Fair Chase Summer 2012

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Number 2

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Summer 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

From the Editor | In this Issue..................................................................................... Kyle C. Krause

6

From the President | Sportsmen’s Heritage Act..............................................Ben B. Wallace

CONSERVATION & HISTORY

10 Capitol Comments | A Long, Hot Summer .................................................. Steven Williams 12 Member Library | HARRY B. COMBS – Aircraft Pioneer, Adventurer........... Theodore J. Holsten 14 CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN’S FOUNDATION | AWCP... Jeffrey S. Crane

14 | CSF

RESEARCH & EDUCATION

18 Knowledge Base | Predator Control? It Depends...................................... Winifred B. Kessler 20 B&C Professors’ Corner | What Does It Take to Create a Successful Boone and Crockett Club Professorship?........................................................ William Porter

27 Dallas Safari Club Update | DSC Efforts Change USFWS Enforcement, CITES Permitting Processes................................................................................. Ben Carter

22 ARE MOOSE ON THE MENU? | Seeking Answers....................Jonathan J. Derbridge 28 Smarter than your average bear | BTI.... Dr. Melissa Reynolds-Hogland

22 | Moose

28 | Smarter

HUNTING, ETHICS & RECORDS

34 Half Buck billy | New World’s Record Rocky Mountain Goat.................Troy Sheldon 38 .30-06 Springfield | Still America’s Best?.........................................Craig Boddington 42 One Shot at a time | Single Shots.......................................................Wayne van Zwoll 50 camp-fires in the canadian rockies .......................... William T. Hornaday 62 HUNT ETHICS | Essay................................................................................................Ron Gabriel 56 Generation Next | Youth Essay, Trophy List, and Field Photos....................................B&C Staff 68 Trophy Talk | Mark Your Calendars — 28th Big Game Award Program ................ Jack Reneau 70 Recently Accepted Trophies | 28th Awards Program Entries.................... B&C Records Dept.

74 Trophy Photo Gallery | Sponsored by Realtree AP....................................... B&C Records Dept.

34 | Half Buck

38 | .30-06

42 | One Shot

50 | Camp-Fires

62 | Ethics

FROM THE EDITOR In This Issue Our Hunting and Ethics section of this issue of Fair Chase is packed with a variety of articles. However, before I go into those details, I want to inform everyone of the Club’s upcoming 28th Big Game Awards Program and Banquet. Please mark your calendar for July 2013 and plan on joining us in Reno, Nevada, at the Silver Kyle C. Krause Legacy Resort & Casino. Subsequent issues of Fair Chase will include additional information about this exciting event that the Editor-in-Chief Club only holds every three years.

Chairman B&C I hope you enjoyed our cover photo of Troy Sheldon’s new World’s Publications Committee Record Rocky Mountain goat. We have included his own account of the hunt with guide Heidi Gutfrucht in British Columbia’s Stikine River Drainage. Congratulations to Mr. Sheldon and everyone involved in this great accomplishment.

I’m also pleased to announce a new series by B&C Professional Member Craig Boddington. In this first installment he reviews the tried-and-true .30-06 Springfield in our Cartridge Spotlight series. And don’t miss Wayne van Zwoll’s commentary of the different historic and viable single-shot rifle actions.

We have included an excerpt from Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies by B&C Club member William T. Hornaday, originally published in 1906. If you have started reading books on your iPad or Kindle and realize what a good tool they are, please go to the Club’s eBook store, http://booneandcrockettclub.directfrompublisher.com and look at the great selection of outdoor and hunting books we have there.

Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies has some of the best We need more donors early 1900s photos I’ve ever seen, especially when you for the .22 rifles in the consider the effort involved during that time period. youth essay contest and We follow up our initial hunting ethics column drawing to be held at the debuted in the last issue of Fair Chase with an essay Generation Next Youth

by B&C Lifetime Associate, Ron Gabriel. His piece Awards Banquet at the titled “Hunt Ethics” has something for each one of us upcoming 28th Big Game to think about.

Awards Program. CZ-USA This issue also includes two features about reand Minox have graciously search and education programs the Club is involved with partnered with us for on one level or another. The first, “Are Moose on the some great prizes.

Menu for Northwest Montana Wolves?” was contributed Details on page 58.

by Jonathan Derbridge, B&C Fellow at the University of Montana. The second article showcases an education program created by one of our fellow American Wildlife Conservation Partners, Bear Trust International. The science-based education program is rooted in bear research and ecology.

Finally, if you enjoy looking at old, historic trophy entries, we have included the score sheet, photos and correspondence from the Sagamore Hill Award winner and for a couple of years the top typical mule deer in the Club’s Big Game Records Program.

Over the next several issues we will be pulling charts and photographs of historic trophy entries as our parting shot last page in each magazine. Turn to page 78 to get a glimpse of this new addition to Fair Chase. If you know B&C Official Measurer Travis Adams from Utah, be sure to thank him for helping us come up Hewitt’s new book is with this idea. available from QDMA We’d like to recognize B&C Professional Member, David and most on-line Hewitt. His newest book, Biology and Management of White-tailed retailers.

Deer has received 2 awards — Designated an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine and Outstanding Book Award from the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society. The book has also been nominated for the outstanding book award

by The Wildlife Society at the national level, which will be announced in October. n

4 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Fair Chase PRODUCTION STAFF Editor-in-Chief & Publications Chairman

Kyle C. Krause Managing Editor/Design

Julie T. Houk Conservation and History Editor

Steven Williams Research and Education Editor

Winifred B. Kessler Hunting and Ethics Editor

Mark Streissguth Assistant Editors

Keith Balfourd

Craig Boddington

Jack Reneau

Tony A. Schoonen Graphic Designer

Karlie Slayer Editorial Contributors

Craig Boddington

Ben Carter

Jeffrey S. Crane

Jonathan J. Derbridge

Ron Gabriel

Theodore J. Holsten

Winifred B. Kessler

Kyle C. Krause

William Porter

Jack Reneau

Melissa Reynolds-Hogland

Troy Sheldon

Justin E. Spring

Wayne van Zwoll

Ben B. Wallace

Steven Williams Photographic Contributors

Tony Bynum

Mark Miller Fair Chase is published quarterly by the Boone and Crockett Club and distributed to its Members and Associates. Material in this magazine may be freely quoted and/or reprinted in other publications and media, so long as proper credit is given to Fair Chase. The only exception applies to articles that are reprinted in Fair Chase from other magazines, in which case, the Club does not hold the reprint rights. The opinions expressed by the contributors of articles are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Fair Chase (ISSN 1077-4627) is published for $35 per year by the Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801. Periodical postage is paid in Missoula, Montana, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fair Chase, Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801 Phone: (406) 542-1888 Fax: (406) 542-0784

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Bernard + Associates, 767 Mill St. Reno, NV 89502 jeff@bernardandassociates.com Phone: (775) 323-6828

B&C STAFF Chief of Staff – Tony A. Schoonen Director of Big Game Records – Jack Reneau Director of Publications – Julie T. Houk Director of Marketing – Keith Balfourd Director of Conservation Education – Lisa B. Flowers Office Manager – Sandy Poston Controller – Jan Krueger TRM Ranch Manager – Mike Briggs Assistant Director of Big Game Records – Justin Spring Development Program Manager – Jodi Bishop Assistant Controller – Abra Loran Assistant Graphic Designer – Karlie Slayer Customer Service – Amy Hutchison Records Dept. Assistant – Wendy Nickelson Publications Intern – Danny Johnston

FROM THE PRESIDENT Sportsmen’s Heritage Act In the past two editions of Fair Chase, I have focused on the importance of completing our Boone Ben B. Wallace and Crockett Club’s strategic plan and PRESIDENT Boone and Crockett Club accompanying implementation plan.

