Summer 2013 | $7.95
THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS
SEE BRILLIANTLY. MEASURE PRECISELY. THE NEW EL RANGE FINDING BINOCULAR
The EL Range sets new standards: Uncompromising high-resolution observations with 91% transmission on both sides combined with precise range and angle measurement based on the unique SWARO-AIM technology. The intuitive handling and its weight of less than 32 oz (900 g) turns the EL Range into the ideal hunting partner of the future.
SEE THE UNSEEN
WWW.SWAROVSKIOPTIK.COM
SWAROVSKI OPTIK NORTH AMERICA Tel. 800-426-3089 info@swarovskioptik.us facebook.com/swarovskioptiknorthamericahunting
Bull sitting out the mid-day heat in Southern Alberta. © Donald M. Jones
Volume 28
n
Number 2
n
Summer 2013
“Fragmentation involves not only a net loss in habitat; it also affects ecological relationships and the suitability of habitat to support wildlife species.”
P.12
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
From the Editor | In this Issue...................................................................................Mark B. Steffen
6
From the President | Fragmentation and Human Values......................... William A. Demmer
The Science Perspective ................................................................................... Winifred B. Kessler
The Policy Perspective................................................................................................ John F. Organ
HUNTING, ETHICS & RECORDS 12 .7mm Remington Magnum...............................................................Craig Boddington 14 Custom: More Than A Rifle ..........................................................Wayne van Zwoll
P.14
P.22
22 from the 28th big game awards book......................... B&C Publications 28
Wilderness of the Upper Yukon......................................... Charles Sheldon
32 Beyond The Score | 11-11-11 Kansas Buck ............................................................ Justin E. Spring P.28
36 Generation Next | Youth Essay and Field Photos............................................................B&C Staff 46 Trophy Talk | 28th Big Game Awards Program Judges Panel .............................. Jack Reneau
P.32
48 Recently Accepted Trophies | 28th and 29th Awards Program Entries. 54 Trophy Photo Gallery.............................. Sponsored by Realtree Xtra Green
P.36
CONSERVATION & RESEARCH P.60
P.66
60 Gone fishing! Gone Hunting! Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment...............................................
Valerius Geist
64 Capitol Comments | I Thought It Was Nothing ............................................ Steven Williams 66 Member Adventure | Robert Campbell Reeve................................................. Theodore J. Holsten
P.68
68 Knowledge Base | Diseases Gone Wild...................................................... Winifred B. Kessler 69 Dallas Safari Club Update | DSC Tops $2 Million in Grants for 2012-13................ Ben Carter
P.69
70 Nevada Bighorns Unlimited ............................................................................Brett K. Jefferson
q
72 to Glove or Not to Glove...................................................... Megan Kirchgessner P.70
P.72
78
the Last word
The Ethics of Fair Chase | Oh Brother ... He does get it!...................... Daniel A. Pedrotti, Jr.
FROM THE EDITOR In this Issue Lucky Americans! Fortunate people! In other lands as little as an empty shotgun shell in the house would Mark B. Steffen land you in jail—or worse… The bearing of Editor-in-Chief arms is a potent symbol Chairman B&C Publications Committee of freedom… The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, one of the great cultural gifts of North Americans to global culture, could never have developed without the right of citizens to bear arms. These words come from Dr. Valerius Geist’s article “Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment.” Read this article once, twice, and then a third time to savor each word and each paragraph’s meaning. There are very few irreplaceable brilliant minds in this world. Val is one of them. Research his work, study his writings and observations. Enjoy, as a B&C Associate, your proximity and access to the excitement Val brings to our world.
Dr. Geist’s article expands on the Boone and Crockett Club’s 2nd Amendment position statement recently conceived and released. Please appreciate its significance to the hunter-conservationist. Gun control goes so much farther than my liberal brethren perceive. Please enjoy the information on the upcoming B&C 28th Awards Program in Reno, Nevada. The Awards celebrate some amazing critters, some skilled (and lucky) hunters, and affords the opportunity to recreate with like-minded hunters such as you. Awards that I attended in years past allowed me to meet legends within the Club (such as Val) that have just plain and simple made me a better person. Hunting stories, records information, science, conservation, it is all here, as the Boone and Crockett Club continues its legacy of thought leadership. n
These trophies will be on display at the 28th Big Game Awards program this July in Reno.
Rose Rackman
Fair Chase PRODUCTION STAFF Editor-in-Chief & Publications Chairman Mark B. Steffen Managing Editor Julie L. Tripp Conservation and History Editor Steven Williams Research and Education Editor Winifred B. Kessler Hunting and Ethics Editor Mark Streissguth Assistant Editors Keith Balfourd Jim Bequette CJ Buck Marc Mondavi Jack Reneau Tony A. Schoonen Graphic Designer Karlie Slayer Editorial Contributors Craig Boddington Ben Carter William A. Demmer Valerius Geist Theodore J. Holsten Brett K. Jefferson Winifred B. Kessler Megan Kirchgessner John F. Organ Daniel A. Pedrotti, Jr. Jack Reneau Justin E. Spring Wayne van Zwoll Steven Williams Photographic Contributors Steven C. Ashley Tony Bynum Donald M. Jones Fair Chase is published quarterly by the Boone and Crockett Club and distributed to its Members and Associates. Material in this magazine may be freely quoted and/or reprinted in other publications and media, so long as proper credit is given to Fair Chase. The only exception applies to articles that are reprinted in Fair Chase from other magazines, in which case, the Club does not hold the reprint rights. The opinions expressed by the contributors of articles are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Boone and Crockett Club. Fair Chase (ISSN 1077-4627) is published for $35 per year by the Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801. Periodical postage is paid in Missoula, Montana, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fair Chase, Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801 Phone: (406) 542-1888 Fax: (406) 542-0784
National Advertising
Bernard + Associates, 767 Mill St. Reno, NV 89502 jeff@bernardandassociates.com Phone: (775) 323-6828
Guy J. Turne r Steven S. Bruggeman Find out more about the topics in Fair Chase online. Look for this icon.
B&C
O
n li ne
4 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
B&C STAFF Chief of Staff – Tony A. Schoonen Director of Big Game Records – Jack Reneau Director of Publications – Julie L. Tripp Director of Marketing – Keith Balfourd Office Manager – Sandy Poston Controller – Jan Krueger TRM Ranch Manager – Mike Briggs Assistant Director of Big Game Records – Justin Spring Development Program Manager – Jodi Bishop Assistant Controller – Abra Loran Graphic Designer – Karlie Slayer Customer Service – Amy Hutchison Records Dept. Assistant – Wendy Nickelson RWCC Facilities Manager – Luke Coccoli
FROM THE PRESIDENT The Changing Landscapes of Wildlife Conservation: Fragmentation and Human Values Fair Chase magazine’s president’s column provides a wonderful opportunity for me to William A. Demmer highlight for our Members and PRESIDENT Boone and Crockett Club Associates critical issues that we North American hunter-conservationists face. Throughout the balance of my term you will be able to read about the science and the rationale that define these critical issues. The defining articles will be written by Professional Members of the Club who can speak to the science and policy dimensions of each issue. My immediate predecessor, Past-President Ben Wallace, wrote in one of his columns about the powerful value that our Professional Members bring to the Boone and Crockett Club. I promise that as you read their input you will experience a level of confidence that our Club indeed has assembled North America’s top conservation “thought leaders” to help us deal with these vexing conservation challenges. The first critical issue that I have selected to present is that of land/habitat fragmentation. The summer of 1994 provided me with my first insights into the danger that our wildlife populations face with the challenges of land/habitat fragmentation. I was attending our Boone and Crockett Club summer Conservation Division retreat at the Club’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch in Dupuyer, Montana. The Club’s Conservation Division historically includes many of our Professional Members who represent the cream of thought leadership in the North American conservation movement. I was participating in a brainstorming exercise with a group of our professionals, in an effort to list and prioritize the greatest challenges to North American wildlife. Jack Ward Thomas, former chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Boone and Crockett Professional Member, and at the time, our Boone and Crockett Endowed Chair at the University of Montana, stated emphatically that land and habitat fragmentation was the greatest threat to thriving wildlife populations that we face in North America. In this issue, Winifred “Wini” Kessler, 6 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Ph.D., Professional member and former Alaska Regional Director, U.S. Forest Service, discusses the science of changing landscapes of wildlife conservation, and in particular, the relationship between fragmentation and human values. John Organ, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, U.S.F.W.S. and Professional member presents the policy perspectives associated with fragmentation. It is my hope that with a better understanding of these critical issues and armed with potential solutions that our Club membership, associates and other readers will become activists and engage in the solutions to help mitigate these challenges. Land fragmentation, simply put, is the division of wildlife habitat into smaller subsets, making it less suitable for wildlife. These subsets, when use is refocused, whether from farm or ranchland to residential, or from multiple crop application to a single crop cooperative farming in large blocks, can
Land fragmentation is the division of wildlife habitat into smaller subsets, making it less suitable for wildlife. devastate wildlife. This fragmentation is occurring on the West Coast, in the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. The East Coast, Midwest and southern parts of the U.S. have seen major wildlife habitat environment disappear to land developers. My home state of Michigan has seen what was once great pheasant habitat disappear primarily due to the changes in how agriculture is farmed. As large-scale farming took hold, small 100-acre farms with their hedgerows disappeared along with our wild pheasant populations. What can we as hunter-conservationists do to impede this loss of habitat? The American Wildlife Conservation Partners, an organization that the Boone and Crockett Club helped create, has some powerful recommendations. A great place to start is to engage with and or inspire landowners to engage in programs where government incentives make it worthwhile to participate in habitat enhancement. Such opportunities include
the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program, Grassland Reserve Program, Conservation Security Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Forest Land Enhancement Program, and of course, the venerable Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The CRP and the WRP have proven to be powerful programs that have substantially benefitted wildlife. These programs provide income support and incentives to landowners while the benefits to the public include enhanced wildlife habitat, reduced soil erosion, improved water and air quality, and additional public space. Supporting the idea of, or creating conservation easements with your land is another wonderful way in which to inhibit land fragmentation. Putting my money where my mouth is, a close hunting friend (and fellow Boone and Crockett Member), Jake Shinners, and I have created conservation easements on our hunting and fishing property in northern Michigan. We also have hunting property in southern Michigan where we have participated with both federal and state habitat incentive programs for years. These public-private partnerships that we have formed have greatly benefitted both us and our neighbors. My wife and I have hunting property in South Carolina’s ACE Basin with a significant part of it in a conservation easement. The ACE Basin is a magnificent example of a public-private partnership. The ACE Basin is perhaps the largest protected wildlife and hunting estuary on the East Coast. Your Boone and Crockett Club is most active on the national conservation policy front in supporting all of the opportunities mentioned. Local action is also required from our community of hunter-conservationists! Let your state and federal politicians know of your feelings regarding these issues. Your state wildlife conservation agencies need your support whether it is in political arm twisting or testifying in regional habitat and hunting hearings. Please think about what you can do for your community. Do know that your Boone and Crockett Club is engaged on your behalf! To Wini and John, a public thank you not only for these terrific articles, but for your passion in all that you do for our community. n
The Science Perspective By Winifred B. Kessler, PhD B&C Professional Member
“Fragmentation” became a common term in wildlife ecology around 1984 when the late Larry D. Harris published his landmark book, The Fragmented Forest. Working in northwest coastal forests when the spotted owl issue was heating up, Dr. Harris took a big-picture look at what happens when habitats—in this case, old-growth forests—are logged, roaded, built on, and otherwise converted from large expanses into smaller, discontinuous units. You might think that if development removes just 10 percent of a forest, then the wildlife living there still have 90 percent of good habitat left. Not a big deal, right? Actually it can be a very big deal, depending on the pattern of habitat alteration and the species involved. Dr. Harris’ book (and countless studies since that time) has shown habitat fragmentation to be a complex phenomenon involving myriad causes and effects. That’s because fragmentation involves not only a net loss in habitat; it also affects ecological relationships and the suitability of habitat to support wildlife species. The causes of habitat fragmentation vary greatly: conversion to farmland, residential sprawl, roads and highways, hydro-electric corridors, oil and gas pipelines, mining, seismic corridors for energy exploration, new shopping malls, and on and on. The overall effect is to break up large areas of habitat into smaller units, often called “patches.” This gives rise to secondary effects that affect wildlife in various ways. Patch-size effects happen when the remaining units of habitat are inadequate to support individual species or the overall diversity of organisms that had existed before. For some species, such as the American marten or the grizzly bear, the patches may be too small to provide territories. Many birds may be unable to find the abundance and variety of insects needed for food. Why? Because environmental conditions change when habitat blocks are broken up into smaller pieces: more sunlight can get in around the edges—and more wind
too—which dries up the soil surface more quickly so insect larvae die, and so on. Small patches are fundamentally different than large patches, and this affects the capability of habitat to support wildlife. Edge effects refer to changes that originate along the edges where two habitat types meet. New edge is created whenever a piece of habitat is removed or altered, and linear developments such as roads, energy corridors, and pipeline rights-of-way create long spans of edge that can literally crisscross the landscape. Hunters know that edge effect can be a positive habitat feature for deer, elk, pheasants, and other species they value highly. However, edge effects can be negative when they allow harmful organisms, such as invasive plants and parasites, to enter previously-intact areas of habitat. Edge effects have great potential to change species relationships, often with undesirable consequences. So many studies have documented edge-related declines in forest bird species that a new term, “forest interior-dependent species,” was added to the ecologist’s lexicon. Edges allow predators such as crows, and nest parasites such as brown-headed cowbirds, to enter forest habitats and render them uninhabitable to many songbird species. Scientists have found that in old-growth reserves in Pacific Northwest forests, barred owls gaining entry along adjacent edges are displacing management’s target species, the spotted owl. Similarly, woodland caribou are a big conservation concern where I live in northern British Columbia. The large tracts of intact forest that caribou inhabit are changing, as roads, seismic lines, and energy corridors are built to support natural resources development. One effect of all this edge is increased growth of shrubs and young trees, and this causes moose, deer, and elk to move into forests they formerly avoided. Wolves, bears, and other predators are not far behind and for caribou, this means greatly increased risk of predation. Isolation effects happen when wildlife are cut off from habitats or from others of their species, including potential mates, by habitat fragmentation. Consider the plight of many frog and salamander species that breed in low-lying wetland patches and then disperse into upland habitats until the next breeding season. A new roadway may not seem like a big change but if it cuts these animals off from their breeding ponds, the population’s future is bleak. In the case of the endangered Florida panther, low population numbers and isolation due to habitat fragmentation have resulted in inbreeding, and this in turn has caused chronic infertility and heart problems. Plus, Florida panthers often get hit by cars—another consequence of habitat fragmentation. Habitat fragmentation is a huge conservation issue because it is happening all over North America at escalating rates. Habitat is shrinking overall and is being changed by the many forms of habitat fragmentation. With a growing human population and rising need for resources, we can’t turn back the clock to halt development. Rather, we need to be smarter in how that development proceeds, taking into account habitat fragmentation and the cumulative effects of development. We must plan for desired landscape conditions rather than settling for the default situation of uncoordinated and uncontrolled fragmentation. The key is in science-based, forward-looking policies that place a high value on intact ecosystems and a future shared with wildlife. n Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 7
The Policy Perspective By John F. Organ, PhD B&C Professional Member
Our nation’s policy on habitat fragmentation is, well, fragmented. No single policy provides overarching national direction to maintain habitat integrity and viable wildlife populations. Rather, policy and regulatory tools exist that might limit fragmentation of habitats if collectively applied within an overarching vision. I will provide some examples of such policy instruments, then address the need for an overarching vision to slow the pace and consequences of habitat fragmentation. Existing Mechanisms
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) encompasses more than 18,000 square miles including national park, national forest, BLM, and state lands. It was established decades ago when biologists realized Yellowstone Park itself had insufficient area to sustain grizzly bears, and a larger ecosystembased effort was needed. Coordination among management agencies and stakeholders occurs through biennial meetings. Historical focus has been on single-species management (grizzly bears, wolves), but looming threats include climate change impacts and invasive species. The U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule (2001) establishes prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of roadless areas on national forest lands. While inventoried roadless areas constitute roughly one-third of all national forest lands, this amounts to only 2 percent of the land base in the continental United States. Controversial since its 8 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
passage in 2001, the Roadless Rule has been subject to extensive litigation by those desiring increased access to resources. Vermont’s Land Use and Development Act (Act 250) was passed by the Vermont legislature in 1970 in response to public concerns over development pressures resulting from the opening of interstate highways I-89 and I-91. Intended in part to assure development will not imperil wildlife habitat or endangered species, Act 250 has been used by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife to effectively protect wintering habitat for white-tailed deer. Maine’s Beginning With Habitat Program (BwH) is a collaborative approach to conserving wildlife and plant habitat on a landscape scale. BwH compiles habitat information from multiple sources and makes it accessible to towns, land trusts, conservation organizations and others to encourage proactive and informed land-use planning. Each Maine town is provided with maps and other resources to disclose which habitats of statewide and national significance occur locally. Also provided are tools to help community decision makers create a landscape vision and plans that provide habitat for all species by balancing future development with conservation. Massachusetts BioMap is a geographic information system developed by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game and available to the public. It is designed to guide strategic biodiversity conservation in Massachusetts by focusing land protection and stewardship on areas that are most critical for ensuring the long-term persistence of rare and other native species, habitats, exemplary natural communities, and a diversity of ecosystems. BioMap is also designed to include the habitats and species of conservation concern identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP).
These are just a few examples of policy instruments that exist for addressing habitat fragmentation. While a broad national vision has been lacking, there is some recent progress. Since 2006, the Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program has been improving information and tools to accelerate the conservation of wildlife habitat in the United States with a view to a national wildlife habitat system. According to the program’s estimates, conserving an additional 218 million acres (12 percent of continental U.S.) would protect all priority terrestrial habitat areas identified in SWAPs. The recent Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) initiative brings partners together to design visions for important landscapes in the U.S. These LCCs provide a forum for states, tribes, federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities and other groups to collaborate in defining shared conservation goals. A critical role of LCCs is to provide the science and technical expertise needed to support conservation planning at landscape-scales. Future Policy Needs
Aldo Leopold, the architect of the Land Ethic, wrote, “We shall achieve conservation when and only when destructive use of land becomes unethical—punishable by social ostracism.” Is it possible to achieve Leopoldian conservation in our society? Economic growth drives the political agenda, not land conservation, and the two are often in conflict. What is needed are national, state, and local policies that incorporate landscape conservation visions, such as those designed by LCCs, into development planning that creates both disincentives for fragmenting wild habitat, and incentives for using existing developed lands. National Policy
Habitat fragmentation, not just direct impacts to wildlife populations, should be incorporated into review of federal projects under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934. A presidential executive order directing all federal projects to avoid habitat fragmentation and utilize the best science available from sources such as SWAPs and LCCs. State Policy
States should develop legislation or policy, similar to those existing for wetlands, that protects large unfragmented blocks of habitat, relying on SWAPs and other science tools. Planning and science resources should be provided by the state to local communities. Local Policy
Communities should develop plans and ordinances that allow for cluster development (as opposed to minimum acreage and frontage requirements) so development can be concentrated and large undeveloped blocks maintained. I would be remiss to not mention a bold and uniquely American policy innovation, the Wilderness Act, as a major force for maintaining habitat integrity across vast landscapes. B&C President Emeritus Lowell Baier is writing a scholarly book on that act that will provide much-needed policy guidance for the future of wilderness management and contribute to the great American experiment known as wildlife conservation. n
Your Boone and Crockett Club is most active on the national conservation policy front in supporting all of the opportunities mentioned. Local action is also required from our community of hunter-conservationists! BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOUNDED IN 1887 BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Club Club President William A. Demmer Secretary Robert H. Hanson Tom L. Lewis – Assistant Secretary Treasurer Marshall J. Collins, Jr. Executive Vice President – Administration Timothy C. Brady Executive Vice President – Conservation Morrison Stevens, Sr. Vice President of Administration James F. Arnold Vice President of Big Game Records Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner Vice President of Conservation Stephen P. Mealey Vice President of Communications Marc C. Mondavi Foundation President B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Class of 2013 James J. Shinners Class of 2014 James Cummins Class of 2015 CJ Buck Foundation Foundation President B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Secretary Tom L. Lewis Treasurer C. Martin Wood III Vice President James J. Shinners Vice President John A. Tomke Class of 2013 John P. Evans Jeffrey A. Gronauer Steve J. Hageman Earl L. Sherron, Jr. C. Martin Wood III Class of 2014 Remo R. Pizzagalli Edward B. Rasmuson James J. Shinners John A. Tomke Leonard J. Vallender Class of 2015 Gary W. Dietrich B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Ned S. Holmes Tom L. Lewis Paul M. Zelisko
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 9
HUNTING, ETHICS, AND BIG GAME RECORDS
© Donald m. Jones
L
The Boone and Crockett
10 nnFair 10 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
“After weighing and cleaning the buck, I decided to sit in the cedar the last afternoon and just appreciate the sunset. Reflecting on the
day, I thought about friends and hunting partners who would be excited to hear my story. Thinking also of hunting friends departed, it was easy to imagine their smiles and feel their support.” pg 32. Beyond the Score by Randy A. Reeves
Legacy Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 11
B o d di n g t o n’s Ca r t r i d g e
Review
” , n e v e S g i B “ s ’ Re min gton t s o m s ’ d l r o w e h t . m u n g a m r a l popu
7mm
Remington Magnum By Craig Boddington B&C Professional Member Photos courtesy of Author
BELOW: Remington’s 50-year commemorative of their Model 700 (1962-2012) was a “retro” design chambered to, naturally, the 7mm Remington Magnum. After a few shots, this rifle settled right down and produced sub-one-inch groups with both Hornady and Winchester factory ammo. This is the kind of accuracy I expect from a 7mm Remington Magnum.
