Longtime bowhunter and Hoyt pro staffer Casey Brooks has always dreamed of tagging a world-record elk. And on Dec. 31, he killed an absolute giant of a Rocky Mountain bull that has the potential to break both the Pope and Young and the all-time Boone and Crockett records. This is according to an Instagram post that was shared by Brooks’ son, Beau, and then re-shared on Hoyt Archery’s Facebook page. Brooks’ bull was given official green scores of 480 4/8 net and 490 4/8 gross, according to those posts.
“For as long as I can remember, my dad has been chasing giant bulls, coming incredibly close to this moment multiple times,” Beau wrote in his original post on Jan. 2. “Dad and his friends had been tracking this bull for years, finding sheds and keeping tabs on him.”
Details behind the hunt are slim, and neither Casey nor Beau responded immediately to requests for comment. Beau did not specify where his dad was hunting — only that he killed the bull in late December. But he tagged “Washington” in the Instagram post, so it’s assumed that the hunt took place in Washington State. Beau also acknowledged that Casey was hunting with a coveted raffle tag that allowed him to chase his target bull from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. This lines up with the dates for the Eastside Elk raffle tag that is issued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Beau explained that his dad’s successful hunt was even more inspiring because Casey had recently been in a near-fatal car accident that left him with a fractured wrist and a torn rotator cuff. Either injury would have sidelined most bowhunters for the rest of the season.
“But not Casey Brooks,” Beau wrote. “With adrenaline coursing through him and determination that defied the odds, he made the perfect shot, sealing his place in elk hunting history. And he did it his way — no guides, just a passionate crew of family and friends by his side, sharing the journey and the joy.”
That journey has been years in the making, and Casey has seen his fair share of big bulls. Beau explained in his post that Casey has tagged a total of 86 bull elk over his bowhunting career. At least 12 of those were over 400 inches. Casey currently holds both the No. 3 and No. 4 records for non-typical elk in the P&Y book. (The two bulls scored 436 inches and 430 inches, respectively.)
“But this bull — this absolute monarch — stands above them all,” Beau wrote.
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It remains to be seen whether Casey Brooks’ Rocky Mountain bull will set a new world record. Before that can happen, the antlers will have to be measured after a 60-day drying period by official judges with P&Y and B&C. In the case of both big-game organizations, the bull’s official scores would then have to be verified by a panel of judges before any records can be made official.
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