The strategic plan has been finalized and approved by the board. The implementation plan is in the final stages of completion and will be presented for board approval in June.

The plans will become working documents on July 1, 2012, the beginning of our next fiscal year.

Both plans recognize the importance of the primary reason Theodore Roosevelt founded the Boone and Crockett Club, wildlife and habitat conservation. Roosevelt recognized that the current generation of people must use our natural resources wisely to ensure that future generations can enjoy our wildlife heritage, so the plans require that the Club focus its efforts to continue on with that rich history and legacy.

While all areas of the Club have an effect on wildlife and habitat conservation, the Conservation Policy Committee has the responsibility for the oversight of legislation, rules, policies and procedures at the federal, state and international levels that effect our ability to enjoy the natural resources through hunting, fishing or otherwise. The committee, co-chaired by Past-President Bob Model and Vice President of Conservation Steve Mealey, is composed of members who are active in conservation at all levels.

Through the hard work of many of the Conservation Policy Committee members, organizations they work with and for, and other conservation groups, an extremely important bill passed the U.S. House in mid-April, HR 4089, also known as the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act (the act).

The act is a compilation of four different bills that promote and advance our hunting, recreational fishing and shooting heritage.

The act includes the following: n

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Require hunting and recreational shooting and fishing to be recognized activities on all Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands; Protect recreational shooting on National Monuments under the

6 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

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jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management; Amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow hunters who legally harvested polar bears in Canada prior to its listing under the Endangered Species Act to purchase permits in order to transport their trophies into the U.S.; Clarify that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the jurisdiction to regulate traditional ammunition with lead components and lead fishing tackle

The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act received bipartisan support as it passed the House as well as support from many conservation organizations, including the Boone and Crockett Club. Prior to the act passing the House, I wrote a letter to the Honorable Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality requesting that the administration’s policy statement support passage of the act. In addition, 38 of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners group signed a letter of support to Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

One of the organizations spearheading the passage of the act is the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). Its president, Jeff Crane, is a Professional Member of the Boone and Crockett Club and sits on the Conservation Policy Committee. In the CSF press release on the act, Jeff is quoted as saying: “The passage of legislation such as this is unprecedented and is largely the result of the bipartisan collaboration of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. The CSF has been working with caucus leadership and other caucus members for several years on a sportsmen’s package, and we are thrilled to see our efforts finally come to fruition.”

When I asked Jeff about what will happen in the Senate, he seemed confident that the Senate Sportsmen’s Caucus will want to work on a similar bipartisan package of bills and that conversations with Senate caucus leadership and other Senate members have been positive.

The outcome of the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act in the Senate is uncertain at this time. Hopefully with the continuing efforts of Jeff Crane, CSF, Boone and Crockett Club, members of AWCP and other

like-minded conservation organizations and individuals, there will be legislation passed and signed into law. The act certainly carries forward the vision of Theodore Roosevelt that we should promote the use and enjoyment of our wildlife heritage to the fullest extent by this and future generations.

Thanks to everyone who has worked toward passage of this act. Keep up the great work! n

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDED IN 1887 BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS club Club President Ben B. Wallace Secretary Robert H. Hanson Treasurer Timothy C. Brady Executive Vice President – Administration

Morrison Stevens, Sr. Executive Vice President – Conservation

William A. Demmer Vice President of Administration

James F. Arnold Vice President of Big Game Records

Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner Vice President of Conservation

Stephen P. Mealey Vice President of Communications

Marc C. Mondavi Foundation President B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Class of 2011 Manuel J. Chee Class of 2012 Howard P. Monsour, Jr. Class of 2013 James J. Shinners foundation Foundation President B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Secretary Robert H. Hanson Treasurer Timothy C. Brady Vice President Tom L. Lewis Vice President James J. Shinners Class of 2011 Remo R. Pizzagalli

Edward B. Rasmuson

James J. Shinners

John A. Tomke

Leonard J. Vallender Class of 2012 Gary W. Dietrich

Robert H. Hanson

B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr.

Tom L. Lewis

Morrison Stevens, Sr. Class of 2013 Timothy C. Brady

John J. Gisi

Jeffrey A. Gronauer

Earl L. Sherron, Jr.

C. Martin Wood III

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Capitol Comments | Page 10 Member Library | Page 12 AWCP Spotlight: Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation | Page 14

8 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

S

teve Williams addresses the long, hot summer coming up for Congress during this election year. Issues such as funding for wildlife conservation and natural resources must be kept relevant and a priority to political leaders.

Theodore J. Holsten’s column, “Member Library” features Harry B. Combs. Combs was influential in the aviation industry during World War II and wrote a series of books about the American West that tell the story through the eyes of an old pioneer. Our AWCP spotlight organization is the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. CSF works with Sportsmen's Caucus to communicate the needs of the sportsmen’s community, provide education on issues impacting our heritage, and identify opportunities to develop, pass, and ensure the implementation of policies protecting the sportsmen’s legacy.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 9

CAPITOL COMMENTS A Long, Hot Summer Summer in Washington, D.C., is typically hot and Steven Williams, Ph.D. humid. The city’s concrete, glass, and Professional member Boone and Crockett Club steel trap and reflect the summer heat, President broiling those who Wildlife Management work and visit there.

Institute Heat waves shimmer off the concrete roads and sidewalks.

Clothes stick to your skin as you search for relief in the shade— shade provided primarily by concrete buildings. Nighttime does not bring much relief because the heat absorbed during the day is radiated outward each evening. It is within this sticky and oppressive atmosphere that Congress must address some of our nation’s most pressing issues.

While we, as outdoorsmen, enjoy the summer vacation season in the wide open spaces found in the mountains, lakes, forests, and beaches of our nation, Washingtonians are experiencing silly season, which is in full splendor on the sweltering banks of the Potomac. Although I am not a political expert, these things I know: the presidential and congressional campaigns and elections will dominate the summer and fall media coverage; Congress will punt some difficult decisions until after the elections in November; members of Congress will be torn between campaigning in their districts and doing the important work for which they were elected and paid; and federal agencies

will not enact any significant policy changes.

All of this is adequate reason to throw up our hands, grab our fishing poles, and head to cool streams and lakes. However, the issues that confront our nation are perhaps more critical today then in any time in the past few decades. The future of conservation is one such issue and it is imperative that we pay attention and engage.

Congress has a number of issues to confront between now and the end of the

discretionary programs will take the brunt of the spending cuts. Conservation funding has never fared well when competing against discretionary programs such as national defense, transportation, homeland security, agriculture, and education. Conservation funding aside, we face another related but more important difficulty—political relevancy.

Even though natural resources face the stresses of climate change, expanded energy development, wetland loss, prairie conversion, tiling and drainage, and invasive species—with the exception of a denial of the impacts, I have not heard one word about how our nation should address these issues in any presidential or congressional debate, speech, or conversation. In the past, presidential candidates relished the perception or reality that they were hunters and anglers. In this and the last presidential campaign there has been no bona fide demonstration of hunting, fishing, or a conservation ethic. Are our pursuits now irrelevant to political leaders? I clearly understand and believe that the pressing issues of job creation and improving our economy are our top priorities. I do not understand why the fundamental sources of food, fiber, water, space, minerals, and energy—the natural resources that ultimately drive jobs and our economy—have been discarded, as if irrelevant, in the debate about our country’s future.

The unprecedented, contentious, and divisive nature of our political parties, where each party appears to be bowing to their extreme wings, does not bode well for the compromise and bipartisanship that must occur to resolve some of our nation’s greatest challenges. Conservation is a long-term endeavor that requires unified vision and support. Unless we make political candidates aware of this fact, supportive of our goals, and responsive to our desires, we will lose much of the conservation success for which we are rightfully proud. We all need to contact our members of Congress to let them know we care, otherwise, it looks like a long, hot summer to me. n

Conservation is a long-term endeavor that requires unified vision and support. Unless we make political candidates aware of this fact, supportive of our goals, and responsive to our desires, we will lose much of the conservation success for which we are rightfully proud.