12 nn Fair 12 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
So far in this column I’ve been fortunate to write
about cartridges that are not only popular, but that I particularly like. Unfortunately no one can like all cartridges equally, so I’ll say up front that the 7mm Remington Magnum is not among my personal favorites. It is not possible for any rifleman to have equal or even extensive experience with a wide array of cartridges. So, since the 7mm Remington Magnum isn’t one of my darlings, it would stand to reason that I haven’t used it very much, and thus have no business writing about it. Uh, that part simply isn’t true. Sometimes rifles choose us, not the other way around. I’ve owned and used a variety of 7mm Remington Magnum rifles since 1979. Despite the chambering, a couple of them have been among my all-time favorite rifles, based on accuracy and handling qualities. I have used the cartridge on all six continents, and it has accounted for sheep, goat, pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer, Coues’ deer, blacktail, caribou, black bear, and much more. I have not used it for moose, although I certainly would. I have not used it for big bears and would prefer not to. I prefer a .30-caliber or larger for elk, so it wasn’t until 2011 that I finally took a wapiti with the 7mm Remington Magnum. It worked just fine. And I can say that in an aggregate of game animals into the hundreds, the 7mm Remington Magnum has never let me down. So what do I have against it? I’m more of a .30-caliber guy if I want power, and I’m more of a .270 guy if I want flat-shooting capabilities. Although campfire cartridge arguments are lots of fun, it’s important to point out that there is just .007-inch difference in bullet diameter between the .270’s .277-inch bullet and the 7mm’s .284-inch bullet. So Jack O’Connor
7mm Remington Short Action Ultra Mag.
.280 Remington
7mm Remington Magnum
7mm Weatherby Magnum
7mm Shooting Times Westerner
7mm Remington Ultra Mag.
was mostly right when he said that the 7mm wouldn’t do much of anything that his .270 wouldn’t do. There is a .024-inch difference between the 7mm and the .30-caliber’s .308inch bullet, and I have always believed that, especially on larger game, that’s enough difference in frontal area to make a difference in impact. Not everyone agrees. To paraphrase Mark Twain, that’s a difference in opinion that makes for a horse race. In fact, a lot of people don’t agree! Introduced in 1962 in Remington’s new Model 700 bolt-action rifle, the 7mm Remington Magnum has been one of Remington’s most successful cartridges, almost an iconic choice for Western big game and all-around use. It blew the then-popular .264 Winchester Magnum almost off the market and went on to become the world’s most popular belted magnum, followed by the .300 Winchester Magnum. It is more versatile than the .264, but develops considerably less recoil than the .300s. It shoots about as flat as the .270 Winchester and is considerably flatter than the great old .30-06. But remember that I said Jack O’Connor was “mostly right” in his assessment of the 7mm Remington Magnum? It does offer the advantage of considerably heavier bullets, with plenty of choices available from 160 to 175 grains. So it must also be judged to be more versatile than the .270, although perhaps not as versatile as a fast .30-caliber, but easier to manage. Through the 1950s Warren Page touted the benefits of a fast 7mm and must be given the majority of the credit for the cartridge’s development. As the long-time shooting editor of Field and Stream, Page was O’Connor’s peer, and I suppose you could say, chief competitor. O’Connor extolled the virtues of the .270 for decades, while the fast 7mm was Page’s baby. The great old 7x57 Mauser has had some following in the U.S. since the 1890s. It’s a wonderfully effective and mild-mannered little cartridge, its efficiency greatly aided by the traditionally heavy-for-caliber 7mm bullets. Page theorized that a faster 7mm based on a larger case would be a whole lot better, and he wildcatted fast 7mms on a variety of different cases. He certainly wasn’t wrong—but it’s also fair to say that the concept wasn’t new. In fact, “magnum 7mms” existed before 1920. Two good ones were the .275 H&H Magnum and the .280 Ross. The .275 H&H was actually very similar to Remington’s cartridge while the .280 Ross was an unbelted magnum
much ahead of its time. Both probably failed because the bullets of the day weren’t up to the velocity levels they produced. Fast-forward to 1944: The 7mm Weatherby Magnum, also quite similar in case dimensions to Remington’s cartridge, was one of Roy Weatherby’s earliest cartridge developments. In the postwar years, American wildcatters Phil Sharpe and Richard F. Hart developed the 7x61 Sharpe & Hart. It has a bit shorter case (2.394 inches, as opposed to the 7mm Remington Magnum’s 2.5-inch case and Weatherby’s 2.545-inch case), but all three are based on the belted .300 H&H case shortened, necked down, and blown out, so the 7x61 is a very capable cartridge. In 1953 Norma offered factory ammo and Danish Schultz & Larsen 7x61 rifles were imported into the U.S. The cartridge might actually have had a future, but the 1962 introduction of the faster 7mm Remington Magnum just about finished it—and relegated the 7mm Weatherby Magnum to perpetual obscurity. The 7mm Remington Magnum stood as the world standard “fast 7mm” for nearly 30 years. The recent rash of new magnums has confused its market somewhat. The two “short, fat” 7mms, the 7mm Winchester Short Magnum (WSM) and 7mm Remington Short Action Ultra Mag (RSAUM) develop similar performance with lighter bullets, but are not as versatile. Neither has become popular. The 7mm Shooting Times Westerner (STW) and 7mm Remington Ultra Mag (RUM) are longer cartridges with greater powder capacity. They are demonstrably faster and have some following, but both are over bore capacity, which makes them a bit finicky and limited in acceptable propellant powders. I don’t think any of these new cartridges have diluted the 7mm Remington’s appeal, but there are signs that it is not as wildly popular today as it was just a few years ago. For instance, when Kimber introduced the standard-length version of their boltaction sporter, the 7mm Remington Magnum was, astonishingly, not among its chamberings: Their dealer network didn’t want it! In 1993 I did a survey of North American guides and outfitters for my book American Hunting Rifles, asking about p er s on a l choic e s a nd recommendations of cartridges for various types of game. In most categories the 7mm Remington Magnum was clearly at the top of the heap. Last year, in 2012, I did a similar survey for the revised
version, AHR II. In this survey, recommendations for the 7mm Remington Magnum were most notable for their absence! So, for unknown reasons, the 7mm Remington Magnum might be slipping a bit in popularity—but it remains a very fine choice for virtually all North American big game short of our biggest bears. It is perhaps at its best as a classic choice for mule deer and mountain game, but it remains as it was in 1962: A versatile and effective cartridge. Common factory loadings range from 120 to 175 grains in a wide array of bullet choices, and the selection of bullets for handloaders is second only to the .30-caliber. Although the 175-grain heavyweight load is faster and flatter-shooting than the .30-06’s 180-grain load, for my purposes I always preferred bullets from 150 to 165 grains. These take full advantage of the 7mm’s typically high sectional density and ballistic coefficient, and depending on who does the loading, this entire weight range is capable of velocities running one side or the other of 3,000 feet per second. Personal favorites have long included Hornady’s 154 and 162-grain bullets; Nosler’s 160-grain Partition; and Sierra’s 165-grain spitzer boattail. Faster yet—and probably most popular, since we American riflemen love velocity—is the 140-grain bullet. With the great modern bullets we have today, this is plenty of weight for deer-sized game and probably the flattest shooting over normal game ranges. Over the years I’ve had dozens of 7mm Remington Magnum rifles on the range. Accuracy tends to range from good to magnificent, and although there’s a bit of luck involved in this, I have never seen a 7mm Remington Magnum rifle that was a problem with accuracy. The gun isn’t my cup of tea for game the size of elk and larger, but there is truly nothing in North America that cannot be taken with a 7mm Remington Magnum and an appropriate bullet. Whether its popularity is fading or not, and whether I particularly adore it or not, it remains an awesome North American hunting cartridge, especially for our Western big game. n
There’s no secret that I prefer larger calibers for elk, so it wasn’t until 2011 that I took a wapiti with the 7mm Remington Magnum. Of course it worked just fine, as thousands of elk hunters have known since 1962.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 13
Custom: More Than A Rifle A big game rifle built to order comes with character, even when it’s not yours.
14 nnFair 14 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
Best-quality British double rifles, like this early Hollis in .450-400, are built to order, the stock fitted to the shooter, who chooses not just the bore, but barrel length and contour, engraving details.
By Wayne van Zwoll B&C Professional Member
Photos courtesy of Author
Wyoming gunmaker Nate Heineke built this .35 Whelen on a Springfield action and installed a lovely cocking-piece sight. Note clean detailing, color-case finish.
He looked too young for his age, with not a thread of
silver in that dark chestnut hair. He talked without visibly taking a breath, all the while deftly rasping walnut. He recalled people and times you’d encountered only in back issues of Outdoor Life. To a young shooter who measured all rifles against Jack O’Connor’s Featherweight .270, the basement shop of Alvin Biesen held more than custom rifles under construction. It was a link to the halcyon days of hunting, to giants of an industry with fading fortunes.
“I was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, during World War I,” Al told me then. “As a lad, I worked in a blacksmith shop, where I had to supply some of the coal. It cost $3.25 a ton, so I gleaned what I could from a Milwaukee roundhouse. I learned to shrink steel wheels on wood-spoked rims and once shoed a team of Clydesdales in 28 minutes. I haven’t lost a day’s work since 1936, when I had a WPA job that paid 50 cents an hour.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 15
“I hunted ducks in 1933 or 1934, the last year it was legal to use live decoys. We tethered mallard hens on water, then pinched a captive drake to get them all to talk. I married Genevieve in 1937. The next year I bought a DCM Springfield for five dollars, to hunt whitetail deer. Shortly after that I got one of the first Weaver Chokes and adapted the idea to rifles by counter-boring and porting a barrel. “About then I threw in with seven pals to buy 40 logged acres for deer hunting. Opportunity had a lot to do with limits. I once dropped five deer in a pile with a .35 Remington autoloader, a Model 81. The farmer wanted the meat. Another time I fired at five running deer with 180-grain Bronze Points from a .30-40 Krag and killed three. Mostly we shot for meat. Trophy hunting didn’t become popular until after the war. We had fun shooting. After a pheasant hunt in South Dakota, some friends and I photographed our 1934 Plymouth draped with 150 roosters. “During the war I decided to get into the ammunition business. So I ordered 20,000 8mm bullets from Vernon Speer, assuming I’d earn enough working for Autolite to pay for them before they arrived. They came right away. In those days people like Vernon gave you the slack you needed. I got 13 bushels of surplus .30-06 ammo and 300 pounds of 4895 powder and used the Autolite shop to handload the lot. “I moved to Spokane in 1948, just after O’Connor wrote his first article about me. I bought my house for $8,000, later sold it for $10,000, then bought it back for $6,000 and moved it to where it is now. I’ve raised four boys and two girls, and my boy Roger came back to work with me after a 15-year stint as a machinist. Not many gunmakers
can say they’ve supported their families entirely from the shop. “In the late ‘30s, shortly after he started writing, I asked Jack O’Connor about building a rifle for him. He shipped me a Titus barrel and a Springfield action. I made the stock. He didn’t fancy the rifle, so I made him a .30-06 on Mauser metal. He paid for that job. O’Connor’s writings gave me a leg up at just the right time. He made me the most famous gunmaker in the world! Jack introduced me to important men like Prince Abdorezza Pahlavi of Iran. The prince ordered two rifles from me because he couldn’t hit with his .375 Holland. After he left the throne he bought five more. Hunters like him have done wildlife lots of good. But hunting doesn’t captivate people as it once did. I’d pay to interest youngsters in shooting sports.” Al told me he’d donated $4,000 for range work at the Spokane Rifle Club. A competitive shooter as well as a hunter, Al served as a range officer at local small-bore matches. My eyes were better in those days, and my scores higher. “You shoot a 37 too?” he asked me once. Most riflemen at the top of the board used Anschutz 1413s, Winchester 52s. My Remington wore a McMillan that shot into one hole at 50 meters and occasionally brought me all the marbles. Later, Al would offer me his Model 37, a beautiful rifle he had stocked. With a young family and a mortgage, even a fair price for such a rifle seemed to me out of reach. In a fit of insanity, I told him I was a little short at the moment. But that wasn’t the only Biesen rifle that slipped away. At a gun show years ago, I spied a lovely Winchester 52 Sporter that had been restocked. It had clean, hauntingly familiar lines and that gunny feel you can’t quite explain. The inletting was exceptionally tight, the
BELOW: Buzz Fletcher built this svelte Mauser, barreling it to .256 Newton. Exotic chamberings and period styling are among the prerogatives you buy with a custom firearm.
RIGHT: GreyBull Precision stocks don’t offer the cosmetic elegance of finely crafted wood or svelte synthetics. But these rifles shoot accurately to extreme distance. Beauty is as beauty does. 16 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
checkering sharp and fine. Honey-hued, with black and orange accents, the wood appeared to be French. With $300 in my pocket, I was $275 shy of the tagged price. I wound my way through the crowd to find a savvy pal with more cash. “There’s a 52 you might want to see.” He followed me, and started stripping bills before he picked it up. “A Biesen,” he said. “A bargain.” Most of Al’s rifles were centerfires. He preferred Winchester 70 and Mauser 98 actions. Buyers could choose the barrel. They could also tell Al what they wanted by way of detailing. Al might or might not comply. He had his own notions about rifles. Among features that distinguished his rifles from those of other celebrated makers, the comb nose is perhaps most noticeable. Cheek-rests, grips and checkering patterns evolved over Al’s career. But the comb nose stayed much the same. I like it. The generation of talented stockmakers who practiced in the early post-war era is now all but gone. Retired from Outdoor Life in 1972, Jack O’Connor died of natural causes at sea in 1978. Roger Biesen carries on in his father’s shop. Tom Shelhammer and Monte Kennedy, Len Brownell and Alvin Linden— they’ve long since passed. Darwin Hensley no longer builds his beautiful single-shots. Jerry Fisher, in Biesen’s time a young and promising woodworker, still crafts top-quality rifles in the classic style he and his colleagues refined more than half a century ago.
“O’Connor’s writings gave me a leg up at just the right time. He made me the most famous gunmaker in the world! Jack introduced me to important men like Prince Abdorezza Pahlavi of Iran. The prince ordered two rifles from me because he couldn’t hit with his .375 Holland. After he left the throne he bought five more. Hunters like him have done wildlife lots of good.”
Careful shaping of the grip to fit the shooter’s hand finishes, properly, with the steel grip cap in place, for a joint you can’t feel. Handwork on custom rifles hikes the price.
022813
THERE IS NOTHING 1-4 x 24 NXS™ Compact 8.8 inches, 17 ounces
COMPACT
ABOUT NORTH AMERICA.
FORTUNATELY, THERE IS
ABOUT OUR RIFLESCOPES. Nightforce Compacts are available with capped hunting or exposed target-style adjustments. 2.5-10 x 32 NXS™ Compact 12 inches, 19 ounces
Our new Power Thow Lever allows instant magnification changes, even while wearing gloves.
Nightforce Optics, Inc. 336 Hazen Lane • Orofino, ID 83544 208.476.9814 NightforceOptics.com
Hunting is tough enough without being burdened with a massive scope having more size than substance. Originally developed for the U.S. military, Nightforce NXS™ Compacts are light in weight, short in length, and long on features… outperforming many riflescopes twice as large. They’re proof that size is no substitute for quality.
Our new IHR™ stands for International Hunting Reticle, with good reason. Illumination is standard.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 17
Custom, for you Rifles built to fit and please you, specifically, can help you shoot better. Mostly, they support surly artists who work wonders in walnut and steel. “Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun,” they mutter, a delicate curl of honey French fleeing a slender chisel tip. OK. Life is too short. For just about everything. You plunk down a deposit that in my youth would have snared you a new F-150.
Gary Goudy stocked this exquisite rifle, a Model 70 barreled to .35 G&H (the .375 H&H necked down). Goudy is one of the best checkerers alive, a master stockmaker.
Then you wait for five years. I did, for my last custom rifle. Or was it six? What makes the delay worthwhile is the result. Commercial manufacturers have proven woefully inept in crafting nimble, fetching firearms. Now, some of the pale-faced people bent over CAD images of nascent rifles must have an eye for line, and hands that delight in fine balance—perhaps a deep disdain for injectionmolded polymer. But when the order comes down for a deer gun to peddle at $499, dreams of thin-shelled walnut and rust-blued steel fly away. Enter D’A rcy Echols and Gene Simillion, Steve Heilmann and the team of David Miller and Curt Crum. These talented gunmakers not only fashion exquisite stocks but, like Al Biesen and Len Brownell in earlier days, do fine metal-work. In fact the field of top-flight craftsmen has never been richer. My rack holds a stunning rifle stocked by Gary Goudy, a wizard with walnut. Patrick Holehan fashioned another in clean, classic style, with both walnut and laminated stocks and his sleek, seamless “square bridge” blocks. Have a special project? These craftsmen, and other members of the American Custom Gun Guild, can do what you’d think impossible. Fancy wood and machining ups the ante, of course. Ditto engraving, and color case work from Doug Turnbull. If your budget only recently left Walmart’s gun counter behind, you can still chase a custom rifle. “Spec out” a hand-laid synthetic stock instead of hand-checkered walnut. Fit it to a well-designed barreled action that requires no machining. Install a new trigger instead of $200 scope rings or a quarter rib. You’ll have a useful rifle that performs well for you. Don’t overlook hungry young gun- and stockmakers. A few years ago I turned a ragged Savage 99 over to Glenrock, Wyoming, gunsmith Phil Filing. With his protege Doug Mosier (who now runs Filings’ bluing and metal-working shop), he made the steel like new. Wes Taylor, a block down the street, found two pieces of figured American walnut, fitting them with care and cutting attractive checkered panels. He shaped the stock like a pro. Shopping for craftsmen, avoid ‘smiths with piles of hunting rifles to fix or refinish. For a custom rifle, you want someone who builds appealing hardware from the ground up. Insist on flat metal surfaces, with no rounding of corners or screw holes. You’ll want filled pores in wood, seams you can’t feel. Look closely at past work before committing. Better to keep a rifle plain but well executed, than to add features under the same budget lid. Mediocrity is unbecoming a custom rifle. 18 nnFair 18 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
Among the lesser known stockmakers of that era was Iver Henriksen. I’d not heard of him until a Mauser he’d stocked turned up at a gun show. I bought it from a fellow who’d bought it from the estate of a doctor who’d not been able to sneak his guns past the pearly gates. That’s a useful thing to remember. Your rifle will probably outlast you, and you will one day be separated from it. Toting that .270 into the eastern Oregon hills, I managed to lay low a couple of mule deer bucks. Then I sought out the fellow who’d had, it seemed, several Henriksens on his show table. “Come visit and look at the rest,” he said, over the phone. Eventually I would own half a dozen. All would sift away in later trades— unconscionable stupidity! I shot my first bighorn ram with one, under a 6x Pecar scope. Another, with a 2 1/2x Lyman, killed my first elk. During that time, with interviews and help from unpublished notes, I pieced together the remarkable story of their first owner…. The campfire is a place of release. With or without help from Johnny Walker, captains of industry become like children. The outfitter and the guide, the horse wrangler and the cook lend a collective and sympathetic ear to powerful men brought properly low by immense country and challenges they cannot delegate. The camp jack hears what wives, business associates, and mistresses never will. But it is rare that a man of means removed from the field bares his soul on paper to the raw men whose resourcefulness draws him out on the hunt. “I’ll just bet that you think I’m one funny nut for writing you, but so many of your fine friends are my best friends…. You know, Bob Brownell, Thomas Shelhammer, Keith Stegall, Bill Sukalle, and Jack O’Connor are my very best friends….” So began the strange, and largely unilateral, correspondence
Stories of legendary sheep hunts and hunters, colorful photographs, features on historic trophy areas and conservation efforts, and a look at yesterday’s—and today’s— sheep hunters.
B
oone and Crockett Club is excited to offer the third installment of Robert Anderson’s Great Rams series of books. This new edition features brilliant full-color printing in a highquality binding that is sure to please collectors. With over 400 images— historical photos, B&C score charts, modern field photos from decades of sheep hunting—and ten captivating chapters about sheep hunting history and adventures, Great Rams III will keep readers enthralled every time they turn a page!
- Limited collector’s edition. - JUST 2,000 signed and numbered copies
ONCE T H EY’ RE GON E, NO MORE W I LL BE PRI NT ED!
- B&C ASSOCIATES PAY ONLY $100 + S&H - Regular price $125 + S&H - hard cover with dust jacket. 328 PAGES AND OVER 400 PHOTOS. - deluxe edition limited to 50 copies also available.
Visit www.boone-crockett.org or call 406/542-1888 TO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
An excited and relieved Tim Shinabarger with his 180-3/8 final official B&C bighorn, taken in Area 500 of Montana’s Beartooth Mountains on September 18, 2010.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 19
from a Wisconsin physician. Married but childless, he spent great sums on firearms— especially hunting rifles. He ended his January, 1948 letter to Alaskan big game outfitter Hosea Sarber this way: “I’m 43 years of age and for the past 15 years have worked like hell. The past year have averaged 105 patients daily plus 265 major surgical and 65 minor operations. Now I’d like to find a place where I could kinda ease off and where I could hunt big game and fish till my heart’s content.” He broached the idea of starting a surgical practice in Alaska, noting that he’d bring his wife, “my dog and my technician.” After that missive, the good doctor commonly signed his letters, somewhat cloyingly, “your pal and admirer.” In March he invited the Alaskan to his home: “Sarber, my office and my home will be as much yours as mine, and you can spend all the time you want with my guns….” Over the next two years the letters show an increasing attachment for the outfitter and for Alaska. He began planning a move and evidently sent Sarber several rifles. “Hosea, [I’m buying each of us a Remington 721] in .300 H&H Magnum too…. now that makes [two Remington 721s, in .270 and .300 H&H, plus two Winchester Model 70s, in .270 and .220 Swift]. These are all going to you as presents from me….” Less than a year later, in March, 1949, he sent this note: “Won’t be long before that 23-inch .375 Magnum is in your hands, Hosea….” And in July, 1950, he told Sarber to expect a Winchester Model 70 Target rifle in .220 Swift. The last of the letters I unearthed was dated May 14, 1951. A move was clearly imminent. “Dear Pal Hosea: …Thursday shipped 19 boxes of rifles via express and the Alaska Steamship Company. Twelve boxes are light, but seven [average] 300 pounds or more…. am closing out my practice as of June first…. [I’m coming to Alaska to] hunt brownies, take pictures of them and shoot eagles, seals and wolves and possibly a wolverine. I am not killing another big brownie unless he is a record…. I’ll shoot him with my camera and movie outfit.” Despite his affinity for rifles, the hunt and the company of a legendary bear guide, this fellow left Wisconsin with a battery of large-format cameras and costly lenses. I found no correspondence from Sarber. Perhaps he knew, after many seasons 20 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
of hosting hunters, that listening was his lot. Sometime after the doctor established a practice in Alaska, Hosea Sarber disappeared in the bush and was never heard from again. Around 1972, a heating technician called to the late doctor’s residence found the apartment quite cramped—due in part to its 37 dozen rifles, pistols and shotguns. He politely told the widow the hundreds of boxes of ammunition blocking the furnace would be more safely stored elsewhere. I couldn’t have had an 1898 Mauser stocked any more handsomely than Iver Henriksen stocked the .270 I carried above Spoon Creek on opening day of Oregon’s deer season. The other custom rifles that trickled through my hands from that collection were equally fine. But what sticks in memory is more than figured French and polished metal, slick actions, and tuned triggers. Sure, I recall the hunts, the shots. I can still see the animals I might have killed and those I might have let live. But vivid in my imagination is the Montana stockmaker I never met, expertly sculpting walnut before I could say my name. So too the Midwest physician pining for redemption, for another chance at life, to be someone he could never be, in a place he would find too late. They had their hands on my rifles too. As others do now. n
Wayne’s bull dropped to a .308 Model Seven from Remington’s Custom Shop. Semi-custom rifles like this, from manufacturers, deliver upscale working rifles at less-than-custom prices.
