By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

By all accounts, it was a trophy bull elk, jostled out of its secure resting spot in a field of milo on the north side of Hays.

But it would be unwise to snatch up your rifle and head out for a trophy rack suitable for mounting on anyone's wall.

That would get a person in a world of trouble.

It might be elk season, but it's long past the time when hunters could apply for an elk permit -- the type that would allow shooting such a massive buck.

While it is unusual to see an elk -- of either sex -- in the Hays area, it's not unheard of.

Just last year, an elk was struck by a car about 6 miles south of Hays on U.S. Highway 183.

Temptation simply was too great then for some passing motorist who saw the elk alongside the road, stopping to abscond with the antlers of the young bull.

That was a violation of state law because it was out of season and no salvage tag had been issued by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

The latest bull elk, spotted Sunday just northeast of Hays, was larger and oh-so-tempting to Jude Gottschalk, who was rushing to get the last of the year's milo crop in the bin.

"It was big," Gottschalk said of the elk.

Sid Carlisle, an avid outdoorsman and someone who helps Gottschalk harvest, flushed the animal.

That's when the elk jumped a fence, getting in with Gottschalk's cattle herd, which pushed the elk out of the pasture and in an area with horses.

It got back in with the cattle and started chasing the cattle, actually using its antlers to fight them.

"I really wanted to drop him," Gottschalk said, adding he called KDWP but heard nothing back from them.

While several cameras were available, distance was a problem.

Gottschalk said they were able to get about 200 yards from the elk, but that's still quite a distance for standard cameras.

Despite that, he said the pictures show the elk had a 7-by-7 antler -- a standard measure that suggests the animal was big.

That might also mean the elk was an older bull, perhaps one that had been bested as herd bull by a younger animal, according to Matt Peek, a big game biologist for KDWP.

He said elk sometimes are seen in the area.

"Oh, probably not common, but not real surprising, I guess," Peek said "We've had several in the Salina area for years."

There are, in fact, several free-ranging elk herds in Kansas, perhaps the best known among hunters at Fort Riley.

Covering slightly more than 100,000 acres, it has a strong elk herd, and hunters throughout the state hope to get an any-elk permit to hunt there.

But competition is stiff, with only nine general resident permits issued. Nearly 1,000 people apply, making their chances about one-half of 1 percent, Peek said.

Other herds are located in southwest Kansas, along the Arkansas River in Hamilton County, in the Ford and Gray county area, and in the Cimarron National Grasslands.

Peek said the animals are big and able to travel long distances with few difficulties.

Typically, young bulls strike off on their own.

"A lot of the younger bulls could see some aggressiveness from older males," Peek said. "So they may strike out on their own."

A more mature bull, he said, might get pushed out by a younger, stronger animal.