10 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

year. First and foremost, they must address the more than $15 trillion federal debt and a federal debt ceiling toward which we creep nearer. Congress promised to enact $1.2 trillion in spending cuts prior to January.

They should decide whether to: extend the Bush tax cuts that expire in December, provide funding for doctors who treat Medicare patients, enact tax reform, establish a national energy policy, reform immigration laws, react to the Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and establish a budget. How much of this critical laundry list actually gets accomplished is anyone’s guess, but a guess of “not much” is a safe bet with good odds.

So how does this affect wildlife conservation? It affects it in a very big way.

Obviously the major impact is on federal funding for conservation. The portion of the federal budget that addresses land and water conservation is only about 1 percent. Unless Congress has the temerity to reduce funding for mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (which comprises 55 percent of the budget),

MEMBER LIBRARY HARRY B. COMBS – Aircraft Pioneer, Adventurer, Conservationist In December 2003, a gift from Harry Combs was unveiled at the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Theodore J. Holsten Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. It was an emeritus member Boone and Crockett Club exact model of the historic aircraft first flown by the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, on that historic day a hundred years earlier when man first conquered the air. Combs’ presentation culminated a long fascination with the Wright brothers who he had carefully researched for his 1979 book Kill Devil Hill. In it, he was able to point out that the Wright brothers were far more than a couple of bicycle mechanics who somehow stumbled into the air with a flying machine. These two brothers, with their genius as scientists and engineers, had achieved what the great minds in the world had failed to accomplish in all history.

Born in 1913, Harry Combs’s exposure to flying began at an early age. His father Albert was shot down twice during World War I and is said to have warned his son never to set foot in an airplane. Nevertheless, at age 13, young Combs paid $2.50 for a first ride in a mail plane. Two years later, falsifying his age, he took flying lessons and soloed after only three hours of instruction. This began a long career in aviation.

At age 16 he built and flight-tested a sport biplane named Vamp Bat. In 1938 he and a partner formed Mountain States Aviation that later became Combs Aircraft Company. During World War II, his company trained 9,000 military pilots. After the war, President Kennedy appointed Combs to Project Beacon, the project that helped form the air traffic control system still in use today.

He went on to become president of Learjet in 1971 before eventually retiring to his ranch in Colorado.

Harry Combs was an enthusiastic big game hunter and this took him on many trips to Africa, India, and throughout North America. A regular member of the Boone and Crockett Club, he was also an avid conservationist undertaking an extensive game preserve at his ranch just east of Colorado Springs. He was a member of the Colorado Wildlife Commission for seven years, and was its chairman in 1970.

During his tenure more progress was made in game management than had been accomplished in many previous years.

An outdoorsman, horseman and adventurer, Harry Combs was a student of the history of the American West.

This led to his writing a trilogy of books of historical fiction as seen through the eyes of an old pioneer named “Brules.”

These books capture a time and place that will never exist again “a vast human drama filled with cowboys and Comanches, desperados and dance hall

Harry Combs lived on his working cattle ranch in Colorado.

Photo © Jim katzel

12 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Books by Harry B. Combs Kill Devil Hill (1979) Brules (1994) The Scout (1995) The Legend of the Painted Horse (1996) At the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Where was Custer? (1998)

girls, dreamers and lost, tough unforgettable men like “Brules.”

The life of Harry Combs spanned a dynamic age, from the passing of the Old West to the advent of flying and the space age. He died on December 13, 2003, only a few days after his presentation of the Wright aircraft model at Kill Devil Hills. n

A merican Wildlife C onservation Partners – S potlight O rganization

Congressional

Sportsmen’s Foundation

In late November of last year, I found myself standing

By Jeffrey S. Crane Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President B&C Professional Member

They were there because of an unbelievably strong and truly selfless commitment to ensuring

Americans are able to hunt, shoot,

fish, and trap

–

both now and for generations to come.

14 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

behind the lectern in the ballroom at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Western Pennsylvania, speaking to a room of nearly 50 state legislators who came from as far away as Alaska to discuss and learn about issues facing our nation’s sportsmen. We were in the middle of a busy, yet successful event, and I took a brief moment to reflect on how our organization, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), was now successfully working with sportsman-legislators, at both the state and federal levels, and from every corner of the country to protect, promote, and advance our community’s collective sporting heritage. This is no small feat.

Many of the state legislators in attendance were part-time lawmakers who balance full-time jobs and family obligations in addition to their legislative duties and leadership roles within their respective state sportsmen’s caucuses. They are also people who would rather be sitting in a duck blind or tree stand than discussing policy issues in a hotel ballroom hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from home. I couldn’t help but think to myself: What could possibly motivate these busy people to spend their little free time and their hard-earned money to attend an event like this, particularly during the busy holiday season?

This rhetorical question that I asked myself after a long and hectic day of presentations and meetings was one that, in my heart, I already knew the answer to. The people sitting in that room were there for the same reasons I was. They were there because of an unbelievably strong and truly selfless commitment to ensuring Americans are able to hunt, shoot, fish, and trap – both now and for generations to come. They were there because they believe in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the American System of Conservation Funding and, ultimately, they were there because they understand the critical role that hunting and recreational fishing and shooting play as fundamental components of the American System of Conservation Funding.

This reflective moment caused me a great deal of pride as I thought about how far CSF has come since its establishment in 1989, but also concern when I thought of how far we have to go in the future.

How We Got Here

Although we may not like to admit it, most natural resource management decisions are inherently political. Decision makers – legislators, government agencies and non-governmental organizations – are often charged with deciding who gets what, why, and how. In a complex world full of competing interests, this process can be overwhelming. The majority of hunters, recreational anglers and shooters aren’t naturally inclined to spend their time tracking legislation, following the regulatory process or engaging their elected representatives, despite

Team B&C with Congressman Don Young of Alaska at last year’s Congressional Shoot-Out. From left to right, Robert Model (B&C Past President), Ben B. Wallace (B&C President), Congressman Don Young (B&C Professional Member), Paul Miller (Congressional Sportsmen Foundation’s Treasurer), and Gregory Schildwachter (B&C Professional Member).

Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus leadership at their annual dinner. CSF President, Jeff Crane is at the podium.

the fact that legislators have the ability to limit or enhance our ability to enjoy the activities we are passionate about. CSF exists to bridge this gap between America’s sportsmen and those who make the decisions that impact our collective sporting heritage.

In 1989, a coalition of sportsmanlegislators came together to form the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC).

The CSC is one of the most effective caucuses in the United States Congress with more than 300 members in the House and the Senate, and has both Democratic and Republican leadership in each chamber.

Shortly after the development of the CSC, the CSF was founded to support the growth and development of the caucus by promoting sportsmen’s issues with elected officials.

Because of this interaction between the caucus and CSF, the CSC is a powerful voice and the first line of defense on Capitol Hill for America’s sportsmen.

CSF works with these dedicated leaders to communicate the needs of the sportsmen’s community, provide education on issues impacting our heritage, and identify opportunities to develop, pass and ensure the implementation of policies protecting the sportsmen’s legacy.

Where We Are Now

From the beginning, we at CSF always knew that while it is important to work with federal policymakers on issues impacting sportsmen, the majority of wildlife management decisions are made at the state level. With this in mind, CSF used the CSC as a model and in 2004 launched the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) with a mission of organizing sportsman-legislators into state sportsmen’s caucuses.