Custom:
More Than A Rifle Part of the joy of hunting hangs in your hand. Whether or not it outperforms a “factory” rifle ballistically or on target, a custom rifle can be more fun.
Boone and Crockett Club’s 28 th Big Game Awards Book
Alaskan Dreams By Charles a. Larsen Saratoga, Wyoming
A multitude of thoughts ran through my mind as the Frontier
As the 28th Awards Program approaches, we prepare to publish Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Book. While working on stories accompanying the invited trophies, we came across this great one submitted by Charles A. Larsen who tells of his 10-day Dall’s sheep hunt of a lifetime. Enjoy. - Justin Spring Assistant Director of Big Game Records
Find out more about the 28th Awards Big Game Awards Program
B&C
O
n li ne
22 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Airlines flight touched down in Fairbanks, Alaska, that late August day in 2011…all the years and dreams of this South Dakota farm kid, who, through hunting magazines purchased with hard-earned money, had carefully read and shared the adventures of other hunters. Now here I was, about to embark on a hunting story of my own. At age 58, I wondered if I had the physical and mental stamina to fulfill this dream—a 10-day Dall’s sheep hunt deep in the Brooks Range of Alaska? I said a silent thank you to my wife back home who’d encouraged me to go, and who’d adjusted our budget and helped pinch pennies so I could buy the needed gear and fulfill this hunt of a lifetime. I was accompanied on this hunt by my brother-in-law, John Anderson and two nephews, Brian and Bradley. All of us seasoned hunters and Wyoming outdoorsmen; each of us excited about this new adventure, and all completely in awe of the grandeur that is Alaska. Two days later, we stood beside our backpacks looking up a rock-filled drainage that led to a snow-covered pass. Our outfitter Joe Miller of Alaska Statewide Guides explained that the other side of that 4,500-foot pass was where we would spend the night, and that spot was still halfway to our base camp, located in a valley 10 miles from where we stood. At that moment I did a mental check-off of my gear: What the heck do I have in my pack that I don’t need? All concerns about age and physical readiness vanished; however, as I watched my brother-in-law John, who at age 65, weighs 120 pounds soaking wet, and is as tough as boot leather, shoulder his pack, grab his rifle and strike out for the pass. If he could do it, so could I—maybe. We topped out on the pass at 11:00 p.m. with my brother-in-law beating me to the top (did I mention he is 65?). This was to be a total backpack hunt into the Brooks Range and into a valley so remote and rugged that even the steely nerved Alaska bush pilots dared not attempt to land their planes there. From our base camp located along one of the many streams that feed into the Chandalar River, the plan would be to climb into and hunt the numerous mountain drainages that fed into the valley. It was three tired hunters that dropped their heavy packs at base camp mid-afternoon on the second day of our pack in. Base camp consisted of two-man tents for the hunters and one-man tents for the outfitter, guide and a packer. The camp was located on high ground overlooking a brush-filled stream bottom and an expanse of tundra that lay across the valley floor. Thirty minutes after our arrival in camp, Alaska’s never ending ability to offer up the unexpected vanquished anyone’s thoughts of being tired when my nephew Brian spotted a blond grizzly bear feeding on blueberries in the stream bottom below. Both Brian and Bradley held bear tags, and it was decided that Brian would join guide Chase Miller (Joe’s son) in an attempt to intersect the path of the feeding bear. The hunt was on, and those of us in camp had a ringside seat as it unfolded. The stalk required a river crossing and a cautious trek through thick brush, with a very nervous Brian thinking, That bear is in here somewhere! At 50 yards, the bear offered up a perfect shot, and the rest is history. Brian had a beautiful Alaskan trophy.
Sponsored by I am reminded that far beyond a trophy of a lifetime, I will always have the memory of this hunt. It will be added to other memories that will eventually unfold into stories to be told around the fire at future hunting camps.
The next day we split into two groups. Outfitter Joe Miller would guide my nephews Brian and Bradley down the valley to glass the many side drainages for sheep, and guide Chase Miller, (who at 21 years of age was guiding his very first Dall’s sheep hunt) would take John and me into a side canyon across the valley. We arrived at a suitable (suitable does not mean flat in the Brooks Range) location to set up our spike camp about 2:30 p.m. We rolled out our bivy sacks and sleeping bags and took a break until around 4:30 p.m. Keep in mind, this is Alaska—“Land of the Midnight Sun”—and at this time of year, it remains daylight except for a brief period between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m.—lots of time to hunt. We headed out to explore the west fork of this canyon, and an hour later we found ourselves climbing into a snow-covered bowl high at the canyon’s end. Taking a break, I lay down on a large flat rock to get a drink of snow melt that was on its way to the stream far below. Rising and turning to walk back to John and Chase, I spotted two rams just below the mountain peak directly behind and above us. A quick look through the binoculars told us these were definitely rams worth getting a closer look at, so we started climbing. The craggy summits of the Brooks Range are covered with rough,
jagged rock and loose talus. I had to smile when our young guide said, “Climb as fast as you can and don’t step on any loose rock.” Heck, it’s all loose rock! After climbing to a hidden vantage point directly across from the two rams, our guide reported that one ram was legal and the other was not. A brief argument ensued between two unselfish and veteran hunters: “He’s your sheep…No he’s your sheep.” With critical seconds ticking away, my brother-in-law settled it. “You spotted him first. He’s your sheep.” Climbing up to a small rise and resting my rifle over a rock, I settled the crosshairs on the upper ram standing broadside on a small ledge, ranged at 262 yards away. A gentle squeeze of the Ruger 300 WSM’s trigger sent the 180 grain Nosler Accubond on its way. Through the scope I saw the ram fold and before the sound of the shot faded from the mountaintop I heard the guide’s congratulatory, “Good shot!” Our excitement quickly turned to dismay, however, as we witnessed the ram shudder and roll off the ledge, falling 20 feet to the lose talus slope below. Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. It’s a sickening feeling watching your trophy of a lifetime tumble, roll, and slide down the mountain until it hangs up on a large rock hundreds of feet below.
Charles A. Larsen with his Dall’s sheep, scoring 172 points. He was hunting near Chandalar River, Alaska in 2011. His story will be published in Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Book.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 23
Chuck’s sheep was one of many that was scored by the Judges Panel in Reno, Nevada in April. Find about more about the volunteers and the trophies they scored in this issue’s Trophy Talk column, page 46.
28th Big Game Awards Sponsors
Climbing down, my brother-inlaw reached the sheep first (have I mentioned he is 65 years old?) and his first words were, “You’ve shot a monster of a sheep!” Close examination of the ram showed that, except for some minor scratches, his little trip down the mountain had resulted in minimal damage to the horns and cape. We all knew the ram was big, just how big wouldn’t be known until later. After photos, the real work began. We carefully removed the cape and all edible meat. With darkness quickly approaching, we helped each other shoulder our heavy packs and began the treacherous decent off the mountain to spike camp. My 58-year-old knees certainly felt the strain as I packed the awkward and swaying load of the head, horns and cape, arriving at spike camp at a now-dark 1:30 in the morning. It was a very tired, humble and thankful hunter who crawled into his bivy sack in the wee hours of that morning and drifted off to sleep as the sun began its assent on another great Alaskan day. Arriving back at base camp the next day, we learned that while we were hunting my ram the evening before, my nephew Bradley, guided by our outfitter Joe Miller, had stalked and successfully taken a great ram in the drainage directly west of where my ram was taken. 24 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Wow, a bear and two great Dall’s rams taken by the third day of a 10-day hunt! What are the odds of that happening? Maybe our luck had been too good, as John and Brian hunted hard during the remaining days of the hunt. They saw rams but, as anyone who hunts knows, sometimes the moon and the stars just don’t line up like you’d like them to, and they came away unsuccessful. Much too soon it was time to leave, and after a two-day pack out and drive back to Fairbanks, the Alaska Game and Fish Department determined that my craggy old ram, with teeth worn down to nothing, was 13 years old, and he had been nearing the end of his life. Back home in Wyoming I anxiously waited for the required pre-scoring drying period to end. Finally, word arrived from an excited Joe Miller. So how big was he? With a girth of 14 inches around each base, the right horn length measuring 40 5/8 inches and the left horn 41 7/8 inches, my ram had officially scored a whopping 172 points, qualifying him for consideration in the Boone and Crockett records book. As I write this, I am reminded that far beyond a trophy of a lifetime, I will always have the memory of this hunt. It will be added to other memories that will eventually unfold into stories to be told around the fire at future hunting camps. It will also be told to my grandchildren in the hope that in them a tiny spark of adventure will ignite, and they will grow to have adventures of their own. Just like that South Dakota farm kid, who so many years ago could be found with a .22 in one hand and a cottontail rabbit in the other, daydreaming his way home, thinking of a hunting story he had read and hoping that one day he, too, would hunt…Alaska. n
THE STORIES OF Boone and Crockett Club’s 28 th Big Game Awards Book THE newest records Book WILL feature over 90 true adventure hunting stories about the top-scoring big Game animals entered over the past three years. This map shows the locations where these trophies were harvested.
13 OR MORE STORIES Alaska Alberta
5 TO 8 STORIES
California Arizona Utah Montana
4 STORIES
Mexico Newfoundland Wyoming Northwest Territories
AVAILABLE IN OCTOBER 2013!
WE WILL START TAKING PRE-ORDERS IN JULY.
1 TO 2 STORIES
BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB’S 28TH BIG GAME AWARDS 2010 – 2012
n
Hardcover with dust jacket 7 x 9 inches n 592 pages n Nearly 300 Color and B&W Photos, 47 Maps BR28 | $49.95 n
Associates pay only $39.95
Alberta Nebraska Pennsylvania Quebec Wisconsin Yukon Territory Colorado
Manitoba Minnesota Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Oregon Texas Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 25
You’re invited! 28 th Awards Benefit Auction Conservation has a price. A fund-raising Auction will be held to raise money for the Boone and Crockett Club’s on-going mission-based programs including, youth education, research grants, university professorships, conservation policy, and land and hunting ethics programs.
New!
This year all of our live auction items will be available for bid online. Be a part of the auction action even if you aren’t able to attend the event. Go to: BigGameAwards.com
Click on Benefit Auction to view all the items and register to bid.
The 28th Awards Auction will feature representatives of some of the best hunts in the best lands across North America offered by guiding operations committed to the principles of fair chase. The auction will be held Saturday July 20th from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Auction items include: 7-Day British Columbia Spring Black Bear Hunt 2014
Framed Print “Rocky Mountain Chase” by Guy Coheleach
7-Day British Columbia Canada Moose Hunt 2014
4-Day Alberta Prairie Mule Deer Hunt 2014
6-Day Red Deer River Valley, Alberta Mule Deer Hunt 2014
7- Day Caborca, Sonora, Mexico Mule Deer Hunt 2014
8-Day British Columbia Plains Bison Hunt 2014
10-Day Mule Deer Hunt in Baja Sur, Mexico
John Bolliger Signature Series Presentation Rifle in .338 Winchester Magnum
Grade A Tanned Wolf Hide from British Columbia
Boone and Crockett Club-Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative 125th Anniversary Rifle, Winchester Model 1886 .45-90 Lever-Action by Turnbull Manufacturing 10-Day Yukon Mountain Caribou Hunt with Paul Deuling - World Record Holder and Sagamore Hill Award Recipient 2014 10-Day Chihuahua, Mexico Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunt 2013/2014 7-Day Sierra Madre, Chihuahua, Mexico Coues’ Whitetail Deer Hunt 2014 or 2015
26 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Deluxe Limited Edition Great Rams III #1/50 Buck Knife w/ Boone and Crockett logo and 125th Anniversary Boyt Jacket with 125th Logo Napa Wine Company 28th Awards 3 Liter Bottle of Wine Lock-N-Load AP Reloading Press Limited Edition Great Rams III #1/2000 British Columbia Mountain Goat Hunt
VX -3: EXTRAORDINARY OPTICS. UNMATCHED RUGGEDNESS AND DEPENDABILITY. ®
You would never subject your VX®-3 to the relentless pounding of an 80-pound jackhammer. But we did. A Leupold® riflescope will stand up to just about anything you can dish out and still be dead-on accurate. Shockproof. Waterproof. Fog proof. And now, jackhammer proof. To learn more about the legendary ruggedness of Leupold optics, visit your Leupold dealer or Leupold.com/rugged. 1-800-LEUPOLD » www.leupold.com » ©2013 Leupold & Stevens, Inc.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 27
The Boone and Crockett Club launched a series of classic hunting and adventure books digitally re-mastered as eBooks. Works from Theodore Roosevelt, William T. Hornaday, Charles Sheldon, Frederick C. Selous and others are being converted to high-quality versions for eReader and iPad users. Following is an excerpt from Wilderness of the Upper Yukon by Charles Sheldon. Join Sheldon in this wonderful book recording two years of field experiences while engaged in studying wild sheep of Yukon Territory from 1904 to 1905.
This book is a record of my field experiences while engaged in studying the color variations of the wild sheep of Yukon Territory. It is an attempt to give a detailed account strictly from the point of view of a hunter interested in natural history. I have tried to record my experiences when travelling by steamboat, canoe, with pack-horses, and on foot; my efforts to find game and the details of hunting it; and a faithful account of the actions of all animals observed. To this I have added descriptions of the country traversed, my impressions of the scenery, and notes on the weather; so that the book might present a picture of the wilderness of Yukon Territory. All of my actual hunting has been done alone, without guide or companion. For the purpose of keeping a record, each day’s experiences and observations were written in my journal before retiring to sleep. The exceptions to this practice were very rare. W. H. Osgood and Carl Rungius have both placed all their photographs at my disposal, and I must especially mention the interest of Mr. Rungius in making some illustrations for this book. No other artist has had the experiences that would make it possible for him to record so accurately the animal life of the Yukon region. An Excerpt from Chapter III
SEARCHING FOR RAMS – 1904 July 23.—The
horses had disappeared, and
Spahr
and
Gage
consumed a long
time looking for them, and finally found them not far away, standing perfectly still on a side hill.
On Mike we put my blanket, a narrow piece of mosquito netting, the frying-pan, teapot, and a few provisions. Spahr rode Shorty and Gage and I walked to the divide. Arriving on top, four sheep were seen just below the crest of the spur above the place where the bear had been killed. They were two miles off, and appeared like white specks on the mountain; but even at that distance they had seen us and were nervous, bunching immediately and moving about with uncertainty. The glasses showed that they were rams and I quickly planned a stalk. Going down into the ravine until out of their sight, I climbed to the foot of the cliffs, from where I could ascend the mountain on the west side near the peak and come out above 28 nn Fair 28 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2012
1. Point where ram was killed, July 19. 2. Point where ram was killed, July 23. 3. Point where bear was killed, July 16.
Fair Chase Summer 2012 2013 n 29
them. In the broken rocks at the foot of the cliffs were numerous marmots which kept continually whistling, and I was fearful that they might alarm the rams. The surface for two hundred yards, reaching to a point not far from the top, consisted of small, loose, broken rock, over which I had to proceed with the greatest caution, as the rams were very near on the other side of the crest. It was a very steep slope and unless I carefully chose my footing, the rock would slide and fall, making much noise. In such places moccasins are superior to all other footgear. I could carefully feel the surface with my big toe, and at the right spot wedge the toes in the uneven spaces in a manner not possible with stiff soles. Besides, the moccasins were noiseless on hard rock. The rock slide was crossed successfully to a grassy space up which I went more rapidly to the peak, paying no attention to the wind, which was blowing directly from me to the rams. Going slightly to the right and descending a little, I looked below, but did not see them. As I was cautiously retreating to look over the other side, the horns of the rams were suddenly seen on the sky-line just below the peak and not fifty feet away. At the same moment the sheep ran and I fired at one, which came in sight for an instant, but evidently shot over it. Running forward, I saw them rushing across the saddle, a ram of good size behind three smaller ones. Quickly seating myself and aiming at the larger ram as he was running, now two hundred yards away, I fired and he suddenly left the others, continued a few
Carl Rungius sketching the ram.
30 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
yards down the slope and dropped dead. The others had now crossed the saddle, ascended fifty yards more, and stood looking back for a few moments before they again ran and disappeared along the broken slopes. All this was within six hundred yards of the spot where I had killed the bear. The ram lay a hundred yards below, stretched out at the head of a snow-bank, down which I pulled him to the bare ground and drew out the entrails, while Gage and Spahr, who had witnessed the whole stalk, were coming up with the horses. We loaded the ram on Mike, and Spahr immediately started with him for camp. I was delighted to send a whole ram to Rungius, who Across from camp the mountains were could now study and sketch it in the flesh. particularly rough, July 15. He was a fine ram with seven rings; his horns were of the spreading type, twenty-five inches sleeping, for the mosquitoes were particularly from tip to tip. numerous here, perhaps worse than at any From this point Gage and I went to other point near the divide. timber-line at the lower end of the divide and But it was a beautiful spot, in an made camp, after which he returned to the undisturbed wilderness. The sun had gone main camp leaving me alone. A piece of down and the sky was aglow. The landscape mutton was soon cooked and with crackers in front was seen between the spruces. How and tea, made my supper. Two willow sticks many times in after years I have felt the were bent in the form of a bow and placed beauty of beholding mountains and far parallel, ten inches apart with the ends thrust in the W. H. Osgood and Carl Rungius ground, so that a small piece of mosquito netting could be hung on them to cover my head while
distant vistas through spruces whose graceful tops, like sharp pointed spires, lined the near horizon. Down through the deep descending valley, clothed with willows and evergreens, bordered on both sides by high mountains, I could see the broad meadow-lands and the dim mountain ranges beyond. At last, rolling under the blanket and arranging my head under the netting, I was quickly hummed to sleep by the disappointed mosquitoes. But the protection did not last long and all night I kept rearranging the netting unsuccessfully. …For several days I had tramped many miles and had climbed high mountains in search of rams, and was somewhat doubtful of finding other big rams before we must depart; hence, the next day, I decided to hunt the ranges east of Coal Creek, below the forks. n
TM
Varmint X™ is specifically designed for the long-range demands of predator and varmint hunters. The sleek, polymer-tipped bullets deliver explosive performance on everything from coyotes to prairie dogs. Winchester® Varmint X – combining the latest technology with proven lethality. Scan the tag or visit Winchester.com to learn more.
© 2013 Winchester Ammunition
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 31
JUSTIN E. SPRING | ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BIG GAME RECORDS
11-11-11 Kansas Buck By Randy A. Reeves Hunting has always been a major consideration in my life. My college sweetheart took her first whitetail almost 35 years ago at the beginning of our romance. We married a few years later and spent our honeymoon on a bear hunt in Montana. If I could hunt only one species, the choice would be an easy one: whitetail deer. Growing up in Texas, “Opening Day” meant whitetail deer hunting. The preparation and anticipation of deer hunting still excites me. Mom and Dad expressed several times they wished I had the same enthusiasm for school as I did for hunting.
My brother Wayne and I had bows and arrows as long as I can remember. Wayne was three years old when he shot me in the back of the leg with a field-tipped arrow. I was five. Without thinking, I shot back, intending to shoot close to his foot. He moved, and my arrow broke his toe. Trouble! He still has a crooked toe. We grew up shooting simple recurve bows or longbows that we played with year-round. I always appreciated the simplicity of a single string and lightweight bow. Building my own bows and arrows has increased the satisfaction I get from bowhunting. Full of optimism, Wayne and I were
on the road to Kansas in 2011. It was November 4th, and we each had archery licenses in our pockets. This would be our fifth season to hunt the same patch of woods. With the previous years’ experience, we were familiar with deer travel patterns, rub lines, and favorite scrape areas. Shooting lanes and approaches to stands had been taken care of in late summer. We had already made the trip to Kansas twice earlier in the season. November is the time of year we eagerly anticipate from the last day of the previous deer season. Early November is one of the best times of year to match skills with and take advantage of mistakes a mature buck might make during the rut. Mature deer that have survived coyotes, hunters, cars, dogs, poachers, and injuries every day of their lives for four or more years are going to be smart. Driving all night, we arrived just in time to unpack, change, and climb into stands before dawn. It felt good to climb into the thick cedar. After nocking an arrow and hanging up my bow, I nestled back against the cedar trunk. My fleece collar felt good in the early morning air. Hen turkey yelps on the ridge west of me followed by flapping wings landed the birds 60 yards in front of me. Other than a doe followed by her fawn and a few blue jays and cardinals, it had been a still morning. Thinking there might be a gobbler in the bunch, I slowly placed my bow across my lap. In front of me the turkeys fed, when suddenly they spooked as a pack of coyotes came trotting through the brush toward them. The flock took to wing, clucking noisily. Two of the birds flew directly overhead, wind rushing through their wings as they After years of whitetail hunting, all the practice and preparation paid off for Randy Reeves when he took this non-typical whitetail. He was archery hunting with a recurve bow in Linn County, Kansas, with his brother Wayne. The buck scores 220-2/8 points.
