone where I grew up hunting with my family.”
This year the game commission received a total of 109,780 applications from 55,778 hunters in all 50 states.
“You’re talking about 55,000-plus applicants, and when you’re one of the 140 picked, it’s pretty special,” expressed Elk Biologist, Jeremy Banfield. “We do view it as a [potentially] once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Banfield also shared some local tag drawing data.
Over the past three years, there have only been a total of 20 hunters in Clearfield County and surrounding areas drawn for a license.
Luke started hunting at age 7 in the youth mentor program with his dad and brother, and got his first whitetail buck around the age of 8 or 9 with a crossbow.
He has already started planning his hunt with the help of his dad and a family friend—a guide they plan to have along with him on the hunt.
As part of their hunt planning and preparations, they have started gathering information on elk sightings in zone 11 that could prove beneficial to him.
To sum it up, Luke is one lucky guy to enjoy the pageantry of hunting the majestic bull elk in the Pennsylvania Wilds.
