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THE OFFICI A L PUBLICATION OF THE BOONE A ND CROCK ETT CLUB

Volume 35 n Number 1 n Spring 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR | We Are Fair Chase

FROM THE PRESIDENT | A Call to Action

16. Accurate Hunter

30. Beating the Odds

Doug Painter

Timothy C. Brady

10 CONSERVATION POLICY COLUMN | 2018 Farm Bill Has Major Benefits for Conservation James L. Cummins 12

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB AND THE 2018 FARM BILL

ACCURATE HUNTER | Take It or Leave It! To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

UNDERSTANDING AMMUNITION

TRAILBLAZER SPOTLIGHT | ONX

BEATING THE ODDS

THE NEED FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND POLICY | PART 3

Craig Boddington

Wayne van Zwoll

Casey Dinkel

Robert D. Brown

JUST EAT IT

Robert D. Brown

44 SCIENCE BLASTS | Discovering Ungulate Migrations John F. Organ

36. The Need for Wildlife Conservation and Policy

66. Beyond the Score

54. Redefining Fair Chase

60. DIY - Alaska Caribou

EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CONSERVATION LEADERS

IN THE NEWS | B&C CWD POSITION STATEMENT

HUNT RIGHT; HUNT FAIR CHASE | Redefining Fair Chase

EVOLUTION OF THE FIELD PHOTO | PART 2

DIY - ALASKA CARIBOU

BEYOND THE SCORE | My Rita Blanca Pronghorn Hunt

TROPHY TALK | Annual Meeting Update

GENERATION NEXT | 30th Awards Youth Trophy List

RECENTLY ACCEPTED TROPHIES AND TROPHY PHOTO GALLERY 30 th Awards Program Entries

B&C Fellows Presenting at the Club’s Annual Meeting

@BooneAndCrockettClub #BooneAndCrockettClub

Large male spring grizzly bear near the continental divide in Western Alberta Canada. © Donald M. Jones

Keith Balfourd

Justin Spring

Bradin Hanselka

Justin Spring

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

Photos from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch

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ABOUT THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB MISSION STATEMENT

It is the mission of the Boone and Crockett Club to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America. VISIONS FOR THE CLUB n

We envision a future in which the Boone and Crockett Club continues to be an internationally-recognized leader in conservation, especially in research, education, and the demonstration of sustainable conservation practices. A future in which the Club continues its legacy as a key leader in national conservation policy. A future in which the Club continues to be North America’s leader in big game records keeping as a conservation tool. A future in which the Club’s members continue to be respected and commended for their individual and collective contributions to conservation. A future in which the Club’s leadership and management continue as examples of excellence, and programs remain balanced with financial capability. A future in which the Club’s activities continue to be highly-focused and effective, and as a result, natural resources sharing, wildlife populations, habitats, and recreational hunting opportunities continue to improve through, and beyond the 21st century.

VISIONS FOR WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION n

We envision a future in which wildlife and its habitat, in all their natural diversity, are managed and conserved throughout North America. A future in which hunting continues to be enjoyed under rules of fair chase, sportsmanship, and ethical respect for the land. A future in which all users of natural resources respect the rights of others in the spirit of sharing. A future in which the value and conservation of private land habitat is respected and supported. A future in which North Americans are committed to the principle that their use of resources must be sustainable both for themselves and future generations. A future in which hunting opportunities exist for all desiring to participate.

Club President – Timothy C. Brady Secretary – Mary Webster Treasurer – Marshall J. Collins, Jr. Executive Vice President – Administration James F. Arnold Executive Vice President – Conservation James L. Cummins Vice President of Administration Paul V. Phillips Vice President of Big Game Records Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner Vice President of Conservation Anthony J. Caligiuri Vice President of Communications CJ Buck Foundation President – R. Terrell McCombs Class of 2019 A.C. Smid Class of 2020 John P. Evans Class of 2021 Tom L. Lewis

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Editor-in-Chief – Doug Painter Managing Editor – Karlie Slayer Conservation and History Editor Steven Williams Research and Education Editors John F. Organ William F. Porter Hunting and Ethics Editor Mark Streissguth Assistant Editors Keith Balfourd CJ Buck Kendall Hoxsey Kyle M. Lehr Marc Mondavi Jack Reneau Tony A. Schoonen Justin Spring Julie L. Tripp Editorial Contributors Keith Balfourd Craig Boddington Timothy C. Brady Robert D. Brown James L. Cummins Casey Dinkel Bradin Hanselka John F. Organ Doug Painter Justin Spring Wayne van Zwoll Photographic Contributors Donald M. Jones Mark Streissguth

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 1077-3274) 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

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOUNDED IN 1887 BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT CLUB

FAIR CHASE PRODUCTION STAFF

FOUNDATION

Foundation President – R. Terrell McCombs Secretary – Jeffrey A. Watkins Treasurer – C. Martin Wood III Vice President – John P. Evans Vice President – Paul M. Zelisko Class of 2019 John P. Evans Steve J. Hageman R. Terrell McCombs T. Garrick Steele C. Martin Wood III Class of 2020 Remo R. Pizzagalli Edward B. Rasmuson Benjamin A. Strickling III John A. Tomke Jeffrey A. Watkins Class of 2021 Gary W. Dietrich B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Tom L. Lewis Michael J. Opitz Paul M. Zelisko

Danny Noonan Danny@Boone-Crockett.org Phone: (406)542-1888 ext. 205

B&C STAFF

Chief of Staff – Tony A. Schoonen Director of Big Game Records – Justin Spring Director of Publications – Julie L. Tripp Director of Marketing – Keith Balfourd Sales Manager – Danny Noonan Office Manager – Sandy Poston Controller – Abra Loran Assistant Controller – Debbie Kochel Assistant Director of Big Game Records– Kyle M. Lehr Development Program Manager – Jodi Bishop Digital Strategies Manager – Mark Mesenko Creative Services Manager – Karlie Slayer TRM Ranch Manager – Mike Briggs Conservation Education Programs Manager – Luke Coccoli Shipping and Administrative Support Specialist – Amy Hutchison Customer Service/Receptionist – TJ Gould

WE WILL Our creed is simple. Exert the same effort in giving back to the outdoors as we do in our pursuits. We Will lead in protecting our natural resources, inspiring our youth to get outdoors, motivating others to observe safe and ethical conduct in the outdoors and honoring the hard work and dedication it takes to perform at our best.

REMI WARREN

UA H U N T. C O M

@UAHUNT

WE WILL

PROTECT �� INSPIRE �� CHAMPION �� HONOR

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WE ARE FAIR CHASE As any comedian who makes a living on stage can attest, a joke is funny only if the audience laughs. As obvious as that statement might be, it’s surprising how often those behind the mic—or, for that matter, those behind the editor’s desk—believe our material is oh-so clever if we get a chuckle from our own punchline. Sure, all of us who put together Fair Chase work hard to make sure that our columns and stories are informative, interesting, and relevant in the context of the issues we face in the hunting and natural resource community. At the same time, we recognize that, with each issue, the true measure of success is not in our own view, but, dear reader, in yours. That’s why, every few years, we survey our readership, notably the more than 4,600 Associates and Lifetime Associates who make up the lion’s share of our subscribers. A quick snapshot of our Associates (based on those who responded to the survey) reveals that the vast majority of you—96 percent—are male. Most of you are between 54 and 65 years old, with the

second-largest age group being 65 and over. Conversely, our ranks are thin among the 35-and-under crowd. Remember, you can sign up a young family member or friend as an Associate and they will then get their own copy of Fair Chase magazine! Almost half of all of our Associates have an undergraduate degree and many have gone on to obtain a graduate degree as well. A quarter of all our Associates hail from the mountain states, followed by 16 percent from the Pacific states and 14 percent from the Midwest and north-central region that includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Only two percent of our Associate base call New England their home. Not surprisingly, most all our readers hunt, and they spend more time afield than most sportsmen, many of them—41 percent—hunting 31 days or more per season. All told, some 75 percent of our Associates spend at least two weeks hunting each season and more than 60 percent have hunted in multiple states in the last three years. Some 80 percent of our

Associates have hunted 20 or more years, underscoring our older demographics. More than three-quarters of all Associates hunt whitetail deer, and more than 60 percent hunt elk and mule deer. Bear and pronghorn are pursued by around half of all Associates and a third of you hunt sheep. As far as first hearing about Fair Chase, 45 percent of Associates came to the magazine through entering a trophy, and 28 percent learned about the publication online. We are very pleased that a large majority of you rate the magazine as excellent, and close to 80 percent of you would recommend the magazine to a friend or relative. It’s also great to see that more than 50 percent of our Associates read the magazine from cover to cover. In our survey, we received many comments from our readers. One of my favorites is: “It is one magazine out of the several that I get that I slow down and take everything in. One of the few publications that makes you stop and think. Keep up the good work.” If we are helping you understand and evaluate the

Doug Painter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

issues that will shape the future of our hunting heritage, that’s a great start. As a group, our Associates—you—are an exceptionally well-educated, dedicated, and active group of hunters. As we go forward, please do not hesitate to email me (painter.doug@yahoo. com) with any suggestions, questions, or thoughts you may have. We face no shortage of challenges. By working together and by working to build our ranks, however, I believe that we can continue to make good progress. As we look down the road, let’s remember that it’s those who laugh last…laugh best. Hope to see you down the trail. n

As a group, our Associates–you–are an exceptionally well-educated, dedicated, and active group of hunters.

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EVERY RIDGE.

EVERY WALLOW.

EVERY RUB.

#LEUPOLDCORE

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A CALL TO ACTION On the morning of November 30, while attending the Boone and Crockett Club’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, I received a frantic phone call from my niece, Kennis, who lives at our home in Anchorage, Alaska. She was in the midst of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and was terrified the house was going to collapse. I instructed her to get out of the house, but the shaking was so violent that standing was difficult and maneuvering outside was impossible. I fully understood her situation. On March 27, 1964, my parents, six siblings and I, as a young child, endured the largest earthquake ever recorded in the northern hemisphere. At 9.2 in magnitude and lasting almost five minutes, it literally changed the landscape of south-central Alaska. The earthquake was so traumatic that, almost 55 years later, I can still clearly recount the event and aftermath. Minutes after talking to Kennis, I gathered with other Alaskans present at the annual meeting to exchange information. The initial reports were horrific; roads and overpasses had collapsed, there was no power, gas lines had exploded, water and sewer lines were broken, and homes and buildings were leveled. Perhaps the most difficult news was that the roof had collapsed at our local high school where so many friends and neighbors either attended or worked. As the day continued, the news improved. Yes, there was significant damage to our

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

infrastructure, and while many homes and businesses were damaged, it was not as significant as initially reported. Remarkably, there were no fatalities and only a few minor injuries. After talking to family and friends, I was encouraged by a consistent theme that emerged—just as a similar one had emerged in 1964—neighbors were doing everything they could to help each other and the community. Someone was there to offer help, whether in the form of food, water, clothing, blankets, or even diapers. This reinforced what I already knew: Alaskans are resilient and self-sufficient and like so many people tend to be at their best when times are at their worst. In his acceptance remarks for winning the Nobel Prize in literature, a fellow hunter and American writer, the late William Faulkner, once said, “Man will not merely endure, he will prevail.” While my fellow Alaskans and the wild places and wild things we all love have endured a great deal, I, too, know they will prevail. When the Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by President Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, and others, its main tasks were promoting conservation and management of big game, preserving hunting, encouraging high ethical standards, and furthering policy for those purposes. At the time, the Club founders recognized a crisis in humanity’s impact on wildlife resources and their habitats, and they called citizens to action in an effort

to change America’s direction. With the development and implementation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, they certainly prevailed. Things are more complex today. We have many political, economic, social, technological, and environmental challenges in wildlife and natural resource management. This impressive model of conservation that the Club helped establish will not sustain itself without stronger, unified leadership, improved communications that reach a broader audience, and scientifically-sound conservation policy. As the new president of North America’s oldest conservation organization, I want to remind us all that even though we may share different opinions, we share common goals. We all want healthy forests, thriving wildlife populations, and clean air and water. Strong leadership is needed now more than ever, especially as new threats to wildlife and natural resources emerge. America’s land management and hunting

Timothy C. Brady PRESIDENT

traditions are being distorted by many factors including urbanization, demographic changes, economic demands, the media, and our crowded, fast-paced lives. While there are many pressures to divide this diverse group of people, we need strong leadership to unite us in support of our common conservation goals. In our society, political power is determined by the people. Power is exercised in the form of general citizen engagement and involvement, often exhibited through voting and campaign contributions. It is imperative that we “must all, indeed, hang together,” as Benjamin Franklin once said. If we—hunters, birdwatchers, conservationists, preservationists, Democrats and Republicans—work together for the cause that Roosevelt started, then we can accomplish great things for wildlife conservation. A recent scientific survey conducted by

I want to remind us all that even though we may share different opinions, we share common goals. We all want healthy forests, thriving wildlife populations, and clean air and water. Strong leadership is needed now more than ever, especially as new threats to wildlife and natural resources emerge.

Responsive Management, an internationally-recognized public opinion research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues, indicated that American’s approval of hunting remains high. For example, the study found that 77 percent of American adults strongly or moderately approve of hunting. We need to unite these people behind our nation’s common conservation goals, many of which are similar to those held by the Club’s membership. While this plan sounds simple, it has become a very complicated matter with significant divisiveness, especially as the conservation community is splintered into multiple factions. More people are engaging in, and having a greater in f luence on, natura l resources than ever before, which is a good thing. People want to do what is best yet are not necessarily familiar with

what that is, and their actions are not always based on sound science. As the Club has always advocated, science should be the backbone of decisions about wildlife management and natural resources policy. One needs to look no further than the Endangered Species Act or federal forest management to see what happens when we place more emphasis on politics and less emphasis on science. One of our Club’s annual meeting speakers, Congressman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, also emphasized that point. Despite the many successes of the past, future challenges will make it even more necessary for resource managers and elected officials to work together to craft science-based policy that works for an ever-growing range of people. The Boone and Crockett Club remains committed to the task of maintaining a

model of conservation that is recognized throughout the world. This model must constantly be nurtured as special interest groups seem to have their own plans that go well beyond why this model was established. It is our duty as conservation leaders to maintain—and improve upon— what the leaders before us created. Alaska has proven its resiliency in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes by relying on steady leadership, strong communications that reach a diverse group of people, and policies based on sound science. Our society should also consider these tools in an effort to increase the resiliency of our unique conservation model today and in the future, especially in the face of emerging threats and pressures. n

In his acceptance remarks for winning the Nobel Prize in literature, a fellow hunter and American writer, the late William Faulkner, once said, “Man will not merely endure, he will prevail.” While my fellow Alaskans and the wild places and wild things we all love have endured a great deal, I, too, know they will prevail.

The Boone and Crockett Club asks that you please thank our Trailblazers with your patronage. FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9

2018 FARM BILL HAS MAJOR BENEFITS FOR CONSERVATION I am pleased to join the other Co-Chair of the Boone and Crockett Club’s Conservation Policy Committee, Paul Phillips, and the rest of our policy team in authoring the first column on the Club’s policy efforts. If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to read President Tim Brady’s first column. He states, “The Boone and Crockett Club remains committed to the task of maintaining a model of conservation that is recognized throughout the world.” He also states that it is the Club’s duty to maintain and improve upon what the conservation leaders before us created. He is so right. The purpose of this column is to report to you, as readers of Fair Chase, what the Boone and Crockett Club is doing in regards to such efforts. Our founder, Theodore Roosevelt, once said, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” If that is the case, the Club has won first place. The conservation policy team is pleased to report to you in each issue of this great publication the results of this hard work. All too often we associate public land with wildlife, but private lands are vitally important to the conservation of wildlife in the United States because they constitute 74 percent of the land ownership in the lower 48 states. In addition, 50 percent (890 million acres) of the land base in the contiguous United States is managed as cropland, pastureland, and rangeland, and 30 percent (673 million acres) is managed as forestland. The successes in conservation and wildlife management we have been able to 10 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

achieve in this country are anchored by key pieces of legislation that have been passed in the last 100 years. One such critical piece of legislation has been the Farm Bill, which had its beginning in the 1930s, back when it was known as the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This past December, the latest Farm Bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and President Donald J. Trump signed the measure into law. The Boone and Crockett Club applauds the passage of the new Farm Bill, which includes several critical conservation and forest management provisions. The Farm Bill is one of the largest single sources of conservation spending in the federal budget, and it represents the single largest federal investment in private-lands conservation. This bipartisan legislation delivers robust, voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs that promote healthy wildlife habitats such as forests, wetlands and grasslands, and clean waters for all of us that hunt, fish, or just enjoy the outdoors. The Club has been closely involved with the Farm Bill since the early 1990s. This initial legislation in the 1930s was intended to help steer the country out of the Great Depression. It addressed widespread domestic hunger, falling crop prices for farmers, and the catastrophic Dust Bowl that resulted in massive soil erosion. This Act restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land, let natural vegetation grow, and to remove excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce the surplus of agricultural commodities, and therefore effectively raise the

value of crops. Periodically, the legislation is re-enacted with evolving policy, addressing commodity payments such as disaster and price supports, as well as nutrition programs. The Farm Bill of recent times is a compilation of many different acts that have been passed by the United States Congress to enhance agricultural productivity and conservation on private lands. The Farm Bill is not a single piece of legislation but a dynamic series of acts over the past nine decades that includes new programs or revises existing ones. It affects every citizen whether it’s through clean air, clean water, or healthy food, to those who grow our food or who recreate on the landscape. The 2018 Farm Bill continues the voluntary, locally-led, incentive-based conservation model. It builds on the success of the 2014 Farm Bill by streamlining, simplifying and improving program administration. The bill also provides additional investment in soil health practices, such as cover crops, ultimately providing “downstream” benefits to communities in the form of cleaner air and water, healthier soils, healthier forests, and more wildlife habitat. From a sportsmen’s perspective, the most effective provisions in the conservation title of the Farm Bill are the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, the Wetland Reserve Easements, or WRE, and the wildlife habitat practices in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP. These provisions directly impact wildlife habitat and therefore, healthy upland bird, waterfowl, and big game populations. The forestry title in the

CONSERVATION POLICY COLUMN

James L. Cummins B&C REGULAR MEMBER CO-CHAIR, CONSERVATION POLICY COMMITTEE

new Farm Bill includes nine provisions that will help streamline our processes so we can get on with the business of better managing our forest lands. While the forestry title is not perfect, these provisions are moving our nation’s forest management policies in the right direction. The most effective forestry provisions in the Farm Bill are the Timber Innovation Act and Good Neighbor Authority. Special thanks goes to Congressman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the only professional forester in the U.S. Congress, for his hard and insightful work on the forestry provisions of the bill. I am especially grateful to my U.S. Senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, for making chronic wasting disease research (CWD) a priority of the research title. This will help land-grant universities throughout the United States better understand and combat the spread of CWD. The passage of this Farm Bill would not have been possible without the long, dedicated efforts of the Club’s members, staff, lobbyists, and partners. I am also very thankful for the time the members and staff of the House and Senate Agriculture committees provided listening to the Club’s needs and desires on the Farm Bill. n

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BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB AND THE

2018 FARM BILL

Highlighted below are the provisions and titles of the 2018 Farm Bill that the Boone and Crockett Club worked on and directly impact sportsmen, wildlife, and habitat. More information can be found on page 10. The Boone and Crockett Club applauds the passage of the new Farm Bill, which includes several critical conservation and forest management provisions.

CONSERVATION TITLE FUNDING: There were no funding cuts to the Conservation Title. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP): The bill allows for an increased acreage cap of 27 million acres by 2023. It includes provisions to increase the conservation of grassland by 2 million acres, which are important to species such as sage grouse and pronghorn.

FERAL SWINE ERADICATION AND CONTROL PILOT: According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, feral swine cause an estimated $1.5 billion in damage to property, crops, and wildlife habitat annually and present a risk for the transmission of several catastrophic diseases. The bill establishes the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot program with $75 million for threat assessment, control methods, and land restoration. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS: The bill provides $50 million for the Voluntary Public Access Program, which funds walk-in access for hunting and fishing across the country.

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CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (CSP): The bill continues comprehensive working lands conservation by reforming and adding much needed flexibility to CSP. By removing the average $18 per acre funding requirement for the program, the bill intends to better incentivize farmers to address local resource concerns.

AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM (ACEP): The bill restores funding for ACEP to $450 million per year. It increases the amount of land in a county that can be restored to wetlands from 10 percent to 15 percent of a countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cropland base. The bill continues to perform the functions of conserving wetlands and bottomland hardwoods through Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE), which are important to waterfowl and played a major role in the recovery of the Louisiana black bear.

REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (RCPP): The 2014 Farm Bill consolidated the authorities of the many regional programs into RCPP, where USDA partners with private organizations to address natural resource concerns. Targeted conservation initiatives are developed on the local level and selected by USDA through a competitive, meritbased application process. The bill increases funding for RCPP to $300 million per year and streamlines the program to allow greater flexibility. INCREASING LANDOWNER PARTICIPATION: The bill removes impediments to conservation adoption by eliminating requirements for entities to have a SAM/DUNS number and providing USDA the ability to waive AGI limits for environmentally sensitive land of special significance, such as corridors for big game movement.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM (EQIP): The bill continues the commitment to working lands by increasing funding for EQIP to $2.025 billion by fiscal year 2023. Furthermore, the bill increases its emphasis on enhancing and restoring wildlife habitat and invasive species control by up to $200 million annually.

FORESTRY TITLE EXPEDITES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS: The bill encourages proper management for healthy and productive forests, and incentivizes infrastructure and new market opportunities while simplifying environmental reviews. It reduces the threat of catastrophic wildfires by renewing the insect and disease categorical exclusion (CE). The bill also expedites treatment of federal land by authorizing a CE of up to 4,500 acres to provide habitat for the greater sage grouse and mule deer.