32 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
This column is dedicated to those trophies that catch our eye as they come across the records desk at Boone and Crockett Club’s headquarters. Some score high, some are downright entertaining, and many are just unique.
rose above the trees. The coyotes reminded me of a skirmish line as they continued toward me, strung out about 30 yards end to end, hunting in formation. As they neared, I lifted my bow. One of the dogs passed behind me. I focused on the second in line as he moved into range in front of me. Trotting left to right, the coyote never saw me. At 15 yards, my arrow struck him low in the chest, behind the shoulder. He yelped, changed gears, and took off. I could hear him growl and fight the arrow in the brush behind me, then all was quiet. After recovering my arrow, I pulled the used SD card from the trail camera behind the cedar, put in a new one and headed to camp. On the way back I noticed an area where the ground was tore up. Lying in the middle was about a 4-inch piece of antler. I picked it up and shoved it in my pack. Checking the card, we saw several interesting bucks. Windy, warm weather was forecast. Back at the cedar that evening, a 5x4, a 3-point, then right at dark, a heavy 8-point that might be a shooter later in the season came by. All the bucks that evening stopped to rub their antlers on a tall, slender Osage tree as they passed by. Two cedar trees blocked my view of the deer as they rubbed the tree. All I could see from my stand was the top of the tree, about 10 feet tall, whipping around, then the buck would appear. This whipping action took place all week long. Several times the tree moving was the first indication that a deer was near. By Monday evening the only mature buck I had seen was the heavy, dark-horned 8-point, not the type of deer I would tag this early in the hunt. Where were the deer we had seen late last year and in 2009? We had several mature bucks on trail cams in January. We knew these deer survived hunting season but where were they now? Wayne and I hunted several stands since Saturday morning. The weather had been unsettled, warm and windy. About 7:30 it began to rain. Thunderstorms rumbled after midnight and rain blew hard against the windows; I dug deeper in my sleeping bag.
Three inches of rain fell Tuesday overnight, washing the woods. We hoped the change in weather would get bucks moving to freshen up scrapes. New scrapes and rubs were appearing daily from overnight activity. Wayne had seen two nice bucks that needed another year. Leaves burnt yellow from earlier frosts were falling quickly in the strong wind. The windy, warm temperatures were far from ideal for bowhunting rutting whitetails. Yellow leaves from bois d’arc and hackberry trees littered the forest floor near my stand. Bright yellow/gold colors were a marked contrast against dark green grasses. The rain continued into the morning, not as hard while on the stand, but too hard to enjoy hunting. It was in the 50s, with dark skies and high winds. Two small bucks passed under the cedar to the whipping tree, then I saw a bigger deer at a distance. A group of Canada geese honked as they passed overhead. Most of my time on stand was spent watching birds and squirrels. About 3:00 p.m., Wayne saw a mature 6x5 as the buck made a scrape within bow range. The buck was scarred on both sides and along his back. Wayne passed up the buck, wondering who he had been fighting with. The ladder stand I chose was on an old fence line at the corner of a cedar bottom and CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) field. Just north of the stand is farmland the deer feed in during evenings. The ladder was tied to a tall hackberry, which swayed like a rope in the gusty southwest wind. I wasn’t comfortable. By 3:30 p.m. I was thinking about changing stands to get out of the wind. Taking a last glance around before moving, the flick of an ear 15 yards away caught my eye. Several does followed by a spike, a small 3x3 and a heavy 5x4 in single file were headed my way. A little after 4:00 p.m., the weather changed drastically. The wind switched directions and blew from the north. The
temperature began to change immediately. The deer fed and milled around near me until dusk. As light faded, the deer crossed the CRP field heading toward a wheat field. As I snuck down the ladder, coyotes howled at the full moon. Late Wednesday a strong front was blowing in and a north wind dropped temperatures with each gust. The weather change we had hoped for gave us renewed enthusiasm. Thursday morning was bright and clear, with moonlight casting my shadow as I walked to the cedar stand. Heavy frost crunched under foot, noting a big change in weather from only 48 hours ago. Climbing into the stand, the morning transitioned from moonlight to dawn. Deer filtered through early; too dark to count points, but grunting sounds let me know bucks were in the area. At 9 a.m., a nice 4x4 in the 140-inch range came by. I took some quick video and watched as he fed off. I don’t think he was over 4½ years old. We had photos of this buck on our trail cam but hadn’t seen him in person until this morning. The fact that one or two different bucks showed up daily is one of the reasons I kept coming back to this area. Friday morning made it a full week of hard hunting. It was the coldest morning yet; no noticeable wind, clear, and the moon was going down. Before I could nestle into my stand, a deer moved by in the moonlight. I quietly nocked an arrow and hung up my Greywolf recurve. By 9:00 a.m. I had seen several immature deer. Since this was our last day to hunt, Wayne and I agreed that as long as we were seeing movement, we would stay out. A little after 9:00 a.m., a mature big-bodied deer moved to my left. His white antlers stood out against the dark surroundings. He looked like a 5x5. A doe and yearling were feeding to my left, and he seemed interested. After several minutes of staring to the southeast Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 33
Randy and his brother Wayne hauling out his buck. After 41 years of harvesting whitetail it was good to be together to share this moment.
past the doe, he turned and headed back the way he came. Deer were moving, but it was frustrating not to see any better deer during the week. I glanced at my watch—almost 9:30 a.m.; deer were still moving, so I sat tight. A doe was feeding off to my left. I decided to stay another hour or so. Two small bucks moved down a trail toward me. A fawn joined the doe and they fed within 20 yards. Movement toward the whipping sapling caught my eye. Long white tines moved through the jungle of Osage, then suddenly stopped. I raised my binoculars, glancing at the doe still feeding head down, fawn at her side. Through the binoculars, the first thing I could see was one long white tine, then another. When he moved his head, I knew he was huge—no doubt about this one being a shooter. Until he turned, I thought it might be the 5x5 I had seen earlier. I was completely surprised by his size. The buck started to walk. With mass and lots of points, he moved my way. Like most other bucks coming from that direction, he passed behind the cedar to the whipping tree. I took that opportunity to pick up my video camera. Camera up, I waited, watching the sapling. The buck appeared from behind the cedar. Recording light on, I had him, preserved and captured so everyone could see him. Head down, he came under a low-hanging Osage limb. I looked over the camera as he raised his head. There were points everywhere; a double row of points off each beam. I made no effort to count points. Glancing above the camera again, I realized he was coming fast and my bow was still hanging up! 34 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
The buck was about 25 yards and closing, quartering to me from my right. Thank goodness for good back cover in the cedar. The buck was at 22 yards, coming almost directly to me. I turned slightly to give myself a better shooting position. The buck turned quartering to me, looking at the doe 10 yards from him. The crown of antlers was huge. I didn’t look at the antlers again. I was calm, not believing this opportunity was happening. At 21 yards quartering to me, I had to wait. There was simply too much that could go wrong with that angle. The doe moved away to my left, a step or two, just enough to get the buck’s attention. Turning slightly, he was broadside but his left leg was covering his heart. Fingers tight on the string, I waited. When the doe moved, he turned, moving his left leg forward. As his leg came forward, I drew, anchored, focused on his mid-body straight up his offside leg and released. The green nock flew straight to the spot I concentrated on! My yellow fletching planted tight behind his shoulder, halfway up his body in the crease! He lunged and spun. The arrow shaft snapped as he ducked to dive around an Osage and a cedar. He was gone. I listened, trying to pick up any sound. Nothing. It was 9:32 a.m.. Hanging up my recurve, I was in disbelief at what just happened. Leaning back against the tree, I sat tight for an hour. I wanted to do everything right to ensure finding the deer. I slipped out of the stand, quickly checking for sign. Finding none, I headed to camp to tell Wayne. Wayne was in the kitchen frying bacon. “Why so late?” he wondered aloud. “What did you see? Anything good?” “Yes!” “Did you get a shot?” Looking at him, I smiled, saying, “Yes, I hit a big buck.” “How big?” “Huge!” “How big is huge?” Pausing with certainty, I answered, “I don’t want to guess, but over 200 inches.” Wayne looked up and smiled. After he heard the story, we discussed what to do. We decided to have breakfast, since he had already started cooking. Later, Wayne found the fletched end of the arrow a few yards down the trail. Two steps further was the Zwickey Eskimo 4 blade
and 10 inches of the shaft. About 10 more inches of the shaft was missing. Complete penetration of both sides, mid-chest in the crease behind the shoulder, I was feeling confident but anxious. We weren’t finding much blood. After 10 minutes we found a speck of blood, giving us confidence in direction. After crossing an old barbed-wire fence, we lost his trail. Getting worried and frustrated, we decided to search in small loops. Wayne went north and I went south. After the first loop, I hung a small piece of survey tape for reference. About 60 yards into the second arc, kneeling to see under cedar limbs, as I leaned to look around an ancient Osage trunk, there he lay. A wave of emotion came over me. In disbelief, I looked in awe at the mass, tine lengths, and points. He was huge. Touching the antlers, the moment was surreal. Calling softly for Wayne, there was no answer. Heading his way, whistling quietly, he answered. It was good to be together to share this moment. This was my 41st year of harvesting whitetails. All the hunts, practice, stands, and conversations about the “big one” were only dreams until today. I called my family and a couple of close friends to share the excitement. The closer we looked at the rack, the more we noticed the uniqueness of the magnificent antlers. There are 21 points, dark color, mass, the longest beam is 26-4/8 inches, long brow tines, a double row of tines off the heavy beams, three points erupt around a hole in the end of the left beam. The rack is very symmetrical for a non-typical. Live weight was 265 pounds. The buck ranks in the All-time top 10 with a recurve bow or longbow. After helping me hang the buck, Wayne headed to his stand for the last hunt of the week. And after weighing and cleaning the buck, I decided to sit in the cedar the last afternoon and just appreciate the sunset. Reflecting on the day, I thought about friends and hunting partners who would be excited to hear my story. Thinking also of hunting friends departed, it was easy to imagine their smiles and feel their support. By the way, the antler piece found earlier in the week belonged to him. The broken point matched up with his right beam tip perfectly. Next year I would like to meet the deer he was battling when the tip broke off! n
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 35
Generation Next: Youth Essay Drawing The votes are in!
Boone and Crockett Club is pleased to announce the winners of our first-ever youth essay contest. The winners will be recognized at the Generation Next dinner during the Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Program on July 19th in Reno, Nevada. As a way to celebrate young hunters who have embraced the outdoor way of life and embody the spirit of fair chase hunting, the Club’s Fair Chase magazine has featured select essays in this special section as we lead up to the Club’s 28th Awards Program. Our editors selected the top three stories to receive the prizes shown below. Judging was based on criteria such as involvement of youth hunter and mentor, storytelling ability, ethics demonstrated in the field, and understanding of our hunting heritage. Contributors of the remaining stories were drawn for CZ 455 Lux Varmint Rifles (.22 LR). E Due to the logistics and fees of transferring firearms into Canada, youth winners from Canada will receive a gift card for the retail value of the rifle.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER – Marcus Deuling
Dall’s sheep featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Fair Chase Mr. Deuling will receive a Minox ZA 5 2-10x40 scope along with a gift cardE for the value of the Remington Model 700 CDL in .30-06 rifle.
SECOND PRIZE – Savanna Koebisch
Bighorn sheep featured in this issue of Fair Chase Ms. Koebisch will receive a Minox ZA 5 2-10x40 scope along with a gift cardE for the value of the CZ 455 Lux .22 rifle.
THIRD PRIZE – Kylie Sondermann
Mule deer featured in the Spring 2012 issue of Fair Chase Ms. Sondermann will receive a CZ 455 Lux .22 Rifle laser engraved with the Boone and Crockett Club logo topped with a Minox ZA 5 2-10x40 scope. 36 nn Fair 36 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
Youth Essay Drawing Winners
The youth authors of the stories not selected for the other prizes were eligible to win a CZ 455 Lux Varmint .22 rifleE. Below is the list of the lucky winners who were drawn. They will also be recognized at the Generation Next Dinner held on July 19th at the 28th Big Game Awards Program in Reno.
Now Accepting
Youth Essays
Rifles and Gift Cards Donated By: Kyle Krause n Victor Clark n Margie Clark n Wilson Stout n Richard Hale n Timothy Humes n David Rippeto n Buck Buckner n Jack Parker (gift cards)
from the 29th Awards Program!
n
Boone and Crockett Club’s Winner – Jeffrey D. Grissom T ypical whitetail deer
Generation Next Youth Essay Drawing STEP ONE:
Enter your trophy in the Boone and Crockett Club’s Big Game Records Program then write your hunting story. We’d prefer a Word document, but we can accept typed or handwritten stories as well. Winner – Nick L. Wilson
Winner – Ashley L. Doss
Winner – L. Craig Fox
Non -typical whitetail deer
C OUGAR
Non -typical mule deer
STEP TWO:
Submit your story and photos online by going to the link below. You’ll have to set up a new account to get started: http://tinyurl.com/ youthessaycontest You can also mail a hard copy of your story and photos to: Boone and Crockett Club ATTN: Youth Essay Drawing 250 Station Drive Missoula, MT 59801
Winner – Benjamin M. Kalcic T ypical whitetail deer
Winner – Maggie C. Evertsen C ougar
Winner – Morgan V. Reed T ypical whitetail deer
STEP THREE:
That’s it! Once we receive your story you will automatically be entered in the contest and drawing.
DEADLINE:
The deadline for us to receive stories is March 31, 2016. But don’t delay. The sooner we receive the story, the better your odds are of having it published in Fair Chase magazine! Winner – Brandon Babin RO CK Y MOUNTAIN G OAT
Winner – Mitchell T. Krause
Winner – Christopher C. McMellon
NON -T Y PICAL WHIT E TAIL DEER
Black bear
E Due to the logistics and fees of transferring firearms into Canada, youth winners from Canada will receive a gift card for the retail value of the rifle.
THE FINE PRINT: ELIGIBILIT Y & DETAILS
Contest is open to all youth hunters (16 years old or younger when they harvested their animal) who have a trophy accepted in the Club’s 29th Awards Program (2013-2015). Simply submit your story on-line at http://tinyurl. com/youthessaycontest along with your photos, or mail your submission to: Boone and Crockett Club, ATTN: Youth Essay Contest, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801. Deadline to submit stories and photos is March 31, 2016. Once we receive your story and photo you will be automatically entered into the essay contest and be eligible for one of the top three prizes. Authors of the stories that don’t receive one of the prizes are eligible for the drawing. By submitting your hunting story, you also grant the Boone and Crockett Club the right to edit and publish your materials, in Fair Chase magazine, future print publications, and on other digital platforms. Visit the Club’s web site at www.boone-crockett.org for complete details.
QUESTIONS:
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We can be reached by calling 406/542-1888 Monday through Friday, or email jt@boonecrockett.org with your questions. NOTE: The 29th Awards Youth Essay drawing is only open to youth hunters who have a trophy accepted in the Club’s Records Program. Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 37
Generation Next: Essays
SECOND P RI Z E WINNER!
Submitted by: Savanna Koebisch Age: 16 Trophy Type: Bighorn Sheep Location: Ribbon Creek, Alberta
A Lifetime of Sheep
How much was I willing to sacrifice for my trophy? Although pursuing bighorn sheep can precipitate physical hardships and mental anguish, I fully embraced the difficulty of alpine adventure. The search for and recovery of my ram concluded at midnight after a two-and-a-half day, 40-mile trek which brought me to the limits of my physical abilities. Backpacks loaded with sheep quarters and massive horns, the season was ending the next day, and my tag was finally filled after three years of hunting rams. Since both my mother and father are avid hunters, you might say that I had it in my blood. Sharing his nearly four decades of sheep hunting experience, my dad Peter mentored me in the ways of the mountains and sheep. My education included
Savanna Koebisch, hunting with her role model, her father, took this bighorn sheep near Ribbon Creek, Alberta. This ram scores 180 points.
38 nn Fair 38 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
listening to tall tales at conventions and reading the classic, O’Connor’s Sheep and Sheep Hunting. Now, with Alberta license and tags in hand, the Rocky Mountains became my school and playground. From sheep behavior to ballistics and gun safety, my skills grew with the entertaining curriculum. During three seasons my hiking ability progressed, my camping skills strengthened, and my fear of heights diminished. When terrain and/or weather became onerous, I learned about mental toughness. Often humbled by the serenity and majesty of the mountains and their sheep, I matured to appreciate the chase and not just the trophy. Knowing this, I didn’t regret passing up two smaller, yet legal, rams in previous years. Dad also taught me sheep hunting etiquette, which includes respect for our quarry as well as fellow hunters. In retrospect, my apprenticeship had prepared me well enough for the events that were to follow. Our initial optimism in locating this ram was swept away as quickly as the spindrift snow on the stone-clad vantage point we were approaching. We were now standing in the sheep bed where Dad had spotted a lone old ram two evenings before, a Thursday. He had never seen a bigger one. Hiking out in the dark, and arriving home at midnight, he was enthusiastic about returning with me the next day to harvest him. Surprisingly, Mom let me skip Friday afternoon classes in order to hike the many miles back to establish a strategic spike camp. We had just finished setting up the tiny two-man tent when darkness engulfed us. Sipping hot tea and sitting in front of a crackling campfire, I remembered why I enjoyed sheep hunting so much. The silence was comforting and familiar. Now, late the next morning, the ram was nowhere to be found. Despite the temperature registering in the mid-teens, I was
sweating. Short legs and deep snow drifts might have contributed to that. There were sheep trails crisscrossing the scree slopes everywhere, but where was my ram? Suddenly, Dad spotted him behind us with his naked eye. “Whoa, he’s a monster,” I whispered to Dad, who was just as thrilled as I was. Taking turns keeping him under surveillance, we formalized our final approach. He was feeding only a half a mile away. In order to avoid detection, we swiftly descended into the tree line. Although I’d been taught to use the tried and proven approach from above, a cliff band made this impossible. Hence, Plan B. Stalking through the unfortunately crunchy snow, we used landmarks to close the distance. Find him we did, though already alerted and suspicious due to swirling winds. We froze in position until he returned to feeding, obliquely above us. Under time-pressure, I quickly scooted into a sitting shooting position, and brought my Remington Model 7 into a familiar position. We ranged the ram at an easy 110 yards, but only one difficult shot possibility existed. My 7mm-08 would have to thread its 139-grain GMX bullet through three distinct plate-sized windows in three separate tree lines. As fate would allow, my ram stopped feeding directly in line with these windows. He stood, quartering slightly towards me. This was an angle I was comfortable with—one that had worked well for me on a warthog hunt previously. My shot felt good, and the ram, unflinching, bounded out of sight. After hugging with joy, we realized the hunt was not over yet. Making our way up to where he had been standing, there was no blood to be found, only tracks remained. Fifty yards further, the ram had expired cleanly. Dad called me toward my first bighorn ram and congratulated me on a fine trophy. There was
no ground shrinkage. Cloaked in a chocolate cape, his dark body contrasted the caramel colored, broomed, full-curl horns he carried. Both breaking down in joyous tears, Dad and I reminisced on the events that had brought us to this perfect conclusion. As usual, hundreds of pictures were snapped to preserve and pay tribute to the ram’s memory. In true celebration style, the Peak 1 stove was prepped, and tea was prepared. Life-sized caping on the unstable mountainside took longer than expected. It was nighttime when our packs were loaded, and it began to snow. With Dad ahead, I had barely taken a few steps when the slippery scree shot out from under me. The weight of two rifles, our optics, and the rest of our gear catapulting me forward, I accelerated down the slope at breakneck speed. Somersaulting backwards for over two-hundred yards, I miraculously slid to a halt mere feet away from the tree line. A gash was bleeding on my forehead, but the rest of my limbs were intact. That event ended the best and scariest day of my entire life! We cached the ram, and recovery took place the next day. Now that I had the ram of a lifetime at the age of sixteen, was I going to stop hunting these amazing animals? Not a chance! August 2012 brought another sheep opener, another self-guided backpack hunt, and this time I was the guide. As luck would have it, three unsuspecting rams charged past us at thirty yards and Dad took his fifth bighorn. The quality time sheep hunting allows me to spend with my role model, my dad, will always be appreciated. I write this essay exactly a year to the date on which my bighorn was officially measured. For Christmas, I got a Boone and Crockett ring with a score of 180 inscribed on its side. Can it get any better? n
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 39
Great Rams III:
Chronicles of sheep hunting and legendary sheep hunters By Robert M. Anderson
LIMITED press run. Just 2,000 copies printed. All signed by the author. n
Hardcover with dust jacket 11 x 10.25 inches n 328 pages n Over 400 Color and B&W Photos n
BPGR3 | $125 Associates | $100 please call for discount
Upcoming BOOKS for fall 2013
90% Jacket
The 90% is a mid-weight jacket built to work with you while powering up hills. Designed for the active hunter, the 90% Jacket is built of a durable, and breathable, 2-way stretch, DWR treated soft shell material. Available Optifade or Charcoal – M-XXL Optifade: JKS90 | $249.95 Charcoal: JKS90c | $229.95
A MULE DEER RETROSPECTIVE
vintage photos and memorabilia from the boone and crockett club archives n
Hardcover with dust jacket n 8 x 10 inches n 304 pages n Over 300 Color and B&W Photos BPMDR | $34.95 Associates | $27.95
AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER 2013! WE WILL START TAKING PRE-ORDERS IN AUGUST 2013.
BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB’S 28TH BIG GAME AWARDS 2010 – 2012 n
Hardcover with dust jacket 7 x 9 inches n 592 pages n Nearly 300 Color and B&W Photos, 47 Maps BR28 | $49.95 Associates | $39.95 n
AVAILABLE IN OCTOBER 2013!
WE WILL START TAKING PRE-ORDERS IN JULY 2013.
Stratus Jacket
The Stratus Jacket is your go-to, mid-weight jacket, built with WINDSTOPPER fabric, for quiet, close encounters. Featuring a new concealment pattern, Forest, developed by GORE. Available L-XXL JKSST | $249.95
Call 888/840-4868 to order, or fax the enclosed order form to 406/542-0784. All Sitka Jackets and Vests are available only to current B&C Associates, B&C Members, and B&C Official Measurers. Each item has been customized with a B&C label and includes free monogramming by request. * Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery on monogrammed items.
40 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Celebrating the Boone and Crockett Club’s 125th Anniversary If you know someone that believes that ethical, fair chase hunting and visionary conservation leadership will protect our hunting heritage and our wildlife, then sign them up to join Boone and Crockett and be a part of hunting and wildlife conservation history.
Give a year-long gift to your friends and family BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB’S ASSOCIATES PROGRAM! They will enjoy all the B&C Associate benefits you do: n n
Four issues of Fair Chase Magazine On-line Community: The On-Line Community is a secure section of the Club’s web site where you’ll find searchable field photos, archive of Fair Chase articles, plus an individual scoring database.
n
Discounts And Other Benefits: Associates receive a 20% discount on the Club’s select books and merchandise. You will also receive a wallet i.d. card and Boone and Crockett Club window decal.