Currently, more than 2,000 state lawmakers are members of 39 legislative sportsmen’s caucuses under the NASC umbrella. Each year, leaders from member caucuses come together at a NASC annual sportsman-legislator summit such as the 2011 meeting in Pennsylvania to discuss recent developments in their respective states and to exchange information and ideas about how to successfully advance sportsmen’s issues in state capitals.

In 2009, CSF’s state organization and outreach efforts were further enhanced through the formation of the Governor’s Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC). In just three years, the GSC has grown to include 24 member governors, and it features a bi-partisan leadership team that works to facilitate communication and enhance the exchange of information among the state executive offices that are dedicated to supporting a pro-sportsmen agenda through legislative, administrative and regulatory action.

In addition, federal agencies can significantly impact our ability to hunt, fish and shoot on public land. Fortunately, CSF is well-positioned to work with these agencies in pursuit of conservation policies that protect sportsmen’s access to our nation’s greatest recreational assets. CSF fills a unique niche in our community as the only organization with leadership appointed to two federal advisory councils representing hunting, shooting and fishing interests—the Wildlife Hunting Heritage Conservation Council and the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council.

What’s Next

In a constantly evolving world, it is imperative that we as sportsmen take it upon

ourselves to insist that those who have been entrusted to make decisions about wildlife and natural resource management are informed about the issues that impact our outdoor heritage. In order to protect our community’s future, we must take steps to ensure decision makers understand the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the American system of conservation funding, and the importance of enhancing access and passing down our sportsmen’s heritage through recruiting additional sportsmen and women into the fold.

Along with recognizing the challenges of recruiting individuals to carry on these traditions by hunting, fishing and trapping, CSF faces other significant challenges. As time passes and the political winds change, decision makers who may have once been important advocates for sportsmen and women regularly move on to other endeavors, retire, or lose elections.

When this happens, CSF continues to do everything in the organization’s power to help new members of Congress, governors and state legislators understand the benefits associated with representing their constituents as a member of a sportsmen’s caucus.

Standing united as sportsmen, our voice is loud and strong. With sportsmen’s caucuses existing at the federal level and in states throughout the country, the future of spreading our message is bright if we remain committed to pursuing our common goals. With this in mind, I suggest that you, as constituents, ask your elected representatives if they are a member of the CSC, the GSC, or a NASC-affiliated sportsmen’s caucus. If the answer is “no,” your response should be, “Why not?” n Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 15

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Knowledge Base | Page 18 B&C Professors’ Corner | Page 20 Are Moose on the Menu? | Page 22 Dallas Safari Club Update | Page 27 Smarter Than Your Average Bear | Page 28

W

© Mark Miller/Images On The Wildside

inifred Kessler discusses the controversial subject of The Wildlife Society’s latest technical review, predator control. William Porter highlights the three ingredients that it takes to create a successful Boone and Crockett Club Professorship. Jonathan J. Derbridge's article dives into the details of stable isotope analysis and how it can be used to investigate the diets of carnivores.

He specifically looked at the evidence suggesting that wolves seek out moose as prey whenever they are available. The Dallas Safari Club has an update on their meetings with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with concerns about the increasing number of trophy confiscations and the adjustments that need to be made to the CITES permitting processes. Lastly, Melissa Reynolds-Hogland, executive director of Bear Trust International, describes the success of their science-based education program rooted in bear research and ecology and announces the beginning of the next edition of their curriculum, The Bear Book, Volume II.

16 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 17

KNOWLEDGE BASE Predator Control? It Depends Last week at the annual convention of the British Columbia Wildlife Federation I wrote down a nugget the keynote Winifred B. Kessler from speaker, a person with Professional member vast experience in Boone and Crockett Club natural resources policy and management: “It depends” is an acceptable response. Those words certainly ring true for the controversial business of predator control, the subject of The Wildlife Society’s latest technical review (#12-01, March 2012). From time to time, the incumbent president of The Wildlife Society (TWS) will appoint an ad hoc committee of experts to complete a thorough review of the scientific literature on a selected conservation issue. Often the technical review lays the scientific groundwork for TWS to issue a position statement on that issue. A few years ago an ad hoc committee was formed to review the scientific literature on the management of large mammalian carnivores in North America. It was chaired by Dr. Jim Peek, who served many years as a B&C Professional Member, and included nine other members from the U.S. and Canada. A much larger body of experts provided information and comments for the final product.

Why was this topic selected for review?

In part it reflected some TWS members’ concern about the escalation of predator control in Alaska under the state’s intensive wildlife management strategy. But the issue is much larger, involving many jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada and new problems such as predator conflicts in the urban interface and the spread of wolves beyond the public lands where they have been reintroduced. The committee boldly accepted the challenge in its full breadth: all large mammalian carnivore species, wherever they occur in the U.S. and Canada, and all aspects of the management issue.

The document notes that research on large mammalian predators began to pick up steam in the 1960s and ‘70s. Iconic studies of that time include the Craighead brothers’ grizzly bear research in Yellowstone National Park, Maurice Hornocker’s investigations of

mountain lions in the central Idaho wilderness, and the famous study of wolves and moose on Isle Royale, supported for many years by the Boone and Crockett Club. Most studies occurred in national parks or wilderness areas, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, large predators had been reduced or eliminated from most other areas, at least on the U.S. side of the border. And second,

management programs in different parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Many readers of the technical review may be hoping for answers to two key questions: Does the science allow us to conclude that predators have a limiting effect on prey, thus reducing the supply of big game animals available for hunting? Can predator control programs that seek to increase ungulate populations be justified on a scientific basis? The answers to both are the same: It depends. It depends on the biology of the species and the particular predator population of interest. It depends on the biology and condition of the prey populations in question. It depends on the availability and condition of habitat. It depends on the quality of the predator control program: whether it is based on scientific information including a solid analysis of predation pressure, or just on a simplistic notion that fewer predators equals more prey for hunters. It also depends on the human side of the equation: people’s attitudes about the predator-prey system in question, whether they are affected economically, and their views on the “right” balance between predators and other values.

The document offers general recommendations that should be helpful to managers and policymakers, regardless of the species or predator control situation they are dealing with. One concluding remark of the technical review should be taken to heart. It relates to the fact that we now have conflicts involving large predators, because we now have an abundance of these animals in many places. As stated by the authors, “...this review suggests that large mammalian predators have made a remarkable comeback from the lows of the early 20th century and that a large share of the North American public tolerates their presence and realizes that management at some level is at times necessary.” n

Today, managing predator populations “at levels compatible with other needs and values” is a challenge for scientists and managers alike.

18 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

the scientists were mainly interested in studying predator-prey dynamics in natural systems, hoping to inform the long-standing debate on whether prey populations are limited by predation. The research emphasis shifted following passage of the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the subsequent listing of the wolf in 1974 and grizzly bear in 1975. Because the management objective was to increase populations and restore them to areas of former range, research focused on the feasibility of reintroductions and on follow-up studies to evaluate the results. Yet another shift occurred following the success of restoration efforts, and in response to the increased incidence of conflict stemming from human sprawl into areas occupied by predators. Today, managing predator populations “at levels compatible with other needs and values” is a challenge for scientists and managers alike.

Determining those “needs and values” is an important part of the research purview.

That’s why the technical review includes a major section on research addressing human attitudes toward predators. It summarizes what is known about the differences in attitude among socio-demographic groups (who loves predators, who hates them, people’s tolerance for coexisting with predators, whether they support management, and so on). Next, the document provides a case-by-case, species-by-species review on the dynamics of predation in relation to prey populations. This is followed by a similar, case-by-case scientific review of predator

Would you like a copy of this information-packed technical review? The Wildlife Society grants permission to make single copies for noncommercial purposes. To view or download a PDF go to Wildlife.org/TechnicalReview, or go to Bookstore.Wildlife.org to purchase a hard copy.