EMPOWERS STATE AND LOCAL DECISION MAKINGâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY (GNA): The bill also promotes forest management by empowering partners to remove timber through cooperative agreements or contracts to perform watershed restoration and forest management services on National Forest System lands. The Bill expands that authority to include counties and Indian Tribes to provide more localized forest management and timber removal on our federal forests.

PROMOTES CROSS-BOUNDARY WILDFIRE MITIGATION: The bill authorizes new collaborative tools to treat hazardous fuel loads on bordering non-federal lands.

REPORT ON WILDFIRE, INSECT INFESTATION, AND DISEASE PREVENTION ON FEDERAL LAND: The bill directs USDA to update Congress on management efforts to address forest health.

TIMBER INNOVATION ACT: For successful construction, tall wood buildings require research to ensure their safety and compliance with all building standards. The bill establishes a performance-driven research and development program to help advance tall wood building construction in the United States, therefore increasing the demand for wood.

COMMUNITY WOOD ENERGY (AND WOOD INNOVATION) PROGRAM: Markets are essential for healthy forests and habitat for species such as elk and deer. The bill modifies the Community Wood Energy Program to support grants for new infrastructure, new mills, and added capacity that will use low value, small-diameter material.

UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHTS-OF-WAY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PILOT: The bill authorizes the U.S. Forest Service to create a privatelyfunded pilot program to conduct vegetation management near electricity infrastructure outside of a right-of-way. This program will help reduce fuel load, decrease wildfire risk, and promote electricity reliability. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION PROGRAM: The bill expands existing authorities to focus the Landscape Scale Restoration Program on cross-boundary restoration to address concerns such as watershed restoration, wildfire risk reduction and wildlife habitat conservation.

RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES (RAC): The bill empowers local governments and local decision making by streamlining the RAC appointment process to allow more effective, local collaboration on management projects and to expedite results.

RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS TITLE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: The title prioritized chronic wasting disease research (CWD), which will help land-grant universities throughout the United States better understand and combat the spread of CWD.

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 13

FAIR CHASE CAN BE FOUND ANYWHERE, but a wilderness hunt is as stripped down, genuine, and raw as it gets. Out here, the advantage goes to the game.

John was taking his turn watching the bears that were now about a mile out, when the unexpected happened. “He’s fighting a wolf!” John said looking though the spotting scope. In disbelief I pushed John aside and looked to confirm his ridiculous statement. Sure enough, the giant boar of more than nine feet was indeed fighting a large gray timber wolf. We all took turns watching them spar for nearly 10 minutes as the wolf buzzed around the bear, lunging in every so often to bite the boar wherever he could. The large bruin tried to swat the wolf but he was too slow, and the two danced around and around. It was like watching a heavyweight boxer fight a featherweight. Eventually, the giant brownie became tired of being bitten and slowly backed away, giving victory to the wolf. The three of us had certainly never seen anything so amazing in all our travels. PG. 30 BEATING THE ODDS BY CASEY DINKEL

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A message brought to you by

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CRAIG BODDINGTON PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Photos Courtesy of Author

ACCURATE HUNTER TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT! TO SHOOT OR NOT TO SHOOT?

This stand, overlooking a food plot, has been in place for 12 years. Dead-steady rest, known distances. There’s no valid excuse to miss or wound game under such conditions. Trust me, these things have happened—and will probably happen again!

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On my Sonoran desert sheep hunt we could see the bedded ram clearly, but intervening brush precluded a shot. I waited endlessly, getting a stiff neck—but when he finally got up, I took the shot. On bedded animals waiting is usually—but not always—the best tactic.

When hunting alone, the outcome

of any approach, opportunity, or shot is altogether between the hunter and his or her reflection in the mirror. When hunting with a guide or buddy, there might be a couple of witnesses, but ours is mostly a solitary pursuit. At one time, a hunter’s desire for success might have been guided by hunger. For many, meat on the table remains a primary and valid motivation to hunt, though today, starvation is rarely a possible consequence. Today’s hunters are guided more by conscience, sense of ethics, and the drive to perform well.

Whether anyone is watching or not, obedience to game laws is an integral part of ethical hunting. Sportsmen are one of the world’s most self-regulating groups. We created game laws to increase wildlife populations and to perpetuate our ability to hunt. There are no shades of gray here, only black and white: Law-abiding hunters on one side; poachers on the other. Ethical hunting also dictates that we do our best to harvest our game cleanly. Here’s where that natural drive to succeed sometimes gets in the way. Without question, some of us are more driven than others. We all hunt for our own reasons. These can range from interaction with family and friends to pure passion—and deteriorate to thirst for recognition. Whatever the motive, our job is to do it right. This is not about methodology. I support the principles of fair chase—also created by hunters. However, I have no patience with hunters who argue that one technique or method of take is better than another. So long as within our increasingly complex structure of seasons, bag limits, and regulations, we all have free choice. And we still have the obligation to

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harvest our game as well as we can. In almost all circumstances, this comes down to a conscious decision to shoot— or not. Most veteran hunters, with enough soul-searching, can admit to taking shots we wish we hadn’t attempted. Honestly, opposite the pilot’s motto of “big sky, little bullet,” some marginal shots work out. However, misses and near-misses are far more likely. “Lucky shots” do happen and are long remembered. Misses, regrettably, seem soon forgotten. Better to evaluate them, vow to not repeat that error, and go back to the range! Near-misses, meaning wounded game, are far more serious. Unfortunately, these events are part of hunting. An article like this is almost certain to draw letters from hunters who insist they have never missed or wounded game. I used to think that these folks either had extremely selective memories or little experience. These options remain likely, but I can accept that many American whitetail hunters spend every season in favorite stands on

familiar ground, thus at known distances with predictable shot angles and shooting positions. Under such circumstances, it might be possible to go many seasons without a mishap! Hunters who spend their lives roving rough country or in unfamiliar areas are presented with a much greater array of opportunities at unpredictable distances. Not all shots can be perfect. If you’ve truly never made a bad shot, kudos! Stick around; sooner or later it will happen. Don’t be surprised or crestfallen; this is part of the game. However, if you know your equipment as you should and are able to get into an acceptable shooting position for the distance and target size, then most shots should come off pretty much as planned. Even with full confidence, there are still innumerable reasons why seemingly nonslip opportunities can be blown: misread on distance or trajectory; bad call on wind; unseen twig in the way; last-second animal movement. I suppose purists might argue there are no excuses for such errors, but we’re

imperfect humans, and they happen. Avoidance lies in thinking the shot through as well as you possibly can and being as sure as you possibly can before taking the final breath followed by the trigger press or arrow release. Even when everything seems perfect and you are almost ready to commit, there is still a conscious decision: Shoot or don’t shoot? Many hunts come down to just one opportunity, so a “don’t shoot” decision might haunt you for years—but misses and wounded animals cause far worse nightmares! Unsure about the wind? That’s a “don’t shoot” decision. Can’t get steady enough? That’s a “don’t shoot” decision. Take a few deep breaths and regroup; if you run out of time, so be it. Hunting is no place for the “Hail-Mary” pass. Shot presentation has much to do with the decision. Like millions of other whitetail hunters, I’d love to take a “typical 12-point” buck. I had a chance at such a buck just once, going dead-away at 40 yards. I was carrying a .280 Remington, not a small gun,

on a Texas whitetail. I probably could have gotten away with the shot, but outbound and even strongly quartering-away shots are too risky on unwounded game. That South Texas buck has haunted me for 30 years—but not shooting was the best decision. Moving shots, discussed in a previous column, are controversial. I don’t like them, but depending on distance, angle and speed, an animal on the move isn’t an automatic “no shoot.” It also depends on one’s experience and comfort level with moving targets. The lying-down shot at a bedded animal is also controversial. On one hand, it’s actually a credit to hunting skill to get the drop on a bedded animal. On the other, when an animal is bedded, the body is often “squashed” at odd angles, and it can be very difficult to envision exactly where the vitals lie. This is a risky shot, but how risky, and whether acceptable, depends primarily on what you can see and how well you think you can visualize the proper aiming point. The good news on a bedded animal is that, at the

LEFT: Part of hunting is that almost any shot can go wrong, for innumerable reasons. Shooting from a steady rest, I hit this Nebraska whitetail too far back. Fortunately, we were able to recover him! RIGHT: My best Dall’s sheep was taken in Yukon at a bit over 500 yards. Distance is a factor in the “shoot” decision, but that depends on conditions. That afternoon was dead calm, I was rested over rolled-up sleeping bags, and I knew the distance and rifle.

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moment, it’s not going anywhere! You have the rare luxury of time to establish a great shooting position, get steady, and figure the shot. Once set up, I usually wait for the animal to stand up before shooting. There are risks here, too. The wind can change or another animal can bound in and spook yours. Also, at least for me, once I’m set up and ready, the longer I must wait to shoot, the more nervous I get. Both my Wyoming bighorn and Sonora desert sheep were bedded when spotted. Typically, I wait, but that always depends on distance, attitude of the animal, and what I can see. As with moving shots, one of our outdoor TV networks has banned airing shots at bedded animals. The logic of this escapes me; as with all shots, the decision must rest with you and be based on distance, angle, equipment, shooting position—and your confidence that this is a shot you should take and can make. On my Wyoming ram, the sheep was lying facing uphill on the next ridge, broad back like a barn door. But I didn’t like it, so I

waited a teeth-gnashing halfhour and had a simple shot when it stood. On the bedded desert ram, we could see the horns clearly, but only the outline of its body through ocotillo cacti. There was no shot, so I waited in agony for at least three eternities before the sheep stood and offered a shot. Just this past fall in Mongolia, I had two shots at bedded rams. One shot was 200 yards; the ram was partly on its side and I was shooting slightly down. I could see the entire ram clearly, not a tricky shot at all. And since he was the largest of 13 rams, the others milling around in brush, it was not a shot to pass. The other shot was closer, just 150 yards, slightly down from one low ridge to another and bedded upright, facing slightly away, most of the body visible. Both times we’d been stalking these rams all day. Daylight was slipping away, and a lot was riding on each shot. These factors add pressure but are not valid reasons to shoot unless you are sure. In each case, I could have waited for the ram to stand, but these were

not difficult shots, and I was very sure. When you’ve studied the shot properly with whatever time you have, you’ve gotten steady, and you’re confident, things usually work out. And that’s how it went. n

This nice whitetail is moving through at a slow pace. You can try to stop him with a grunt call or wait for him to stop. Either might happen—or not. Depending on your comfort and experience with moving shots, this doesn’t have to be a “don’t shoot” situation.

LEFT: This is a “selfie” from a tree stand on my farm. Here, no one will know if I shoot too early or too late or flub a shot. But I’ll know when I look in the mirror, so I follow the rules and do the best I possibly can. RIGHT: Even when all seems perfect, things can go wrong. In 1999, I missed a huge elk from this spot; shot right over him. I think I failed to read the uphill angle, but I’ll never know for sure. And that one still haunts me.

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WAYNE C. VAN ZWOLL

Understanding B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Photos Courtesy of Author

Marcel: after Marcel Grateau,

an early 20th-century French hairdresser whose signature style was even waves applied with a curling iron. What did that have to do with moose?

Still all-around champ, the .30-06 has sired many fine cartridges. Left: P.O. Ackley’s .30-06 Improved.

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“We were sitting in a wild rose thicket rattling a bone knife-handle across the tines of a shed antler,” recalled Annabel. It hadn’t yet summoned a bull. Hard wind “was screaming off the tall Talkeetna peaks, filling the air with a blizzard of autumn leaves.” But wind wasn’t jerking the snag that had caught Doc’s eye. A moose, mostly hidden, was polishing its antlers. Doc readied his Springfield. Together the hunters sneaked closer, Doc in the lead. For a better view, he climbed onto a fallen tree and made his way, “teetering under the rowdy slaps of the gale, up the tilted, lichen-slippery trunk.” Then he stopped. And stared…. They’d first seen the marceled bull after stumbling, under full packs, through thickets hemming the Susitna. Scrambling up a steep bank, they crested so near the moose “I could have hit him in the ribs with a rock.” His swollen neck “barreled out from jaw to shoulder. I could see the wicked flare of green in his deep-set little eyes, and the coarse ruck of his mane as it started to lift.” The antlers were heavy, and wider than half his body length. But what distinguished them was a wave near each tip, a dip-and-flare, “jaunty and rakish.” Eyes locked on that prize, Doc shrugged off his weighty pack for the shot. Alas, a strap caught his belt knife, flipping him backward off the bank. He landed hard, “amid a clatter of rocks and pots and pans … in a clump of devil’s club.” Now, five days later, the hunters had little better footing when Doc froze on the windfall. Below: a mob of moose, sheltering from the wind. Cows, calves, bulls. Great

Ammunition white palms gleamed far into the shadows. Doc eased forward for a better look. The windfall creaked. A cow stood. The stampede brought the marceled bull into view. Doc threw his rifle up and fired. Before he could send another bullet after the galloping moose, the tree gave way…. Back then the Susitna, still recovering from fires of the 1920s, had raised a crop of aspen and birch just tall enough to feed moose above the snow. Bulls were everywhere; but Doc had declined many, “withstanding the temptation of lesser heads, undismayed by difficulties.” His hasty shot, it turned out, would clinch his reward: the elusive antlers with the wavy tips. Unlike that bull, Doc’s rifle was most ordinary. Between the world wars and long after, 1903 and 03A3 Springfields abounded. I saw them for less than $30 when I didn’t have $30. Semi-finished stocks from Stoeger and Fajen adapted them for scope use, added an adult length of pull and spared hunters the jab of a steel butt. Sportsmen of means engaged stockers and metalsmiths at Griffin & Howe. The Springfield made the .30-06 the most popular big game round in the U.S., as hunters shifted from lever-action rifles of the 1890s to bolt-actions pioneered by the Mauser and Krag. Winchester would sell 581,471 Model 70s between that rifle’s 1937 debut and its 1963 overhaul; 208,218 were in .30-06. A “Shooter’s Bible” list of cartridges in 1941 included just seven still offered in commercial bolt rifles stateside: .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .270, 7x57, .30-06 and .300 and .375 H&H Magnums. Before the war,

Once upon a time, you just matched headstamp to barrel inscription. Not anymore!

Through the 1950s, hunters used the .30-06 for the toughest North American game. It’s still a match!

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TOP: The .30-40 Krag, our first smokeless round, is about kaput. Too bad! It’s lethal on game as big as elk. ABOVE: Our first mid-bore magnum, the .300 H&H or “Super .30” arrived in 1925. Have we needed another? BELOW: Since 1912 the .375 H&H has taken the toughest game. New bullets, loads, rifles make it even better!

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Winchester barrels bored for the .300 H&H were marked simply “.300 Magnum,” because there was only one! A tsunami of new cartridges flooded the wildcatting decade of the ‘50s. It rolled on into the 21st century. Hornady now lists ammunition for 40 bolt-action big game rounds! It catalogs 16 loads for the .3006, 24 for the .308! In ‘41 only the .30-40 Krag and .30-06 boasted more than a half-dozen loads, across Remington, Peters, Winchester and Western brands! Were duplication a felony, you could sentence most cartridges and loads peddled today. Still, shooters welcome choices. Some new cartridges are task-specific – like boosting ballistic credentials downrange or wringing higher velocities from short barrels. Others fill gaps in earlier rosters and replace obsolete numbers. Handloaders have benefited from the wash of fresh factory loads, scooping up their cases, powders, and bullets as components. Bullets have undergone the most visible changes. Early jacketed softpoints had round or flat noses, with plenty of exposed lead to prompt upset at modest impact speeds. As those velocities approached Mach 3, however, bullets came apart. The brilliant Charles Newton, whose big rimless .30 matched the later .300 H&H ballistically, designed a pointed bullet with a wire nose to control upset. A paper liner under the jacket kept bore friction from melting the core. Remington’s Bronze Point featured a nose peg to initiate expansion, while Western Tool and Copper Works bet on a stout hollowpoint. The nose cavity of DWM’s Strong-Jacket bullet was lined with copper tubing and capped. Winchester marketed a Precision Point bullet whose gilding metal nose cone gripped the jacket. The Peters Protected

Point was similar, a “driving band” under its jacket managing upset. These were costly bullets, requiring as many as 51 operations and three hours to complete! Winchester’s more economical Silvertip, sans driving band, followed. After the debut of the .270 and .300 H&H in 1925, bullet-makers focused on penetration and core-jacket integrity. Remington’s reliable Core-Lokt came on the heels of the Peters Inner-Belted. In 1947, John Nosler developed a bullet with two cores either side of a mid-jacket dam, after the German H-Mantle. Much later, Nosler and Winchester would collaborate on the Partition Gold, moving the dam forward to boost retained weight and installing a steel cup to protect the heel. A similar cap in Winchester’s shortlived but effective Fail Safe bullet prevented its heel from ballooning and possible rupture from the curling petal tips of the copper-hollowpoint nose. Speer’s Grand Slam had no mid-section dam, but its two-part core was harder in the rear than up front; its tapered jacket stiffer at the tail than the nose. The trend to more complex bullets was lost on many hunters getting great results from ordinary softpoints. My first whitetail fell to a Winchester Power Point, first elk to a Speer Mag-Tip. A Remington Core-Lokt claimed a buster of a mule deer. Affordable bullets from Sierra and Hornady were so accurate and lethal, I wondered why handloaders would spend more. For most of us innocents in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the weight of a spent bullet mattered not. The important measure: an animal quickly dead. Bonding came of age in the 1980s, courtesy Jack Carter’s Trophy Bonded bullet (now produced by Federal Cartridge). Its thick ductile jacket was joined chemically

to a lead core. Bill Steiger had pioneered bonding with his Bitterroot bullets. Now used by other semi-custom bullet-makers like Northfork, it’s also a signature feature of Swift’s Scirocco, Nosler’s AccuBond, Hornady’s InterBond, Remington’s Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded, Norma’s Oryx and Winchester’s Expedition Long Range and Power Max Bonded. While they produced beautiful mushrooms, heavy, unalloyed copper jackets on early bonded bullets made them long for their weight, and fouled bores more quickly and stubbornly than did gilding metal (copper/ zinc) jackets. Eliminating a bullet’s lead core would make it even longer. Breech pressures would escalate, as copper doesn’t “take” rifling as easily as lead. Copper fouling would increase. But Randy Brooks thought most bullet failures in game were caused by lead loss. So in the Utah shop

Hornady LeverEvolution ammo adds reach to tube-fed lever rifles. The .25-35 is still deadly on deer!

where he and his young family produced “Original” lead-core Barnes bullets, he developed an all-copper hollowpoint. He dubbed it the X-Bullet, “because the nose peels into four petals, forming an X.” Randy and Coni used the X-Bullet on dozens of game animals, from Alaska to the African veldt, and it soon became the Barnes flagship. Then Randy machined three shank grooves—“slots for displaced copper.” Result: less fouling, lower pressures, better accuracy. In 2003 this bullet became the TSX, or Triple Shock. Other bullet and ammo firms followed suit, Federal with its Trophy Copper and new Power-Shok Copper, Winchester with its (Nosler’s) E-Tip. Lead-free bullets became a trend. Hornady’s GMX (gilding metal expanding) “is 95 percent copper, 5 percent zinc,” says Jeremy Millard, whose team developed it, “same as our bullet jackets. The nose cavity halts expansion at the base of the ogive.” Cut from wire, then swaged, GMXs cost about 40 percent more to make than lead bullets. In 2011 Hornady married the GMX shank with the resilient FTX tip of LeverEvolution ammo. As gilding metal is harder even than copper, it can’t grip polymer

Most big game is shot inside 100 yards; bullets must open and penetrate well after high-speed impact.