Fair Chase is available online for your friends and family on the go. Check out our new Web Edition Associates Program subscription for just $25 a year. You get all of the benefits of being a B&C Associate, but instead of receiving your magazine in the mail, you view your issues on your computer. Current Associates and Official Measurers of the Boone and Crockett Club can view each issue of Fair Chase magazine by signing into the Club’s web site and going to the Associates Community to begin viewing available issues.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 41
28th Awards Program Youth Hunters
Proud Sponsors of the 28th Big Game Awards Generation Next Youth Program
Accepted trophies from February 19, 2013, through May 14, 2013 Hunter Braden W. Burkhart
Category black bear
Location of Kill Langlade Co., WI
Date 2010
Final Score 21 13/16
McKenzie R. Brittain
non-typical whitetail deer
Cowley Co., KS
2011
205 4/8
Sabrina L. Nisly
non-typical whitetail deer
Reno Co., KS
2012
186
Nathan W. Schrock
typical whitetail deer
Adams Co., OH
2011
169 6/8
Cole S. Davis
typical Columbia blacktail
Humboldt Co., CA
2012
126 4/8
NOTE: Trophies listed in orange include field photos.
Sabrina L. Nisly Cole S. Davis
42 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Nathan W. Schrock
The revolution in rangefinding is here.
NEW!
The Geovid HD-B.
It's more than just the next generation of the pioneering Leica Geovid laser rangefinding binocular. The revolutionary Geovid HD-B establishes an entirely new benchmark for on-board ballistics information, including the ability to program and save customized ballistics data for individual firearm and ammo combinations. Plus the Geovid HD-B delivers a longer rangefinding capability and the optical performance that made Geovid legendary. ___ 12 pre-programmed ballistics curves ___ microSD card slot for personalized ballistics data ___ accurate rangefinding to 2,000 yards ___ all-new Perger Porro optics system
Leica Camera, Inc. / 1 Pearl Court, Unit A
Discover more at www.leica-sportoptics.com
Allendale, NJ 07401
Join the conversation on Facebook at /LeicaHunting
Best of 2013 The Boone and Crockett Club has a tradition of honoring trophies and the fair chase hunts that produce them, including photographs from the field. In keeping with this tradition, the Club, and Swarovski Optik want to celebrate some of the best examples of
Sponsored by
field photography, and share them with you in each issue of Fair Chase. For the fifth year, our editors will be sifting through hundreds of field photos looking for exemplary trophy field photography.
The most outstanding examples will be featured in the Spring 2014 issue with the top three being awarded prizes provided by Swarovski Optik. NOTE: All field photographs from accepted trophies entered in 2013 are eligible
D av id E . M C a n a d a M o r r is o o se 18 8 -1/8 E ss e x C o ., O c to b e r 2 V T 004
M ic h a e l A . G or do D a ll’s S h e e p | 1 n , J r. 6 4 -6/8 C hu g a c h M ts ., AK Au g u s t 2 012
Craig D. Mitton Black Bear | 21-3/16 El Capitan Peak, AK June 2012
Winners Receive First Prize - STM 65 HD Second Prize - EL 10x42 WB Third Prize - Z3 3-9x36 44 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
TROPHY TALK 28th Big Game Awards Program Judges Panel Justin and I just returned from Reno where we participated in the 28th Awards Program Judges Panel activities. It was my Jack Reneau first time serving as a Director judge, though I have Big Game Records been a panel assistant on 11 previous panels, beginning with the 16th Awards Program in Denver, Colorado, in 1977. It was Justin’s second time serving as a Panel Assistant. I can’t speak for Justin, but I know he agrees with me when I say it was an honor and pleasure to participate with the panel. The 28th Awards Judges Panel was comprised of 15 Official Measurers with a wide variety of experience from Alaska to Mexico. The panel was made up of a chairman, ten judges, and four consultants. The highly qualified panel members included three from Canada and one from Mexico. There were also four Panel Assistants and a number of volunteers whose efforts contributed greatly to the smooth operation of the panel.
A Judges Panel is convened every three years at the close of an Awards Program (28th Awards – 2010-2013) for two reasons. The first is to verify the final scores of the top-five trophies entered in each category during the previous three years. The second is to certify these top-scoring trophies for coveted B&C medallions and certificates. When it was all said and done, the Judges Panel verified the scores of 96 of the finest big game animals ever taken and certified them for presentation of the B&C medallions and certificates. Both Justin and I were truly in awe with the quality of trophies represented in each category. They are not your “run-of-themill” outstanding Boone and Crockett trophies; they are among the best-of-the-best ever taken and recorded by B&C. At 23-9/16 points, Robert T. Christian’s black bear is the largest, hunter-taken black bear ever recorded. Christian took this massive bruin, weighing 710 pounds, while still-hunting in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, during the 2012 hunting season. Just imagine for a second that it is the largest black bear ever taken by a modern-day hunter and recorded by B&C in 81 years of recording
skull measurements. It won’t surprise me if someday Pennsylvania produces the next World’s Record where 600 to 800 pound bruins are taken every year. The score of Robert J. Condon’s massive Alaska-Yukon moose was verified at 250-6/8 points, placing it in the top All-time 10 at 6th place. Condon was hunting by himself near Soldotna, Alaska, in 2012 when he connected with this massive bull that has 14 and 13 points on the right and left antlers respectively. The Judges certified the scores of two woodland caribou taken by Shawn Andres and Peter Kraenzlin in Newfoundland in 2012 and 2011, respectively, that tie for 8th place in the All-time records book. Troy Sheldon’s new World’s Record Rocky Mountain goat (57-4/8 points) will be the highlight of the 28th Awards Program trophy display at the Reno Ballroom, but the Judges did not need to verify and certify its final score. This had already been done by a Special Judges Panel that convened in 2012. And, the list goes on, but there isn’t space here to list all the incredibly outstanding trophies the judges scored in Reno. Except, that I just have to mention that five
28th Awards Program Judges Panel and Assistants: Standing: Bill Sousa, Sun Valley, NV; Glenn E. Hisey, Chatfield, MN; Albert C. England, Lloydminster, AB; L. Victor Clark, Verdi, NV; Justin Spring, Missoula, MT; Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner, Baker City, OR; Vince Crichton, Winnipeg, MB; Richard T. Hale, Ottawa, KS; Heath L. Dreger, Yorkton, SK; Patrick H. McKenzie, Regina, SK; Frederick J. King, Gallatin Gateway, MT; Ricky L. Krueger, Fremont, NE; Chris Lacey, Sparks, NV; Kneeling: Craig A. Cook, Anchorage, AK; Carl E. Brent, Wasilla, AK; Steven C. Ashley, Glenwood City, WI; Eduardo Barrett, Tijuana, MX; Stanley G. Zirbel, Greenleaf, WI; Gilbert Hernandez, Elko, NV; Jack Reneau, Missoula, MT.
46 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
BOOK REVIEW Muzzleloading Big Game Record Book, 6th Edition
A Judges Panel is convened every three years at the close of an Awards Program for two reasons. The first is to verify the final scores of the topfive trophies entered in each category during the previous three years. The second is to certify these top-scoring trophies for coveted B&C medallions and certificates. RIGHT: Jack Reneau and Buck Buckner scoring a typical Columbia blacktail.
bighorn sheep in Reno score from 200-1/8 points to 203-6/8 points. While the final scores of most of the invited trophies either went up or remained the same, a few unfortunately did go down. Examples of some of the trophies that went up include a woodland caribou whose score increased by 5-4/8 points. The judges discovered that the lengths of the longest and second longest top palm points on only the right antler had been reversed on the entry score chart. Once they were corrected, the final score of this trophy went up to 369 points. The score of one of the most complicated non-typical whitetails I’ve ever seen scored went up 3-1/8 points over the entry score and was certified as final at 256-4/8 points. It was extremely complicated and took the expertise of several well experienced judges to agree on the final score. I don’t want to dwell on the trophies whose scores were lowered, but they illustrate the necessity for verifying the scores of topranking trophies by the Judges Panel. For example, the judges finalized the score of a typical whitetail deer at 198-2/8 points, which was 4-4/8 points less than the entry score because it was discovered that the original point baselines were two low for webbing on both antlers. A pronghorn’s score was reduced by three inches when the panel couldn’t replicate prong lengths that were entered at 8 inches and 7-4/8 inches for the right and left antlers, respectively. The score of a cougar was reduced by 11/16ths of an inch by the
judges and finalized at 15 points when the discerned an inexplicable scoring error. B&C’s 28th Awards Program is the premier hunting event in North America this year. The activities will culminate with presentation of the medallions and certificates at the 28th Awards Banquet that will take place in the Reno Ballroom next to the Silver Legacy during July 17-20. If you haven’t attended the festivities and participated in the excitement of a previous B&C Awards Program, don’t miss this opportunity. The trophies that will be displayed and honored include examples from 35 of the 38 categories of native North American big game recognized by the Club. Not only will you have the opportunity to view these outstanding trophies, but you will also have the opportunity to visit and swap stories with many of the hunters who took these topscoring trophies; listen in on a select handful of highly informative seminars by top hunting experts; bid on an array of select big game hunts offered by world-renowned fair chase guides and outfitters in top trophy-producing areas; attend a special youth recognition banquet, and much more. Visit www.biggameawards.com to find out more information about the event, hotel information and registration or by calling B&C at 406/542-1888. The trophy display will be open to the public with day passes available. We look forward to seeing you there. n
The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) and the Longhunter Society proudly announce the publication of the new sixth edition of Muzzleloading Big Game Record Book. It is updated with nine new World’s Records, plus two additional trophies that tie previous World’s Records, registered since the previous edition, and the stories of the hunts written by the successful muzzleloading hunters who took them. The book includes listings for 34 categories of North American big game taken with muzzleloading rifles in accordance with fair chase rules. Muzzleloading Big Game Record Book can be used as a planner for recordbook hunts as every listing specifies the location of kill and the firearm used. Also included are score sheets, scoring instructions, geographic definitions, and photographs of many trophies and the hunters. This new edition includes a total of 883 new trophy animals. To order your copy of Muzzleloading Big Game Record Book, send a check for $40 per book plus $7.50 shipping and handling for orders within the US payable to The Longhunter Society at: National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, PO Box 67, Friendship, IN 47021; for credit card orders, call 812-667-5131, ext. 221. Copies can also be ordered online at www.nmlra.org.
BOOK REVIEW NOTICE
There are many state, provincial, and private organizations publishing local records books that use Boone and Crockett Club’s copyrighted scoring system with permission of the Club. Since there is no single reference source for these books, and because there are many hunters who collect them, we will review them as time and space permit. Only those books that use the Boone and Club’s copyrighted scoring system and terminology will be considered for review. Please note that the Boone and Crockett Club cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data contained in these books. Some of the books may include trophies that were not scored by certified Boone and Crockett Club Official Measurers. If there is a question about the status of a trophy listed in any of these books, the Boone and Crockett Club’s records books/archives are the final reference source to settle any and all discrepancies.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 47
The following pages list the most recent big game trophies accepted into the Boone and Crockett Club’s 29th Big Game Awards Program, 2013-2015, which includes entries received between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013. Entries marked with an * were accepted in the 28th Awards Program. All of the field photos in this section are from entries that are listed in this issue and are shown in bold green text.
This listing represents only those trophies accepted since the Spring issue of Fair Chase was published.
BEAR & COUGAR FINAL SCORE
LOCATION
HUNTER
DATE MEASURER
Black bear 21 13/16 Langlade Co., WI Braden W. Burkhart 21 9/16 Carteret Co., NC Joseph K. Hatch 21 9/16 Price Co., WI Amanda K. Adler 21 7/16 Moffat Co., CO Steven F. Durbin 21 6/16 Sullivan Co., PA Lindsay N. King 21 4/16 Del Norte Co., CA Jay N. Pedersen 21 4/16 Tehama Co., CA Robert T. Dettling 21 3/16 El Capitan Peak, AK Craig D. Mitton 21 3/16 Kepenkeck Lake, NL Arturo A. Racelis 21 3/16 Piscataquis Co., ME Matthew J. Knox 21 2/16 Huerfano Co., CO David L. Odom 21 Oconto Co., WI Todd D. Broeckel 20 13/16 Tulare Co., CA Robert D. Wattenbarger 20 8/16 Montezuma Co., CO Joshua S. Sorenson 20 7/16 Bradford Co., PA Thomas J. Joyce 20 6/16 Iron Co., MI Michael J. Spence 20 6/16 Lemhi Co., ID Karl E. Engelke 20 6/16 Campbell’s Bay, QC Derrick Poole 20 5/16 Waterhen, MB Trevor W. Byrd 20 1/16 Duck Mt., SK Terry R. McGillicky
2010 2009 2012 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2010 2012 2011
A. Loomans* M. DeAngury* A. Crum* G. Glasgow* R. Kingsley* G. Hooper* B. Abele R. Hall* E. Moyers* H. Libby R. Newman* S. Zirbel J. Bugni*
2010 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012
W. Phifer* T. Conway J. Knevel* J. Wall* J. Provost* M. Heeg* M. Mosley*
Grizzly bear 26 4/16 23 13/16
ABOVE Aaron V. Simser was hunting with his .375 Ruger took this Alaska brown bear, scoring 29-9/16 points, near Narrow Cape, Alaska, in 2012. Below While on a hunt in Jenner, Alberta, in 2012, Merlyn R. Howg, harvested this typical American elk scoring 378-2/8 points.
Poker Creek, AK James W. Bequette Wakeman River, BC Matthew T. Britton
2011 R. Boutang* 2012 C. Veasey*
Alaska brown bear 29 9/16 26 15/16 26
Narrow Cape, AK Sandy River, AK Gibraltar Lake, AK
Aaron V. Simser Beth A. Nave Stephen B. Akers
2012 H. Sterner 2012 R. Selner* 2012 C. Lawson
Cougar 15 4/16 Yakima Co., WA 15 Emery Co., UT 14 11/16 Lewis & Clark Co., MT 14 8/16 Cascade Co., MT
Alec M. Coultas Jose Pablo Martin Ruenes Nickolas M. Cross
2011 R. Spaulding 2010 R. Hall*
Jim C. Helfrich
2010 G. Taylor*
2011 J. Pallister*
Atlantic walrus 96
98
Hall Beach, NT
Nick Trenke
2002 W. Paplawski*
Pacific walrus 126 4/8 128 4/8 Alaska Pen., AK
Picked Up
2012 T. Spraker*
ELK & MULE DEER
FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION
HUNTER
DATE MEASURER
Typical American elk 384 2/8 379 378 2/8 376 3/8 375 7/8 374 3/8 369 4/8
48 nn Fair 48 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
391 395 2/8 384 6/8 403 5/8 394 4/8 380 6/8 385 3/8
Gila Co., AZ Coconino Co., AZ Jenner, AB Gila Co., AZ San Juan Co., UT Teton Co., WY Natrona Co., WY
Herman C. Meyer Brett C. Blum Merlyn R. Howg Picked Up Jeffrey L. Thacker Richard C. Rintamaki Alicia A. Arnett
2012 2007 2012 2011 2012 1981 2012
H. Saye* W. Keebler* L. Schlachter J. Carroll* C. Huff* R. Bonander L. Lueckenhoff*
Recently accepted trophies Typical American elk continued 369 3/8 377 2/8 Yellowstone Co., MT Chad W. Christophersen 360 4/8 371 3/8 Marshall Co., MN Picked Up
2012 B. Zundel 2012 C. Kozitka*
Non-typical American elk 436 1/8 389 1/8 386 2/8 385 2/8
445 1/8 401 3/8 397 7/8 402
Graham Co., AZ Fremont Co., CO Catron Co., NM Las Animas Co., CO
Casey P. Brooks Harry J. Riemer II George O. DesBrisay Chad M. Palovich
2012 2012 2010 2012
C. Lynde T. Brickel D. Powell* T. Brickel
Roosevelt’s elk 374 385 4/8 Salmon River, BC 301-1/8 309-7/8 Humboldt Co., CA 329 5/8 339 Humboldt Co., CA
Jeffrey M. Stokkeland 2011 F. Pringle* Daniel Rehse 2011 Guy Hooper* Michael B. Dunaway 2012 G. Hooper*
Typical mule deer 197 5/8 192 4/8 191 2/8 191 1/8 187 4/8 187 184 183 3/8 183 182 6/8 180 4/8
207 5/8 199 6/8 198 1/8 196 191 3/8 192 6/8 189 3/8 196 2/8 198 3/8 190 4/8 200 7/8
Unknown Kane Co., UT Vernon Lake, AB Yuma Co., CO Lincoln Co., WY Rosebud Co., MT Rio Arriba Co., NM Fife Lake, SK Murphy Creek, BC Nez Perce Co., ID Adams Co., CO
Picked Up 2012 Hub R. Grounds 1988 Del J. Kirchmayer 2010 Amanda R. Summers 2012 Alan T. Cain 2012 Clint V. Leary 2011 Scott C. Schlosser 2011 Farron E. Stricker 2011 Daven T. Ling 2010 Karle W. Nimke 2003 Chelyn L. Hart 2012
B. Wilkes* R. Stayner* S. Baier* G. Schoonveld J. Wrinkle* R. Hall* R. Madsen* H. Dreger* L. Hill* L. Finney* S. Grebe
Non-typical mule deer 252 7/8 247 1/8 241 239 5/8 237 2/8 235 2/8 231 6/8 226 3/8 218 2/8
257 4/8 253 5/8 248 3/8 245 2/8 243 6/8 239 2/8 234 4/8 235 5/8 224 4/8
Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Bear Lake Co., ID LaVoy L. Eborn Yuma Co., CO Unknown Okanogan Co., WA Peter J. Fochesato Coconino Co., AZ David L. Stayner Rosetown, SK Ashley G. Wallster Musselshell Co., MT Robert R. Beadle
1995 2000 1995 2012 1990 2012 1999 2012 1969
H. Grounds* H. Grounds* H. Grounds* R. Hall* L. Gatlin* D. Waldbillig H. Grounds* M. Halirewich R. Krueger
ABOVE Amanda R. Summers was on a 2012 hunt in Yuma County, Colorado, when she harvested this typical mule deer, scoring 191-1/8 points. She was shooting her .240 Weatherby. Below While hunting in Moniteau County, Missouri, in 2011, Keith C. Hendrix harvested this typical whitetail deer scoring 163 points.
Typical Columbia blacktail 139 135 4/8 134 1/8 126 4/8
144 1/8 153 2/8 149 2/8 130
Trinity Co., CA Jefferson Co., WA Napa Co., CA Humboldt Co., CA
Donald A. Dunn R. Gary Phillips Michael J. Ratto Cole S. Davis
2012 1993 2009 2012
G. Hooper* D. Waldbillig* G. Hisey* G. Hooper*
WHITETAIL DEER
FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION
HUNTER
DATE MEASURER
Typical whitetail deer 178 1/8 186 5/8 Lafond, AB 176 2/8 185 2/8 Fayette Co., KY 174 5/8 183 Sauk Co., WI 172 176 Columbia Co., WI 172 174 Yuma Co., CO 170 2/8 182 2/8 Carlton Co., MN 169 6/8 199 4/8 Adams Co., OH 168 4/8 172 5/8 Vernon Co., WI 167 5/8 169 6/8 Kalamazoo Co., MI 167 2/8 196 Pepin Co., WI 166 2/8 173 3/8 Red Deer River, SK 166 1/8 182 5/8 Marquette Co., WI 165 7/8 180 6/8 Miami Co., OH 165 5/8 171 2/8 Franklin Co., VA 165 3/8 168 7/8 Dane Co., WI 165 168 5/8 Marquette Co., WI 164 4/8 187 5/8 Van Buren Co., IA 164 2/8 179 2/8 Clark Co., WI 163 4/8 176 Blaine Co., OK 163 167 4/8 Moniteau Co., MO 163 168 7/8 Waupaca Co., WI
Trevor J. Pilipchuk 2011 Brian M. Caubarreaux 2011 Bradley R. Balfanz 2012 Robert J. Gerstenkorn 2012 Rodney G. Jordan 2012 Picked Up 1963 Nathan W. Schrock 2011 Robert Edward 2012 Johnson Michael C. Hitchings 2012 Terry L. Grotthus 2012 Trevor A. Willerton 2012 Tyler L. Maass 2012 Robert M. Newman 2011 Hunter Hodges 2011 B. Wolfgang Hoffmann 2005 Lawrence D. Yaap 1996 David A. Buchta 2012 Stanley C. Kellenberger 2012 Gary L. Davis 2011 Keith C. Hendrix 2011 Charles R. Mattson 2012
B. Rudyk* T. Vidrine* P. Barwick J. Ramsey G. Steele* M. Beaufeaux J. Evans* J. Ramsey D. Merritt S. Fish* B. Mitchell J. Ramsey R. Clark* W. Knox* E. Randall* J. Ramsey R. Newton W. Resch R. Madsen L. Lueckenhoff* S. Zirbel
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 49
Recently accepted trophies Non-typical whitetail deer
ABOVE Jeremy J. Morris was on a 2012 archery hunt in Woodford County, Illinois, when he arrowed this non-typical whitetail scoring 198-1/8 points. Below Mark E. Finkey anchored this Alaska-Yukon moose with his .300 Weatherby near Alaska’s Innoko River, in 2012. The bull scores 234-6/8 points.
