Richard P. Smith

One of the black bears bagged on Sept. 10, opening day of the Upper Peninsula’s bear season, was shot by Stanford, England resident James Maunder Taylor. He killed a 335-pound sow late in the day after seeing two smaller bears.
Taylor likely traveled farther to take part in the hunt this fall than anyone else. It’s not unusual for hunters from other states to hunt black bears in Michigan, but the state seldom hosts hunters from other countries.

In an amazing twist of fate and luck, 15-year-old Autumn Pratt from Grayling set a new Michigan record for black bear among females in the bow and arrow category last fall.
The bear Autumn shot eclipsed the one her mother, Dawn, shot 26 years ago and has been the record ever since. And Autumn was wearing the same camo outfit her mother did when she got her state record bear.

Brandon Kantola from Ravenna, Mich., bagged a 13-point bull elk with bow and arrow in Cheboygan County on Sept. 15 that likely will be a state record in the archery category since state record keeper Commemorative Bucks of Michigan doesn’t currently have any bow-killed elk listed. 
Kantola’s bull is the first archery bull with antlers large enough to qualify for entry in the Pope and Young records. Michigan elk with typical antlers have to score a minimum of 240 inches to make it into CBM state records. The Pope and Young Club minimum for typical elk antlers is 260.