noses as well as does lead. So the MFX (Monoflex) tip has an extra-long stem. The FTX tip had first appeared in LeverEvolution ammunition, which Hornady developed with pointed bullets to juice up traditional deer cartridges used in tube magazines. The spongy FTX polymer cushioned the jar of recoil so bullets wouldn’t detonate primers in front of them. For long-shooting with bolt rifles, though, Hornady found hard tips superior. “Friction from air at speeds near Mach 3 heats tips,” explained Jayden Quinlan. “Temperatures can reach 800 degrees. Tracking bullets with Doppler radar, we saw ballistic coefficients change during flight, increasing drag. The polymer tips were starting to melt.” Hornady responded with the ELD-X bullet. Its Heat Shield Tip has a melt threshold of 700 degrees, twice that of Delrin and nylon. Federal followed with its similar TLR Edge bullet. Hard polymer tips offer no advantage on bullets lacking the speed or flight time to get hot, or with ballistic coefficients under .550. Ballistic coefficient. It’s a term you wouldn’t have heard in Depression-era moose camps on the Susitna— though it dates to the development of chronographs in the 1800s. Bandied about now by long-range enthusiasts, it’s often misunderstood. “BC” or “C” is a number that tells how a bullet reacts to drag, relative to a standard: C = drag deceleration of the standard bullet / drag deceleration of an actual bullet of similar shape and density. In 1881 Krupp in Germany published data that led a Russian, Mayevski, then U.S. Army Colonel James Ingalls to deceleration models with bullets shaped like artillery shells. In 1917 ballisticians adopted a standard profile more like that of modern bullets. Abbreviations G1 and G7

refer to bullet shape, the “G” for Gavre, a French commission that explored C early on. G1 shape dates to the 19th century; G7 is current. A 143-grain 6.5mm ELD-X bullet has a G1 C of .620, but a G7 C of .311. Though it can be calculated with a formula, C is best determined using actual bullet flight times. Telephones still had dials the last time I killed game beyond 250 yards, so C doesn’t matter to me as much as terminal performance. Most expanding bullets will upset down to impact velocities of 1,600 fps, but Jeremy Millard says: “Copper resists expansion below 2,000 fps unless the nose is too fragile to endure high-speed impact.” But Jared Kutney at Federal says TLR Edge bullets from a .30-06 will open at 900 yards. Swift CEO Bill Hober insists Sciroccos expand down to 1,440 fps. As five of my last six elk wilted inside 55 yards, such thresholds seem low indeed, given the exit speeds of modern bullets. But as shooters take longer pokes at game, bullet-makers seek wider “expansion windows.” Most engineers tell me hollowpoint bullets designed primarily for longrange accuracy give unreliable – thus, substandard – terminal performance in game. By the way, the term “controlled expansion” can mislead. All bullets have throttles on upset: core hardness, bonding, nose exposure, cavity dimensions, jacket type, thickness, taper, dams, crimping and scoring. Some hunters prefer bullets that exit, for easier trailing of hit game. I’d as soon a bullet dump all its energy inside, and expire under the off-side hide. If I’ve made a good shot, the animal won’t go far. It will have absorbed all that bullet’s destructive power. On the other hand, game quartering away requires penetration that FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 23

delivers pass-throughs on side-to shots. So on easy pokes through the front ribs, I expect exits. Lead-free hunting bullets seldom open as broadly as lead-core missiles, and their exit wounds are typically more modest. Last fall a friend shot an elk through both lungs with a lead-free bullet from his 7mm Magnum. The elk galloped off with a small herd. My amigo found no blood. Hours later he came upon the dead elk back near the impact site—one last, desperate jump at right angles to the track. Heavy hair below the high exit had caught what little blood leaked there during the elk’s mad rush. Another time, I saw an eland hit in the chest, face-on, by a lead-free .375 bullet. A native tracker kept us on the trail for hundreds of yards. I found the spent missile bulging the skin on a hip of the huge beast. One petal had collapsed into the nose cavity; the others had blossomed only to shank diameter. The bullet had drilled a long, narrow channel, like a solid. Energy transfer hinges on a bullet’s action, as well as its speed and weight. But how much energy must it bring? In

a 1940 ad, Savage hailed the “mighty power” of its .303: “over a ton of energy … power to spare.” While a ton of energy sounds prodigious, flight quickly saps it. During its first 100 yards, the .303’s 180-grain bullet loses 500 foot-pounds. At 200 yards it delivers only about 1,100—a modest figure now when a .243 carries as much to 300 yards! Still, the .303 Savage and its 1890s siblings, the .30-30 and .32 Special, have lost none of their luster. They’re mighty next to the .25-20 that felled James Jordan’s fabled buck! (It mustered just 405 foot-pounds at the muzzle, 275 at 100 yards!) John Plute better matched cartridge to game when he used a .30-40 Krag to kill his record elk. A ton of energy at 100 yards still floors big bulls. The .300 Winchester carries a ton to 400; but seldom is a 400yard poke your only option. Last fall a bull elk and I came together on a steep, forested slope. My bullet zipped through the only slot available, for a hit high in the forward ribs. A second left just as hillside rubble gave way, all but spilling me backward. I scrambled upright palming the bolt. By great good luck, a

shoulder popped into an alley as I crushed the trigger. The elk collapsed. I was using a .30 Gibbs, an unnecessary cartridge fashioned by Rocky Gibbs, who in the 1950s developed wildcats by moving the shoulder forward on the .30-06 hull. Forming cases requires bumping ’06 necks to .33 or so, then necking them in a Gibbs die, then fire-forming. This .30 holds more powder than its parent but kills no better. The Springfield that took the Wyoming bull isn’t particularly accurate, but at 40 steps it didn’t have to be. I use it because old Springfields and old cartridges entertain me when elk give me the slip. The Earth is awash in more potent factory-loaded .30s. Quick to mind: nearly a dozen that hurl 180-grain bullets at over 2,900 fps, from the .300 H&H to the .30-378 Weatherby. Ammo lists are packed with hot 7mms, .338s and, most recently, 6.5s. But it seems to me hunters haven’t needed a new hunting cartridge since the Great Depression.

In the 1950s Rocky Gibbs developed his short-necked .30 – and other cartridges – on the .30-06 case.

Ballistic coefficient means little at 40 steps. Wayne got this bull with a Speer bullet from a .30 Gibbs. 24 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

For deer, sheep and pronghorns beyond reach of the .25-35 and other top sellers in early Marlin, Savage and Winchester lever guns, the peppy .250 Savage and .257 Roberts still excel, as do the 6.5x55 and 7x57, our gifts from Swedish and German Mausers. The .30-06 and .300 H&H flatten elk, moose and even big bears. The .303 British may have killed more Canada moose than any other cartridge. The .300 Savage, circa 1920, offers all the smash of the Brit and the Krag. The .270 carries to 300 yards the energy that trio brings to 100—so how is it not an elk cartridge? By 1936 Winchester’s .33 in its 1886 rifle would accede to the .348 in its Model 71. Hunters boarding a steamship for Africa brought a Model 70 in .375. All these can be zeroed at 100 yards for 150-yard point-blank range; some perform swimmingly with 200yard zeros. This cob-webbed clan will fill freezers as handily now as it did then—provided you keep your footing on windfalls and hillsides. n

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Trailblazer Spotlight Trailblazers in Conservation represents a level of commitment from industry partners and others that support the mutual interests of science-informed wildlife management and conservation, and hunter ethics and advocacy.

CHANGING THE WAY WE HUNT BY DEVELOPING MAPS SPECIFICALLY FOR HUNTERS, ONX IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY WE APPROACH OUR TIME IN THE FIELD

onX Founder Eric Siegfried in the field.

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TrailblAzer CONSERVATION

PARTNER

TrailblAzer BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB

CONSERVATION

It’s the busiest time of year at onX

headquarters, a three-level building tucked into the outdoor hub of Missoula, Montana. Work meetings segue into exchanges of scouting information, and Friday afternoons often involve cooking fresh game on the office grills. Autumn is fast approaching, and while it’s a time of hustle and planning, it’s also a time of reflection. Members of the onX team reflect on past hunts and what led them to work in the industry itself. For onX Founder Eric Siegfried, it’s a reminder of how far the company—and the way we spend time outside—has come. “As a person who grew up using paper BLM maps and national forest maps to scout and navigate hunting lands, there is a special place in my heart for traditional cartography and navigation techniques,” Siegfried shares. “Gone are the days of outdated paper maps and wasted time triangulating your location to figure out where you are on the map. Ubiquitous GPS, cellular data and cloud-based mapping technologies will enable a real-time, activity-specific location experience in the outdoors. When onX is done, the world will know a map only as a historical object that was once used for navigation and will be immersed in an entirely new location experience while navigating the outdoors.” Hunting is a lifestyle rooted in tradition. Many hunters can track the act of hunting—the lifestyle of hunting—back to parents, grandparents and beyond. Even for those without the familial history, there’s a strong sense of custom and tradition when we take to the field. The cadence of preparation for the season, the rhythm of being outside in the elements, the time spent with friends and family in pursuit of game, and the primal satisfaction of providing meat for oneself and one’s family—these feelings continue to draw us into the hunt season after season, year after year. But just as surely as we cling to this tradition, we embrace the new—new methods of hunting, new locales to chase game, new technologies that helps us better our game. It’s this spirit that galvanized Siegfried, to look for a better way to hunt.

PARTNER

Raised in the sweeping, sage-laden landscape of eastern Montana, Siegfried grew up stalking mule deer and pronghorn in the vastness of the Great Plains. But when his career took him to Missoula, in the western reaches of the state, he found himself faced with an unexpected challenge. Western Montana was home to dark timber, craggy mountains and nebulous private land boundaries. “Over the years, I watched more and more elk stick tighter to private land. During those years in the early 2000s, I had a few experiences where I couldn’t determine the true property boundary while I was out hunting the edges of public lands, despite having researched it thoroughly on my paper maps and Google Earth while at home,” he notes. “It was those experiences, among others, that led me to realize the necessity of having the land ownership data on your GPS while you were in the field.” Ever the pragmatist, Siegfried began to manually compile and load public land data onto his personal GPS, working to develop a workable resource for his own hunting pursuits. He was driven by the fact that a large amount of promising hunting land was accessed by minimal, murky or disputed access and the fact that, sometimes, land viewed as private was actually public. “I had done some research online and found many others creating topo maps for Garmin GPS units,” he reflected, talking about the process itself. “They had all the standard USGS (United States Geological Survey) quadrant map data

Siegfried manning a desk during the early years of onX.

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nailed, but they were missing the public land data that the “We are truly blessed to have Laura as our CEO to lead us national forest maps and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) through our next phase of growth while remaining focused, maps had. If I could figure out how to create a colored back- first and foremost, on our customers.” ground for the public lands similar to a BLM map, and improve Siegfried will remain onboard as founder, based in the on the road and trail data that most maps had, I’d have some- Missoula office and still active in the day-to-day business. He’s thing that my fellow hunters and I would absolutely love. So I excited to spend more time focused on working to enhance the started comparing public land data from different sources, off-pavement location experience, as well as leading advocacy picked the best one, and figured out how to compile all the data efforts for public lands and access. He’s excited to help tell the into a file that could be loaded onto a microSD card and sub- stories of land trusts and access projects; to garner more awaresequently displayed on the Garmin GPS unit.” ness and support for emerging and ongoing access projects. It’s just one more chapter in the ever-evolving landscape In the process, he realized the importance of this data for fellow hunters and outdoors-folk. Utilizing his degree in of hunting—a landscape that has proven to be quite the home engineering from Montana State University in Bozeman, he for Siegfried and onX. Currently the company’s maps encombegan to mass produce his personal GPS chip, first bringing pass 985 million acres of public land and more than 121 million the product to market in 2009. The chips were first marketed private properties. Hunters and outdoorsmen are able to use online using search engine marketing and at retail stores in their mobile phones as a GPS, tracking their movements, delvthe Rocky Mountain States including Sportsman’s Warehouse, ing through different topographic maps with unique applicaCabela’s, and Scheels (many of whom the brand still works with tions for hunting, fishing, hiking and more. An onX membertoday). In early 2010, the GPS chips were showcased at various ship provides access to the Hunt App, or can be accessed on a trade shows across the West. traditional GPS device with a purchased, pre-loaded chip, Within months, the name “onX” became synonymous including free updates for current members. with user-friendly, quality GPS map data. OnX continued to For those who have been with the company for many grow and thrive, soon moving to an office space in Missoula years, this is a time of change, but also of opportunity. Matt and hiring more experts to help grow the engineering, GIS Seidel, the product owner for onX Hunt, notes that it’s the (global information system), marketing, customer success, customer who is at the root of it all. “From my first day at onX, finance, product and other teams. In 2013, the company pre- we prioritized customer service and helping our customers miered the onX Hunt App, offering the first GPS mapping with such a technical product,” he shared. “I’m happy that, database with comprehensive land ownership maps in an app over the last eight years, onX has kept the tradition that cusformat. This revolutionary move allowed hunters to have ac- tomer service is so important. It’s amazing to see all of the curate, up-to-date information conveniently in their smart- great feedback we get from customers and the success stories phones and effectively changed the way many hunters ap- they have using our maps to find opportunities.” proached both scouting and their time in the field. And, as they say, this is just the beginning. With more After nearly a decade of heading the ambitious compa- products underway for the years to come, onX will continue to ny, Siegfried has recently decided to turn his focus to the big work for its customers, following the company mission to help picture. onX is now home to nearly 100 employees in two offic- hunters and outdoor enthusiasts “Know Where You Stand.” n es—one in Missoula, one in Bozeman—and received $20.3 million of Series A venture capital investment in February 2018, led by Boston-based Summit Partners. Growth continues as new industry partnerships and Siegfried enjoys introducing new hunters to the sport, and supporting those in all stages initiatives are tackled daily, and the of their hunting career. diverse team is working to stay well ahead of what is now a more competitive marketplace. Changing times call for changing strategies, and onX recently welcomed Laura Orvidas, a 19-year Amazon veteran, to the position of CEO. It’s a move Siegfried wholeheartedly supports. Orvidas joins the onX team following her career at Amazon, where she served as vice president of consumer electronics. She brings extensive experience in fields ranging from finance to operations to e-commerce. “Laura’s expertise in growing leaders, attracting talent and creating a people-focused growth culture was far beyond what we could have hoped for,” he noted in a formal press release. 28 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 29

Casey and his father Gene, glass the lower portion of mt. Isanotski on Unimak Island in search for a mature Brown Bear.

30 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

CASEY L. DINKEL 60TH PARALLEL ADVENTURES CO-OWNER Photos Courtesy of John Whipple

Growing up on a farm in northeast Nebraska,

hunting was a major part of our life. Every fall we religiously hunted for pheasants, doves, and of course, whitetail deer. These animals graced our table and supplemented the homeraised beef and vegetables we grew. At a young age, I learned about the outdoors from my father, who would take time out of his busy farming schedule to teach me. Under his tutelage, I learned about the value of conservation, ethics, and stewardship of the land. These fundamentals would be the very foundation I would build upon throughout my life. FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 31

When my father was a young man of 18, he stumbled across a story in a magazine that would change him forever. He read of a man in Alaska who embarked upon a brown bear hunt. The man unfolded his adventure of pursuing a monstrous bruin that led him though many ups and downs, ultimately with him taking the bear with a pistol as it charged him. This story really lit a fire within my dad, and he told this story over and over again for many years. Every time a brown bear entered a conversation, my father’s eyes would light up with excitement, and I would chuckle as I knew the story that was to follow. Over the years, his dream of hunting a brown bear never came to fruition, and as time passed even further, my father began to believe that it would never happen. Fate, however, had a very different plan that neither my father nor anyone else could have predicted. Several years ago, my parents uprooted their life and moved to Alaska. I had been living in Alaska for about six years and convinced the empty nesters it was time to start living their life. It didn’t take much persuading, and in the summer of 2016, my parents hit the Alcan Highway with new adventures on the horizon. However, as we made our way toward the last frontier,

there was a bittersweet feeling over all of us. About a month prior to the move with their home already sold, my father was diagnosed with a highly aggressive prostate cancer. As one can imagine, it had taken us all by surprise, but in his typical good spirit, my father stayed very positive as we made our way north. Once in Alaska his treatment started almost immediately with little to no time for my parents to enjoy their beautiful new surroundings before the cold, dark, Alaskan winter set in. My father’s prescription was to undergo radiation treatment three times per week for no less than nine weeks. That November during his last week of radiation, I approached my father about his desire to pursue brown bears the following year. “Well, I am not dead yet,’’ he replied when I asked him about applying for several coveted draw tags throughout the state. After a few hours of mulling over options, he applied for moose, muskox, caribou, and of course, brown bear. During our discussion, I explained to my father that all the tags he applied for had very low draw odds (less than 5 percent), with brown bear being the lowest at 1 percent. In fact, I knew several local hunters who had applied for this particular brown bear tag most of their lives and had not been fortunate enough to draw it. We

both knew it was a long shot, but I figured “what the heck, someone has to draw it.” On the morning of February 17, 2017, I awoke and immediately grabbed my phone to check the draw results. My eyes still a blur, I scanned over each tag several times hoping to see a YES in the successful column. Unfortunately, I had drawn a big goose egg. My father, on the other hand, had been awarded a highly sought-after Unimak Island brown bear tag. Later that morning, after breaking the news to my dad, he was in a state of disbelief. With such low draw odds and only a handful of tags handed out each year, it was crazy to think that he had drawn on his very first attempt. Whether it was luck or fate, we felt very blessed, and I couldn’t have been happier for my father. However, drawing the tag would be the easiest part of this adventure, and a lot of preparation would soon follow. Since the tag was for the spring of 2018, I would have a little over a year to help my dad line everything out. This was great, since planning a trip to Unimak Island can be a logistical nightmare, and considerable time would be needed. At 72 miles wide and 59 miles long, Unimak is the first Island on the Aleutian chain, separated from the mainland of the Alaskan Peninsula by a sliver of water called False

LEFT TOP TO BOTTOM: The remains of an old cottage and a boat dock tell their story of a past fishing village that used to operate on the Island in the early 1900’s. A lone fox searches the beach for any easy meals that might have washed up from the previous high tide. A glass ball from a Japanese fishing buoy rests among the rocks having survived many years at sea. An old boot shows its scars of many years of labor and use from a fisherman’s life.

A nameless island adjacent to Unimak jets from the sea as it displays the ruggedness of Alaska’s wilderness. 32 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

Standing over 8,000 feet high, Isanotski peak towers high above us and smolders as it threatens its next eruption.

Pass. Unimak is trapped between the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The island is mostly a barren landscape with little to no cover in most areas. It is also within the ring of fire and boasts several active volcanos across its 1,571 square miles. Unimak is known for its extreme weather and occasionally holding its visitors hostage for days on end. It is not uncommon to encounter 100 mph winds, sideways rain, freezing fog, or be covered in volcanic ash should an eruption occur. Last but certainly not least, Unimak is home to caribou, wolves, sea lions, walrus, and of course, some of the largest brown bears on the planet. It is an adventure-hunter’s paradise, and my dad was holding the golden ticket. After more than 50 years, he was finally going to get the chance to embark on his dream hunt. Fast-forward to May 2018, and I found myself staring into the north face of mount Isanotski, the secondtallest volcano on Unimak Island. As I stood and admired the 8,000-foot peak, it was hard to believe we were finally here. All the preparation, planning, and anticipation was finally over, and it was time for the adventure to begin. Several months prior I had asked my good friend and hunting buddy John to join my father and me on this little getaway. John happily accepted the invitation and teamed up with us. Having John along gave us the extra muscle needed to help my father throughout all aspects of the hunt. Working as a team not only made us more efficient hunters, but it added an extra level of safety that was reassuring in such a

remote environment. Unimak is not the place you want to get seriously injured. Even if the weather was good enough for a rescue attempt, the island is so remote that help might not make it to you in time. The three of us had been traveling all day, taking several flights and a boat ride to reach our hunting location. In my research over the previous year, I had stumbled upon an area that looked to be a natural funnel for wildlife, especially bears traveling in the spring. As we set up camp, my research was already paying dividends. We spotted two bears about a mile away, one of which looked to be a large boar. Tired from travel, we elected to eat dinner and catch some much-needed rest. With so many bears on the island, we knew we would see more bears in the days to come. We had allotted two weeks on the island if needed. After all, my father had been waiting his entire life for this hunt, so why not take the extra time to enjoy it? The next morning, I awoke to the distant sound of waves crashing on the nearby beach and the smell of saltwater in the air. As I rolled out of my sleeping bag and exited the tent, I found John collecting photos of the volcanos behind our camp. On the day of our arrival, most of mount Isanotski was covered in clouds. Overnight the clouds had lifted and not only revealed the rest of Isanotski but completely unveiled a second volcano as well. As John captured some photos of camp, I began to glass a large open basin about a half mile away. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when I spotted a sow

A large sow and her three cubs take an afternoon stroll down the beach as they search for the remains of an expired sea lion.

with three cubs making their way across a small river that cut though the basin. I knew my father was probably still exhausted from the previous day’s travel, but I woke him anyway. The morning scenery and action was just too good, and I didn’t want him to miss it. After spotting several bears on the other side of the basin, the three of us decided to grab a protein bar and make our way to a small cliff about 300 yards away. From the cliff we could see a much larger area and watch a distinct trail that bears utilized to access the beach. As we sat and ate our breakfast, it didn’t take long before John spotted a nicesized boar following a blonde sow about a half mile away. Unfortunately, a bear’s walk is comparable to a human’s running speed, and the boar followed the sow as they switched direction and moved into the brush line away from us. We continued to glass until noon, seeing a few more bears across the valley too far away to pursue. Brown bear hunting is a waiting game; we knew there would be a lot of sitting and glassing. One mistake a lot of hunters make when brown bear hunting is hiking all over the place and tracking human scent around.

RIGHT TOP TO BOTTOM: The 60th parallel team poses for a photo, before heading out to scout for bears. Casey’s father makes sure camp is secure before heading out for the evening to hunt. The simplicity of adventure back pack hunting makes one realize how basic one can live, home sweet home! Bear hunting is about patience. Casey and his father spend countless hours behind their optics in search of a mature bruin. A smile is worth a 1000 words, Gene’s excitement turns to tears after he harvests his first brown bear. FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 33

A smaller sow walked too far inside the comfort zone as she curiously checked out John and Casey.

Gene proudly displays the massive paw of the bear.