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B&C PROFESSORS’ CORNER What Does It Take to Create a Successful Boone and Crockett Club Professorship?

No conservation organization has taken the remarkable step that the Boone and Crockett Club has.

Establishing Boone and William Porter Crockett Professorships Professional member Boone and Crockett Club at major universities fosters a community Professor Michigan State that will have both University immediate and lasting impact. It is a bold and forward-thinking investment. This program is an important legacy of the Club, so as we move to add new Boone and Crockett Professorships at other universities, it’s important to ask, how do we maximize our impact? What does it take to create a successful Boone and Crockett Professorship?

The Club’s efforts at Michigan State University (MSU) represent the most recent effort to establish an endowed Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation.

From the outset, the approach at MSU has been different from those at the University of Montana and Texas A&M University, and the program at Oregon State University, so it’s useful to examine what has been helpful in this newest effort.

Successful academic programs require three ingredients that are always in short supply: space, talent, and money. Acquiring those resources requires a network of colleagues who can make things happen within large organizations like universities, government agencies, and NGOs. In the world of science, building large programs that can attract talented graduate students and ultimately affect policy takes time. Individuals can move everything forward, but the best way to accelerate the process is to put together a team of able partners.

At MSU, the decision was to build a strong partnership first so there would be a group of committed individuals already in place when the Boone and Crockett Professor arrived. The three principal partners were the MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Boone and Crockett Club.

Universities have many ways to accelerate the process of building a new program. At MSU, the college renovated a lab in a prime location and provided funds to support two post-doctoral research 20 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

scientists. CANR’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, the new home for the Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation, facilitated the admission of three doctoral students and a graduate student.

AgBioResearch (formerly, the Agricultural Experiment Station) and MSU Extension set up financial operating accounts. All of this happened before I arrived. With this foundation already in place, we were able to devote more time to moving the research and policy agenda forward.

As a partner, the university’s role is more than just helping with the start-up. The Boone and Crockett Club recruits people to its professorships who are good at getting things done in large bureaucracies. They know the secret to achieving results is to understand the subtleties of a university’s procedures and build relationships with the people who are particularly effective within the organization. Every university is a little different, and of course, starting at a new institution means most of the subtleties and all of the people are new. Getting started is like drinking from a fire hose. From executing contracts to gaining approval for new courses, there is a lot to learn. It’s vital to have mentors, collaborators, and good friends, all of whom I have found at MSU. The second important partner in Michigan is the Division of Wildlife at the Department of Natural Resources. When I arrived, the division stepped forward immediately to make funding available to support a graduate student and to extend an invitation to attend strategic planning meetings. The division also helped establish a new cooperative research project focused on a particularly difficult issue with white-tailed deer. The division chief made time for frequent conversations, and we are building a strong working relationship.

Within the first 18 months, this partnership allowed me to address several important policy issues. For instance, at the state level, I testified before the Michigan Natural Resource Commission on a controversy related to baiting deer and offered opinion on pending legislation concerning wild turkey management in Michigan. On a national level, I spoke at meetings of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference about our work with chronic wasting disease.

Of course, the keystone partner is the

Boone and Crockett Club. Club members are essential to establishing the endowment that supports the professorship. Equally important, though, are the developing personal relationships. At MSU, we sought to build those personal relationships from the beginning. Early on we established the Michigan Boone and Crockett Partners. This group meets with the graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and me three to four times a year for business and often dinner.

Along with Club members, these meetings generally include CANR administrators, the chief of the Division of Wildlife, the past director of the DNR, and a representative of an important philanthropic foundation in Michigan.

Initially, meetings of the Michigan Boone and Crockett Partners were devoted to discussing strategic planning for the Boone and Crockett professorship and affiliated programs at MSU. More recent meetings have focused on the research we are doing and our efforts to affect policy. Everyone recognizes that an important purpose of these meetings is to provide an opportunity for people to get to know one another. The graduate students comment that among the highlights of their experience thus far was an informal gathering we held at the hunting retreat of Club members in southern Michigan.

The growing personal relationships are producing important results. Club members have become active contributors to university programs. Some Club members have provided books and taxidermy mounts to our lab while others have made guest appearances in classes. Club Members have also begun working with individual students, introducing them to wildlife biologists throughout the Midwest. Other members are offering to set up meetings for us in Washington, D.C. with key officials in federal agencies. We all are learning to describe our research and policy initiatives in terms of the broader goals of the Boone and Crockett Club. A tangible result is the recent “Dead Deer Walking” feature article in Fair Chase.

The university programs of the Boone and Crockett Club at the University of Montana, Texas A&M, and Oregon State are making important contributions to wildlife conservation at many levels. We at Michigan State have worked hard to come up to speed.

That we have made significant strides in two years can be attributed to partnership. n

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Are

Moose on the Menu for

Northwestern Montana Wolves?

Seeking Answers in Scats and Stable Isotopes

by Jonathan J. Derbridge B&C Fellow — University of Montana

It all started during an informal lunch with a member of my graduate committee. “How about using stable isotopes to examine wolf diet?” asked Mark Hebblewhite. “You might be able to get at how important moose are to wolves in northwestern Montana.” Thus began my journey on a fascinating path of discovery.

I had just enrolled in the University of Montana’s wildlife biology program as a Boone and Crockett Fellow under B&C Professor Paul Krausman. Since 2005 I had worked seasonally for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Wolf Program, and before that for the Nez Perce Tribe on the Idaho Wolf Recovery Program, and the USGS Minnesota Wolf Project. This was good preparation for launching a Master of Science study on the wolves of northwestern Montana. Montana’s FWP Region 1 (Northwestern Montana) Wildlife Manager Jim Williams was happy to provide logistical assistance and the use of vehicles, and the agency’s wolf management specialist for the region, Kent Laudon, was also in full support. Kent and I had worked together since my 2004 summer on the Nez Perce project, and we recognized the value of information sharing while trying to 22 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

figure out where wolves were and what they were up to. We knew roughly how many wolf packs there were and had a general sense of home ranges; however, other basic information on the area’s 300 or so wolves was lacking. I realized that the big questions about ecosystem effects of a recolonizing top predator were beyond the scope of my master’s degree time frame. Still, I wanted to add something original to the state of wolf knowledge and provide results that managers and resource users would find helpful.

Dr. Hebblewhite was widely published in the science of wolf ecology but new to the literature on how stable isotope analysis (SIA) can be used to investigate the diets of carnivores. He was interested in the evidence suggesting that wolves seek out moose (Alces alces) as prey whenever they are available. However, few studies had used SIA to determine what wolves may be eating in an ecosystem offering a good variety of wild ungulate species on the menu. Northwestern Montana certainly fit that description. And because managers here knew that some populations of Shiras moose (Alces alces shirasi) were in decline, a wolf diet study had real potential to provide useful management information.

Two Ways of Looking at Wolf Diets

In wildlife research, the SIA approach was best known for detecting the presence of unusual diet items. Could it be used more broadly

Few studies had used SIA (stable isotope analysis) to determine what wolves may be eating in an ecosystem offering a good variety of wild ungulate species on the menu. Northwestern Montana certainly fit that description.

Left: The areas of matted down vegetation are wolf rendezvous sites where hair and scat are collected.

to study carnivore diets? At a conference during my first semester I got lucky and met just the expert to help me explore this idea.

Canadian researcher Chris Darimont, of the University of California-Santa Cruz and Raincoast Conservation Foundation, had been publishing SIA work on wolves since 2002. He strongly encouraged me to pursue the project; he continued to provide support throughout my master’s program and coauthored the soon-to-be published peerreviewed paper on the study. We agreed it would also be worth comparing the SIA method with the more traditional method of scat analysis. Several of Dr. Krausman’s former graduate students had conducted scat studies on wolves, and my years of wolf work in Montana, Idaho, and Minnesota meant I already had a good nose for wolf scat, so it seemed like a good plan.