305 7/8 316 3/8 Huntington Co., IN Timothy J. Beck 2012 J. Bronnenberg 253 3/8 263 1/8 San Jacinto Co., TX AJ J. Downs 2012 R. Reeves* 248 254 Fremont Co., IA Picked Up 2007 G. Salow* 246 2/8 253 4/8 Lake of the Tom Degere 1945 V. Crichton* Woods, ON 232 7/8 241 6/8 Meadow Lake, SK John Blaquire 1981 J. Ream* 223 7/8 226 7/8 Pendleton Co., KY Larry H. Finley 2012 D. Weddle 223 6/8 224 6/8 Lac La Biche, AB Kyle K. Beniuk 2012 B. Rudyk* 223 234 Trego Co., KS Jeremy B. Schmeidler 2012 G. Moore* 220 2/8 225 4/8 Linn Co., KS Randal A. Reeves 2011 H. Saye* 219 6/8 228 Butler Co., OH Bruce E. Matthews 2012 M. Serio* 215 6/8 223 3/8 Cross Co., AR Mike A. Miller 2012 C. Latham* 213 5/8 219 4/8 Madison Co., IA Erik C. Miller 2012 G. Salow* 213 1/8 219 3/8 Fulton Co., IL Steven W. Henson 2011 M. Staser* 211 3/8 220 7/8 Yankton Co., SD Brett J. Nielsen 2010 R. Pesek* 206 7/8 212 6/8 Dane Co., WI Steven A. Kirschbaum 2012 J. Ramsey* 206 5/8 221 7/8 Stevens Co., WA Ruby Hanson 1958 L. Carey* 205 4/8 215 3/8 Cowley Co., KS McKenzie R. Brittain 2011 J. Bowers* 203 6/8 213 2/8 Fillmore Co., MN Joan L. Welscher 2012 C. Cordes 202 5/8 210 4/8 Stoney Lake, SK Colin Pratt 2010 B. Mitchell* 202 2/8 205 Franklin Co., OH Stephen E. Esker 2012 R. Deis* 201 2/8 203 1/8 Butler Co., KS Blake A. Randig 2011 J. Ellis* 201 2/8 209 2/8 Erie Co., OH Joseph A. Baxter 2010 W. Ogden* 201 1/8 212 5/8 Crawford Co., WI Charles R. Steiner 2011 E. Randall* 200 2/8 211 4/8 Buffalo Lake, AB Richard M. Sinclair 2012 B. Daudelin 198 1/8 206 5/8 Woodford Co., IL Jeremy J. Morris 2012 R. Willmore* 187 4/8 195 Marathon Co., WI Rory J. Leszczynski 2011 T. Heil* 187 205 1/8 Pittsburg Co., OK William R. Arnett 2011 T. Cartwright* 186 7/8 193 1/8 Marquette Co., WI Chad L. Marshall 2012 J. Ramsey 186 5/8 189 2/8 Door Co., WI Picked Up 2003 B. Ihlenfeldt* 186 4/8 194 6/8 Ray Co., MO Dalton D. McGaugh 2011 R. Bergloff* 186 192 Reno Co., KS Sabrina L. Nisly 2012 M. Steffen* 185 5/8 205 5/8 Cooke Co., TX Bradley Teel 2011 J. Barrow* 185 3/8 192 1/8 Leavenworth Michael L. Smith 2010 S. Hill* Co., KS 185 197 6/8 Franklin Co., MO Bryan K. Gerling 2010 D. Hollingsworth*
Typical Coues’ whitetail 144 5/8 149 5/8 Sonora, MX 111 6/8 116 7/8 Sonora, MX 110 6/8 114 7/8 Cochise Co., AZ
Picked Up Randall S. Ulmer Junior Hendricks
2009 J. Reneau* 2006 S. Troutman* 1938 J. Latham*
HUNTER
DATE MEASURER
MOOSE & CARIBOU FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION
Canada moose 192 1/8 200 4/8 Sulphur Lake, AB Mike W. McCrindle 188 1/8 194 6/8 Essex Co., VT David E. Morris 185 190 2/8 Aroostook Co., ME Dustin H. Hafford
2012 D. Powell* 2004 B. Emerson* 2011 W. Robertson*
Alaska-Yukon moose 234 6/8 240 6/8 Innoko River, AK
Mark E. Finkey
2012 C. Bowers*
Shiras’ moose 170 1/8 167 3/8 161 2/8 157 6/8 142 7/8
174 3/8 174 6/8 162 2/8 163 1/8 145 3/8
Lincoln Co., MT Darrell G. Harris Pend Oreille Co., WA Wesley D. Floyd Stevens Co., WA Eric L. Allison Grand Co., CO Anthony J. Shoop Idaho Co., ID Matthew H. Young
2012 2012 2012 2012 2011
J. Brown* J. Cook* J. Cook* G. Glasgow* C. Ebbers*
Woodland caribou 304 7/8 318 3/8 Sam’s Pond, NL
Joel C. Biltz
2012 J. Hooten
See more field photos like these online. Check out the Boone and Crockett Club’s website at: www.booneandcrockettclub.com 50 nn Fair 50 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
Recently accepted trophies
HORNED GAME
FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION
HUNTER
DATE MEASURER
Pronghorn 91 4/8 91 4/8 91 2/8 90 90 89 6/8 88 6/8 87 4/8 86 4/8 86 4/8 86 85 6/8 85 2/8 85 2/8 84 6/8 84 84 84 83 2/8 83 2/8 82 6/8 82 2/8 82 82 82 82 81 80 2/8
92 5/8 91 7/8 91 6/8 90 4/8 90 6/8 90 89 3/8 89 1/8 87 2/8 87 3/8 86 5/8 86 86 86 1/8 85 6/8 85 85 2/8 85 5/8 84 6/8 84 4/8 84 5/8 83 1/8 84 83 4/8 82 7/8 83 3/8 82 83 3/8
Carbon Co., WY Howard R. French Catron Co., NM Mike Gallo Coconino Co., AZ Len H. Guldman Catron Co., NM Eli A. Grimmett Guadalupe Co., NM Donald J. Bonham Coconino Co., AZ Thomas E. Konke Huerfano Co., CO Daniel J. Rossiter Nye Co., NV David A. Harris Fremont Co., WY Eli A. Grimmett Hudspeth Co., TX William Hazen Torrance Co., NM David L. Ristau Fremont Co., WY Eli A. Grimmett Carbon Co., WY Timothy A. French Fremont Co., WY Len H. Guldman Socorro Co., NM Robert R. King Hudspeth Co., TX Mike Stewart Natrona Co., WY Dan E. McBride Sheridan Co., NE Travis J. Leisy Mora Co., NM Grant A. Medlin Washoe Co., NV Joseph M. McMullen Socorro Co., NM Jeffrey T. Rossiter Carbon Co., WY Steven L. Bellis Lincoln Co., NM Tom Ross Modoc Co., CA Michael J. Armenta Socorro Co., NM Daniel J. Rossiter Uinta Co., WY Kaycee L. Stephens Sweetwater Co., WY Keith A. Johnson Hudspeth Co., TX Linda J. McBride
2012 2012 2012 2010 2012 2011 2012 2012 2010 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012
R. Stayner* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* C. Kelly R. Stayner* R. Stayner* T. Humes R. Stayner* O. Carpenter* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* R. Stayner* O. Carpenter* O. Carpenter* M. Dowse* H. Grounds* T. Humes R. Stayner* T. Atkinson* O. Carpenter* D. Troy R. Stayner* E. Boley* R. Bonander* O. Carpenter*
ABOVE This pronghorn, scoring 84 points, was taken with a 7mm Winchester Short Mag. by Mike Stewart while on his 2012 hunt in Hudspeth County, Texas. Below While hunting in Baker County, Oregon, in 2011, Tyrell J. Ingram harvested this bighorn sheep scoring 182 points.
Bison 120 4/8 121 3/8 Custer Co., SD 115 6/8 116 6/8 Coconino Co., AZ
Paul A. Lautner Steven J. Stayner
2011 B. Zundel* 2003 H. Grounds*
Rocky Mountain goat 54 51 49 4/8 49 49 49
54 1/8 51 1/8 50 2/8 49 1/8 49 1/8 49 2/8
Wallowa Co., OR William L. Garroutte Baker Co., OR Dusty S. McGrorty Weber Co., UT James C. Eeckhout Cassiar Mts., BC Matt Weaver Punchbowl Lake, AK Karl D. Clinard Watson Lake, BC Karl L. Tyler
2012 2012 2012 2009 2011 2011
D. Morris* D. Morris* J. Ohmer* R. Brugler* J. Baichtal* J. Spring*
Musk ox 110 113 1/8 Kugluktuk, NU William D. Hutchens 1998 W. St. Germaine* 109 6/8 110 5/8 Contwoyto Lake, NU Nick Trenke 1992 K. Kultgen*
Bighorn sheep 201 2/8 202
Lake Co., MT
Sponsored by
Picked Up
2012 J. Williams*
Field Photography
Tip No. 14
COVER THE DAMAGE In hunting, something dies. That’s the justifiable outcome of a fair pursuit. Taking an animal doesn’t always have a clean ending, but that doesn’t mean our field photos have to be bloody. Sometimes it is impossible to do a field clean up before photos are taken, but the answer can be as simple as using the available vegetation to your advantage. It is not known if it was necessary to use this technique to capture this well-composed photo or not, but that’s the point. We don’t know. Linda J. McBride took this pronghorn, scoring 80-2/8 points, while hunting in Hudspeth County, Texas, in 2012.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 51
A look back...
Mu le de e r This mule deer was killed by a mountain lion that was in turn found by Ralph Steinhoff, in 1942. Steinhoff was mountain lion hunting with some friends when they found the deer about a mile away from where they took the cat. It has a greatest spread of 46-2/8 inches.
COMING SOON! A MULE DEER RETROSPECTIVE Sportsmen with an eye for the good ol’ days of big game hunting in North America will be intrigued in B&C’s third installment of its visually stunning Retrospective Series. This latest book focuses on the iconic mule deer of the West with hundreds of vintage photographs, detailed chapters by Guy Eastman, Ryan Hatfield, and Jim Heffelfinger, along with a special section on women hunters who’ve harvested outstanding mule deer. With the vast amount of imagery, entertaining correspondence, and historical trophy data, A Mule Deer Retrospective will not disappoint even the most discerning hunter!
B&C Check out the other books in our Retrospective Series
O
n li ne
52 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Recently accepted trophies Bighorn sheep continued 200 1/8 190 3/8 188 3/8 185 5/8 183 5/8 182 181 5/8 180 5/8 176 6/8 175 5/8
200 4/8 190 5/8 189 186 3/8 184 6/8 183 5/8 182 180 7/8 177 1/8 176 2/8
Fergus Co., MT Blaine Co., MT Huerfano Co., CO Gregg River, AB Big Horn Co., WY Baker Co., OR Kananaskis, AB Gallatin Co., MT Gregg River, AB Wasco Co., OR
Jim Hens Joseph C. Kirkland David L. Bantly Barry D. Voogd Ryan K. Gamble Tyrell J. Ingram Glen R. Pickering Allan S. Hathaway Tyssen M.J. Voogd Matthew B. Orton
2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012
G. Hisey* B. Zundel* T. Brickel J. Graham R. Hanson* E. Buckner* K. Wiebe* F. King J. Graham T. Rozewski*
Desert sheep 187 185 1/8 182 5/8 175 172 6/8 170 5/8
187 1/8 185 4/8 182 7/8 175 173 1/8 171 2/8
Hidalgo Co., NM Maricopa Co., AZ Graham Co., AZ Nye Co., NV Graham Co., AZ Tiburon Island, MX
H. Brian Valentine Gustavo Arvelo Ben E. Stayner Hub R. Grounds Steven J. Stayner David J. Turchanski
2012 2012 2004 2007 2010 2012
J. Cook* C. Goldman* H. Grounds* R. Stayner* H. Grounds* P. Bruhs*
Dall’s sheep 170 3/8 166 4/8 164 6/8 164 2/8 163 161 4/8 160 7/8
170 6/8 166 6/8 165 3/8 164 4/8 163 161 5/8 161 2/8
Chugach Mts., AK Frank Cook 1954 Tok River, AK Hub R. Grounds 2006 Chugach Mts., AK Michael A. Gordon, Jr. 2012 Arctic Red River, NT Hub R. Grounds 1982 Spur Glacier, AK William Miotke 2012 Mackenzie Mts., NT Hub R. Grounds 2006 Mackenzie Mts., NT Gary B. Mefford 2012
R. Deis* R. Stayner* F. King* R. Stayner* J. Utter* R. Stayner* R. Arzy*
Stone’s sheep 179 4/8 180 Gable Mt., BC Jim Hens 2011 G. Hisey* 171 1/8 171 5/8 Kettle River, BC Brian R. King 2012 P. Bruhs* 169 4/8 170 Telegraph Creek, BC John C. Marsh 2012 K. Leo 167 2/8 167 4/8 Pelly Mts., YT Steve D. Dahmer 2012 T. Archibeque*
Brian R. King took this Stone’s sheep in 2012 near Kettle River, British Columbia. He was shooting a 7mm Remington Mag. The ram scores 171-1/8 points.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 53
The trophies in the field photos on the following pages have all been accepted in Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th and 29th Big Game Awards Program.
Share your field photos with us! Follow: @BooneandCrockettClub Tag: #booneandcrockettclub 54 n Fair Chase Summer Fall 20112013
Top ROW
William D. Hutchens was hunting near Kugluktuk, Nunavut, when he harvested this musk ox, scoring 110 points. Stephen E. Esker took this non-typical whitetail deer, scoring 202-2/8 points, in 2012 while hunting in Franklin County, Ohio. This Shiras’ moose, scoring 167-3/8 points, was taken by Wesley D. Floyd, while hunting in Pend Oreille County, Washington, in 2012.
Middle ROW
In 2012, Chad W. Christophersen harvested this 369-3/8 point typical American elk while hunting in Yellowstone County, Montana. Joel C. Biltz took this woodland caribou, scoring 304-7/8 points, while on a 2012 hunt near Sam’s Pond, Newfoundland. Bradley R. Balfanz harvested this typical whitetail deer, scoring 174-5/8 points, while hunting in Sauk County, Wisconsin, during the 2012 season.
BOTTOM ROW
This Dall’s sheep, scoring 160-7/8 points, was taken by Gary B. Mefford in the Mackenzie Mts., Northwest Territory, in 2012.
FEATURE PHOTO
Timothy A. French was on a hunt in Carbon County, Wyoming, during the 2012 season when he took this pronghorn scoring 85-2/8 points.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 55
FEATURE PHOTO
Lawrence V. Kalas was shooting his .300 Winchester Mag. near Birch Hills, Alberta, in 2012, when he took this black bear, scoring 21-8/16 points.
56 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Top row
Joseph A. Baxter was bowhunting in Erie County, Ohio, in 2010, when he took this non-typical whitetail deer scoring 201-2/8 points. William L. Garroutte was on a hunt in Wallowa County, Oregon, in 2012, with his .7mm Remington Mag when he harvested this state record Rocky Mountain goat scoring 54 points. Matthew H. Young took this Shiras’ moose, scoring 1427/8 points, in 2011 while on an archery hunt in Idaho County, Idaho. This pronghorn, scoring 82 points, was taken by Daniel J. Rossiter. He was hunting in Socorro County, New Mexico, during the 2012 season.
MIDDLE ROW
This bighorn sheep was taken by Joseph C. Kirkland, while hunting in Blaine County, Montana, during the 2012 season. This ram scores 190-3/8 points. In 2012, Anthony J. Shoop harvested this 157-6/8 point Shiras’ moose while hunting in Grand County, Colorado. John C. Marsh took this Stone’s sheep, scoring 169-4/8 points, with his .300 Winchester Mag while on a 2012 hunt near Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. He was guided by Heidi Gutfrucht. Brian M. Caubarreaux was hunting in Fayette County, Kentucky, when he harvested this typical whitetail deer, scoring 176-2/8 points. This buck was taken in 2011.
BOTTOM ROW
While on a 2012 hunt in Gallatin County, Montana, Allan S. Hathaway took this 180-5/8 point bighorn sheep. Official Measurer Hub R. Grounds was hunting in Kane County, Utah, in 1988 when he harvested this typical mule deer scoring 192-4/8 points.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 57
L
Š Tony Bynum
CONSERVATION AND Research
The Boone and Crockett
58 nn Fair 58 FairChase ChaseSummer Summer 2013 2013
Leadership “The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, one of the great cultural gifts of North Americans to global culture, could never have developed without the right of citizens to bear arms. The most fundamental basis of this model is that every citizen in good standing has the privilege, nay, the right of participating in the annual harvest of public wildlife.� pg 24. Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment by Valerius Geist
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 59
Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment By Valerius Geist Ph.D. B&C Professional Member University of Calgary (Emeritus Professor and Founding Program Director for Environmental Science, Faculty of Environmental Design)
Gone hunting! Gone fishing! That’s something we North Americans take for granted. Those before us went hunting or fishing—as
did those before them—and it was never in doubt or a big deal. Nor was it a big deal to get the necessary equipment in the local hardware or sporting goods stores, though almost all the equipment was in the house anyway. Hunting and fishing were part of the seasonal activities of family, neighbors, and friends; one grew up with it, accepting it as an inevitable and delightful part of life. It was a cherished time when duck or deer season rolled around, and your folks and friends got ready to go. The hunting clothing and boots came out, the dog got excited, food was prepared, the guns went into their cases. It was all part and parcel of getting out and coming back with a deer, a limit of ducks, pheasants or whatever.
It is all taken for granted.
Hunting and the right to bear arms has always been a part of North American heritage. Hunting stories were told by Theodore Roosevelt as far back as 1885, in Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. Illustration, drawn by A.B. Frost
60 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Sportsmen like Jason W. Hellickson are helping uphold the North American Model by harvesting public wildlife like this typical whitetail deer.
POSITION OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB
Lucky Americans! Fortunate people! In other lands, as little as an empty shotgun shell in the house would land you in jail–or worse! The gun—as an everyday tool for hunting, for work around the farm, as a companion of a rancher or of someone heading out for a bit of plinking, trap and skeet or target shooting, as a cherished object of a collector—is very much a North American phenomenon. The weapon at home, the right to bear arms has been historically the mark of free men. It was always the right of the truly free within any state or nation, democratic or otherwise. Consequently, the bearing of arms is a potent symbol of freedom. However, the right to bear arms has much more than symbolic value. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, one of the great cultural gifts of North Americans to global culture, could never have developed without the right of citizens to bear arms. The most fundamental basis of this model is that every citizen in good standing has the privilege, nay, the right of participating in the annual harvest of public wildlife. And that implies an armed citizenry. The miracle of North American conservation is that wildlife is thriving despite every big game animal being outnumbered about ten to one by people, about eight to one by firearms in private hands, and about a dozen to one by livestock. As a consequence, our model of wildlife conservation cannot be applied globally, because in most societies there is no tradition or right for citizens to bear arms. Quite the contrary. In most societies, wildlife is in the “de facto” ownership of the most privileged and powerful, making wildlife, at best, a national treasure akin to public art treasures in a museum. It’s then under a “look, but do not touch” policy, or it may be sold by the state to foreigners for hunting, for the purported goal of raising funds for conservation. Or, wildlife is considered the property of landowners to be disposed of as they see fit. Wildlife is of no concern to the common citizen, unless they have the wherewithal to buy wildlife in the national market. A few reserves do hold public wildlife, but such is also marketed akin to museum exhibits, aimed preferably at the more affluent of foreign visitors as part of that nation’s tourism. If the common man wants to eat wildlife, let him buy game meat at the local butcher shop or restaurant. Even as privileged hunters, this minority of the public has no say over how wildlife is conserved and managed. That is solely the business of the
Second Amendment Rights Situational Overview The Boone and Crockett Club is often asked to comment on gun control and Second Amendment rights, which are not directly addressed by the Mission and Visions of the Club. The Club supports regulated, fair chase hunting that supports the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Because restricting access to firearms has the potential to directly impact this conservation paradigm, the Club takes the following position.
Position The success of North American Model of Wildlife Conservation relies upon an armed citizenry able to participate in the regulated harvest of game species. The best guarantor of well-managed, well-funded and sustainable wildlife conservation programs is therefore the right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 61
de facto or de jure owners of wildlife. It is he who instructs the hunter what to take as part of a sales agreement. The hunter’s obligation is merely to kill the wildlife he paid for. The rest is handled for him. In publicly protected areas there exists either a laissez-faire system of management, or the wildlife is artificially kept in check by civil servants. Even in democratic societies in which wildlife is de jure public property, a legal interest by the citizen in how wildlife is conserved or managed is exceptional. However, where wildlife is de facto private property, it is very much in the interest of the owners of wildlife that the public be disarmed, and that weapons are strictly for those that have access to wildlife through wealth or social status or who need weapons to protect wildlife against illegal take by the public. Note that the ownership and use of weapons is linked to the ownership of wildlife; be it wildlife in private or public ownership. Consequently, the more wildlife under private control, the less justification for arms possession by the public at large, and, of course, vice versa. That is, the more abundant and accessible public wildlife, the greater the justification for an armed public, the greater the interest of the public in wildlife, and the greater the expectation by the public of having a say in wildlife conservation and management. There will always be lively differences of opinion whether private or public ownership of wildlife leads to superior wildlife conservation. Historically, there is little doubt that private ownership of land to which wildlife is attached can lead to superior abundance and diversity of wildlife. And what a pleasure to visit landholdings of owners keen on wildlife. I have seen such ranches, rich in wildlife and native flora, but I have also seen how such ranches became wildlife deserts after a change in ownership.