I had learned this lesson the hard way several years prior, when a large boar caught my scent on a trail I had walked five days prior. When the bear cut my scent, he looked up popping his jaws in distress and literally ran the opposite direction as fast as possible. We didn’t want to make the same mistake on my father’s dream hunt, so as painful as it was for me to sit for long periods and glass, that’s exactly what we did. Around 8:00 in the evening, the bears started to move around again. Typical bear behavior is to be active in the early morning and late evening, while they lie around in the middle of the afternoon. That evening we spotted a smaller bear that was working the trail at the base of the cliff below us. Even though the bear was in shooting range, we let him pass by since the bear was likely a 3-year-old adolescent. I did, however, use this opportunity to teach my 34 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

father how to judge a small bear from a larger mature adult. Around 10:30 in the evening, the sun dipped low enough behind the mountains in the distance that we called it a day. It was still light enough to shoot a bear, but I didn’t like the idea of chasing a wounded bear in the brush at night. We ate a late dinner and crawled into our sleeping bags. Still a little tired from all the excitement day one had offered, I dozed off as the ticking sound of the electric bear fence rocked me to sleep. The next morning, we waited patiently on our cliff lookout for the sun to rise and shed some light on the valley below us. The sun had no more than broken the horizon when I caught some movement about 600 yards downhill below us. First a bleach blonde— almost white—sow appeared from a small alder patch, and just like clockwork, a large boar was in tow directly behind her. The two bears would

be in striking distance if they stayed put long enough for a stalk. We quickly grabbed our packs and proceeded downhill about 200 yards. Before we could get any closer, the boar and girlfriend turned and started walking away from us. Knowing that we would never catch them once we left the high ground, we abandoned the stalk. However, we continued to watch the giant bruin through the spotting scope for the better part of 30 minutes. It was a true pleasure to watch him court his female mate. At literally double her size, he swaggered back and forth across a sedge meadow letting every other bear in the area know he was in charge. Giving the scope to my father, I watched the smile grow upon his face. My father watched the bear for several minutes in awe of its sheer size. “They are like modern-day dinosaurs,” he said as he watched the bear. A few minutes later, John was

taking his turn watching the bears that were now about a mile out, when the unexpected happened. “He’s fighting a wolf!” John said looking though the spotting scope. In disbelief I pushed John aside and looked to confirm his ridiculous statement. Sure enough, the giant boar of more than nine feet was indeed fighting a large gray timber wolf. We all took turns watching them spar for nearly 10 minutes as the wolf buzzed around the bear, lunging in every so often to bite the boar wherever he could. The large bruin tried to swat the wolf but he was too slow, and the two danced around and around. It was like watching a heavyweight boxer fight a featherweight. Eventually, the giant brownie became tired of being bitten and slowly backed away, giving victory to the wolf. The three of us had certainly never seen anything so amazing in all our travels. After the street brawl was

TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Casey explains key points of bear judging to his father, as they glass a younger bear across the valley. Gene settles in for a shot on a mature boar, while Casey spots to confirm shot placement. Casey and his father cautiously walk towards the downed bruin with a round chambered in their rifles. Father and son admire the bear that Gene waited so many years to pursue. John and Casey pose with Gene and his 8-foot 6-inch bruin.

over, my stomach told me it was getting close to noon. To my amazement, when I looked at my watch, it was about 3:30 pm. The wind had picked up slightly, and we were all a little chilled from sitting all morning, so we decided to walk back to camp for a snack and a midday nap. I was jolted awake by the sound of John’s voice, “Hey Casey, there’s a good bear walking down the beach. Get your dad over to the cliff!” Shaking off the haze of sleep, I leapt from my tent grabbing my rifle and pack. My dad, still fast asleep in a separate tent, had no idea the chaos that was about to ensue. After unzipping his vestibule, I shook my father awake and calmly told him “Get up! There’s a giant bear coming down the beach! I guess in hindsight I could have been a little more diplomatic in my approach. Although, I was quite impressed at how fast my dad collected his gear in the heat of the moment. We sprinted roughly 300 yards to the cliff’s edge where we spotted the bear about 600 yards out and closing the distance fast. In relatively fluid motion, my father and I moved across the cliff face and set up for a shot.

Ranging the bear, he was now at 280 yards. The bear paused and sniffed the trail for several moments allowing me to get a good look at him and confirm that he was a mature boar. “Whenever you’re ready, Dad.” I had no more than muttered the words when the shot pierced the air, the bullet striking the bear low and behind the shoulder. The boar turned and began to run away as if not fazed by the 250-grain slug from my father’s .375 Holland & Holland. A second round struck the bear again behind the opposite shoulder, this time stopping him temporally, where he began to thrash and roll. The third bullet gained purchase on the bear’s chest, hitting his center mass. Again, he began to run as he displayed his refusal to expire. With the fourth and final shot, the giant boar crawled to his final resting place; a brief silence fell over the three of us. For almost a full minute, my dad stared at the motionless bear as if in a state of total shock at what had just transpired. This moment had been a long time coming, and emotions ran high as I shook my father’s hand and hugged him. “Congratulations Dad, you got your bear!”

Gene is all smiles as he poses next to the bear that he dreamed about for so many years.

With only a couple hours of daylight left, we couldn’t waste too much time celebrating. The cliff was too steep to descend, so we were forced to walk around the backside of the hill in order to reach the bear. My father spotted the boar about 75 yards away; the ridge of his back displayed the massive hump upon his shoulders just above a small rise. As a precaution, we approached the bear cautiously, each with a round chambered in our rifles. At the bear’s side, my father stood quietly looking at the beast. “Well… put your hands on him Dad,” I urged him. My father ran his hand over the bear’s fur, picking up his head and then the bear’s massive paw. The bruin was absolutely beautiful. His fur, blonde upon his back, transitioned to tan, then chocolate colored upon his legs. My

dad’s smile said it all as we took photos of him and the bear. John and I worked into the night, skinning the boar and taking our time to carefully flesh the hide. My dad stood guard with his rifle, on the lookout for other bears that were out searching for a late-night snack. It was around 3:00 a.m. by the time we got back to camp. It had been a good day, and we were all ready to turn in for the night. Even though I was completely exhausted, I had a hard time trying to find sleep. My mind kept playing the moments of the evening in my head over and over again. It had been an amazing adventure and an experience of a lifetime. After all, it’s not every day that you get the chance to share something so special with your father. I am forever grateful for our time spent together. n FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 35

A N E XC E RP T FRO M NORTH A M E RI C A N W ILDLIFE P O LI CY A N D L AW | PA R T 3

Not all federal legislation has been originally intended to have a national impact. So it was with the Weeks Act of 1911. This was an “organic” act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President William Howard Taft. As was the case with the wildlife issues in the West, concerns about the decimation of the eastern forests were raised in the 1800s, as eastern forests were clear-cut for the nation’s timber industry but were not replanted. Erosion followed, along with fires and the silting in of streams and rivers. They became “the lands nobody wanted” (United States Forest Service 2009). In 1864 George Perkins Marsh published his book Man and Nature: or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. Marsh had been the United States ambassador to Italy and had seen how centuries of misuse had devastated European lands that were once forests. He felt that the collapse of great civilizations, such as Babylonia and the Roman Empire, were partially a result of that loss of forest lands and watersheds. At the time of Marsh’s book, much of our economy was based on wood—for construction, railroads, ship building, carriages, bridges, and fuel for cooking and heating. Marsh predicted that our civilization would eventually collapse due to the 36 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

wanton destruction of our forests and loss of our watersheds (Sample and Cheng 2004). Others predicted a timber famine as the demand for lumber increased exponentially and as the harvestable supply shrank. In 1876 Congress appointed Franklin Hough to report on the situation. He recommended ceasing the sale of timber from public lands and establishing a permanent agency to manage our public forests. Those concerns eventually led to the formation in 1881 of the Division of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, which later became the United States Forest Service (United States Forest Service 2009). Forests provide timber and wildlife habitat, and the Forest Service had little trouble enlisting the support of the Boone and Crockett Club, the American Forestry Association, and other NGOs to press for the preservation of eastern forests. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 gave the president authority to set aside public lands, eventually to be called national forests, to protect watersheds. The problem, however, was that little public land remained in the East. Citizens’ groups lobbied to save the remaining forests of the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Southern Appalachians in North Carolina as national parks. In 1900 Congress

The Weeks Act

THE NEED FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND POLICY:

Robert D. Brown

authorized funds for the secretary of agriculture to investigate the situation in these regions. He estimated that 48% of the eastern forests had been lost and recommended the establishment of a national forest reserve. Congress balked, turning down that bill and another 40 similar proposals over the following decade. Westerners were afraid of losing their federal funding, entrepreneurs wanted lands open for development, and still others questioned the right of the federal government to purchase private land. In the meantime, some states, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New York, established their own forest reserves (United States Forest Service 2009). New impetus for protecting eastern forests came

with the creation of the Forest Service, led by Gifford Pinchot. Crises can make for strange bedfellows, and support for federal land protection came from women’s garden clubs, the Forest Service, and the American Forestry Association. The industry group felt federal intervention was needed to stabilize the timber markets. In 1907 the Monongahela River in West Virginia flooded the city of Pittsburgh, killing many and causing $100 million in damage. Congress repealed the Forest Reserve Act and gave the power to create (or not create) national forests to Congress. Nine eastern states responded by authorizing the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to identify needed areas of watershed protection. The USGS complied, but there

Illustration from Puck magazine (known for its political satire) shows Gifford Pinchot, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, fighting alone against a raging forest fire, beneath billowing finger-shaped clouds labeled “Timber Grab”, “Land Graft”, and “Greed”. Libray of Congress

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 37

was still no law that allowed the federal government to purchase private land (United States Forest Service 2009). In 1908 Congressman John Weeks, a Republican from Massachusetts, introduced a bill that would allow the government to purchase lands from the headwaters of navigable streams using receipts from current federally owned forest reserves. Senator Jacob Gallinger of New Hampshire introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Eventu-

Commission was created to review and approve the land purchases. Congress appropriated $9 million to purchase 2.4 million ha (6 million ac) of eastern forests. Land was only bought from willing sellers at fair-market prices. Naturally, not all landowners wanted to sell, and in fact nearly half of the land within national forests is still privately owned. These areas are known as “in-holdings” (United States Forest Service 2009). The first national forest established under the Weeks “No single law has been more Act was the Pisgah important in the return of the Forest in North Carolina. It was forests of the Eastern United one of the few purStates” than the Weeks Act. c h a s e s l a r g e enough to stand as a national forest on ally both bills passed, and its own. It included part of the President William Howard 40,468 ha (100,000 ac) private Taft signed the bill in 1911. The forest that George Vanderbilt Weeks Act authorized the had created around his Biltgovernment to “examine, lo- more Estate, near Ashville. cate and recommend for pur- This area had been cut-over chase . . . such lands within forest and abandoned farmthe navigable streams as . . . land that had been restored may be necessary to the reg- and managed by the Gerulation of flow of navigable man-educated forester Carl streams” (Grossman and Bry- Schenck. That land became ner 2012:182). Funds were known as the “cradle of forauthorized to match state estry.” Vanderbilt’s widow, funds, not only for land pur- Edith, sold nearly 35,000 ha chase but also for fighting and (86,487 ac) to the government preventing forest fires. In 1910 for about $5 per acre, fires in the western states $200,000 less than the govdestroyed 1.2 million ha (3 ernment had offered (United million ac) and killed 85 peo- States Forest Service 2009). ple, including 72 fire fighters. Abandoned farms beA National Forest Reservation came a greater part of the

purchases as the Depression of the 1920s and 1930s took hold. The Clarke-McNary Act of 1924 increased the allocation to an annual allocation of $8 million and allowed the purchase of entire watersheds. This led to additional collaboration with states, the expansion of existing federal land holdings, and the purchase of additional lands in the West. During President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal administration, over 5.7 million ha (14 million ac) were purchased, and billions of trees were planted by groups such as the Civilian Conservation Corps. They also built numerous campgrounds, hiking trails, and other recreational facilities. Purchases naturally declined during World War II but picked up again in the 1960s. President Dwight Eisenhower created the last two national forests under the Weeks Act in 1961—the Uwharrie in North Carolina and the Delta in Mississippi. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 provided funds for land purchases primarily for outdoor recreation but under the authority of the Weeks Act. In 1976 the National Forest Reservation Commission was dissolved, and its responsibilities were transferred to the secretary of agriculture (United States Forest Service 2009). All in all, the Weeks Act has protected over 8.1 million ha (20 million ac) in 50 national forests in 25 eastern states. These include the Allegheny,

North American Wildlife Policy and Law Bruce D. Leopold, Winifred B. Kessler, and James L. Cummins

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38 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

White Mountain, Green Mountain, Pisgah, George Washington, and Ottawa National Forests. All national forests are managed by the Forest Service as working forests—intended for timber production, watershed protection, and recreation. In addition, however, the national forests are also open to mining and mineral extraction. Nonetheless, these forests provide an untold amount of wildlife and fisheries protection and opportunities for recreation. In fact, 60% of all Americans live within a day’s drive of an eastern national forest. As one historian concluded, “No single law has been more important in the return of the forests of the Eastern United States” than the Weeks Act (Lehman 2011:1). n

Literature Cited

Clarke-McNary Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 568–570. Forest Reserve Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 471 et seq. Grossman, M., and G. C. Bryner. 2012. U.S. land and natural resources policy. Second edition. Grey House, Amenia, New York, USA. Lehman, E. 2011. March 1, 1911: Weeks Act signed into law. Peeling back the bark (blog). https://fhsarchives.wordpress. com/2011/03/01/march-1-1911-weeks-actsigned-into-law/. Accessed 20 April 2016. Marsh, G. P. 1864. Man and nature: or, physical geography as modified by human action. Charles Scribner and Sons, New York, New York, USA. Sample, V.A., and A. S. Cheng. 2004. Forest conservation policy. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California, USA. United States Forest Service. 2009. The Weeks Act. Forest History Society. http:// www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Policy/ WeeksAct/Index.aspx. Accessed 20 April 2016. Weeks Act, 16 U.S.C. § 521a.

B IRD GRI N

The Boone and Crockett Club George Bird Grinnell Society welcomes those individuals who wish to support our conservation programs through purely philanthropic, tax deductible gifts of $2,500 or more.

N L

E RG

George Bird Grinnell Society

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB

SO C I E T Y

Funds raised from the George Bird Grinnell Society are placed in the Boone and Crockett Club Foundation endowment where the principal remains intact. The annual interest income generated is then dedicated to vital conservation programs. Special recognition is given via Club publications and in the visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; gallery at Boone and Crockett Club Headquarters in Missoula, Montana, and with a custom plaque. After your initial gift of $2,500; gifts of $500 or more to the Boone and Crockett Club Foundation endowment will accumulate toward new contribution levels.

Please join us by becoming a Member of the George Bird Grinnell Society Today!

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For more information contact Jodi Bishop at Boone and Crockett headquarters (406) 542-1888, Ext. 212 or jodi@boone-crockett.org FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9

JUST EAT IT

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Recently my wife and I attended a documentary on the disturbing amount of food waste in our country and the world, titled, “Just Eat It.” I didn’t see a connection with hunting ethics until I was in a discussion at our recent annual meeting of the Boone and Crockett Club in Nashville. Many members were lamenting the bad press that hunters get, i.e., “Cecil the lion,” and the fact that study after study has shown that only about 20 percent of the non-hunting public approves of trophy hunting, whereas 7080 percent or more approve of legal hunting if its purpose is to produce food and/or to enhance wildlife management. We need to think about this. I assume most trophy hunters eat their game or give it to someone who does. Personally, I’ve mostly been a meat hunter. I take care not to waste any part of the carcass. I make sure to take the meat between the ribs and off the neck for hamburger, and even the foreleg meat, which has a lot of tendons in it. If it’s possible, and the landowner agrees, I return what’s left of the carcass to the woods so that scavengers can have a meal or two as well. In some years I’ve even had steak knives and serving implements made with antler handles. Since eons ago much of my academic research was on antler growth in deer, I had scads of shed antlers from captive deer. I had beautiful candleholders made from them and gave one to each of my students as they graduated. Once I had gloves made from deer hide. I’ve also put skulls and antlers in my backyard. Something, I assume squirrels, chews on them to get a bit of calcium. We can’t always do all of that. But my point is to waste as little as possible of what you’ve harvested. We have an opportunity for others to utilize game with the new Paleo diet trend. According to Wikipedia, “The Paleolithic diet—aka Paleo diet, caveman diet, or stone-age diet—is a modern fad requiring the sole or predominant consumption of foods to be only those available to or consumed by humans during the Paleolithic era.” That era was between

ROBERT D. BROWN B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER HUNTER AND CONSERVATION ETHICS SUB-COMMITTEE

2.5 million and about 10,000 years ago— before agriculture. Things like pasta, bread, cereal grains, legumes and dairy products are excluded or very limited. Sounds like not a bad idea. In fact, people wanting fresh, organic, antibiotic-free meat can’t do much better than venison. But few non-hunters can afford that or find it in their grocery stores, so many Paleo dieters will have to be satisfied with freerange chicken. But continuing on the theme of not wasting food and the need to manage our exploding deer populations, we have a means of harvesting excess deer and providing nutritious food for those who need it most—orphanages, homeless people and other disadvantaged groups. Nearly every state has some form of Hunters for the Hungry program. In my state of North Carolina, we have Hunters for the Hungry, Farmers and Communities Manage Deer, and Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. These organizations raise funds to provide cold storage drop-off stations for deer carcasses around the state and to reimburse the processors. All processing facilities are inspected by our state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. There is no cost to the hunter. Farmers who get depredation permits can invite hunters who have already met their tag limits to harvest the excess deer if the deer are given to one of these charities. The venison is usually all processed into hamburger, providing 160 to 200 high-protein meals per deer. Roughly 2,000 deer were donated to these three organizations last year, producing about 400,000 meals in our state alone. The point is, we can reduce waste of our harvested deer by utilizing as much of it as possible. We can improve the public perception of the hunting community by advertising that all we kill is eaten. And, we can both enhance our image and do a very good deed for wildlife populations, farmers and the disadvantaged public by providing deer to Hunters for the Hungry programs. So next time someone asks you why you hunt, tell them “We just eat it!” n

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GREAT RAMS IV CHRONICLES OF SHEEP HUNTING AND LEGENDARY SHEEP HUNTERS BY R OBE RT M . A N DE R S ON Boone and Crockett is excited to offer the fourth installment of Bob Anderson’s Great Rams series. With nearly 500 images—vintage and contemporary field photos from decades of sheep hunting, plus a special photo essay of rams in the wild—and twelve captivating chapters, Great Rams IV will keep readers enthralled every time they turn the page! Content is classic Great Rams style with stories of legendary sheep hunters and guides, and features on hunting adventures in Alaska, Colorado, and Yukon, women hunting guides, and a four-part section on translocation efforts, not to mention an in-depth look at yesterday’s—and today’s—sheep hunter in an extensive field photo chapter. Bonus material includes a complete list of official B&C trophies for wild sheep from the beginning of B&C’s record-keeping activities in the early 1900s up through September 30, 2018. With nearly 100 more pages than the previous edition, this new book will delight both new and old sheep hunters with brilliant full-color printing in a high-quality binding.

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DISCOVERING UNGULATE MIGRATIONS Animal migrations have long fascinated people and been a focus of biological research. Bird migrations, notably, have interested people of all ilks as their seasonal journeys have been the most visible (and audible). Mammal migrations have held less popular appeal and awareness among the general public, largely due to the fact that they tend not to be observed from one’s backyard, they are not as visible in the remote landscapes where many occur, and scientists still have much to learn and describe. Notable exceptions are the caribou migrations in arctic North America and wildebeest and zebra migrations in East Africa. Over the last two decades, groundbreaking research has documented dramatic migrations of some of North America’s most iconic ungulate species in the West—mule deer, pronghorn, and elk. The story that has unfolded has been revelatory not just in documenting the migrations, but in explaining the nature of them. A new book, titled Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming’s Ungulates (Atlas), brings this story to life.

The Atlas itself can serve as a textbook or a coffee-table book and pretty much everything in between. Edited by a team of scientists and publishing professionals, led by Dr. Matt Kauffman of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the book synthesizes decades of research in Wyoming and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It comes at an opportune time, soon after issuance of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3362 that directs Interior agencies to collaborate with 11 western states in identifying and protecting big game migration corridors. The Atlas begins with a lengthy introductory section that gives the reader background information on migrations, habitats, and the natural history of Wyoming’s ungulates. A section on history chronicles ancient rituals, hunting, and the emergence of the conservation movement, including the role of the Boone and Crockett Club in the recovery of populations following the market-hunting era. A section on science details how biologists actually discover and map migrations—a complex endeavor described for the lay reader. A section on threats details the numerous challenges

migrating ungulates face. Another section on conservation identifies ongoing measures and those that are needed in order to sustain these migrations. Throughout, the Atlas is liberally illustrated with breathtaking photography, artwork, and groundbreaking maps. Some key findings from this umbrella effort, known as the Wyoming Migration Initiative, include the following: n

Migration corridors are not just a transportation route; they are habitat unto themselves, where ungulates moving from winter range to summer range “surf the green wave” of nutritious vegetation as it emerges phenologically from south to north. Many points along the route are key stopovers for animals where they may stay and fatten up for days or even weeks. These migrations, including the longest ever documented for mule deer (150 miles) are not hard-wired; they are culturally transmitted, meaning the routes are passed down from generation to generation from mothers to their young. The implications of this are profound; if human-caused or other disturbance disrupts migration for a period of years, the use of the

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Dr. Kevin Monteith of the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Migration Initiative uses ultrasound to check the pregnancy status of a mule deer doe after affixing it with a GPS collar to document its migration movements.

SCIENCE BLASTS

JOHN F. ORGAN B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Director Emeritus of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units

corridor may be lost with likely negative consequences to the fitness of the herd. The good news here is that attention is being directed to conserving these corridors across the West, thanks to leadership provided by the Wyoming Migration Initiative and its participating partners, most notable the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the USGS Coop Unit at the University of Wyoming. We have the techniques and means to identify these corridors and growing awareness and support to enact conservation measures. In the 1890s, the Boone and Crockett Club created the Bronx Zoo so that future generations of Americans could see living examples of big game. This was based on the sobering thought of the time that these animals would disappear from the landscape. The story of the emergence of the conservation movement and recovery of populations thankfully put that concern to rest. Now we have another story emerging, one that is fascinating seasoned biologists, hunters, and wildlife watchers alike. This new chapter in our efforts to sustain these magnificent animals will be an important one to follow. One can learn more by visiting the website migrationinitiative.org. n

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EDUCATING THE

NEXT GENERATION OF

B&C UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

CONSERVATION LEADERS The Boone and Crockett Club University Programs are designed to provide science-based knowledge from seasoned wildlife professionals and educators to college students in the wildlife field to better prepare them for the responsible and wise management of wildlife in the future.