I delved into the scientific literature to develop my understanding of how stable isotopes can be used. Then it was time to

head out into the mountainous wilds of northwestern Montana to find some wolves.

On paper the plan was relatively simple: collect samples needed for the two different methods, analyze them and compare the results, and assess their relative costs. If successful, I could provide wildlife managers with information about the prey wolves were eating, how much diet varied among wolf packs, and recommend which analysis method to use in future research.

Lacking data to the contrary, most biologists assumed that wolves primarily consumed the abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), which comprises about 70 percent of ungulate biomass in northwestern Montana. The scientific literature offered no clear consensus on what wolves consume in ecosystems containing a range of large ungulates. Thus the whitetail hypothesis seemed the safest, and I anticipated that my study would support it.

In scat studies, what one is able to say

about a wolf pack’s diet is limited by the number of scats collected. The goal is to gather as many as possible and identify them as belonging to one pack and not another.

Scats are then sterilized and broken apart to see what undigested remains lurk within.

The typical wolf scat contains remains from a single species because wolves usually kill a wild ungulate, consume it, and defecate all undigested remains before the next meal.

Most scats contain some hairs and these have characteristic coloration, banding, and scale patterns at the microscopic level that can be used to identify the species or possibly only the genus of prey. For example, I could use hairs to distinguish between elk (Cervus Canadensis), moose, and deer, but not between mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer.

Stable isotope analysis is more complicated. Whereas scat studies reveal what has not been eaten (absence) as an aid to determining what was eaten, stable isotope Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 23

studies use the chemical composition of the predator’s tissues to determine the proportional contributions of distinct diet sources (the “building blocks”) that built those tissues. The phrase, “you are what you eat,” contains enough truth to make stable isotopes useful for diet analysis.

What, exactly, are stable isotopes?

Isotopes are just forms of an element that differ in their atomic weights, specifically in the number of neutrons in a nucleus. So for example carbon-13 and carbon-12 are carbon isotopes with 13 and 12 neutrons, respectively.

Most isotopes are unstable, decaying and ultimately becoming a different element; these are the radioisotopes. The decay rates of some unstable isotopes are used to date the formation of rocks and fossils; for example, the use of potassium-40 in geology and paleontology. Others that decay more rapidly are used to date more recent events, such as carbon-14 employed in archaeology. A relatively small number of isotopes are stable, remaining unchanged for vast periods of time, and this stability allows them to be used as ecological tracers.

The tissues of any organism contain some relative proportion of the stable isotopes carbon-13 and carbon-12, and also nitrogen-15 and nitrogen-14. These isotope values differ between species because of their different life histories, including different strategies for deriving nutrition. Thus the tissues of a species that consumes some combination of other species will contain an isotopic record of those dietary choices. For a study on predator diet, the investigator must know

two things. First, what prey species are available? Second, what distinct stable isotope values do these prey species have? Once these facts are established, the researcher must collect sufficient samples of prey and consumer to determine mean isotope values, and then use appropriate statistical analysis to estimate diet composition.

Hands and Knees Science

Once I understood the basics, it seemed obvious that the two methods would represent diet very differently. A wolf scat would provide information about a single recent meal, but a tissue sample would provide a complete record of diet information during the growth period of the tissue sample. Thus, unless scats could be collected for every kill made by a pack (impossible in a practical sense), tissue samples for SIA had the potential to be a much more powerful technique. So, what tissues would I collect for SIA? Hairs are commonly used in SIA for diets of mammalian carnivores because they can be collected non-invasively and relatively easily. Wolves grow guard hairs from around May until October, so these hairs represent summer diet. I decided on an approach to locate wolf home sites and collect hairs shed in the spring molt. My field strategy would include the collection of scats during the summer of year one, and the collection of shed hairs in the following spring/summer.

The logic was this: for a given wolf pack, the year-one scats should contain evidence of diet that would match up with the isotope values contained in the year-two hair samples.

In summer of 2008 I spent my scat field season covering many miles of northwestern Montana, using my experience and current information from Kent and his crew of technicians to determine the whereabouts of wolves. Whenever I found concentrations of wolf sign such as multiple sets of tracks and numerous scats of different ages, I focused on finding the den or rendezvous site. There I collected as many scats as possible during repeated visits. By the end of that season, I had enough scats from four packs to start diet analysis.

The stable isotope portion of my study required that I determine the isotope values of prey species as well as wolves. I relied on help from Montana FWP and big game hunters to obtain sufficient samples of prey tissue. Biologists at check stations during the 2008 hunting season collected hairs from white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. Successful hunters were happy to part with a few hairs to help improve knowledge about what northwestern Montana wolves were eating.

In summer 2009 I returned to the same wolf pack home sites I had located in 2008, plus some new ones, to find hairs shed by pack members. My most successful approach was to wait until wolves had moved on to a different site, and then very carefully, on hands and knees, scour the ground for clumps of shed hair. In most cases, home sites contained areas of flattened vegetation or circular depressions in the dirt where a wolf had been lying. By targeting these sites I was usually able to find wolf hairs. A less successful but interesting approach was to construct

From Left to Right: Jonathan on his hands and knees scouring the ground for clumps of shed hair. n In the summer of 2008 enough scat samples from four packs of wolves had been collected to start diet analysis. n Along with the help of undergraduates, Jonathan analyzed approximately 200 wolf scats and 150 hair samples for SIA to obtain their data.

24 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

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x 12,1 cm.indd hairRZ-Semprio_Camouflage_17,8 snares from wooden boards affixed1with wire bristles (similar to gun barrel cleaners).

I set half-buried snares near home sites and applied trapping lures with the intent of eliciting the canine urge to roll in stinky stuff, thereby leaving hairs on the bristles. A colleague had found this technique useful for collecting hair samples for DNA work.

Although I did collect some hairs this way, it did not always provide the number of hairs (30 or more) needed for SIA. As well, it was very time-consuming to set and check a hair snare trapline.

Ultimately, my collections and others provided by Montana’s ever-supportive FWP wolf program personnel yielded enough samples to analyze diets of 12 packs. Given that my intensity of field effort was about equal in 2008 and 2009, I had a strong hunch that that SIA might win out in terms of bang for buck. However, a long process of analysis and techniques comparison was required before results would be known.

Fortunately, I was able to employ a team of motivated and hardworking undergraduates in the University of Montana wildlife biology program to help with lab work. We picked through approximately 200 wolf scats to determine what proportions of deer, elk, moose, and other prey contributed to the diets of four packs. The hair samples

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for SIA, 150 in all, had to be cleaned, dried, and ground to powder. One milligram samples were placed into tin capsules and sent to a SIA lab for processing in a mass spectrometer.

This machine combusts the samples to separate CO2 and N2, which then are measured to calculate isotope ratios. The results returned are simply isotope values for each individual wolf or prey animal.

A Taste for Moose

So what did all this reveal about wolf diets in northwestern Montana? The scat samples indicated that moose comprised over 25 percent of summer diet for two of four packs.

This was a surprising result considering that moose contributed only about six percent of total ungulate biomass. Pack diets varied significantly; deer were the most common prey for two packs, elk for one pack, and elk and moose tied as the most common prey for the fourth pack. The SIA on 12 packs also revealed that packs vary in the proportions of prey consumed; again, moose featured much more prominently than expected based on the amount of moose available to wolves in northern Montana. Moreover, when we compared results from SIA and scat data for the four packs with matched samples, half of the paired estimates were different.

Was this further evidence for Dr.