Without doubt, private lands rich in wildlife historically are targets for poaching and may generate severe problems in wildlife protection. England and central Europe have had this problem for centuries, and that has led to general bans on weapon ownership. Conversely, even in a communist dictatorship, where wildlife was an essential part of the public food or fur economy, weapon ownership remained widespread. Here weapons fulfilled an essential economic function, the harvest of wildlife. In short, he who harvests wildlife is very likely to own a gun. Wildlife can thus be a guarantor of weapon ownership. However, European history also shows that when revolutions swept the land, when the elite lost their power, the public mercilessly slaughtered wildlife, in part because wildlife stood as a symbol of the hated elite. Post revolutionary societies then found ways to share power and wildlife. For instance, while in Spain hunting red-legged partridges, which were driven towards the guns by beaters, hunters were free to shoot only the partridges, but not the abundant hares. The former belonged to the landowner, and the latter belonged to the villagers. There are varied systems of wildlife conservation, but the ownership of weapons by the public is tied either to wildlife, or closely controlled, to target and competition shooting—or in some nations, to military service. The right to bear arms is thus justified by some strong traditions, but the constitutional right to bear arms is absent, except in the United States, where it is enshrined in the Constitution as the Second Amendment. I thought that the North American system of wildlife conservation had an excellent chance of being adopted by postcommunist Russia, and some Russian colleagues thought the same. After all, Russia has huge public landholdings, while the ownership of weapons was widespread in Historically, there is little doubt that private ownership of land to which wildlife is attached can lead to superior abundance and diversity of wildlife.
pre-revolutionary Russia, to the point that the wonderfully decorative ethnic costumes of men had showy cartridge holders as part of the decorations. Russia has a long history of excellence in firearm design and production, a long history of marksmanship and excellence in sniping, and a long history of subsistence hunting. However, under Communism the rulers also had a severe paranoia about arms in private hands. It went so far that the party not only censored news about wolves attacking villages and people, but also had “scientists” generate propaganda about the “harmlessness of wolves.” This was done to justify denying people to defend themselves and their livestock with guns. It all came to light after the fall of Communism. Russians were enamored by the way North Americans handled wildlife conservation and hunting. Some of my writings about our system was translated into Russian, and there were articles and splendid illustrations about hunting and wildlife in America. Nothing came of it, and there is now, unfortunately, an ominous silence. The success of wildlife conservation is served by the Second Amendment. However, the heated debate about its nature does raise a warning flag. Too many Americans are, clearly, not convinced about the sanctity of this law and have bought into the argument that weapons belong only in the hands of soldiers and police. Too many are unaware that it was armed citizens that returned wildlife from the edge of extinction to its present abundance. And there are, frankly, too many that do not care. There are many good reasons for an armed populous, some beyond the Boone and Crockett Club’s purview. However, the Club needs urgently to attend to those reasons that are of our concern. Above all, we need to strive towards policies that make wildlife abundant and accessible to the public. The better our efforts at increasing wildlife available to the common man for harvest, the better our chances to increase the number of hunters, and the stronger will be the political voices for hunting and the ownership of weapons. Subsequently, there will be many more ears willing to listen to the remarkable successes of wildlife conservation in North America, and the greater will be the public appreciation of wildlife. Wildlife, by its very presence is an intrinsic good. However, the harvest of wildlife generates additional incalculable benefits. n
62 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Our economy based on wildlife is exceptionally rich in the creation of wealth and employment, and is a sleeper that needs more attention.
n
n
n
n
Game meats harvested from wild lands tend to be very healthy—very rich in essential nutrients. It’s virtually “custom made” for human nutrition. The chemical composition of game meat could—and should—serve as quality standard for domestic meats. Hunting can encourage intensive physical activity, good fellowship and a bonding with wild places. These benefits are so significant that it should encourage us to find ways to pry young people loose from the virtual reality on their computer to the vibrant reality of real life. It would help make people, but above all the young, more fit and proud of our wildlife and our successes. The regular, extended presence of armed individuals in outdoor areas, in and out of hunting seasons, creates an unearned good for all of society. One can label it “the freedom of the woods.” We can all go hiking, camping, and picnicking without fear of encountering large predators day or night. The confident behavior of armed individuals is not lost on the sensitive large predators. In national parks, unfortunately, unarmed hikers, frightened of predators, teach predators that humans are fearful and can be confronted or attacked. A large contingent of hunters is an unearned gift to the security of society, long recognized by the military. It is not only that a nation maintains a large pool of individuals expert in handling weapons and marksmanship; there is more: hunters are normally wellversed in maintaining themselves out-of-doors in all seasons and kinds of weather. Their initiative at self-help is a boon to military units as they are able to quickly respond to contingencies and
instruct others to help themselves effectively out-of-doors. At the front hunters have superior “enemy vision” and are much more likely than others to spot and foil sneak or sniper attacks by the enemy. There are good reasons why nations formed elite regiments from hunters and foresters, such as the German Jäger, the French Chasseur, the British Rifle Regiments, and why the Russians lionized their Siberian snipers in WWII. And one suspects that it was not only a perceptive Japanese General who cautioned that an invasion of North America would be met by a gun behind every bush. Spot on! But then you must have known this ever since 1776! We need to celebrate hunting! The Germans had the right idea of having hunter festivals with shooting, the “Schuetzenfest” (shooting festivals). Yes, we do a lot of organized shooting, but where is the festive mood, the celebration and the joy? We have lots to celebrate. Conventions, good as they are, are simply not enough, although, undoubtedly, a step in the right direction. There are rich opportunities for our Club to engage the public in wildlife conservation, and never must we mute the role of hunting that got us here. The more we succeed in that, the greater the public’s appreciation of the Second Amendment. n
The more abundant and accessible public wildlife, the greater the justification for an armed public, the greater the interest of the public in wildlife, and the greater the expectation by the public of having a say in wildlife conservation and management.
The Best Firearms Book Ever Made!
Classic Cloth Edition $375
Special First Edition Limited to 5000 Sets
Deluxe Leather-Bound Collector’s Edition $2900 Signed & Numbered, Limited to 500 Sets
Featured on the Discovery Channel’s “American Guns” and reviewed by American Rifleman & FEGA’s The Engraver For links to above articles go to www.YellowstonePress.com/ FC713 and get details on upcoming shows and book signing events!
B&C
Order online, or call us today at
866-520-2001
O
n li ne
Read more B&C position statements
©istockphoto.com/lugo
n
©2013 ROBERT M. LEE TRUST • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED • FC 7/13
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 63
CAPITOL COMMENTS I Thought It Was Nothing Ultimately, this article is really about nothing, I think you will see why, but I get ahead of myself. For someone Steven Williams, Ph.D. who spent 17 years Professional member working for state and Boone and Crockett Club federal governments to be able to express an President opinion freely is truly Wildlife Management Institute liberating, so writing a quarterly column for Fair Chase magazine has been a true privilege for almost eight years. I have used this column to bring attention to important issues and challenges that confront wildlife conservation. I have tried to rally support, identify problems, and move people to action. I envisioned that my soaring monologues changed the face of conservation. That is not really true, but I hope I have been somewhat instructive; only the reader can answer that question. Hunting. Conservation. Legislation. I like it all. And I like to share with you what I glean from the intricate weaving of policy, law and spirited debate on Capitol Hill. In the past, there has been any number of conservation or legislative issues to choose from to inform Fair Chase readers. This time around has been different. It was not procrastination but a lack of substance to write about, an indifference to Capitol Hill comings and goings, an indifference because of the lack of productive results in Washington. I figured if Congress can stall, bicker, take time to travel on our nickel to preserve their own jobs while engaging in unproductive efforts that have little or no bearing on national issues, then why can’t I? I even filed my column late. I am reminded of the Seinfeld television show, where at least they admitted that it was a show about “nothing.” So for this article I choose to write about “nothing,” but in a cynical way. As my friends have told me, “You have to be good at something even if it is nothing.” But enough deep thought, I am sequestering a nap to write this article so let me finish while my dog is sleeping under my desk. When she wakes up, I may have to throw the ball for a while in a game of fetch. Maybe Harry Truman was right when he 64 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
famously declared, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” At least a game of fetch on the Mall would prompt Congress to move the ball down the field once in a while. Okay, so it is not as if “nothing” at all is happening on the legislative front, but I am not giddy with anticipation. The 576-page House Farm Bill was recently released. According to the Greenwire report, the bill is very similar to one that passed the House Agriculture Committee last year but did not make it to a vote on the House floor. Apparently to sweeten the pot, the current bill would reduce spending over the next 10 years by about $40 billion. Within this $40 billion reduction is a reduction of almost $7 billion for conservation. The number of
Lest you think I have lost total faith with Congress, consider the following. A new economic study conducted for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has demonstrated that for every dollar of public and private investment in natural resource conservation almost $3 is generated in economic activity. conservation programs would be cut from 23 to 13 by combining smaller programs into larger ones—I guess this is a sign of smaller government. The wildly popular Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) would be cut by a million acres from last year’s bill to include only 24 million acres. Farmers who receive crop insurance subsidies from public resources would not be required to comply with conservation measures that protect public resources. On a bright note, some subsidies would be eliminated like the one that pays farmers direct payments regardless of how much they plant in a given year. Apparently you can get something for nothing. On the Senate side, the 1,100-page Farm Bill does have some promising
provisions. Farmers on highly erodible lands would be required to implement and comply with a conservation plan in order to be eligible for crop insurance subsidies. This is admittedly a difficult policy to achieve but I believe that farmers and non-farmers alike understand that the public expects something in return for public outlays of funds. If passed and signed into law, farmers would have five years to develop and comply with the plan. I am not going to argue with that time frame (even though we all could and should) because the Senate bill also includes provisions to restrict crop insurance subsidies for wetlands and newly converted native grasslands. These provisions have been long sought after by conservationists. But, what results do we really expect from these bills? Please let me explain why my level of pessimism has reached such new highs (or is it lows?). The past congressional action - to require sequestration if they could not act occurred. I did not even know that inaction could be an action. However, sequestration did occur, and now resources for conservation continue to decline at a time when conservation funding is, proportionately, already at its lowest point compared to other budget categories. Lest you think I have lost total faith with Congress, consider the following. A new economic study conducted for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has demonstrated that for every dollar of public and private investment in natural resource conservation almost $3 is generated in economic activity. Conservation, outdoor recreation, and historical preservation results in $1.6 trillion in consumer spending, $211 billion in tax revenue, and 12.8 million jobs. Maybe this isn’t an article about nothing. Maybe Congress will recognize the economic importance of conservation; maybe they will rethink their positions and take action. While we wait to see whether we have friends in Washington, maybe I will just throw the ball with my dog. n
Investments Falling Short of Your Expectations? SAMPLE RATES One-Life 65.............4.7% 70.............5.1% 75.............5.8% 80.............6.8% 85.............7.8% 90.............9.0%
Sight Better. Aim Higher. Why settle for a 1% return on your CDs when you could be receiving as much as 9.0% with a charitable gift annuity? In addition to a higher payout, your income would be partly tax free and guaranteed for life. The CGA is easy to create and secure. Plus, it will help the Boone and Crockett Club continue its important work as a proven leader in wildlife conservation.
For more information, please contact: Winton C. Smith, J.D. 1-800-727-1040
Member Adventures ROBERT CAMPBELL REEVE - Glacier Pilot I gave it the gun, and off I went….ahead of me I could see the big crevasses—wide enough to hold a Theodore J. Holsten boxcar. If I hit them, I was a goner. Then I Emeritus member Boone and Crockett Club happened to glance left and spotted an ice fall, sheering off to the side—maybe [a] 250-foot drop. It was my last chance. I made a sharp left turn and dove the plane right over that ice fall. It mushed straight for the bottom, and I thought maybe I was a goner after all. But the plane had achieved just enough forward speed to become airborne. I leveled out about ten feet from the bottom. That was the greatest feeling of my life, bar none! With these words, Bob Reeve described his takeoff from Walsh Glacier, where in 1937 he set a record for high-altitude landings with a ski-equipped plane. He had just taken mountaineers Bradford Washburn and Robert Bates to that location from which they would make a first ascent of Mount Lucania, a previously unclimbed Canadian peak. Washburn, in a later interview, said that Reeve “is without doubt the finest ski pilot and rough country flyer I have ever seen.” Bob Reeve was born in Wisconsin in 1902, and was an adventurer from an early age. Falsifying his age, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 at age 15, and he reached the rank of sergeant. After the war, his return to school was brief. He joined a pair of barnstorming pilots exchanging work at the airport for flying lessons. In 1926 he received his mechanic’s and commercial pilot’s licenses. A short time later, flying the mail in South America, he got much experience in mountain flying over the Andes. Stories of the Gold Rush and adventure opportunities drew him to Alaska in 1932. He quickly became a bush pilot flying supplies to miners and trappers in remote locations. It was a time when bush pilots flew without navigational aids, and Bob had many Reeve had brought the Fairchild 51 to a stop 6,000 feet above sea level, on Brevier Glacier, site of the Big Four.
harrowing experiences. He made more than 20 forced landings, often improvising repairs at wilderness locations, sometimes at temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero! World War II saw Bob flying supplies and mail for the U.S. military during the Aleutians campaign against the Japanese. The long string of Aleutian Islands suffer some of the most hazardous flying weather conditions in the world. After the war, Bob organized Reeve Aleutian Airways, offering commercial air service to that remote area until it ceased operations in 2000. By 1948, the physical toll on Reeve forced him to retire from commercial flying. His activities running his airline kept him very busy. However, over the years he had become interested in the bears around Cold Bay in the Alaska Peninsula. On a longplanned hunt with General Nathan Twining and others, he shot what stood for several years as the World’s Record Alaska brown bear. In 1951 Bob suffered two near-fatal heart attacks. Taking doctor’s orders to slow down, he took more time for hunting and family activities. He had become a Boone and Crockett Club Member in 1949, and he went on to become an officer and executive committee member of the Club. He was later elected an honorary Life Member. Beth Day wrote the book, Glacier Pilot, the biography of Robert Reeve and his exciting life. She spent several months with him, visiting locations and gathering the details of his many adventures. Reeve died in 1980 at age 78. n
B&C
Robert C. Reeve was the first recipient of the Sagamore Hill Award for his Alaska brown bear. It was taken in 1948 near Cold Bay, Alaska, and scores 29-13/16 points.
O
n li ne
See all the Sagamore Hill Award Winners
66 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB WILDERNESS WARRIOR SOCIETY It has been nearly 125 years since Theodore Roosevelt formed a coalition of gentlemen hunters to establish the foundation for the world’s greatest conservation system. Knowing that he could not accomplish this daunting task alone, he invited men of science, business, industry, politics, and public service to join him in forming the Boone and Crockett Club.
MEMBERS INCLUDE: Trevor L. Ahlberg James F. Arnold Rene R. Barrientos Marshall J. Collins Jr. William A. Demmer Gary W. Dietrich John P. Evans Steve J. Hageman B.B. Hollingsworth Jr. Ned S. Holmes Tom L. Lewis R. Terrell McCombs Jack S. Parker Remo R. Pizzagalli Thomas D. Price Edward B. Rasmuson Morrison Stevens Sr. Ben B. Wallace C. Martin Wood III Paul M. Zelisko
We still cannot do it without you. We need your help. With your gift of $125,000 or more, you will be honored by being named a founding member of the Wilderness Warrior Society. You will be presented with your own numbered limited edition bronze of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback as well as other custom gifts to recognize and honor you for your contribution. Please join us in this grand effort. Contact the Boone and Crockett Club today to find out how you can be one of the first to become a founding member of the Wilderness Warrior Society.
BELOW: The first members of the Wilderness Warrior Society were recognized at the Club’s 2011 Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.
Contact Ben Hollingsworth at 713/840-1508 for more details. Boone and Crockett Club | www.boone-crockett.org
250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801 | 406/542-1888
Brought to you in partnership with Wild Sheep Foundation
KNOWLEDGE BASE Diseases Gone Wild In the wildlife profession’s first textbook, author Aldo Leopold surmised that “The role of disease in populations has Winifred B. Kessler wildlife probably been radically Professional member underestimated.” The Boone and Crockett Club book focused on “the probable role of the disease factor in game productivity and the possibilities of its control in game management” (Chapter 13 in Game Management, 1933). Understanding how a disease operates within a species of interest and how to manage its effects at the population level remains an important aspect of wildlife management today. But despite Aldo Leopold’s prescient words, he likely had no inkling of the diverse, complex, and scary disease problems that would challenge today’s professionals in the wildlife and human health fields. The frontiers of wildlife disease have been advancing along several fronts. Some particularly scary diseases—such as Ebola, Marburg viruses, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—illustrate how pathogens have jumped the species barrier to cause epidemics and death in humans. Strange new fungal infections, such as white-nosed syndrome in bats and chytrid fungus in amphibians, are causing major population declines across multiple species and broad
geographic areas in North America. When it comes to strange, the life form called a “prion,” which causes chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, takes the cake. Not even a type of microbe, prions are mis-folded proteins that animals pick up from one another or from the environment, and that cause proteins in the infected animal’s brain and neural system to assume the mis-folded state. There is no treatment or cure for CWD, and the prions are disturbingly resistant to heat, chemical treatment, and other normal weapons in the disease-fighting arsenal. Some diseases affecting wildlife populations come from surprising sources, such as infections of two parasitic protozoans, Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis neurona, linked to sea otter die-offs along the California coast. The sources were found to be, respectively, domestic cats (presumably, via improperly-disposed litter box contents) and wild populations of opossums. West Nile virus and Lyme disease are growing concerns for both wildlife and human disease specialists because of their continuing expansion in North America. Wildlife serves as the reservoir for these and many other diseases that can be very debilitating in the humans unfortunate enough to become infected. It’s no wonder that wildlife health is a growing specialty in the wildlife field, and that veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and human health specialists are collaborating across disciplinary lines in a trend termed “One Health.”
In this issue of Fair Chase, the article by Dr. Megan Kirchgessner focuses on Q fever and other diseases that pose risks to hunters and others who handle dead wildlife. Her purpose is to emphasize prevention through the simple act of wearing surgical-type gloves when handling game. Sometimes it takes a seminal event to change one’s behavior; two such experiences convinced me to accept gloves as an essential item of hunting gear. The first occurred in 2005, when I had the luck of drawing for musk oxen on Nunivak Island in the Bearing Sea and of booking with Ed Shavings Sr., a Chup’ig elder and legendary Alaskan guide. Hunting with Ed had many traditional aspects to it, but once the animal was down (a fine bull meeting the B&C minimum—my lucky streak held out), he immediately took the non-traditional step of pulling on surgical gloves to commence field dressing and skinning. That made an impression, for sure! Thereafter, gloves became a standard item in my hunting pack. What really sealed the deal was losing my favorite cousin to chronic Q fever two years ago. A Vietnam vet, George spent his Navy service as a submariner before dedicating himself to a career of teaching math and computer science. It’s doubtful he got Q fever through hunting; he kept goats and rabbits and may have gotten exposed that way. But the diagnosis was a real wake-up call; nobody in the family had heard of this disease before George became very ill. As Dr. Kirchgessner advises, when considering whether to glove or not, it’s far better to be safe than sorry. n Setting the Record Straight.
In my last column about The Wildlife Society’s new Technical Review of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, I mistakenly stated that six of the authors are Boone and Crockett Club Members. Actually the number is seven. My apologies to Richard E. McCabe, a 20-year member. Thanks for your work on this milestone publication, Dick! Aldo Leopold, pictured with a group of graduate students in 1947, met to discuss management practices. They likely had no inkling of the diverse, complex, and scary disease problems that would challenge today’s professionals in the wildlife and human health fields. Photo by: R.A. McCabe
68 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
DALLAS SAFARI CLUB UPDATE DSC Tops $2 Million in Grants for 2012-13
all photos ©Dallas safari club
For the second straight year, Dallas Safari Club (DSC) in 2013 will grant more than a million dollars for conservation, education and hunter advocacy efforts worldwide. DSC’s total funding commitment for 2013 is $1,010,000—a record for the organization. The allocation follows major growth in the DSC annual convention and expo. Held early each January at the Dallas Convention Center, the event has been steadily growing in size, attendance, and total fundraising. Ben Carter, DSC executive director and B&C member, said, “As gratifying as it’s been to see our annual convention grow, it’s even more rewarding to see the money from our supporters go for conserving wildlife, protecting wild places, educating youth and the general public, and defending hunters’ rights around the world.” Carter thanked convention exhibitors, attendees, and volunteers, along with DSC members, for their passion and continuing support of the DSC mission. Projects to receive DSC funding this year include anti-poaching efforts in Africa, forest restoration in New Mexico, genetic
and lion research in Africa, pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep restoration initiatives in Texas, mule deer and elk research in Nevada, habitat improvements in Africa, several youth and veteran hunts, numerous conservation education events, and other worthy initiatives. DSC is also continuing its annual purchase of life insurance policies for all game wardens in Texas. Finally, funding will support also DSC’s own mission delivery programs, such as the Dallas Ecological Foundation’s popular Outdoor Adventures program, which is expanding conservation curricula in Texas schools.
As gratifying as it’s been to see our annual convention grow, it’s even more rewarding to see the money from our supporters go for conserving wildlife, protecting wild places, educating youth and the general public, and defending hunters’ rights around the world.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 69
An Introduction to Nevada Bighorns Unlimited Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU) was founded in 1981 by a small group of Nevada Sportsmen as a non-profit grass roots sportsmen’s committed to wildlife conservation in Nevada. Since then the organization has grown to over 3,500 members throughout Nevada, the western United States and North America. The mission of NBU is to protect and enhance Nevada’s wildlife resources for sportsmen, outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts for this and future generations. NBU volunteer members do this through the reintroduction of big game, habitat conservation and improvement, public education and participation, biological and scientific research, and the influence of public policy. Over the years NBU has donated millions of dollars and logged thousands of volunteer hours in support of Nevada’s wildlife through: n
By Brett K. Jefferson Nevada Bighorns Unlimited Treasurer
n
n
n
n
n
Construction of water development projects (guzzlers) for big game animals; Bighorn sheep capture and release projects, restoring Nevada’s wild sheep to their historic ranges; Habitat improvement projects involving seed gathering and replanting, spring rehabilitation and meadow fencing; Wildlife research projects such as the NDOW (Nevada Department of Wildlife) Lathrop internship, sage grouse studies and protection and disease outbreak investigations and research. Promoting youth education through the National Archery in the Schools Program, the Maison T. Ortiz Youth Outdoor Skills Camp and Kids Free Fishing Day. From guzzlers, to conservation, to education
70 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
NBU volunteer members protect and enhance Nevada’s wildlife resources through the reintroduction of big game, habitat conservation and improvement, public education and participation, biological and scientific research, and the influence of public policy.
Each spring NBU holds its annual fundraising banquet. Through the donations and participation from our members NBU has helped fund increased opportunities to hunt and otherwise enjoy Nevada’s wildlife. NBU has directly contributed to Nevada’s bighorn sheep population which tops 10,500— more than any other state in the Lower 48. NBU has been instrumental in transplanting bighorn sheep in 80 of the 86 mountain ranges native to wild sheep in Nevada. The annual NBU fundraising banquet is one of the largest single-evening fundraising events for wildlife in the country. We invite you to join us in celebrating the hard work
and positive results accomplished each year to protect and enhance Nevada’s wildlife. Raffles include the Famous Wall of 100 Guns, youth gun and ladies raffles and prizes, camp packages, shopping sprees, surprises and more. The evening includes a silent auction with more than 100 items and a live auction with about 40 items including big game hunts, wingshooting trips, vacation packages, field gear and specialty items. NBU is a volunteer-run organization. Thanks to our volunteers, about 97 percent of money raised goes directly back on the ground for wildlife. Every membership in NBU helps to re-establish, augment and
maintain Nevada’s wildlife. Regular members receive a one-year subscription to the NBU Journal, NBU hat, and notification of volunteer events. Outfitter and corporate members receive a one-year subscription to the NBU Journal, inclusion in the outfitter or corporate professional listings in both the NBU Journal and NBU Website, and an NBU hat. Join NBU today along with thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen that are committed to work for the future of Nevada’s wildlife! We need your help to perpetuate our outdoor and hunting heritage for this and future generations. n
©istockphoto.com/ divefanaticscott
NBU has been instrumental in transplanting bighorn sheep in 80 of the 86 mountain ranges native to wild sheep in Nevada.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 71
to
Glove
or
Not toGlove
By Megan Kirchgessner
©shutterstock.com\ /Steve Oehlenschlager
DVM, PhD
72 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
Do you wear gloves when you field dress a deer? Almost
every hunter admits knowing that he or she should be wearing them, but fewer actually are. It’s pretty similar to skipping the salt at dinner, running those five miles after work, or picking up the carrot sticks instead of the gummy bears for a road trip. It should be happening, but it’s probably not. While a few extra pounds on the scale or a cholesterol level that’s just a touch too high may only incite a mild response from your doctor or significant other, not wearing gloves while field dressing has the potential to raise more than just an eyebrow.