FROM:

B&C Fellows Presenting at the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Meeting

The Boone and Crockett Club stands as a role model for all who are passionate about wildlife conservation. Among the qualities that set it apart are its University Programs. The Club is not bashful about expressing a bold vision: attract the brightest young people to the strongest universities to work with the foremost faculty. The intent is nothing less than preparing the wildlife scientists and conservation leaders who will be at the table when big decisions are being made about wildlife and habitat in the future. In December at the Annual Meeting two Boone and Crockett Fellows presented their research to enable Club

Members and B&C Fellows to get to know one another and share their values. What once was a set of six independent Boone and Crockett professorship and fellowship programs is quickly becoming a coordinated team. Together with Club leadership and representatives of universities soon to host new Boone and Crockett professors, we are developing a common set of goals that will stitch together the universities and the Club into the fabric of a powerful organization. Importantly, we are working to capitalize on the values and the visionary thinking of wildlife legacy and hunting heritage that are the core of the Boone and Crockett Club. n

Learn more about each University, their programs and students in the 2018 University Programs Annual Report. If you would like printed copies to share please contact Boone and Crockett Club Headquarters at (406) 542-1888 or email Karlie Slayer at Karlie@Boone-Crockett.org

B&C Professor and Professional Member Dr. Joshua Millspaugh introduced B&C Fellow Vaughan Branch as the presenter at a luncheon during the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Meeting.

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BOONE AND CROCKETT FELLOW PROFILE

VAUGHAN BRANCH TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: I grew up in a small farming community in south Georgia. As a young man I spent nearly all of my time outdoors - playing sports, hunting, fishing and exploring. After earning business and law degrees, I served as a prosecutor for many years and worked for a time in commercial litigation. During my professional career I also helped manage an agency linking the criminal justice and rehabilitation communities and later worked as a policy advocate. I lived and worked in metropolitan Washington, D.C., Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia before moving with my wife to Missoula, Montana to pursue a graduate degree in Wildlife Biology. Joining Dr. Millspaugh’s lab as a Boone and Crockett Fellow has provided the perfect opportunity to combine my professional background and lifelong passion for animals and the outdoors with my desire to positively affect the direction of wildlife conservation policy. DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH: In the United States, state and federal wildlife agencies serve critical roles in the

conservation and management of wildlife, and they do so over a mosaic of political and land ownership boundaries. Traditionally under the Public Trust Doctrine, state wildlife agencies have been considered the primary managers of wildlife regardless of where the animals may be found within a given state. However, some have questioned such plenary state authority over wildlife suggesting that certain federal statues mandate management by federal agencies. With our research we hope to inform this discussion by closely examining federal funding statutes such as the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts along with so called “savings clauses” from other relevant federal statutes in order to determine whether a consistent expression of Congressional intent regarding state wildlife management is present. Ultimately, we hope to provide a valuable resource to policy makers, judges, agency personnel and other stakeholders who may encounter questions related to state and federal authority to manage wildlife.

BOONE AND CROCKETT FELLOW PROFILE

REBECCA CAIN TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: I was born and raised in South Carolina. I inherited a passion for the outdoors from my father, an avid outdoorsman who took me fishing, camping, mountain biking, and hunting. My interests in learning and science arose from my mother, who signed me up for science fairs and made learning fun. I earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at Clemson University after writing a senior paper on hunting as a population control technique for white-tailed deer. I went on to receive a Master’s of Earth & Environmental Resources Management degree from the University of South Carolina. My thesis research focused on using statistical analyses to investigate how changes in management influence the annual harvest of whitetailed deer. I joined the Boone and Crockett Quantitative Wildlife Center at Michigan State University as a doctoral student in July 2014. DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH: There are obvious differences in the distribution of record book white-tailed deer

harvested across the United States, with the majority of harvests occurring in the Midwest region. Understanding how landscape-level processes impact the occurrence of record book deer is important because there is ongoing interest in management practices that improve the overall quality of the deer herd and increase the number of large bucks. This research will examine spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution of older age and record-quality bucks harvested in the Midwest. Results will be used to inform managers about the influence of harvest regulations and hunting traditions on characteristics of record book white-tailed deer. Specific objectives for this research project include (1) assessing the spatial Rebecca presented research to the and temporal variation in the number of record book white-tailed deer in the Records Committee at the annual meeting, see page 70, and is also an Midwestern United States to determine important factors that facilitate their Official Measurer for the Club. She production and (2) evaluating the variation in white-tailed deer age structures helped write an article about the across Michigan under different management strategies. history of the Records Program in the Fall 2016 issue of Fair Chase.

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Â©DONALD M. JONES

48 FA I R CH A S E | SSPPRRIINNGG 22001199

A message brought to you by

HARDY SURVIVORS UNDER THE TOUGHEST OF CONDITIONS AND BUILT TO TRAVEL, if there were a big game animal that could be classified as free-spirited it would have to be the caribou, and their constantly on the move ways.

Alaska. A single word that when uttered amongst hunters stirs images of a majestic bull moose standing deep in a remote lake with his freshly rubbed antlers demanding the attention of all who see him; a grizzly bear crossing the tundra, willing to sacrifice whatever necessary to gain the nutrition it needs to survive the long, dark, cold winter months to come; and finally, the migration of caribouâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;waves of animals moving thousands of miles in unison across the tundra in the paths created over millennia. PG. 60 DIY - ALASKA CARIBOU BY JUSTIN SPRING

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CWD - IT’S TIME TO HALT ALL TRANSPORTATION OF LIVE DEER AND ELK The Boone and Crockett Club announced that it has released a new position statement on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The position affirms the best way to prevent CWD introduction and establishment is to prohibit all human-assisted live cervid movements. “The Club has been closely involved with ongoing research about CWD,” said Dr. Josh Millspaugh, Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana. “With what we know today about how this deadly disease is transmitted

and the potential for introduction to new areas, we urge states to adopt the conclusions, recommendations and Best Management Practices of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).” Most deer and elk are transported for the purpose of establishing or re-stocking commercial shooting preserves and game farms. State wildlife officials also transport live animals to replenish areas with reduced populations or establish new populations. Sometimes these transports are done in cooperation with local and

national conservation organizations. All transportation of live cervid movements are covered by AFWA’s recommendations. CWD is now found in 25 states, three Canadian provinces, Norway, and South Korea. CWD is not caused by a virus or bacteria that can be treated and cured. It is a protein that is picked up through contact with infected animals or their surroundings. CWD is always fatal. It attacks an animal’s nervous system, taking as long as two years before the animal begins to show outward signs of the disease.

Currently there is no vaccine or practical way to test live animals for the disease. “Without a practical and reliable test to determine if live animals have CWD, this is an action that should be taken,” explained Millspaugh. “Unknowingly transporting infected animals leads to accelerating the unnatural spread of this disease. We applaud the several states that have already adopted this policy and we’re encouraging others to do the same.”

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB POSITION STATEMENT

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE AND THE TRANSPORTATION OF LIVE CERVIDS EFFECTIVE DATE: DECEMBER 7, 2018 SITUATIONAL OVERVIEW

The Boone and Crockett Club, the nation’s oldest hunter-conservationist organization, previously released a position statement regarding its concerns with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The Club maintains that CWD poses a significant wildlife health problem that will prevent many populations of wild deer, elk and other cervids from thriving in the long-term. One particular aspect of the disease merits a further statement by the Club, which is how to address human-assisted transportation of live cervids that is now regarded as the greatest risk for CWD introduction.

POSITION

The Boone and Crockett Club supports the conclusions and recommendations of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in Resolution #2018-02-07 and an associated document outlining Best Management Practices for Prevention, Surveillance, and Management of Chronic Wasting Disease (BMP). The Club joins AFWA in concluding the most effective way to prevent CWD introduction and establishment is to prohibit all human-assisted live cervid movements. The Boone and Crockett Club encourages states to adopt AFWA’s Resolution in a manner that is appropriate for their own jurisdictions, and to support the Fish and Wildlife Health Committee in developing further science-based recommendations regarding the implementation of the practices described in the BMP document. 50 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

Find the links to AFWA’s Resolution #2018-02-07 and Best Management Practices for Prevention, Surveillance, and Management of Chronic Wasting Disease approved September 12, 2018 at www.Boone-Crockett.org.

BELOW: The Boone and Crockett Club released the first position statement in March 2018, officially acknowledging CWD as wildlife health problem and identifying management tools and priorities.

Read more about CWD in our four part series in Fair Chase, issues Winter 2016 - Fall 2017 and visit www.cwd-info.org.

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB POSITION STATEMENT

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE EFFECTIVE DATE: MARCH 29, 2018 REVISED: APRIL 16, 2018 POSITION

The Boone and Crockett Club maintains CWD is a significant wildlife health problem. CWD has the potential to prevent many populations of wild deer, elk and other cervids from thriving in the long-term. The Club strongly encourages surveillance and management programs to find isolated cases of CWD and remove them from the landscape while few deer are infected. In situations where the disease is widespread, we believe efforts should focus on containment and control strategies. The scientific community has solved many of the mysteries about CWD biology and ecology, but the knowledge needed to develop effective management and control strategies remains incomplete. How we address diseases among species like cervids that have large, continent-wide distributions is challenging, yet vitally important to the long-term sustainability of these populations. CWD containment is also complicated by the fact it is found in both captive and wild populations that interact and infect one another. The transportation of captive cervids will continue to pose increasing risks to both wild and captive animals in the absence of strict regulations governing such practices. States, provinces, and tribal lands that are currently CWD-free should consider all available options to prevent it from entering their borders and to detect it if it is present. Another priority should be to obtain more certainty about human exposure risks. Efficacy of various management techniques intended to contain and control the disease should be rigorously evaluated and field-tested. The Boone and Crockett Club strongly encourages governmental authorities as well as scientists, wildlife management specialists, and stakeholders, to collectively foster and develop sustainable approaches and initiatives to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and contain CWD. The Club will contribute to research, outreach/education, and legislative efforts to reduce infection and transmission rates, fill in knowledge gaps to most effectively manage CWD, stabilize wild cervid populations, and protect people through three primary avenues: The Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, of which the Club is a founding member, the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s William I. Spencer Conservation Grants Program, and the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network of Boone and Crockett Wildlife Conservation Programs located at prestigious universities across the nation. FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 51

Save The Date!

Springfield, Missouri August 1 - 3, 2019

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL CELEBRATION HONORING North American Big Game MORE AND HEALTHIER THAN EVER under the watchful eye of sportsmen

AT The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium Trophy Display will be Open to the public May 4 – August 4, 2019 August 1 6:00p.m. – Welcome Reception August 2 12:00p.m. – Field Generals Luncheon

5:30p.m. – Jack S. Parker Generation Next Reception and Banquet

August 3 12:00p.m. – Heroes of Conservation Luncheon

1:30p.m. – 30th Big Game Awards Benefit Auction 6:00p.m. – 30th Big Game Awards Reception and Banquet

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EVENTS and pricing at WWW.BIGGAMEAWARDS.COM Registration will be available online soon! 52 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 53

REDEFINING FAIR CHASE What do you do when a round peg doesn’t fit into a square hole? Shave the sides off the peg until it fits. This is what is happening to fair chase, but with a band saw, not just a pocketknife, as in the past. Questioning authority is commonplace, often encouraged. Bending the rules, it happens. Blurring the lines, same thing. There are motives for each, most not all that honorable. But when it comes to fair chase, what’s happening today is calculated, intentional, and revealing all at the same time. The elevated conversations taking place today about fair chase and an ethical approach to hunting, have struck a nerve. There are folks today who have clearly had enough of fair chase and feel threatened by it. As with any rules, principles or guidelines there are inevitably some people who choose to stand outside the lines and seek acceptance by trying to move the line in their favor. If that’s not

working, the next move is to try criticizing or dismissing the line altogether. Like most things, if you want to know who, follow the money. The deer breeding and canned shooting industries, their promoters in particular, have been ramping up their efforts to gain support for their brand of “hunting” by placing a crosshair on fair chase. They are attempting to redefine fair chase to better fit their business model, or pick it apart as some loosely defined, outdated tool that’s only purpose is to divide sportsmen. You may have seen this, “hunt how you want to hunt” or the “we are all a band of brothers” movement. If not, keep an eye out for it, and let yourself be heard when you do see it. Whether any of this will gain any real traction remains to be seen. These attempts are an affront to those who know what fair chase is and is not, and choose to live by this code.

Proudly Supported By:

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Simply rearranging the words in its definition won’t change a thing, and certainly not its meaning and relevance. Since the vast majority of sportsmen believe fair chase is the only way to hunt, fair chase is therefore being viewed as a threat to the acceptance and growth of the deer breeding and canned shooting business. Sadly, there was a time when such nonsense would have been beaten to the margins right out of the gate. Commercial interests can be powerful, but apparently not powerful enough to diminish what has stood the test of time. Far too many sportsmen see fair chase as what’s good about hunting and critical to hunting’s future. If that’s what distinguishes hunters from shooters, maybe separates is a better word than divides. As for those looking to support fair chase and to challenge those uncomfortable with it, here is the Club’s long-standing definition:

FAIR CHASE IS THE ETHICAL, SPORTSMANLIKE, AND LAWFUL PURSUIT AND TAKING OF ANY FREE-RANGING WILD BIG GAME ANIMAL IN A MANNER THAT DOES NOT GIVE THE HUNTER AN IMPROPER ADVANTAGE OVER SUCH ANIMALS.

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KEITH BALFOURD B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER

EVOLUTION OF THE VFIELD PHOTO V PART 2

George Eastmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first camera, called the

Kodak, was offered for sale in 1888, only a few months after Theodore Roosevelt formed the Boone and Crockett Club. The first mass-marketed and affordable camera came along in 1900, called the Brownie. This is when hunting photography really came into being. With a big game records program that dates back to 1906 and has remained active since, one could imagine the vault of treasure the Club has accumulated in over a century. In our second installment of The Evolution of the Field Photo weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll take a look at how kids and our hunting dogs got into the act, as well as the suitable hunting attire from days gone by.

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Fashion may seem like an odd term to associate with hunting, but what sportsmen wore and how this has changed over time is a part of our history that is also present in our photography.

Kids, many too young for the hunt itself, were and still are a favorite to get in on the action.

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 57

Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend was and still is a big part of hunting. Hunting dogs that could be made to sit still long enough have graced our field photos for generations.

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JUSTIN SPRING B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER DIRECTOR OF BIG GAME RECORDS Photos Courtesy of Rebecca Spring

your pa d th in

DIY

ALASKA CARIBOU

n t u r e awa

Alaska. A single word that when uttered

amongst hunters stirs images of a majestic bull moose standing deep in a remote lake with his freshly rubbed antlers demanding the attention of all who see him; a grizzly bear crossing the tundra, willing to sacrifice whatever necessary to gain the nutrition it needs to survive the long, dark, cold winter months to come; or the migration of caribouâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; waves of animals moving thousands of miles in unison across the tundra in the paths created over millennia. Perhaps a pack of arctic wolves trailing them finds success, and your mind drifts to a camp where the few hours of darkness in late August allows you to view the northern lights as a chorus of wolf howls eerily pierces the air. The varying tones remind you that while you may be allowed to participate as a hunter in the natural cycle of life here, you are merely a player in the game.

The author with his first caribou bull taken with his .338 Win. Mag.

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To nearly all the folks in the United States and even the hunters who pride themselves on their woodsmanship, you may enter this land to participate, but you are the underdog without a solid knowledge of what you are getting into. To many folks, and rightfully so, this challenge is too much to overcome. The option of paying an outfitter to worry about all the unknowns is well worth the prices they fetch to take the unprepared into this great land. To hunt some species such as the brown bear, grizzly,

Any hunt in the North is about patience. You can kill yourself going out as far as you can hike to seek game—this country is big and unforgiving.

Dall’s sheep, and mountain goats requires their services unless you are an Alaska resident (or a very close relative of one) to hunt. Though for those willing to invest the time, money, preparation, and trepidation of the planning process that generally stretches over multiple years, the opportunity exists to experience the 49th state in some of the greatest unguided wilderness hunts left on the planet. This particular piece will highlight barren ground caribou. To start, there are numerous opportunities to hunt caribou in Alaska, ranging from the North Slope to the Alaskan Peninsula, where the classification of reindeer or caribou is a concern. Kodiak Island even has a herd, though these are not considered barren ground caribou for records-keeping purposes. For me, seeing herds on the tundra of the North Slope, though generally not as large, was an experience I had dreamed of for years. A float hunt in Alaska is an amazing experience but adds a whole separate level of planning and required skills to successfully complete.

While I have done one that I will eventually write about, that should only be considered if you have ample experience—not only on rivers but with extreme, remote hunting. First and foremost on a drop-hunt is gear selection. If you think you may need it, you probably don’t. If you are pretty sure it will come in handy, leave it home. If there is no possible way to survive without it, put it on the list that will have to be cut down later. All these hunt costs are dictated by weight—and remember, paying to upgrade to a bigger plane could well prevent you from accessing certain areas. The flying service will give you a price and weight per person. In nearly all cases, this involves body weight. In our case, we had 1,800 pounds for four people or basically a single DeHaviland Beaver load. This may seem like quite a bit, but when you start breaking it down, it adds up very quickly with decent gear. You are going to want to use the lightest and best gear you can possibly afford (which also adds to the trip costs).

PERSONAL GEAR LIST n

A .338 Win Mag with 4-14x scope

Only take stainless synthetic. You can take a fancy rifle, but it’s wet where you’re hunting, and carrying full cleaning supplies for your baby is extra weight. n

Gun sock for flight from Fairbanks to Bettles and Bettles to hunting location

Neoprene scope cover and lens pen with optics cleaning cloth; a small sealed gun rag with a small amount of gun oil on it. n

One 20-round box 210 grain Barnes bullets

A sidearm, in my opinion, is wasted weight for a tundra hunt, where a surprise bear attack is highly unlikely. In a predatory situation, I am also not going to season myself with bear spray. Additionally, you aren’t allowed to fly commercially with any compressed sprays so you are going to have to buy it in Alaska at Alaska prices or have it shipped up ahead of time. Even then, certain flight services may not let you take it. n

Two sets of hunting clothing

I wore one in and had a full set in reserve if I got sweaty or

The .338 is way more than enough for caribou but just right if a grizzly decides he needs your quarters more than you do while packing them. Less is more on a drop-hunt. If you think you may need it, you probably don’t. If you are pretty sure it will come in handy, leave it home. If there is no possible way to survive without it, put it on the list that will have to be cut down later.

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wet. I prefer Sitka gear as the fit for me is nice, but numerous high-end hunting brands offer wicking materials that can literally save your life. My layering system includes a synthetic short-sleeved undershirt, an insulating shirt (the Sitka hoodie is my go-to), a heavier outer layer shirt and a heavier pair of pants. I am a big fan of the Sitka Timberline pants, but pull out the knee pads. Be aware, some folks that may not be as insulated as I am may want long underwear or puffy pants. On this hunt, we had temps from 1860 degrees. n

One set of insulated rubber gloves

A last-minute addition and best piece of gear for the trip. Doing dishes, moving meat, filtering water—they were being passed around like… well, never mind. Take some rubber insulated gloves in addition to your favorite pair of hunting gloves. I like the neoprene palmed fingerless Glacier Gloves while hunting.

They were a little warm, and my feet did sweat some while packing meat, but in camp with the temps in the mid-30s, they were perfect. n

One pair other hunting boots

I took a pair of Xtratuf rubber boots (Alaska sneakers). I have used these boots extensively in southeast Alaska while hunting bear, but my ankles are very strong (meaning the lack of ankle support for me is not an issue). I like how they can almost fold around things as I walk, but that is personal preference. The other three on the trip took high-quality leather hunting boots and gaiters which seemed to work very well until the hole in the tundra went from 6 inches— like the previous 200 they stepped in—to 30 inches. This isn’t really a downside to this choice as my boots would have had the same problem in water that deep. My Xtratufs are well broken in and serve as a very comfortable pair of camp shoes as well.

legs, hide, pop hip joints, etc., and cut ribs and head off. I saved the other for breaking down meat. The caper I used to skin out the head in camp. n

Fairly light and quite a bit easier to cut off ribs in the units that require meat to stay on the bone (including rib meat since all meat in Alaska is required to come out). I took a wood blade and two finer bone blades but only used one bone blade on this trip. n

One pair of highperformance wool socks for every day and a pair of high performance underwear for every other day

Alaska is wet and cold. You will find yourself at some point dejected, wet, cold, and just downright crabby. Change your socks—it will change your world. This setup combined with a puffy coat and an outer layer rain shell has worked for me down to single digits but is right at home in the 25-45 degree range. n

Buck Paklite knives

I took the two bigger skinning sizes and a caper with a small, portable sharpening steel. I used one skinner to take off

Trekking poles

From crossing rivers to setting up a tarp to keeping meat and cooking area dry, they have far more uses than just hiking. We had two sets on the trip and they were both used continuously. n

Winter hat and ball cap

Sometimes you need sun shade, sometimes your ears are cold, sometimes both. n

Wyoming saw

Stone Glacier EVO 3300 pack

They are not cheap, but it weighs less than four pounds, feels absolutely amazing empty to completely loaded, had

enough room for me to carry two caribou quarters and a scrap bag plus my day’s hunting gear—and carry a head and cape over my shoulders. It’s small enough to use as a carry-on for commercial airline flights. Two others on the trip had far bigger packs they used for their checked bag, which works but is more weight. Again, a personal preference thing. n

15x binoculars and carbon fiber tripod

In hindsight, I would have taken a spotting scope as well. My general feeling is that 15s on a tripod let me glass and would give me enough magnification to make a call if I want to get closer, but we didn’t realize we would be able to see as many miles as we could. A 40x spotter could have saved some hiking time for a couple of the guys on the trip. Plus, it would have greatly magnified our fortunate observation of the nine grizzlies, two wolverines, and musk ox! n

10x power binoculars and chest harness

I always have those on while hunting even if I am just packing meat. You are in Alaska; at

The river crossing was definitely no joke, and the hip boots just weren’t quite enough.