Hebblewhite’s view that10.02.2012 wolves 18:12:54 like toUhr eat moose whenever they can? Because the comparison of results between analysis methods failed to reveal a consistent match, the answer is somewhat equivocal. This is a little disappointing from the management perspective because I was not able to categorically state what northern Montana summer wolf diets consisted of. Cost-wise, our assessment of the two techniques was overwhelmingly in favor of SIA. Three times as many pack diets were estimated for about half the cost of the scat analysis. It would be premature to promote one technique over the other based on this study alone, however.

The Rest of the Story

There was sufficient evidence of moose in wolf diets to suggest that wolves do consume them more than would be expected based on availability. Also, the lack of certainty may ultimately lead to a more satisfying conclusion for science, because the SIA results revealed a potential weakness in the technique when used for wolf diet. Earlier I mentioned the lack of precision in the “you are what you eat” adage when uttered in a SIA context. The reason is, there is an additional change in isotope values as tissues are converted from being consumed food to becoming tissue of the consumer. Termed Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 25

Jonathan’s master’s project was funded by the Boone

fractionation, this change must be included in the diet analysis and Crockett equation to ensure the Program correct interpretation of in Wildlife consumer isotope values Conservation, (i.e., how those values are University explained in terms of diet of Montana , contributions). and Counter Researchers Assault, Missoula, choose fractionation Montana. Logistical values based on what and technical makes sense for their assistance was studies, which usually provided by means choosing values Montana Fish, t h at h ave b e en Wildlife and Parks. determined through experiments on animals most closely related to the species of study. For most SIA wolf diet studies, fractionation values experimentally derived from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have been used because these carnivores are in the same family, Canidae.

Several previous studies were primarily interested in detecting use of seasonally available salmon, which have isotope values so different from those of ungulate prey that slightly incorrect fractionation values would

not obscure the result of interest. However, when the prey species of interest are all ungulates, only slight changes in fractionation values used can have large consequences for results. It’s also possible that wolves fractionate differently enough from red foxes that we ought to use values derived from wolves for SIA studies of wolf diet.

In our case, a different set of values could have resulted in more or less moose being reported for wolf diet in northwestern Montana. The best way to be sure about future results from SIA for wolf diet is to conduct the appropriate experiment to derive wolf fractionation values, and we are working on that now. In collaboration with a captive wolf facility in Minnesota, we are feeding wolves a controlled diet of white-tailed deer for a period of one year. We are taking samples from wolves and deer throughout the period and will be able to establish wolf fractionation values by examining the isotopic differences between the species. This new species-specific value will likely become the standard for future studies and will help eliminate that puzzling source of uncertainty.

As is typical in science, my master’s study ended up producing a mix of answers

and questions. Although there was some uncertainty, it still indicates that wolves consume more moose than would be expected in an ecosystem where moose numbers are low.

I’m indebted to Dr. Hebblewhite, whose keen interest in wolf ecology drew me into this fascinating investigation of predatorprey dynamics in northwestern Montana.

Along the way I completed a Master of Science degree, authored a soon-to-bepublished scientific paper, and launched a follow-up study. And when it comes to sniffing out wolf scats and hairs in the wilds, I’m the guy to call. n Jonathan Derbridge is working toward a doctorate degree at the University of Arizona. His current work focuses on the ecological interactions between native and introduced species; in particular, the impacts of introduced Abert’s squirrels (Sciurus aberti) on the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) in southeastern Arizona. He plans to pursue an academic career in wildlife ecology and conservation research.

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26 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

DALLAS SAFARI CLUB UPDATE DSC Efforts Change USFWS Enforcement, CITES Permitting Processes annual convention in January. This meeting discussed the issues regarding exotic species, specifically the scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle, but also focused on confiscations of legally taken trophies.

When confronted with detailed cases of confiscations because of a single number being transposed on a form, or a tag not being placed in a precise manner or place on a hide, it became evident that there were no reasonable answers to the inquiries.

Also at issue was the demand by the Service for a separate quota number for the year a trophy was shipped. All host nations are assigned a quota number by CITES for animals taken in a given year. Each animal is supposed to be listed as a certain number taken off that country’s existing quota (e.g.

36th in a quota of 250), but the Service chose also to require a quota number for the year the animal was actually shipped, which no host nation keeps track of and is not a CITES requirement. This extra quota requirement was the grounds for numerous confiscations, particularly of leopards.

Following this fact-finding session, Rep. Sessions had direct meetings with the head of USFWS Chief Enforcement Office as did Glenn LeMunyon. John Jackson of Conservation Force also had numerous conversations and exchanges with the Service. The end result being that the requirement for the “shipping year quota” has been dropped.

In addition, the Service initially responded to concerns that the hunter had no recourse to correct errors made by the

expediters when shipping t he trophies to the U.S., stating that they would allow a hunter to pay to have his entire trophy shipment returned to the host nation so the offending permit could be remedied or re-issued. While some were quick to laud this as a great achievement and claim credit for this concession, DSC was not satisfied with this remedy as it still placed an unnecessary burden upon the hunter to re-ship the trophy!

This, all with the hope that things would be corrected and shipped back—while possibly un-tanned skins are potentially going to ruin.

DSC argued that in this day of internet, faxes and overnight shipping, that most clerical errors could be remedied within days and that if they could not, then only the offending trophy should have to be sent back, not the entire shipment. USFWS has now relented and agreed to much of what we have presented to them as a common sense approach to these issues.

Sincere thanks must go to Rep. Sessions and staffer Robert Cousins for continuing to monitor this on near-daily basis; to Glenn LeMunyon for initiating a “Strive for Zero” policy (as in zero confiscations); and to John Jackson for applying his vast knowledge of the CITES process and educating those at the Service on their own policy history and obligations. n

© tony bynum

©istockphoto.com/flyrfixr

For more than a year, Dallas Safari Club (DSC) representatives have been meeting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with concerns about the increasing number of trophy confiscations − trophies taken by legal and ethical means. These seizures often occur after months of waiting, and long after the paperwork has been filed.

DSC Executive Director and B&C Professional Member Ben Carter, DSC Board Member and Political Action Committee Chairman Lance Phillips, Conservation Force’s John Jackson and DSC’s advocate Glenn LeMunyon began meeting with the leaders of the Service to start a dialogue regarding the confiscations that are for purely clerical reasons beyond the hunter’s control, or because of issues created by the Service itself in requiring “shipping year” quota numbers that simply do not exist in the host countries.

These meetings have been ongoing and attended by staff from both Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX, 29th District) and “Judge” John Carter (R-TX, 31st District). John Jackson provided the much-needed historical background of legal precedents in CITES permitting as it related to the Service and the individual hunter.

These initial meetings were followed by a meeting with Rep. Sessions, Jeff Crane of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, John Jackson, Glenn LeMunyon, Ben Carter, Lance Phillips, DSC President Richard Cheatham, Charly Seale of the Exotic Wildlife Association and the Service at the

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 27

Smarter Than Your Average Bear

By Dr. Melissa Reynolds-Hogland Executive Director of Bear Trust International Photos taken by Melissa Reynolds-Hogland and Heather Johnson

It was late in the evening. The Alaskan

sun had set hours ago. Only seven of us remained; everyone else was driving into the wind and snow, heading home. We sat around a table, poring over evaluations. I read one, then another, then another.

A tiny smile crept slowly across my face as I let my mind drift with the falling snow to remember the long road here….

It all started eight years ago when A.C. (Charles) Smid, a regular member of the Boone and Crockett Club and the founder of Bear Trust International, attended a 2004 conference about bears and bear research. Like most scientific conferences, the presentations were technical with a strong statistical bent. By day three, Charles needed a strong cup of coffee.

