Pennsylvania Game News - June 2012 - 5

County Outfitters. McCarthy had tracked down the big bull on the morning of the first day of the hunt, but as he glassed the huge bull’s extensive maze of antlers from 500 yards away, Aversa faced a potentially insurmountable obstacle — the animal stood firmly on private property where he lacked permission to hunt. While he and McCarthy pondered their dilemma, Averasa’s mind ran over the path he pursued to arrive at this pivotal moment. And perhaps the most important intersection in that path occurred a few months earlier when his wife called him at work to report an odd message on their answering machine — a strange voice that congratulated Aversa on winning a Pennsylvania bull elk tag. Aversa, who had failed to draw a tag on two prior attempts, initially had no clue what the cryptic message might mean and, for a moment, suspected it might be some sort of scam. Then he remembered the lottery, and as it dawned on him what had happened (the call was from one of the elk outfitters), he literally began screaming into the phone, finally calming down enough to explain to his bewildered wife what all the excitement was about. The next step was an immediate phone call to his father, who had just turned 70. Aversa reported that “when I told him, he went crazy, and the planning started immediately.” The preparations for this hunt of a lifetime would be thorough and meticulous. Aversa interviewed many guides and checked their references, finally settling on Elk County Outfitters after speaking with owner Jack Manack. At the same time, Aversa resolved to become as proficient and confident with his rifle as possible. In the weeks and months that followed, he spent countless hours at the range, experimenting with different loads before deciding on 180-grain Federal Trophy Bonded bullet loads. He also bought a new video camera to film the hunt and enlisted his cousin, Anthony Gulli, himself an avid
JUNE 2012

hunter, to act as the cameraman. He then converted a utility trailer into a cooler as a means of bringing back the elk meat. By the time the season opened, Aversa would be supremely confident and prepared. And a lot of that confidence would come from a lifetime of rich hunting heritage, much of it provided by his father, Joseph Aversa, Sr., who had hunted all his life and had taken a 6x6 bull elk with a bow in Idaho. Meanwhile, Elk County Outfitters’ designated guide Eric McCarthy was also doing his homework. He had been tracking and photographing a big bull for more than a month and had sent some of the photos to Aversa, expressing assurance that he’d be able to get Aversa a shot at the record book. But there was one serious caveat — Aversa would be hunting in Zone 10, where getting permission to hunt private property can be challenging. When Aversa got a look at the bull himself, he agreed with McCarthy that no other bull would do. The quest would not take long. On the clear, cool morning of the first day of the hunt, Aversa and McCarthy spotted the object of their desire grazing with some other elk in a small field not far from a few houses. They had found their bull, but lacked permission to access the property. They watched as the elk drifted into the woods, eventually emerging on the far side into a large field. By that time the two men had begun anxiously knocking on doors in an attempt to locate the property owner who could give them permission to hunt where the elk were, but their efforts proved fruitless. Meanwhile they were keeping one eye on the bull as it emerged from the woods with another bull about 500 yards away. McCarthy tried one more door. No one answered, but as he turned
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Pennsylvania Game News - June 2012

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