One pair hip boots

I wore mine in on the plane as we were dropped on a lake, and we needed some type of wader to even get off the plane. I used Yoder chaps on a pair of Muckmaster muck boots. 62 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

Official Measurer Brett Ross and hunting partner Levi Costopoulos cross a river with Brett’s 350 class bull.

any moment you could observe something that you may never again see in your life, and you never want to miss it. In addition, on a stalk, I don’t want heavy 15s but want to be able to check what the critter is doing; 8x powers would probably suffice, but I have some awesome 10s that I just love. n

Headlamps

I took two, though never used either, but it does get dark a few hours a night that time of year. One would suffice the next time around. n

Head net

Bugs for us were very minimal, we had a very cold night the first night out and never really had much of an issue after that. That being said, I would never be on the tundra without one. It is just not worth the chance, and they weigh nothing. We also took one small bottle of 100 percent Deet bug spray. I sprayed a bit on my hat when we first landed. Then I spent the next three days with rain and sweat running it off my hat into my eyes and wishing I had toughed out the bugs for the first afternoon.

Zero-degree synthetic sleeping bag

Down is less bulky but will not dry if it gets soaked, although with the newer (treated) down bags, this is not as much of an issue. There is very little wood on the tundra beyond some willows that are generally fairly wet so my wife and I elected to not take a stove for the tent. The other two on the trip were able to get enough wood for a small fire to dry gear after a river crossing where the hip boots just weren’t quite enough. My wife and I met them on the near side of the river to help them finish out the pack of their bull, and the river crossing was definitely no joke. n

Lightweight cot and a Therm-a-rest type sleeping pad

The cot was a luxury for sure, but when one of the others in camp had his pad fail, I was able to give him my pad and still make it through just fine on the cot. He got no sleep the night his sleeping pad went completely flat, and he “froze” as the ground sucked the heat right out of him. The inflatable ones are nice, but just go with a foam pad even though they are not nearly as comfortable. B&C Official Measurer and the author’s wife, Rebecca, with her firstmorning bull. It ended up being the largest of the trip and stretched the tape to 390 inches in camp.

GROUP GEAR LIST n

Tents

We ended up taking two Seek Outside tipis. We had a sixman and also a Redcliff; the six-man on its own probably would have sufficed for four, but seeing as they were each minimal weight we took both so we had our own space. Three in the Redcliff with the stove would have been tight, but it was great for two. n

MSR Dragonfly and Jetboiltype stoves

I’ve taken the MSR on both trips as there is no question that transporting empty fuel bottles or shipping ahead is allowed as long as all fuel is cleaned out of them. The MSR runs on numerous fuels; the first trip I ran it on Jet A, which is basically kerosene. This time I was able to get white gas in Bettles before we flew out. Check with your float service on what is available and what they will allow. Fuel for us was not a problem for either stove, but it takes some preplanning. Four of us used less than two 20-ounce bottles of white gas, and we were making fairly in-depth dishes that required lots of stove time in the six days/five nights we were out. To be safe, we took three bottles for our main stove. n

Bear fence

UDAP makes a lightweight fence, whether it packs enough punch to stop a charging grizzly I highly doubt, but it should

deter non-human acclimated curious bears. I have used both the mesh fencing and the hotwire on four posts. I greatly prefer the second type for ease of setup and lack of brush removal required. We actually took two and set one around our tents and the other around our cooking and meat-storage area. We had a bear hit one fence on a previous trip, and it turned him around from a full quartered moose in camp. n

Ultralight tarp

We chose the Luxe Batwing with the poles. This type of shelter was big enough to keep us dry during rain and also was adjustable enough to keep the meat quarters dry and out of the weather. We used this as a communal area for cooking, glassing, and storing meat. It was quite a compliment when the floatplane pilots both commented on how nice and dry our meat looked. n

Game Bags

Synthetic bags are great; if they get wet, a few minutes in the wind will have them and your meat dry again. Most of the bag packages don’t count on it being required to salvage rib meat on the bone. Generally a single package of these newer bags commonly sold won’t be enough. n

Chairs

For both my Alaska hunts, the ground was pretty soft and chairs with small legs would sink in. The ground is wet, and

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having a nice chair is definitely a luxury worth considering. n

Walter filtration system

We took both a gravity style filter (fill a bag and then gravity pulls it through the filter) and also a small hand pump. The hand pump is slow and tedious, but the larger bag filter eventually clogs and ends up taking more time to filter but you can do other camp chores while it works unlike the hand pump. Also remember neither of them work if they freeze, so keeping them in the tent—and if it’s really cold, in a sleeping bag— ensures a water source. Beyond these items, the rest is personal preference for cooking and eating utensils, coffee, packable spinning or fly rod. The general consensus from all the other groups who caught fish was Panther Martin spinners. Pretty sure our lake was void of grayling as we hooked one fish in four hours of trying (and it got off). We used the same setups as they were using. While this article is fa irly limited to our

experience and how we actually hunted, the gear is what will make or break your hunt. There are thousands of caribou migrating, and you will see plenty if you get to where they are migrating. Any hunt in the North is about patience. You can kill yourself going out as far as you can hike to seek game—this country is big and unforgiving. Finding a good glassing point that you can spend some time watching will result in seeing game. You can note the general path they are following, the speed at which seem to cover distance, and then when you find a bull you want to make a play on, your legs are fresh and you can go. Patience is also key in selecting a drop location and in just plain getting there. Transporter services make a living by putting folks in good areas so they come back. Having a plan and asking about a particular lake or area you may fancy is fine, but if they say they would rather put you somewhere else, it’s wise to listen. Your buddy may have seen 10,000 caribou at Lake X three years ago, but maybe the

migration is early or late. The transporter is up every day the weather is clear, and they know what’s going on. Weather is a huge factor on these hunts as well. If the transporter says it’s not safe, don’t push the issue. They want you there pestering them about when you fly out about as much as you want to be waiting there to start your hunt. Again, they make money by getting people in and out successfully. We also had a day or two layover in each of our connections. We left on a Sunday and arrived in Fairbanks around 3 pm local time. This gave us time for last-minute shopping for forgotten items and perishables as well as getting tags, which I would recommend ordering early. From Fairbanks, we flew with Wright Aviation, a commuter service operating mainly Cessna caravans that can fly IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) but still have landing requirements that can be impeded by weather. This flight went well, and we overnighted in Bettles with plans to fly out the next day. On my previous trip, we

Even if your hunt winds up without you ever seeing a caribou, which is highly unlikely, the opportunity to fly through the Brooks Range and break out onto the red arctic tundra is something to behold.

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actually flew out a day early as weather was coming in. On our scheduled departure date, we loaded the plane and were taxing out when we got a weather report that the fog was all the way on the ground where we were headed. Within a few hours it cleared, but staying patient is all part of the experience. The day the last of the group punched his tag, we saw planes flying. The group wanted to stay and hang out, but I made the call to get out when we could. In hindsight, they agreed it was the smart move but still were all a bit disappointed. We had meat that needed attention, and in my opinion, pushing for an exact date and time leaves many chances for plans to fail. “Fly when you can” is my motto. This gave us a full two days in Bettles to completely process all the meat, which reduced the amount of weight we had to freight back out on the commuter flight to Fairbanks, and ultimately, freighting it back on Alaska Airlines. Since we had extra days, we were able to freight most of our processed meat from Bettles back to Wright Aviation, which had a freezer. Freighting saves you almost a dollar a pound vs. flying with it on your scheduled flight. We purchased fish boxes, and after what we ate plus

trimming all the meat, we had a box per caribou between 6585 pounds each. We had scheduled two full days in Fairbanks at an Airbnb to allow us to process and freeze meat, but since we had two days in Bettles, we were able to take it easy and see the town. I could write numerous articles on this trip and our experience, but each hunt in this country is unique. All our bulls were taken within a couple miles of camp, with the largest and also closest being taken the first morning by my wife about a half mile out. Our shots were anywhere from 40 yards to 400. There are bears and wolves in this country and plenty of them, so you need to be smart about keeping your camp and meat safe as well as keeping your head about you, but all we encountered were very well-behaved. Even if your hunt winds up without

you ever seeing a caribou, which is highly unlikely, the opportunity to fly through the Brooks Range and break out onto the red arctic tundra is something to behold. Flying over the Gates of Arctic National Park and seeing the unspoiled wilderness for as far as the eye can see turns a small world much larger during the hour-and-a-half flight. The trails through the tundra are visible and caribou and moose antlers dot the expansive valleys below. The great North has always called to me from my first trip as a young boy. Nearly 30 years later, not a day goes by that the pull of the wilderness and all that embodies America’s conservation legacy is far from the front of my mind. You only live once, and no story ever started with, “Well it seemed so difficult, so I decided not to even try.” n

Total cost Plane ticket to Fairbanks: $350 each (ALASKA AIRLINES CREDIT CARD ENTITLES YOU TO A COMPANION FARE.)

Lodging in Fairbanks: $225 each

(one night in, two nights on the way out)

Truck rental in Fairbanks: $100 each (one day in, three days on the way out)

Cabs: $12 each Wright Air Flight to Bettles: $340 each Freight: Charged at $1.80 over 40 lbs on Wright’s (varies greatly but we paid about $100 each, with most of that on the way out for the Caribou meat)

Stay in Bunkhouse in Bettles: $0 (dinner at Bettles Lodge was $50 each)

Flights from Bettles to the field: $2,750 each Cabin in Bettles:$50 each night

(Bunkhouse is available, but the cabins are nice as well with access to a bigger shower)

Licenses: $1,005

(CARIBOU, WOLF, AND HUNTING/FISHING YEARLY LICENSE)

TOTAL: $4932 each

NEXT UP: PRONGHORN

Costs if successful Cape preparation at Fairbanks Fur Tannery: $100 Overage charge for baggage: $100

(ONE BAG FREE WITH CREDIT CARD, 2ND BAG $25, THIRD BAG WHICH WAS SPLIT AND WRAPPED ANTLERS $75)

Freight (getting meat on Alaska Airlines): $92

YOU MUST BE A KNOWN SHIPPER TO SHIP OUTSIDE OF THE STATE. YOU MUST FILL OUT A FORM AND THE WAIT TIME FOR APPROVAL BY TSA IS A COUPLE OF WEEKS.

ADD IN FOOD AND ALASKA PRICES IN GENERAL AND YOU ARE LOOKING AROUND $6,000 DOORSTEP-TO-DOOR-STEP PER HUNTER BEFORE PURCHASING ANY GEAR. FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 65

MY RITA BLANCA

PRONGHORN HUNT W H AT A W E E K E N D ! I TOOK MY BUCK TO THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE CHECK STATION, WHERE THE BIOLOGIST SAID IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST PRONGHORN BROUGHT INTO THE STATION.

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I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to hunt since an early age, and I have been taught about our hunting heritage from my dad and grandfathers. We have several places to hunt, but my dad always submits my brother’s and my name in the drawing for several hunts available through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TP&WD) and the Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP). We have been drawn for several management deer hunts through TP&WD, but none in the youth hunting program. On August 2, my dad called to tell me that I was selected for the youth either-sex deer hunt at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area in south Texas. I think he was more excited than me! At the end of August, Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, which affected millions of people, including my grandparents. When school started, I was busy as drum major for our band and with other activities. When I got up on Saturday, September 30, I checked my phone to find an email from TYHP stating that I had been selected for the pronghorn hunt in Dalhart, Texas. Our state’s pronghorn season only runs nine days. My dad was out of town, so I text him, “I won a pronghorn hunt!” He replied, “Great!” I asked, “Do you know where Dalhart is?” He stated, “Yes.” I told him, “We have to be there on Friday afternoon by 3 p.m.” He quickly called me on the phone so we could discuss details. Luckily our football team had a bye that week, and I could go on the hunt. With a short time to get things ready, we shot the guns and gathered our hunting and camping gear. Dad told me, “Don’t forget your big coat; it might get cold up there.” I thought to myself, “Right, Dad; we are in Texas the first week of October.” We pulled out of the house at 4:15 a.m. and into the campgrounds in Dalhart, Texas—630 miles later—at 2:30 p.m. We met the three other youth selected for the hunt and set our tents up. That evening we headed to the range to check our guns and then returned for the hunt orientation. The head huntmaster paired us up with Andrew, one of the hunt volunteers. We made plans for the hunt and called it a day.

This column is dedicated to the system that supports the public hunting of public wildlife for all fair chase sportsmen, and the stories and trophies that are the result. Theodore Roosevelt strongly believed that self-reliance and pursuing the strenuous activities of hunting and wilderness exploration was the best way to keep man connected to nature. We score trophies, but every hunt is to some extent a way of measuring ourselves.

We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to a cold, crisp 34 degrees. I was so glad I brought my big coat! After a light breakfast, we headed north 20 miles to the Rita Blanca National Grasslands. We were assigned several of the units within the 70,000-plus-acre grassland, where an amazing sunrise greeted us. Once it got light enough, we spotted pronghorn right away and made plans to get a closer look. With only one full day to hunt, I could be selective for a few hours on the buck I wanted to harvest, but after lunch, I could not be so picky. My dad dropped us off near a herd of 11 bucks to see if I could get a shot at the largest buck. While I made an unsuccessful stalk on the pronghorn, my dad got the truck stuck on the other side of the pasture due to three inches of rain that had fallen prior to the hunt. Luckily, we had cell service and finally got pulled out three hours later. Despite losing precious hunting time, my dad was optimistic (and more cautious where he drove). I made three more unsuccessful stalks on some nice bucks. Meanwhile, my dad located a really nice buck within a herd that we followed until they met up with another herd of pronghorn. Andrew and I went after the buck while my dad stayed at the truck. We made it into position, and I took a shot, but it was not successful. My dad met us and told us to follow the herd until we got another shot. After stalking them for over a mile and a half with my buck in the back, I made two shots and put him down. My dad finally made his way to us and said, “That is a great buck!” and then, noticing something amiss, “Where are your binoculars?” I had taken off my binoculars at the beginning of the stalk when we began belly crawling. Dad said we were going to look for them because I had borrowed them from my grandfather.

BEYOND THE SCORE

Bradin Hanselka Photos Courtesy of Author

Bradin Hanselka with his 78-4/8-point pronghorn. Even though it doesn’t make the B&C record book, he couldn’t be happier with his first pronghorn.

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After taking some field photos and field dressing my buck, we headed back to Dalhart, and I took my buck to the Texas Parks and Wildlife check station, where the biologist said it was one of the largest pronghorn brought into the station. We made it back to the campgrounds and finally finished skinning and quartering my buck around 11 p.m. And by the way, Dad didn’t forget about the binoculars! We got up at 5:30 the next morning and headed back 20 miles to the approximate spot that I lost them. My dad had a pretty good idea of the location since he stayed at the truck and watched as we made the stalk. He told me to start on the east side of the area so I could see the sun reflect off of the lens. After 30 minutes of searching, we were about to give up when dad yelled out, “Here they are!” I couldn’t believe he found them. We headed back and prepared for the long trip home. After traveling over 1,300 miles in three days and passing through five ecoregions of Texas, we made it home. As I reflected back on my hunt all I can say is, “What a weekend!” I was so grateful to have had my dad on this hunt, as he has hunted pronghorn for a number of years in several states. We made some very special father-son memories on that quick but eventful weekend. Several weeks after the hunt, we had my buck scored by B&C Official Measurer Dr. Dan McBride for the Texas Big Game Awards Program (TBGA). My buck scored 78-4/8. His long horn measured 16-2/8 inches, and his base measurements were 6-6/8 inches. Even though my buck does not make the B&C record book, I couldn’t be happier with my first pronghorn. Six months after the hunt, I received great news from TBGA that my buck was the largest pronghorn harvested in the panhandle region of Texas and the seventh-largest harvested in the state. I would like to thank the Texas Youth Hunting Program and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I would also like to thank Dr. Dan McBride for doing an amazing job on my pronghorn mount. n

ABOVE: Bradin’s pronghorn and TBGA plaque proudly on display. RIGHT: B&C OM Dan McBride, who scored and did the taxidermy for Bradin’s pronghorn, knows a thing or two about hunting pronghorn.

PRONGHORN IN TEXAS

TOP 10 SCORES

ENTRIES BY COUNTY SINCE 1961

PRONGHORN FROM TEXAS

Hudspeth 122 Hartley 11 Brewster 8 Dallam 7 Lipscomb 3 Culberson 2 Presidio 2 Cochran 1

Deaf Smith 1 Gray 1 Hutchinson 1 Motley 1 Ochiltree 1 Other Location 1 Roberts 1 Yoakum 1

1. 90-4/8 2. 89-2/8 3. 89-2/8 4. 88-6/8 5. 87-6/8 6. 87-2/8 7. 87-2/8 8. 86-6/8 9. 86-4/8 10. 86-4/8

Bradin was hunting on the Rita Blanca National Grasslands, located in Dallam County, Texas and Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Dallam County is one of the counties in Texas producing high numbers of B&C Record book pronghorn.

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ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE It’s hard to believe that we have closed out another Awards Program and another Official Measurer renewal has been sent out. Hopefully by the time you read this you have completed your renewal. Listed on the next page are those Official Measurers (OMs) that, to date, have not renewed. I am sure there are a couple that were not detected on our end, and if that is the case we apologize, please let us know. We still have 151 measurers we need to hear from. If your name is on the list, or you recognize someone that you are in contact with, please let them know they are currently ineligible to measure until we have received both the updated code of conduct form and renewal document. As is the case every year, Boone and Crockett Club held its annual Records Committee meeting in early December. This year the location was Nashville, and the threeday gathering of the Club’s Regular and Professional Members included meetings of the majority of the Club’s committees. The Records Committee meeting was very

productive in terms of reviewing scoring procedures. The only change affecting Official Measurers is the wording regarding the drying time for found heads. On page 188 of the measurers manual it reads, “ …In the case of pickedup trophies, the 60-day drying period also applies. If it is very clear from the condition of the antlers, horns, skulls or tusks that the trophy has dried for more than 60 days, one does not have to wait another 60 days from when it was found to measure it….” The committee unanimously approved an update where the second sentence will be dropped in future manual publications. This means all found heads must dry 60 days at a habitable temperature before they can be measured. If a person finds it while out shed hunting in May and brings it inside, 60 days from the found-date is the first time it can be measured regardless of its condition when found. We also heard from Rebecca Cain regarding her Ph.D. dissertation which incorporated Boone and Crockett scoring data. Check out her profile on page 47.

TROPHY TALK

You all should have received your invitation to the 30th Big Game Awards Program in Springfield, Missouri, set for August 1-3, 2019. Once again we will be presenting all attending Official Measurers with a custom-made 30th Awards Official Measurer belt buckle as a small token of our appreciation for your efforts. This year we have started into early negotiation with Remington for a limited production of a B&C Official Measurer rifle, customized with the Club logo and Official Measurer ID. This is still in its early stages and far from a “for sure” thing, but stay tuned as this comes together the closer we get to the program. In addition to the OM luncheon, which will take place Friday, August 2, there will be an open meeting directed to our measurers that morning where Vice President of Big Game Records Eldon “Buck” Buckner and Records Committee Chair Richard Hale will be available to answer questions. While we hope you can all attend these events, I would also personally like to encourage all our OMs to attend one, if not both, of the recognition banquets

JUSTIN SPRING B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Director of Big Game Records

Friday and Saturday nights. The Friday night Jack Steele Parker Generation Next youth banquet will include an address by Melissa Bachman with the event being emceed by Club Member and President of Buck Knives, CJ Buck. Saturday night celebrates our 30th Big Game Awards Banquet and will feature a brief address by Professional Member and outdoor writer Craig Boddington who will also emcee the evening. These events honor the fair chase hunters but also the animals and conservation that put them on the landscape. You are all a part of the efforts put into this very mission by the Boone and Crockett Club for the last 131 years, and we sincerely hope you can attend this celebration. n

B&C fellow Rebecca Cain presented her research to the Records Committee examining spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution of older age class and record-quality bucks harvested in the Midwest. Results will be used to inform managers about the influence of harvest regulations and hunting traditions on characteristics of record book whitetail deer.

Official Measurers who attend the 30 th Big Game Awards Field General’s Luncheon will receive this belt buckle. 70 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

THE RECORDS DEPARTMENT WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR OFFICIAL MEASURERS FOR THEIR TIRELESS EFFORTS SERVING THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB. In order to keep our records accurate and up to date we ask our Official Measurers to renew their status and contact information every two years. We have not heard from the Official Measurers listed below. If your name is on the list and would like to continue as a B&C Official Measurer for 2019-2020 please contact Kyle Lehr or Justin Spring as soon as possible. Note: An updated Official Measurer Code of Conduct must be signed and dated to complete your renewal. Official Measurers on this list are unable to measure until we have received the signed and dated code of conduct.