What must be done to prevent transmission of these bugs from a dead animal to the human who is dressing it? It’s not complicated or expensive, and does not require extensive planning or preparation. No, it’s really rather simple. Wear gloves! Matthew W. Adres wore gloves after he harvested this typical whitetail deer in Wabasha County, Minnesota.
Who Should Wear Gloves, and When?
The short answer is, anybody who handles dead wildlife should wear gloves. Always. Contrary to popular belief, many diseases that affect game species are capable of infecting humans as well. Approximately 69 percent of human viruses, bacteria, and parasites (collectively known as pathogens) are capable of causing disease in animals. In addition, 73 percent of pathogens that were diagnosed for the first time in humans within the last 20 years are capable of infecting at least one wildlife species. In other words, many pathogens that have a wide range of hosts can easily be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa. What must be done to prevent transmission of these bugs from a dead animal to the human who is dressing it? It’s not complicated or expensive, and does not require extensive planning or preparation. No, it’s really rather simple. Wear gloves! For a wildlife veterinarian like me, it’s not a stretch to prefer to wear gloves when working with wildlife. I simply know too much about potential risks to do otherwise. But for people who have hunted for years without ever thinking about disease risks, to glove up when field dressing can be a radical decision. Every day I work with biologists
who would never venture into the field without multiple pairs of gloves in their sample kit. Yet more often than not, they would not even consider putting gloves on after killing a deer on a Saturday morning hunt. In reality, there is no difference between the road-killed buck that needs to be sampled for chronic wasting disease and the doe that is killed at a deer camp on a Saturday; they both represent potential risks to human health if proper precautions are not taken. You may be aware of hunting-related disease risks but assume they occur somewhere else, not in the area your family has hunted for generations. Unfortunately, this is not a good assumption. Human sprawl, altered habitats, escape of captive-bred animals into the wild, and shifting ranges of wildlife species have changed the distribution of pathogens and turned a new chapter on the transmission of diseases between humans and wildlife. When it comes to transmissible diseases, ignorance is not bliss. There are many nasty pathogens that can easily be transferred from dead wildlife to humans who have not taken precautionary measures. Picking up an infection can ruin more than the remainder of your hunting season. Let’s look at some examples.
Tuberculosis and Tularemia
Mycobacterium bovis, also known as bovine tuberculosis, is capable of infecting a variety of hosts including cattle, deer, and humans, and has been documented in various regions of the world. Depending on the locale, the main “reservoir” of the bacterium shifts from the European badger in England to the common brushtail possum in New Zealand to the white-tailed deer in northern Michigan. Mycobacterium bovis was diagnosed in a wild white-tailed deer for the first time in northern Michigan in 1994 and has consistently been diagnosed in deer harvested in the same region ever since. Historically, human M. bovis infections in the United States have been associated with the consumption of unpasteurized milk and other dairy products. But in the nearly 20 years since M. bovis was found in the wild whitetailed deer population of northern Michigan, deer harvested in that area pose a risk to hunters, processors, and consumers of venison. During that time at least two Michigan residents have been diagnosed with M. bovis, suspected to be contracted via direct or indirect contact with an infected dead deer. One of these individuals punctured his left
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 73
index finger with a hunti ng k ni fe while field-dressing a deer. Opening the chest cavity, he noted the presence of tan nodules that laboratory testing subsequently confirmed as bovine tuberculosis abscesses. Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is a highly infectious, widespread bacterial disease typically transmitted from wild rodents or rabbits to humans. Mule deer have also been found to harbor the bacteria, albeit uncommonly. Tularemia has been diagnosed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and humans most commonly become infected with Fracisella tularensis, the inciting bacteria, via skinning, eating, or simply handling infected animals. Common routes of infection in humans include skin, eye, or mouth contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals. Inhalation of infected dust or airborne particles may cause infection as well. Furthermore, any tick feeding on the infected animal may carry the bacterium and subsequently infect the hunter or trapper who skins or handles the host animal’s carcass. Gloves not only prevent direct contact with infective fluids or tissues, they also decrease the likelihood of picking up ticks during skinning. Infections caused by direct skin contact (usually on the hand) with infected tissues or a tick may manifest as a slow-growing ulcer with associated enlarged local lymph nodes. Pneumonia-like illness may follow inhalation exposure. Untreated tularemia is fatal in up to 60 percent of human
cases but drops to less than 5 percent in treated cases. Q Fever
Q fever is a lesser-known bacterial infection that usually causes flu-like symptoms in humans. Occasionally, infected humans may exhibit more serious symptoms associated with lung, liver, and brain infections. While the most notable sources of
animal into an open cut on the hand or arm of the human handler can lead to the successful transfer of the bacterium from the hunted to the hunter. Because early Q fever is often mild and does not necessitate medical treatment, many infections likely go undiagnosed and thus untreated. The later form of Q fever, known as chronic Q fever, typically develops months to years after the initial infection and occurs when an early infection is not diagnosed or treated. Individuals with underlying heart problems are the most commonly affected, and the estimated mortality rate ranges from 2 percent to 65 percent. Because of the variable clinical presentations of Q fever and the fact that many people do not seek medical care when initially infected, the number of humans infected with the bacterium is not known. How common is Q fever exposure in wildlife? Due to the scarcity of reported studies, it remains a mystery for most species and regions. The host range for C. burnetii is wide and includes a variety of species of mammals, birds, and even reptiles, and the bacterium has been identified worldwide. In New York State, where antibody prevalence in the white-tailed deer population has been investigated, 17.6 percent of sampled bucks and 11.2 percent of sampled does had antibodies to C. burnetii, indicating exposure to the bacterium at some point during their lives. The antibody-positive deer were distributed widely across New
Like wildlife, people need to adapt to changes in their environment and relationships to other organisms. For hunters, taking caution in the face of emerging diseases is one aspect of “survival of the fittest.”
©istockphoto.com/ Lokibaho
Always remember this: it is safer to assume wildlife has been exposed to something rather than hope it hasn’t.
74 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
infection for humans are domestic sheep, goats, and cattle, many species of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, are also believed to be potential sources of the bacterium. The causative bug, Coxiella burnetii, has been isolated from the blood, lungs, spleen, and liver of infected animals during the early stage of the infection. The bacterium is usually harbored in the mammary glands during the later phase of the disease. This means that a splash of blood or milk from an infected
York, suggesting that exposed animals were not clustered in particular locales. Bucks were more likely than does to be antibody-positive, and deer harvested in towns with greater than 10 cattle herds were more likely to be antibody-positive. Such data show that you never know what pathogen or pathogens an animal may have encountered. Always remember this: it is safer to assume wildlife has been exposed to something rather than hope it hasn’t. Brucellosis
Another disease with serious potential implications for hunters worldwide is Brucellosis. Brucella abortus, a bacterium, is commonly diagnosed in elk residing in the Greater Yellowstone Basin. Brucellosis is known as undulant fever in humans and typically causes waves of feverish episodes, often accompanied by profuse sweating, muscle pain, and delirium. Years ago, when bare-armed rectal examinations were commonplace in large animal veterinary practice, it was not unusual for veterinarians to become infected as a result of direct contact with the bacterium while performing rectal palpations in cattle. Now, I am fairly certain that most hunters asked to perform a rectal examination of their quarry would elect to glove up. Considering all these bugs that seem to be waiting for their chance to infect a human, do you think gloves should be reserved for the “dirty” end of the animal only? Let’s be honest. Viruses, parasites, and bacteria don’t just collect in the rectum of any dead animal. They’re everywhere! By the way, rectal sleeves extend all the way to the shoulder, making them great for safe field dressing and keeping the sleeves of your favorite hunting shirt clean and ready for next weekend. Better Safe Than Sorry
If you remember one thing from this article, it’s that the easiest way to prevent transmission of pathogens from wildlife to humans is to wear gloves when handling carcasses. A physical barrier between human skin and animal flesh prevents the potential contact of animal bodily fluids with entry points in the skin, such as open cuts or abrasions. Should you become ill shortly after exposure to wildlife, regardless of whether or not you wore gloves when field dressing, it is critical that you inform your doctor of recent contact with a wildlife carcass. Most doctors don’t diagnose many of the pathogens that could potentially be transferred from wildlife to humans, so these illnesses are unlikely to make the list of potential diagnoses if you don’t inform them about that possibility. To
avoid possible multiple trips to the doctor’s office and the prescription of ineffective treatments, it is best to be upfront and let the doctor know what you may have been exposed to. Finally, it is always easier to form good habits than to break bad ones, so it is critical that the next generation of hunters understand at an early age that gloves are just a normal and accepted part of fielddressing. If setting a good example for the next generation of hunters is what is needed to make you start packing latex gloves, I’ll take it. If you start throwing on a pair of gloves because you’ve decided TB or any of the fevers (rabbit, undulant, or Q) aren’t things you’re interested in getting to know first-hand, I’ll take that too.
Like wildlife, people need to adapt to changes in their environment and relationships to other organisms. For hunters, taking caution in the face of emerging diseases is one aspect of “survival of the fittest.” n Megan Kirchgessner is the State Wildlife Veterinarian for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. She recently completed her PhD, entitled “Spatial Epidemiology of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus and Coxiella burnetii Seroprevalence in White-Tailed Deer in New York,” where she studied disease transmission between humans, domestic animals, and wildlife.
Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 75
B&C Publication Timeline The Boone and Crockett Club has been associated with publishing dating back to 1893 when the first Acorn series book, American Big Game Hunting, was published as “The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club” by Forest and Stream Publishing. Several more Acorn series books were published until 1893 American Big Game Hunting
1895
F irst book released by the Boone and Crockett Club. Edited by
Hunting in Many Lands
1897
1904
Trail and Campfire
American Big Game in Its Haunts
Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell.
1952 Records of North American Big Game, 3rd Ed.
1933 Hunting Trails on Three Continents
1939
1973
1975 An American Crusade for Wildlife
North American Big Game, 2nd Ed.
Records of North American Big Game, Revised 6th Ed.
First records book released using the Club’s new scoring system, which was adopted in 1950.
Updated edition of Trefethen’s 1961 book. It quickly became apparent the original book was not just the story of the Boone and Crockett Club, but a history of wildlife conservation in North America. This new edition includes major updates associated with the progress of wildlife conservation from 1960 to the 1970s.
1984 18th Big Game Awards Book
1985 Measuring and Scoring North American Big Game, 1st Ed.
The first awards book published by the Club. This new format includes the hunting stories from the top trophies featured at the Club’s Awards Program. In the fall of 2013, the Club is scheduled to release the eleventh book in this popular series.
1992
21st Big Game Awards Book
1986
19th Big Game Awards Book
1994 From the Peace to the Fraser
1993
Records of North American Big Game, 10th Ed.
The Club goes back to its roots a bit with the release of From the Peace to the Fraser featuring the photos and journal entries of the real-life adventures and exploration of Club Member Prentiss Gray.
1998
1997
23rd Big Game Awards Book
Measuring and Scoring North American Big Game, 2nd Ed.
1999
Records of North American Big Game, 11th Ed.
Records of North American Caribou and Moose, 1st Ed.
2004 Fair Chase in North America
2005
Records of North American Big Game, 12th Ed.
B&C releases a compilation of Club member Craig Boddington’s Fair Chase magazine articles.
2008
Records of North American Big Game, 12th Ed.
2010
Field Guide to Measuring and Judging Big Game, 2nd Ed
76 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
2009
Measuring and Scoring North American Big Game, 3rd Ed.
2010
27th Big Game Awards Book
2006 Legendary Hunts
B&C releases the first book in its Legendary Hunts series… a collection of top stories from previous Awards books.
2009 Records of North American Elk, 1st Ed. Records of North American Mule Deer, 1st Ed.
2010 An American Elk Retrospective
2010 1906 Big Game Measurements
Limited Edition Reprint
2011 Records of North American Big Game, 13th Edition
the Club’s first records book premiered in 1932. Overall the Club has published over 65 books about hunting, adventure, records-keeping, and wildlife conservation. In 2011, the Club released its first eBook with the release of Legendary Hunts. Today, the Club has over a dozen eBooks available and continues to release two to three new traditional print books for sportsmen each year. This fall, the third book in our Retrospective Series—this one featuring mule deer—will be released, along with the Club’s 28th Big Game Awards book. 1906 Big Game Measurements
1913
First big game measuring book produced. Replica edition released in 2010.
Hunting at High Altitudes
Records of North American Big Game, 4th Ed.
released. Prentiss N. Gray serves as editor.
1964
Records of North American Big Game, 5th Ed.
The first book history book about the Club, authored by B&C professional member, James Trefethen.
1975 The Wild Sheep of Modern North America
1987 Records of North American Whitetail Deer, 1st Ed. The first species-specific records book released by the Club.
1979 The Black Bear in Modern North America
1977
Records of North American Big Game, 7th Ed.
Proceedings of a workshop on the management biology of wild sheep held at the University of Montana and sponsored by the Boone and Crockett Club.
22nd Big Game Awards Book
Hunting and Conservation
1961 Crusade for Wildlife
1958
1995
1932 Records of North American Big Game, 1st Ed. First B&C records book
1925
1988
20th Big Game Awards Book
1995 African Game Lands
1995
Records of North American Whitetail Deer, 3rd Ed.
1996
Records of North American Elk and Mule Deer, 2nd Ed.
2001
24th Big Game Awards Book
The Club’s first full-color coffee table style book is released. B&C members and authors, Dale Toweill and Valerius Geist partner with the Club to publish an updated history of wild sheep in North America.
2006 A Whitetail Retrospective
B&C staff members raid the records archives to produce a visual history of whitetail records keeping.
2007
26th Big Game Awards Book
2009 Theodore Roosevelt Hunter-Conservationist
Following the success of Hunting the American West , the Club releases this illustrated history about Theodore Roosevelt by B&C member Larry Wilson. Receives: Benjamin Franklin Gold Award—Biography category; Gold Medal, PubWest Book Design Awards—History/ biography category; and Silver IPPY Award—Mountain West nonfiction category.
Legendary Hunts II
2011 Vintage Hunting Album
1981
Records of North American Big Game, 8th Ed.
2nd Ed.
1999 Return of Royalty
2011
Records of North American Big Game, 6th Ed.
1991 Records of North American Elk and Mule Deer, 1st Ed. Records of North American Whitetail Deer,
1990
Records of North American Big Game, 9th Ed.
1971
2012
B&C creates its eBook program and releases the first two books in its B&C Classics eBook series.
2012
Records of North American Whitetail Deer, 5th Ed.
1996 Records of North American Sheep, Goats and Pronghorn, 1st Ed.
2003
2004
Records of North American Whitetail Deer, 4th Ed.
25th Big Game Awards Book
2008 Hunting the American West B&C publishes Hunting the American West by author Richard C. Rattenbury. The publication wins numerous awards including: 2009 Spur Award for Best Non-Fiction, Historical Book; IPPY for Best Regional Non-Fiction, Gold Award; and SILVER AWARD, History -- Foreword Book of the Year. It’s the Club’s first book authored by someone who is not a B&C member.
2013
2012 Great Rams III
Coming this Fall!
2 Fair Chase Summer 2013 n 77
The
B&C Regular member Chair Hunter Ethics Sub-Committee
Oh Brother ... He does get it! Since this is the first time this column appears on the inside back cover in Fair Chase, it seems an opportune time to say some things you might not expect—especially from me. I hope to open your eyes a bit wider and broaden the context of our discussion as we explore the ethics of hunting. I also want to demonstrate how open-minded I can be... How’s this?—“This column is a great opportunity to spread the good word about hunting ethics. Instead, I’m just making noise because I am too self-righteous to be taken seriously.” Where the heck did that come from, you ask? Let me tell you about my brother Mike. Mike and I grew up hunting and fishing, mostly together. What is surprising is that, even with everything Dad and I taught him, his hunting theology is not exactly the same as mine. Don’t get me wrong. He is not “off the deep end” by any stretch. Our differences are more a matter of nuance and fine detail. For the record, he is a dandy hunter and a great shot, and I’d hunt with him pretty much anywhere, most any day. What is difficult for me to understand is that when he talks about the big picture of the hunting community, he just doesn’t get it. Or at least I thought he didn’t get it. When Mike and I share a campfire and a little of what we call “brown water,” we tend to hyper-analyze the parameters of the hunt equation. Lately, when I am about to lay down the “proper definition of the hunt” and some of my best “Fair Chase do’s and don’ts,” he lets me know that many of my positions are way too narrow, too black and white. He says, true or not, my views don’t have reach because many hunters are tired of hearing they are doing it wrong. He has even gone so far as to say, “you guys are the leaders, but you are losing your edge,” and “your standing in the community is at risk.” He says we are too dogmatic and inflexible, and we are driving away the very people we want to influence. Imagine my indignation! Sitting in my ivory tower, the truth is the truth, plain and simple. I am a protector of all that is virtuous and right about hunting, and I proselytize a message that is self-evident. I cannot compromise because the message will get diluted and eventually lost. But then again, even the finest preacher needs folks to listen, or his efforts are for naught. If I swallow this bitter pill, what then? How do we establish, practice, preach, and protect the “right” hunter’s creed and at the same time accept other versions of it? Or perhaps more importantly, are we so high and mighty that we don’t care if we alienate some for what we determine is best for the hunting community? Sounds a bit arrogant in those terms, doesn’t it? This is not good leadership. In fact, it is ineffective and likely, even erosive. In the end analysis, we need to highlight the honesty, integrity, and respect that underlie the concept
q
We all should
Celebrate
The hunt, the hunters, The game animals And wild places.
Last Word
By Daniel A. Pedrotti Jr. The ethics of fair chase
78 n Fair Chase Summer 2013
of fair chase while we reach as many hunters as possible with a message they can abide. By example, hunters that have limited opportunities to pursue game do not want us to head them off at the pass by unduly criticizing what may be their only reasonable access to hunting. If we lose ground with these folks, we end up preaching to the choir. As this newfound perspective came flooding in, I began to see fair chase as an ideal. It is sustainable, defensible, and it is aligned with the North American Model; to us, it is hunting at its finest and purest, but it is not the only way. If one cannot meet all of the requirements of fair chase hunting, he or she should not stay home and consider the virtues of vegetarianism. Let’s continue to preach the good word but let’s leave plenty of room for our brothers and sisters to do the best they can. Let’s agree on what we can agree on and, let’s openly and honestly discuss our differences without condemnation and exclusion. I believe we can agree that the pursuit should be as uncompromised as possible. I also believe we can all agree that the animal should be as wild and natural as possible, and it should have the greatest opportunity to elude the hunter. For me, the differentiator between a kindred hunter and one that is not is a matter of intent. By example, if one goes afield with the intent of circumventing or short-cutting the pursuit in the name of antler inches, I have a very hard time listening to their story. We all have a primal, DNA-level need to hunt. Some of us have more layers of civilization in our way, but it is there. It is not my place or intent to dissuade or diminish your inner hunter; quite the contrary. I/we should all celebrate the hunt, the hunters, the game animals and wild places. We need to be as united in our celebration as we can. There can be honest disagreement on the nuance and fine details, but we cannot let profiteers and carpetbaggers influence the public perception of our community. We need to stay vigilant on this front because there are more threats to our way of life every day. I intend to continue to point them out for what they are so we can include them in our debate. Remember, we are hunters, not collectors. We conduct ourselves with skill and knowledge, and we accept the fact that the outcome is uncertain. We are tireless in our pursuits, and we do not choose to compromise the circumstance that nature provides. We need to be a united, strong community based on integrity, honesty and respect. Within these guidelines, we owe each other some tolerance if we are going to be a resilient, sustainable, and relevant group. Thanks Mike. n
TE ST E D DA I LY
At Nosler, we test our bullets all day long. This means we shoot. A lot. Since we began our rifle program in 2005, our technicians have been using Nosler actions for testing bullets from every lot manufactured. The numbers are staggering. While the barrels shoot out eventually, the actions stay the same. Through countless rounds, these actions have run without a hitch, and still provide the same one-hole accuracy they did when they were fresh out of the machine shop. To say our action is “tough” may be a bit of an understatement, so we’ll let the results speak for themselves. While we know you probably won’t shoot yours as much as we shoot ours, it’s nice to know you could.
To order a Nosler Rifle, please see your local firearms retailer, or contact us directly by calling 1-800-285-3701. For more information or to request a Rifle Catalog, visit www.nosler.com Proudly Made In The U.S.A.
KIMBER MOUNTAIN RIFLES. Unequaled accuracy, dependability & light weight.
The lightest production hunting rifles ever offered, Mountain Ascent™ (top) and Montana™ models weigh as little as 4 pounds, 13 ounces. They are chambered in 13 proven calibers.
Mountain Ascent rifles have custom touches like fluted bolt handle, bolt body and barrel; plus a hollow bolt knob. This cuts weight without compromising accuracy.
Mountain Ascent models feature a muzzle brake to reduce felt recoil. A cap to protect threads if the brake is removed and matte black ring mounts are also included.
Kimber® mountain rifles combine classic features in a light weight, stainless steel and Kevlar/carbon fiber package that guarantees performance. Actions offer the unequaled dependability of controlled-round feeding and extraction, and safety levers are the positive 3-position wing. Match grade barrels, chambers and triggers ensure accuracy. The new Mountain Ascent models go even farther. Fluting on the barrel, bolt body and bolt handle cuts additional weight, and a removable muzzle break cuts recoil. Stocks even wear Gore™ Optifade™ Open Country Concealment. Weigh the options, then visit a Kimber Master Dealer to pick up your next rifle.
Kimber mountain rifles have premium Kevlar/carbon fiber stocks with both pillar and glass bedding to lock in accuracy regardless of hard use or conditions.
T H E C H O I C E O F A M E R I C A’ S B E S T
kimberamerica.com (888) 243-4522
Kimber offers nearly 200 purpose-built pistols and rifles to meet any need. ©2012, Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved. Information and specifications are for reference only and subject to change without notice.