A034 - Gilbert T. Adams - Beaumont, TX A052 - David P. Allen - Mountain Top, PA A037 - Rob Anderson - Alpine, WY A059 - David W. Arbogast - Pt. Pleasant, WV B201 - Luis M. Balenko - Redwood City, CA 057A - Michael Ballard - Sherwood, AR B231 - David Banta - Marietta, OK B258 - Rene R. Barrientos - San Antonio, TX B239 - Maxey B. Baucum - Collinsville, MS B034 - P. Franklin Bays - Southlake, TX 106A - Michael C. Beck - Camp Hill, AL B213 - Hugues Béland - St. Eustache, QC B115 - Dale E. Bennicke - Alton, NS B256 - Skyler Bockman - Birch Tree, MO B214 - Caroline Bolduc - St. Simon les Mines, QC B060 - Timothy C. Boyce - Millbrook, AL 045A - Blake Branom - Winter Garden, FL B252 - Steven R. Brewer - Paris, TN B173 - Timothy P. Brown - Oregon City, OR B253 - Travis Buchanan - Sunbright, TN B183 - Kelcey Burguess - Hampton, NJ B234 - Bruce H. Burton - Okmulgee, OK 109A - Phillip Troy Camp - Concord, NC C142 - Ben F. Carter - Dallas, TX C006 - Ralph L. Cervo - Lundbreck, AB C024 - Christian D. Chaffin - Melbourne Beach, FL C049 - David A. Chanda - Long Valley, NJ C100 - Alfred Cheney - Gloversville, NY C114 - Randy J. Clark - Piqua, OH C068 - Jack L. Clary - Lancer, SK C108 - Emily Cope - Columbia, SC C138 - Dennis Covey - Keota, OK C111 - William F. Crigler - Raton, NM 147A - Douglas S. Curts - Depauw, IN D102 - Sterling Daniels - Harrogate, TN 131A - John Mark Davison - Sugar Land, TX D117 - Kara V. Day - Richmond Hill, GA D098 - Dustin H. Deaton - Dickson, TN D104 - Robert Delorme - Christopher Lake, SK D040 - Wayne DiSarro - Ketchikan, AK D122 - William J. Dixon - Fairbank, IA D100 - Dustin Dowler - Parkersburg, WV D113 - Brady Dupke - Payson, AZ E029 - Kenneth R. Eifes - Canton, CT F020 - William H. Fleming - Abbeville, SC 149A - Robert B. Fletcher - Fairfield, OH F094 - Emily Flinn - Columbia, MO F054 - Alice B. Flowers - Great Falls, MT F082 - Eric Ford - Hagerstown, MD F088 - Jeff Ford - Hodgen, OK F049 - Daniel L. Forster - Social Circle, GA F075 - Lloyd B. Fox - Toccoa, GA

F087 - Randall M. Fraser - Whitehorse, YT F052 - Donnie Frels - Rockport, TX G075 - Bernard J. Garcarz - Hendersonville, NC 135A - Valdemar Garcia - Houston, TX G090 - Dan Gibbs - Morristown, TN 064A - Charlotte Good - Highlandville, MO G080 - Dale Grandstaff - Woodlawn, TN G074 - Keith Griglak - Hampton, NJ G057 - Lawrence G. Gunner - Sioux Falls, SD H166 - Lance A. Hainen - Columbia, MO H007 - Howard Hanson - Mankota, SK H178 - Dayna L. Harrison - Loon Lake, SK 113A - Danny C. Hawkins - Letohatchee, AL H155 - James Helling - Golden Valley, ND H164 - Maynard Donald Henke - Brandon, MS H053 - Bernie Hildebrand - Miles City, MT H125 - Jeffery W. Hill - Rockbridge, OH H156 - Ryan C. Hilton - Salmon, ID H148 - Donald W. Holinaty - Estevan, SK H188 - Micheal D. Hopper - Goodland, KS H165 - Justin C. Hughes - Fulton, MS I014 - Samuel N. Ivey - Monticello, GA J043 - Daniel Jackson - Shelbyville, KY J042 - Chris L. Jaworowski - Lowndesboro, AL J052 - Erik G. Johnson - Mount Vernon, WA 154A - Benjamin P. Johnston - Ozark, MO K091 - Don Kahl - Ralls, TX K070 - Cyril Kingston - Rothesay, NB 082A - George Peter Kleczka - Plainville, MA K088 - Leith G. Konyndyk - Tullahoma, TN 083A - Michael A. Korth - Newport News, VA K018 - John J. Kuzma - Norquay, SK L085 - Thomas W. Lammel - Fallon, NV L092 - Jonathan Lee - Lafayette, TN L096 - Larry R. Lindeman - West Plains, MO L044 - Dale M. Lindgren - Norguay, SK L040 - Charles W. Logsdon - Brandenburg, KY M142 - Michael Madonia - Belvidere, NJ M135 - Marty Malone - Park City, MT 086A - Michael Manni - E Greenwich, RI 085A - Andrew David Martel - Alvett, VA 050A - James Martino - Destin, FL M050 - Jack F. Mason - Hudson, NC M082 - John B. McJannet - Davidson, SK M190 - Travis Metcalf - Romney, WV M196 - John A. Mike - Morristown, TN M174 - Jeffrey G. Mock - Reedsville, PA M159 - Stephane Monette Saint Remi D’Amherst, QC M154 - Howard P. Monsour - Bluff Dale, TX M036 - W. Gerald Moore - Union, SC M220 - Cody F. Morris - Pratt, KS

M121 - Richard T. Morton - Clemson, SC M097 - Bruce W. Mowat - Cowley, AB M127 - Randell S. Myers - Baton Rouge, LA N033 - David E. Nance - Doniphan, MO N004 - James A. Nelson - Nine Mile Falls, WA P113 - Adam Pack - Dorrance, KS P051 - George Pappas - Greenwood Village, CO P086 - Rhett M. Pawluski - Armstrong, BC P071 - Alan Peterson - Jackson, TN P110 - Tom L. Pettiette - Houston, TX P020 - John Phillips - Williamstown, KY P065 - Kevin S. Primrose - McCall, ID P075 - Adam L. Pritchett - Midway, AL P085 - Michael T. Pruss - Harrisburg, PA R112 - Zachary Randall - Chicago, IL R091 - Daryl Ratajczak - Nashville, TN R058 - Joe Ream - Unionville, MO R102 - Marshall C. Reigh - Medford, OK R114 - Tony J. Reitz - Topeka, KS R088 - John Reneau - Blaine, WA R126 - Ryan Risher - Sicklerville, NJ R084 - Chip Ruthven - Paducah, TX S059 - Mark S. Sasser - Montgomery, AL S233 - Kent J.C. Sipes - Mountain Home, ID S189 - Chad Sjodin - Whitehorse, YT S165 - David Skinner - Bowling Green, KY 123A - Sherri S. Smith - Cunningham, TN S242 - Warren Smith - Edmonton, AB S053 - Steven G. Sorensen - Valley Center, KS S176 - Luc Soucy - Degelis, QC 124A - Simon L. Spain - Myrtle Beach, SC S228 - Wade Spence - Imboden, AR S224 - Matthew J. Spurgeon Montgomery City, MO S182 - Harvey Sterner - Mertztown, PA S029 - Sam W. Stokes - Pickens, SC S022 - Robert R. Stonoff - Homer, AK S208 - Mark W. Streissguth - Thorp, WA S204 - Matt Suuck - Cascade, CO S115 - David R. Synatzske - Sandia, TX 056A - Joshua Trapp - Destin, FL 167A - Dan M. Uzelac - Valparaiso, IN V024 - Francois Vanasse - Coaticook, QC 073A - Larry Webb - St Charles, MO W149 - Ray Wiens - Lower Nicola, BC W120 - Daniel J. Wilson - Winnipeg, MB W148 - Brent Womack - Summerville, GA W137 - Vince Wonderlich - Olathe, KS W138 - Kevin J. Wood - St. John, KS

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 71

Associate Sign-Up Incentive Program Leader Board *As of January 8, 2019

CONGRATS TO OUR TOP 10 PRIZE WINNERS!

Each time an OM signs up a B&C Associate we’ll put a credit by their name. HERE’S THE BREAKDOWN 3 Associates – $25 off any item in the B&C store 5 Associates – Buck Knife 10 Associates – B&C Boyt sling 25 Associates – OM Wool Vest 50 Associates – Sitka Gear (value up to $350) 75 Associates – Yeti cooler and rambler package (value up to $500) 100 Associates – Congratulations! YOU’LL RECEIVE A KIMBER RIFLE!

1. Stanley Zirbel – 50 2. Bucky Ihlenfeldt – 34 3. Charlie Adams – 20 4. Philip A. Herrnberger – 19 5. Ken Witt – 18 6. Daniel A. Doughty III – 14 7. Jerry E. Lunde – 13

8. Mark Miller – 10 9. Jim R. Peterson – 7 10. John Bogucki – 6 (tie) 10. Everett Headley – 6 (tie) 10. Michael Moline – 6 (tie) 10. Ralph Stayner – 6 (tie)

FIVE ASSOCIATE SIGN UPS

Ab England, Carl Frey, Wyatt Goring, Robert Novosad, Harrell Wilson

FOUR ASSOCIATE SIGN UPS

Carl E. Brent, Chad A. Coburn, Tim Donnelly, Roger Kingsley, Chris Lacey, Tim Rozewski, Gary Wegner

THREE ASSOCIATE SIGN UPS

Ricky D. Addison, Buck Buckner, Dane K. Eider, Mike Golightly, Daniel Hollingsworth, Stacee Kleinsmith, Joe Lacefield, Marvin D. LaRose, Ron Madsen, Toby Montgomery, James Newport, John Ohmer, Brent Wilkes, Jennifer Wood, Robert Wood

T WO ASSOCIATE SIGN UPS

Thomas E. Baine, Mark Bara, Don Biggs, Bob Black, Richard A. Bonander, Jason Browning, John Busic, Brent Christensen, L. Victor Clark, Pat Gauthier, Hub Grounds, Arthur F. Hayes, Gilbert Hernandez, John Hooten, Gary R. Howard, Stephen J. Hutton, John Legnard, Bill Nash Jr., Clay Newcomb, Matt Nilsen, Will Ogden, John Ramsey, Wayne Rodd, Eric M. Rominger, Ted Spraker, Eric Stanosheck, John Stein, Jerry L. Tkac, Michael Trujillo, Gerry Wegner, Jim Williams

ONE ASSOCIATE SIGN UP

Grant Adkisson, James F. Arnold, T.K. Atkinson, Brandon Baker, Mike Barrett, Erik Bartholomew, Michael Beaty, Steve Boero, John W. Borlang, David Brimager, Richard Burley, Chad Collins, Dean H. Cook, Stephen L. Cook, Scott G. Corley, Brian Dam, Barry Dampman, Bob Davies, Robert Deis, John J. Detjen, James Dowd, Chad Dillabough, James Dowd, Randal Dufault, Tracy Dunkin, Gary D. English, Mark A. Erspamer, Luke Finney, Kevin Freymiller, Ronnie Gadberry, Valdemar Garcia, HP Giger, TJ Gould, Robert Graber, Tony J. Grabowski, Clifford Gray, J. Carl Graybill Jr., Len Guldman, Jeffrey Gunnels, Charles Harden, Donald Haseley, Tony Heil, Guy Hooper, Steve Hooper, Tim Humes, Richard E. Johndrow, Walter E. Johnson, Derris R. Jones, Mark Jones, Rory Karczewski, William A. Keebler, Jim Kinsey, Daniel Kunz, Larry C. Lack, Edward Larimer, Clinton Latham, Neil Lawson, Macy Ledbetter, Harvey L. Libby, Larry Lueckenhuff, Dean Marguardt, Bria Martin, James W. Martin, Corey Mason, Micah Mauney, James McCloskey, Richard McDrew, Steve McMillen, Gary Mefford, Thomas Milne, Skip Moore, George M. Moore, Lisa Muller, Corey Neill, Ronald Newman, Robert Newton IV, Brian Nietzel, Frank S. Noska, Matt Olson, Don Patterson, Don Perrien, Ron G. Pesek, Richard A. Pflanz, John Phillips, Mike Pillow, Donald L. Poole, Ryan Rauscher, Joe Ream, Brian Richards, Ronald S. Richman, Ken J. Rimer, Arnold V. Sandoval, Kevin Schilling, Tim Schlater, Michael W. Schlegel, Jeffrey L. Schneider, Glen Sellsted, Aron Shofner, Curtis P. Smiley, Ralph C. Stephen, M. Earl Stewart, Kelly Stockdale, Darrel Sudduth, Ed Swanson, Stephen C. Swihart Jr., Victor Trujillo, Brent Trumbo, Richard Tupen, Tony Vidrine, Gary Villnow, Gene A. Wagner Jr., Lee Wahlund, William Walters, Bill Ward, Chuck Zuckerman, Brad Zundel NOTE: Limit to one rifle per year, three rifles per Official Measurer.

Want to Become an Official Measurer? Fill out the Official Measurer Application at Boone-Crockett.org! 72 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

Current Associates! Would you like to give an Official Measurer credit for your renewal? Let them know when it is your time to renew and they will provide their OMID number to include with your renewal so they will receive credit.

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 73

JACK STEELE PARKER

GENERATION

NEXT FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

TYPICAL MULE DEER 206 2/8 211 1/8

Oyen, AB

TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER 164

171 1/8

Randolph Co., AR

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

The Boone and Crockett Club would like to celebrate young hunters who have embraced the outdoor way of life and embody the spirit of fair chase hunting. The following is a list of the most recent big game trophies accepted into Boone and Crockett Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 30th Big Game Awards Program, 2016-2018, that have been taken by a youth hunter (16 years or younger). All of the field photos in this section are from entries that are listed in this issue and are shown in bold orange text.

This listing represents only those trophies accepted since the Tyson Smigelski 2017 C. Dillabough

Winter 2018 issue of Fair Chase was published.

Bradley K. Baltz 2017 D. Doughty

NON-TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER 193 3/8 203 7/8 188 3/8 199 1/8

Muskingum Co., OH James V. Johnston 2017 A. Cramer Otter Tail Co., MN Hans E. Torgerson 2017 T. Kalsbeck

PRONGHORN 83 84 1/8 Harney Co., OR Jayden R. Wallace 2018 T. Rozewski

Tyson Smigelski

James V. Johnston Jayden R. Wallace

74 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

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www.dakotaarms.com FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 75

RECENTLY ACCEPTED TROPHIES The following pages list the most recent big game trophies accepted into Boone and Crockett Club’s 30th Big Game Awards Program, 2016-2018, which includes entries received between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. 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 Winter 2018 issue of Fair Chase was published.

76 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

30 BIG GAME AWARDS TH

LISTING AND PHOTO GALLERY B&C Associate Kenneth H. Taylor was on a traditional archery hunt near Rivieré Waswanipi, Quebec, in 2017 when he took this black bear scoring 20-9/16 points.

TOP TO BOTTOM

BEAR & COUGAR FINAL SCORE

LOCATION

BLACK BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 23-10/16

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

23 5/16 22 2/16 21 14/16 21 13/16 21 11/16 21 9/16 21 6/16 21 6/16 21 5/16 21 5/16 21 5/16 21 5/16 21 5/16 21 3/16 21 2/16 21 2/16 21 20 15/16 20 14/16 20 13/16 20 13/16 20 13/16 20 13/16 20 12/16 20 12/16 20 12/16 20 11/16 20 11/16 20 9/16 20 9/16 20 8/16 20 7/16 20 5/16 20 4/16 20 4/16 20 4/16 20 3/16 20 2/16 20 1/16 20 1/16

Surry Co., NC Edward A. Barr 2016 Orange Co., NY Michael DiSimone 2016 Warren Co., NJ Craig S. Lemon 2017 Sullivan Co., PA Timothy M. Smith 2017 Santa Barbara Adam P. Maingot 2017 Co., CA Langlade Co., WI Patrick J. Kluz 2017 Fort Apache Benjamin J. Tibbitts 2018 Indian Res., AZ North Saskatchewan Kerwin E. Laumbach 2018 River, SK Goodhue Co., MN Rodney B. Ries 2017 Itasca Co., MN Justin J. Horan 2016 Prince of Wales Kenneth S. Baxter 2017 Island, AK Saddle Hills, AB Wilfred Lehners 2018 Yavapai Co., AZ Kendall L. Cawyer 2016 Jackson Co., WI Denise A. Olson 2017 Bradford Co., PA Roger W. Strobridge 2017 Steen River, AB Henry L. Lillard 2017 Crawford Co., PA Daniel E. Kozalla 2016 Beltrami Co., MN Gerald J. Kampa 2014 Lincoln Co., WI Gary J. Swan 2017 Charlton Co., GA Robert C. Maddox 2017 Hubbard Co., MN Craig A. Rehder 2017 Luzerne Co., PA James A. Horensky 2016 Lac Corbeau, QC Réal Vaudois 2015 Montezuma Co., CO Colin Z. Baggett 2017 Nicholas Co., WV Chelsea J. Mullins 2017 Island Pond, NL Andrew J. O’Hearn 2017 Buckingham Co., VA Michael D. Nixon 2016 Yavapai Co., AZ Travis M. Cornwall 2018 Prince of Wales Jason G. Eastman 2018 Island, AK Rivière Kenneth H. Taylor 2017 Waswanipi, QC Albany Co., NY Joshua R. Stumbaugh 2017 Clinton Co., PA Gene M. St. Clair 2009 Langlade Co., WI Richard J. Denis 2017 Assiniboine Laird B. Larson 2017 River, SK Saddle Hills, AB D. Brent Watson 2018 Tioga Co., PA Douglas S. Garber 2017 Valley River, MB Paul R. Cosman 2018 Talkeetna Mts., AK Samuel L. Burgett 2017 Oneida Co., NY Linda A. Seufert 2017 N. Saskatchewan Holly M. McGrath 2018 River, SK

Clinton Co., PA

Jay F. Blauch

J. Tomberlin B. Risley K. Griglak R. Kingsley A. Sandoval

While on a 2018 hunt on Unimak Island, Alaska, B&C Regular Member R. Terrell McCombs took this Alaska brown bear scoring 28-4/16 points. He was shooting a .340 Weatherby. This cougar, scoring 15-9/16 points, was taken by B&C Associate Shellee Fulton while hunting near Fraser River, British Columbia, in 2018. Susan D. Larson took this Roosevelt’s elk, scoring 291-5/8 points, in 2016 while hunting near Malina Bay, Alaska.

T. Heil F. Poirier A. England C. Collins C. Ferrell D. Eider D. Watson M. Zieser M. Sedelbauer R. Kingsley B. Lambert D. Bastow R. Rocheleau G. Villnow J. Bullard C. Kozitka D. Lynch A. Beaudry J. Gardner E. Richmond M. Bowling A. Martel S. Stiver J. Wiggs M. Jerome P. Liddle L. Myers S. Zirbel S. Rauch D. Skinner R. D’Angelo D. McGrew C. Brent B. Dam B. Johnston

2017 C. Graybill

GRIZZLY BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 27-13/16 27 8/16 26 1/16 25 4/16 24 15/16 23 14/16 23 6/16

Shorty Cove, AK Brian R. Park Unalakleet River, AK Jason M. Streit Little Delta River, AK Dan M. Keller Babine Lake, BC Robert H. Ramsey Paul River, BC Arne D. Anderson Cassiar Mts., BC Fred W. Pringle

2018 2017 2018 2016 2015 1996

G. English R. Atwood M. Clausen S. Daniels R. Berreth B. Mason

ALASKA BROWN BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 30-12/16 29 4/16 28 13/16 28 4/16 27 12/16 27 10/16 27 7/16 27 2/16 26 1/16

Alaska Pen., AK Afognak Island, AK Unimak Island, AK Ninilchik River, AK Puale Bay, AK Morzhovoi Bay, AK Ninilchik River, AK Unimak Island, AK

Chris L. Cammack Randy J. Lambert R. Terrell McCombs Alexandru S. Bias Joseph P. Ouwinga Frank S. Noska IV Aaron W. Barsamian Gene L. Dinkel

2018 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018

C. Lacey C. Brent D. Eider D. Poole B. Novosad C. Brent D. Poole C. Brent

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 77

COUGAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 16-4/16 15 9/16 15 4/16 14 12/16 14 11/16 14 10/16

Fraser River, BC Riley Creek, AB Johnson Co., WY Boise Co., ID Washakie Co., WY

Shellee Fulton Paul O. Husted Philip M. Rutt William B. Goodrich Forest D. Clements

2018 2017 2017 2017 2018

R. Berreth D. Barrett M. Barrett W. Rodd J. Lunde

ATLANTIC WALRUS - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 118-6/8 95 4/8

96 2/8

Coral Harbour, NU Jim Shockey

2018 F. Pringle

ELK & MULE DEER FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

TYPICAL AMERICAN ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 442-5/8 400 1/8 405 6/8 388 1/8 398 3/8 382 6/8 395 1/8 381 2/8 385 2/8 381 392 5/8 377 6/8 389 5/8 368 377 6/8 366 371 7/8

Apache Co., AZ Park Co., MT Clearfield Co., PA Cassia Co., ID Fort Apache Indian Res., AZ San Carlos Indian Res., AZ Park Co., WY Lewis and Clark Co., MT

Chris J. Sorensen Lance E. Lemieux Alfred L. Hake Jeffery L. Sessions Ryan R. Seiders

2015 2017 2017 2017 2017

R. Tone D. Meger T. Wenrich B. Ward O. Carpenter

Kevin T. Klumper

2017 J. Weise

Picked Up Harry L. McGee

2018 M. Miller 1961 J. Pallister

NON-TYPICAL AMERICAN ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 478-5/8 388 4/8 406 2/8 Cameron Co., PA

Shawn M. Latshaw

2017 T. Ross

ROOSEVELT’S ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 404-6/8 345 5/8 352 4/8 Schoen Lake, BC 291 5/8 296 4/8 Malina Bay, AK

Audrey L. Galeazzi Susan D. Larson

2017 C. Stolle 2016 T. Spraker

Dennis H. Dunn

2018 J. Maytum

TULE ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 379 295 2/8 303 2/8 San Luis Obispo Co., CA

TYPICAL MULE DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 226-4/8 208 2/8 198 5/8 197 196 2/8 193 2/8 186 4/8 184 181

211 7/8 212 5/8 202 227 7/8 199 6/8 216 4/8 191 2/8 183 6/8

Rio Arriba Co., NM Robert H. Hensarling 2017 Garfield Co., UT Brandon Tyndall 2015 Sonora, MX Marvin N. James 2013 Lincoln Co., WY Mark D. Fruechte 1994 Gunnison Co., CO Gaylord D. Stumm 2006 Walla Walla Co., WA Jacqueline R. Rodgers 2017 Wyoming Jerome Brady 1967 Dundy Co., NE Lynn R. Keiser 2016

B. Lambert B. Capes W. Bowles K. Dana J. Olson D. Cook W. Norton B. Wiese

NON-TYPICAL MULE DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 355-2/8 289 1/8 297 3/8 Gunnison Co., CO 276 6/8 292 3/8 Mohave Co., AZ 234 1/8 245 1/8 Mohave Co., AZ 229 2/8 233 3/8 Kayville, SK 218 1/8 225 3/8 Moffat Co., CO 216 7/8 222 3/8 Montrose Co., CO

Everet King Ryan S. Peters Jason T. Saunders Christopher W. Montgomery Howard L. Reeves Johnny A. Grimes

1957 2017 2017 2017

L. Gatlin W. Bowles V. Garcia M. Halirewich

2016 A. Cramer 2017 M. Ledbetter

TYPICAL COLUMBIA BLACKTAIL DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 182-2/8

TOP TO BOTTOM:

This typical Columbia blacktail, scoring 131-5/8 points, was taken by Evan R. Miller in Shasta County, California, on a hunt in 2017. He was shooting a .270 Winchester. Ryan R. Seiders was on an archery hunt in Maverick County, Texas, when he harvested this typical whitetail deer scoring 171 points. B&C Regular Member Paul V. Phillips took this non-typical Coues’ whitetail deer, scoring 119-1/8 points, in Sonora, Mexico, in 2018. He was shooting a .300 Weatherby.

78 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

152 1/8 139 2/8 134 2/8 131 5/8

155 5/8 140 4/8 138 1/8 145

Trinity Co., CA Trinity Co., CA Yolo Co., CA Shasta Co., CA

Anjanette L. Dunn Peter M. McGrath Anthony P. Riley Evan R. Miller

2017 2017 2017 2017

G. Hooper S. Boero S. Hooper R. Tupen

NON-TYPICAL COLUMBIA BLACKTAIL - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 208-1/8 180 4/8 187 6/8 Tehama Co., CA 163 1/8 170 2/8 Trinity Co., CA

Louis J. Ybanez Mark M. Schmitcke

2017 S. Boero 2017 G. Hooper

WHITETAIL DEER FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 213-5/8 197 2/8 206 3/8 Henry Co., MO 193 5/8 201 4/8 Wayne Co., IA

Chase R. Cooper Austin J. Amstutz

2017 G. Salow 2017 G. Salow

TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER CONTINUED 178 6/8 190 4/8 174 7/8 192 7/8 174 6/8 185 7/8 173 3/8 176 1/8 173 176 5/8 173 193 7/8 172 7/8 195 4/8 172 6/8 197 6/8 172 5/8 191 6/8 172 4/8 177 5/8 171 6/8 188 3/8 171 181 4/8 171 201 3/8 170 5/8 185 4/8 170 4/8 188 5/8 170 2/8 175 4/8 169 5/8 183 1/8 169 2/8 178 5/8 168 7/8 188 1/8 168 6/8 186 1/8 168 5/8 175 5/8 167 7/8 172 2/8 167 191 4/8 166 6/8 170 1/8 166 3/8 172 165 6/8 169 7/8 165 4/8 181 2/8 165 170 7/8 164 7/8 166 3/8 164 4/8 175 4/8 164 1/8 178 3/8 164 1/8 177 164 167 5/8 163 7/8 176 2/8 163 169 2/8 162 6/8 172 2/8 162 6/8 166 162 2/8 178 4/8 162 1/8 167 5/8 162 1/8 174 1/8 161 6/8 180 1/8 161 5/8 182 4/8 161 5/8 169 4/8 161 5/8 168 7/8 161 3/8 165 6/8 161 164 3/8 160 6/8 165 7/8 160 5/8 167 5/8 160 2/8 162 4/8 160 2/8 171 2/8 160 168 2/8

Swan River, SK Bryan M. Storoschuk 2017 Richland Co., OH Eric D. Mitchell 1985 Scotland Co., MO Billy J. Bergheger 2017 Wells Co., IN Koltan M. Moore 2017 Cocke Co., TN Terryl V. Denton 2018 Dearborn Co., IN Terry W. McAllister 2017 Burnett Co., WI Robert M. Wasilensky 2017 Montgomery Co., IN Chad M. Smith 2017 Chase Co., KS Tad J. McLaren 2017 Pine Ridge Charlotte L. Ward 2017 Indian Res., SD Miami Co., OH Christopher A. Keiser 2016 Maverick Co., TX Ryan R. Seiders 2017 Wood Co., OH Robert J. Buchman 2016 Polk Co., WI Picked Up 2018 Pembina River, AB James D. Mason 2017 Clark Co., MO Timothy G. Jennings 2017 Huron Co., OH Michael O. Bailey 2016 Edgar Co., IL Dana R. Cawthon 2017 Franklin Co., OH Travis W. Vollmar 2017 Ross Co., OH Dustin A. Ford 2012 North William Watson 2016 Saskatchewan River, AB Nemaha Co., KS Unknown 1999 Holmes Co., OH Anthony L. Horning 2017 Elkhart Co., IN Dyalyn R. Breneman 2017 Lincoln Co., MO Unknown 2003 Orange Co., IN William G. McCrary 2016 Campbell Co., VA Jacoben W. Tone 2016 Clearwater River, AB Iulian Paunescu 2017 St. Charles Co., MO James B. Schuette 2014 Steuben Co., NY Jason W. Joseph 2017 Ross Co., OH Timothy J. Nussbaum 2017 Yell Co., AR Austin R. Foster 2017 Fountain Co., IN Frank J. Kulhawick 2016 Lawrence Co., OH Allan E. Hutchcroft 2017 Wilbarger Co., TX Trent S. Fluitt 2017 Adams Co., OH Savannah L. McCoy 2017 Richland Co., WI David A. Bushee 2017 Lawrence Co., IL Daniel B. Holland 2017 Lincoln Co., AR James S. White 2017 Moniteau Co., MO Larry W. Borts 2017 Carroll Co., MS Henry B. Boler 2018 Clark Co., IL Aaron E. Houser 2017 North Barry T. Cymbaluk 2017 Saskatchewan River, AB Warren Co., PA Peter J. Szoszorek 2017 Redwater River, AB John P. Fitt, Jr. 2012 Latah Co., ID Lawrence S. Cole 1978 Chautauqua Co., NY Joseph C. Walter 2017 Monona Co., IA David W. Bryant 2017 Belmont Co., OH Timothy L. Garrison 2017 Washington Co., OH Justin S. Stewart 2017 Holmes Co., MS Joseph G. Hydrick 2018

B. Mitchell A. Cramer R. Garver J. Bronnenberg L. Muller J. Hooten K. Zimmerman S. Petkovich M. Hansen L. Gunner

TOP TO BOTTOM:

In 2016, Robert J.Q. Register harvested this 203-2/8-point non-typical whitetail deer while on an archery hunt in Harper County, Kansas. This pronghorn, scoring 86-4/8 points, was taken by B&C Associate Hank Osterkamp while on a hunt in Socorro County, New Mexico, in 2017. He was shooting a 7mm Remington Mag. B&C Associate T. Nyle Maxwell, Jr. took this Alaska-Yukon moose, scoring 237-6/8 points, in 2017 while on a hunt in Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. He was shooting a .300 Winchester Mag.

L. Loranzan O. Carpenter W. Ogden J. Lunde D. Bromberger S. Corley W. Ogden S. Kirkland R. Deis D. Haynes D. Powell R. Cantu D. Lynch J. Bogucki R. Naizer M. Verble B. Neitzel D. Bromberger S. Corley R. Smith S. Werstler D. Doughty S. Petkovich M. Cooper O. Carpenter T. Schlater P. Jensen K. Morphew D. White L. Lueckenhoff C. Neill J. Bogucki D. Bromberger R. Richman D. Bromberger L. Lack K. Schilling M. Poteet R. Huffman R. Huffman C. Neill

NON-TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER - WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RECORD SCORE 333-7/8 263 5/8 278 260 1/8 266 226 2/8 238 215 5/8 223 6/8 214 6/8 220 214 218 2/8 211 7/8 220 1/8 210 217 5/8 206 7/8 216 1/8 206 7/8 215 205 3/8 209 6/8 203 4/8 214 203 2/8 213 4/8 203 2/8 208 4/8 203 1/8 208 3/8 202 7/8 207 2/8 202 6/8 208 3/8 201 3/8 209 2/8 200 2/8 204 7/8

Denton Co., TX Picked Up 2017 Putnam Co., MO Sean T. Barry 2017 Avoyelles Co., LA Amanda F. Smith 2018 Little Manitou Allan W. Morisey 2017 Lake, SK Erie Co., OH Scott A. Eisenhauer 2017 Doniphan Co., KS Gary L. Masters 2013 Mercer Co., IL Barry Olson 2017 Guernsey Co., OH Andrew D. Groom 2016 Fulton Co., IL Darin L. Waller 2017 Osage Co., KS Scott A. Fowler 2105 McDonald Co., MO Justin L. Cunningham 2017 Antelope Co., NE Jason P. Krebs 2014 Harper Co., KS Robert J.Q. Register 2016 Howard Co., MO Ryan B. Sherman 2017 Huron Co., OH Allen L. McClelland II 2016 Starr Co., TX Carolyn E. McBryde 2017 Pike Co., OH Lance D. Faidley 2017 Vernon Co., WI M. & J. Skarda 2017 Shackelford Co., TX Gerald T. Chapman 2017

K. Witt B. Ream J. Bordelon J. Lorenz R. Huffman L. Lueckenhoff T. Walmsley W. Ogden R. Rae T. Lake K. Kelso R. Pesek S. Johns L. Hainen J. Feild D. Kunz G. Block C. Gallup M. Beaty

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 79

NON-TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER CONTINUED 199 3/8 197 5/8 194 1/8 193 7/8 193 1/8 193 191 3/8 189 5/8 189 4/8 189 1/8 188 7/8 188 4/8 186 3/8 186 185 5/8 185 2/8

203 1/8 199 7/8 203 5/8 202 198 2/8 202 4/8 209 193 6/8 195 1/8 198 1/8 198 6/8 195 3/8 193 4/8 190 4/8 187 5/8 190 1/8

Ottawa Co., OH Calhoun Co., IL Schuyler Co., IL Warren Co., IA Harrison Co., KY Shelby Co., TN Morrow Co., OH Boone Co., MO St. Croix Co., WI Warren Co., IL Crisp Co., GA Witchekan Lake, SK Jasper Co., MO Monroe Co., IA Green Co., WI Adams Co., OH

Terry R. Pierce 2016 Jerry R. Yaekel, Jr. 2017 John M. Bogacki 2017 Austin J. Amstutz 2017 Robin W. Gassett 2017 Nicholas T. York 2014 Alejandro E. Almaguer 2018 Mitchell H. Bennett 2017 Picked Up 2017 Timothy R. Reeder 2017 Picked Up 2017 Hèlène Tougas 2017 Derek S. Weber 2017 Aaron L. Hoch 2017 John W. Penniston 2017 David B. Moeller 2017

W. Ogden S. Corley R. Rae G. Salow N. Minch C. Harden J. Wood J. Sumners J. Lunde A. Shofner W. Cooper A. Beaudry J. Gordon S. Grabow B. Richards R. Wood

TYPICAL COUES’ WHITETAIL - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 144-1/8 117 7/8 106 6/8 105 7/8 103 7/8

123 1/8 111 4/8 112 106 5/8

Catron Co., NM Sonora, MX Grant Co., NM Greenlee Co., AZ

Daniel R. Carver Ernesto M. Santana William D. Lafayette David A. Bawden

2017 2018 2017 2017

J. Edwards E. Hendricks J. Edwards D. May

NON-TYPICAL COUES’ WHITETAIL - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 196 2/8 119 1/8 120 6/8 Sonora, MX

Paul V. Phillips

2018 T. Rozewski

MOOSE AND CARIBOU FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

CANADA MOOSE - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 242 213 207 5/8 201 4/8 200 7/8 200 4/8 200 196 5/8 192 4/8

218 7/8 211 207 3/8 205 5/8 206 1/8 203 5/8 201 1/8 197 1/8

Dease Lake, BC Surprise Lake, BC Cassiar Mts., BC Pitman River, BC Cassiar Mts., BC Rainbow Lake, AB Kawdy Mt., BC Dease Lake, BC

Dale Webber James R. Massie Fred W. Pringle Daniel Fournier Picked Up Terry L. Backer Lang J. Hinkle Donald E. Perrien

2017 2017 2008 1996 1993 2017 2017 2015

D. Patterson A. Berreth B. Mason R. Berreth B. Mason M. Moline T. Brown H. Tonkin

ALASKA-YUKON MOOSE - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 266-4/8 237 6/8 247 2/8 Talkeetna Mts., AK T. Nyle Maxwell, Jr. 2017 D. McBride 226 231 3/8 Melozitna River, AK Joseph E. Wurtz 2017 T. Bowman 225 1/8 229 2/8 Jarvis Creek, AK Tina Craig 2017 S. Bayless SHIRAS’ MOOSE - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 205-4/8 169 4/8 161 1/8 155 4/8 145 143 4/8 141 4/8

178 2/8 164 159 4/8 147 1/8 151 2/8 146 2/8

Cassia Co., ID Sanders Co., MT Granite Co., MT Boundary Co., ID Sanders Co., MT Jackson Co., CO

Donna J. Anderson Cody D. Carr Donald L. Welling, Jr. Teresa R. Bond Koliss M. Carr Conrad J. Ishii

2017 2013 2017 2013 2013 2017

E. Bartholomew K. Lehr K. Lehr D. Duchow K. Lehr J. Patrick

MOUNTAIN CARIBOU - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 459-3/8

TOP TO BOTTOM:

B&C Associate Jed A. Brown took this musk ox, scoring 108 points, in 2018 while on a hunt near Parry Bay, Nunavut. He was shooting a .300 Winchester Short Mag. This bison, scoring 118 points, was taken by Christopher H. Fuller in Coconino County, Arizona, in 2018. In 2017 while on a hunt near Homathko River, British Columbia, Cameron Houston harvested this Rocky Mountain goat, scoring 52-2/8 points.

80 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

429 2/8 427 1/8 404 5/8 394 2/8 393 7/8 392 391 3/8 390 3/8 381 5/8 380 1/8 376 375 5/8 373 1/8 370 3/8 363 2/8 361 2/8

444 4/8 434 7/8 420 3/8 407 4/8 402 401 6/8 402 5/8 411 3/8 388 395 2/8 388 386 1/8 385 2/8 381 1/8 374 4/8 377 5/8

Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Kawdy Mt., BC Cassiar Mts., BC Cassiar Mts., BC

Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Picked Up Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Picked Up Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Karen A. Pringle Fred W. Pringle Lang J. Hinkle Fred W. Pringle Picked Up

1997 1996 1988 1983 1998 1997 1999 2000 1978 2001 1987 1997 1991 2017 2004 2001

B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason G. Smith B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason B. Mason T. Brown B. Mason B. Mason

WOODLAND CARIBOU - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 419-5/8 293 3/8 310 5/8 Kitty’s Brook, NL

Ben B. Wallace

2016 N. Ballard

TOP TO BOTTOM:

HORNED GAME FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

PRONGHORN - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 96-4/8 87 2/8 87 6/8 Elko Co., NV Martin D. Pawelek 86 4/8 87 7/8 Socorro Co., NM Hank Osterkamp 85 6/8 86 3/8 Mora Co., NM Rodger E. Warwick 85 4/8 86 Lassen Co., CA Chad E. Mendes 84 6/8 85 2/8 Carbon Co., WY Thomas L. Zimmerman 84 6/8 86 5/8 Fremont Co., WY Gary A. Stamper 82 6/8 84 3/8 Sweetwater Co., WY Dan H. Fussell 82 2/8 82 7/8 Chaves Co., NM Larry K. Martin, Jr. 82 2/8 83 2/8 Mora Co., NM Kyle A. McFarland 82 2/8 83 5/8 Natrona Co., WY Michael J. Clevinger 81 4/8 82 5/8 Coconino Co., AZ Larry W. Littlefield 81 2/8 82 1/8 Mora Co., NM Don E. Miller 81 82 Cypress Hills, SK Ronald C. Lamb 80 2/8 80 3/8 Catron Co., NM Robert D. Barrera

2018 2017 2018 2018 2017

E. Buckner R. Stayner F. King R. Tupen R. Stayner

2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2017 2017 2017 2016

R. Stayner R. Stayner B. Baker D. Brimager J. Kinsey W. Keebler O. Carpenter F. Hendrickson J. Edwards

This mountain caribou, scoring 363-2/8 points, was taken by B&C Official Measurer and Associate Fred W. Pringle while on a hunt in the Cassiar Mountains, British Columbia, in 2004. In 2018, B&C Associate Paul E. Wollenman harvested this 175-3/8-point bighorn sheep while on a hunt in Taos County, New Mexico. He was shooting a .300 Ultra. B&C Associate Melynda L. Boren took this desert sheep, scoring 1753/8 points, in 2017 while on a hunt in Lincoln County, Nevada.

BISON - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 136-4/8 128 4/8 129 7/8 Gallatin Co., MT 118 118 4/8 Coconino Co., AZ

Bryan E. Brazill 2017 D. Conrad Christopher H. Fuller 2018 C. Goldman

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 57-4/8 56 4/8 52 2/8 51 48 4/8 48 47 4/8

57 2/8 52 2/8 51 3/8 48 6/8 48 1/8 47 4/8

Brown Mt., AK Harold J. Zurlo Homathko River, BC Cameron D. Houston Flathead Co., MT David C. Williams Mount Achilles, AK Frank S. Noska IV Uyak Bay, AK Jay N. Sweet Baker Co., OR Clyde Allen

2017 2017 2016 2018 2015 2016

M. Stewart C. Stolle J. Williams C. Brent C. Brent D. Cook

MUSK OX - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 129 108

111 7/8 Parry Bay, NU

Jed A. Brown

2018 J. Newport

BIGHORN SHEEP - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 216-3/8 201 5/8 202 6/8 Idaho Co., ID 191 2/8 191 7/8 Albany Co., WY 183 5/8 184 4/8 Park Co., WY 181 1/8 182 1/8 Albany Co., WY 180 6/8 182 6/8 Phillips Co., MT 180 4/8 182 2/8 Las Animas Co., CO 180 3/8 180 6/8 Asotin Co., WA 178 7/8 179 6/8 Silver Bow Co., MT 177 1/8 177 5/8 Teton Co., MT 175 3/8 175 6/8 Sheridan Co., WY 175 3/8 175 4/8 Taos Co., NM

Gary J. Sublett Peeler G. Lacey, Jr. Anthony J. Spiegelberg Kent L. Fisk Larry G. Simons John K. Williams Gary L. Guerrieri Donald E. Perrien Levi R. Ostberg Guy N. Vineyard Paul E. Wollenman

2016 J. Spring 2018 D. Hart 2018 M. Barrett 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2018 2018

B. Dampman B. Milliron J. Legnard D. Morris H. Tonkin L. Buhmann G. Mefford G. Mefford

DESERT SHEEP - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 205-1/8 190 4/8 191 7/8 177 178 5/8 175 3/8 176 2/8 175 2/8 176 3/8 172 7/8 173 6/8 171 6/8 173 6/8 171 3/8 171 4/8 169 170 168 1/8 168 6/8

Riverside Co., CA Hidalgo Co., NM Lincoln Co., NV San Bernardino Co., CA Mohave Co., AZ San Bernardino Co., CA Clark Co., NV Pima Co., AZ Coahuila, MX

Jason Hairston Michael J. Carpinito Melynda L. Boren Clyde R. Ulrich

2017 2018 2017 2018

F. King R. Spaulding S. Sanborn L. Clark

Glen C. Dickens Michelle K. Corder

1986 J. Doyle 2017 S. Boero

A. Douglas Barduhn II 2017 C. Lacey Brandon G. Henderson 2017 M. Zieser Kenneth A. Vorisek 2018 P. Dalrymple

DALL’S SHEEP - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 189-6/8 176 6/8 177 2/8 Kluane Lake, YT 168 2/8 168 7/8 Wrangell Mts., AK 163 5/8 163 7/8 Eisenmenger Fork, AK

Robert K. Warner Adam R. Bronson Matthew J. Decker

2018 T. Grabowski 2018 W. Bowles 2018 L. Gorchesky

STONE’S SHEEP - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 196-6/8 164 6/8 165 4/8 Williston Lake, BC Picked Up 161 5/8 162 1/8 Turnagain River, BC Fred W. Pringle 160 3/8 161 Turnagain River, BC Fred W. Pringle

1996 R. Berreth 1996 B. Mason 1992 B. Mason

Share your field photos with us! @BooneandCrockettClub #booneandcrockettclub FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 81

CAUGHT ON CAMERA TRAIL CAMERA PHOTOS FROM BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL RANCH Dupuyer, Montana

82 FA I R CH A S E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

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Classic Cloth Edition

Deluxe Leather Edition

Limited to 5000 sets, bound in brilliant cloth covers with French fold double-sided dust jackets and 650+ pages of high resolution photos and content.

Signed, numbered & limited to 500 sets, hand-bound in premium Tuscan leather with hand-crafted clamshell case. 650+ pages of high resolution photos and content. Only 50 left.

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US E

20% OFF C O D E BC

Special 20% Discount for Boone & Crockett Members in Memory of Authors and Fellow B&C Members: Robert M. Lee & R. L. Wilson

China Safari By Robert M. Lee

The Art of the Gun – MINIATURE BOOK SET – By Robert M. Lee & R.L. Wilson This 5-volume miniature book set, measuring 4¾” x 6”, features highly decorated arms from the Renaissance to the 21st century from Mr. Lee’s private Arms & Armor Collection. Averaging 75 pages per volume, each book features dramatic fold-outs, and illustrations.

Travel with Bob Lee through ancient China and his historic rediscovery of the fabled Marco Polo sheep in the majestic Pamir Mountains of Central Asia. One of the first Westerners allowed to hunt in China in modern times, Mr. Lee conducted five scientific expeditions in the 1980’s to the “Roof of the World” & proved that the Ovis Poli did exist on Chinese territory.

FAIR CHA S E | S P RI N G 2 0 1 9 83

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AMERICA’S CONSERVATION CAPITAL

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