At breakfast that third morning, Charles sipped coffee with one of the conference participants, who was sharing a story about a bear. “He broke into a cabin and ate 12 boxes of D-Con rat poison, and then washed it down with a gallon of cooking oil.…And did you hear about the Peach Bear? Year after year, that bear broke into the county fair and ate only the peach pies entered into the piebaking contest!”

The breakfast table slowly transformed into a campfire setting as sparks flew and imaginations were ignited. Story followed story, all of them about real field adventures with wild bears. At one point, a bear scientist who works on spectacled bears in Peru said, “Wouldn’t it be great if someone compiled a bunch of bear stories like these and put them into a book?”

Fast forward three years and Bear Trust International releases The Bear Book, a compilation of bear stories written by field scientists, agency bear biologists, professional writers, and even President Theodore Roosevelt (an excerpt from In the Louisiana Canebrakes). By design, the stories were written in non-technical style to help make field stories about bears, and bear science, accessible to the public.

28 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

We handed The Bear Book to lots of reviewers for comments and suggestions, including high school teachers. “If you design lessons to go with some chapters in The Bear Book,” offered teachers, “we would use this in the classroom.” Listen to your teachers.

As a follow up, Bear Trust released the curriculum guide to The Bear Book in summer, 2011. This teacher’s guide has eight lessons that link to, and build upon, stories about bears in The Bear Book.

Some lessons also link to scientific studies on wild bears published by field biologists.

In fall 2011, we began contacting high school science teachers around the country to help us pilot the Curriculum Guide in the classroom. One morning, my phone rang. “Would you be interested in piloting the Curriculum Guide with an entire school district in Alaska?” asked Steve Mendive, director of projects and development at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC).

And so began what would become a strong, synergistic partnership with AWCC. Steve introduced us to folks at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Department of Fish and Game and coordinators from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – a campaign to help U.S. students become more competitive in science and math) in the Anchorage School District. Together, we used content from the Curriculum Guide to develop a continuing education course for high school science teachers. As part of this course, Bear Trust and our Alaska partners conducted a “teach the teachers” workshop at the AWCC in November 2011.

It was at the conclusion of this workshop that I found myself sitting around a table with our Alaska partners. The teachers who attended the two-day workshop had long since left, leaving behind their evaluations. I mused about the journey to this moment, but not for long. The evaluations signaled a green light to plan the expansion of the pilot study to test the Curriculum Guide in the classroom (currently in nine states!) and also to strategize Bear Trust’s next big step.

Volume II: Real Data, Real Cool!

Today, at the request of numerous high school science teachers and

Our youth are smarter than your average bear and they deserve challenging, exciting, and engaging opportunities to learn about real-life conservation and scientific research through active participation in the process of discovery Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 29

conservation educators, Bear Trust currently is developing the next volume of our sciencebased education program rooted in bear research and ecology. We’ve already solicited top bear scientists around the world for 12 stories about field adventures with all eight species of bears, which we will compile into The Bear Book, Volume II. We already have 11 commitments. Turns out bear scientists are eager to get their messages out as well.

Our next step is to design lessons that will link to each story.

How Can We Improve on the Lessons?

Why not use real data from the same bear studies that are highlighted in each chapter of The Bear Book, Volume II? While we’re at it, let’s provide cutting-edge technology to students, like global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), and analytic population modeling software. Students will become the scientists, working on real-world, realtime conservation questions. Students will develop hypotheses and predictions, and then use real data and timely technology to evaluate predictions and report findings to their peers.

For example, one lesson will include real capture-recapture data for American black bears from a field study lasting 30-plus years. We will teach students how to use capture-recapture data to estimate population survival and growth rates using Program Mark, an analytic software program that today’s wildlife scientists use to understand population ecology. We’ll teach students how to include harvest measures in their analyses to help understand how hunting can be an important tool in effective wildlife management.

Another lesson will include real GPS locations for field research bears. Using webbased tutorials, we will teach students how to extract GPS data and use GIS to estimate home ranges and habitat selection. What better way to immerse students in the exciting process of discovery? And talk about

empowerment! While learning about bears and conservation, students also will be honing skills in science, math, ecological modeling, economic modeling, technology, problem solving, critical thinking, and communications.

All lessons will be completely webbased for ease of use, project-based so teachers can pick and choose which lessons they wish to use, and free. Everything will be available on Bear Trust’s website beartrust.org. We also are developing a social networking component for students so that they can connect with students in other regions.

Students in Montana will be able to connect with students in Alaska, New Jersey, Maine, Minnesota, Peru, India, etc. to discuss differences in bear species and bear conservation around the world.

This will not be your ordinary textbook experience. Sit, read, and memorize?

Nope. That approach typically yields shortterm information gain, lasting only until the test is over. Our youth are smarter than your average bear and they deserve challenging, exciting, and engaging opportunities to learn about real-life conservation and scientific research through active participation in the process of discovery. Youth need innovative tools to help them become environmentally literate citizens at the global level. Youth need programs that ignite their curiosity and inspire them to explore deeper.

So, we are designing the lessons in the The Bear Book Curriculum Guide, Volume II (Volume II) to meet these needs. We have other goals, too. Bear Trust International is a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission to help conserve all eight species of the world’s bears, other wildlife, and habitat.

We know that Volume II will be a great platform for raising awareness about bear conservation worldwide. Many conservation issues for bears are linked to changes in human populations, habitat, and climate, which also affects other species. Therefore, lots of information in our “bear-based” lessons will be applicable to conservation issues surrounding other wild animals. Such exposure and understanding will help our

youth develop global conservation awareness and environmental literacy.

Importantly, Bear Trust believes that effective wildlife conservation should be based on sound science. Our lessons are designed to help inspire the next generation of wildlife managers and scientists, with emphasis on strong scientific skills. Equally important, we believe it is critical to empower all youth with scientific skills and ensure they understand the difference between evidencebased information and personal opinion, which will reap long-term rewards for bear conservation. To this aim, we are designing lessons to meet STEM goals and National Science Standards.

Maximizing Impact: Dynamic Learning

From lesson development to implementation, Volume II will be designed to maximize impact. For example, bear scientists will share stories and data with Bear Trust, who will collaborate with graduate students for lesson development. High school teachers will be given professional development opportunities and teach the teacher workshops, and then pass this information on as they teach lessons to high school students. Those students will learn actively, and then teach a lesson to middle school students. High school students also will have access to a social networking tool to connect with other high school students and discover differences and similarities in conservation of different bear species around the world.

To further maximize impact, Bear Trust is collaborating with the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), which receives 225,000 visitors annually and will host an expanded version of Volume II in their upcoming, state-of-the-art Bears Education Awareness Research Sanctuary facility (BEARS).

Moreover, Bear Trust and AWCC are collaborating to build a signature interface system in the BEARS facility that will connect visitors with bear studies around the world in real-time. Visitors touch a screen and get transported to Hudson Bay, where they Far left: Field crew fitting bears with GPS collars. left: Data is collected from each bear captured to track their activity.

RIGHT: Free curriculum guides and study pages are avaialable online.

30 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Above: Teachers at a Bear Trust workshop. Right: Melissa with a bear at the Alaska Wildlife Cons. Center.

see live footage of polar bears and learn about polar bear research and conservation. Visitors touch another screen and get transported to Peru and learn about spectacled bear research and conservation. We will have eight interface portals, one for each bear species. We anticipate that some parents, students, and teachers who visit BEARS will want to bring Volume II home to their school districts.

Why Free?

Bear Trust believes that high quality education is critical to conservation and sustainable communities. We don’t charge educators a fee for our innovative programs because a lot of school districts and conservation organizations are unable to afford high-quality programs. In these sobering scenarios, the students pay the ultimate price. We believe in leveling the playing field and making certain all students have equal access to highquality, science-based education.

Our science-based education programs are free to educators and students everywhere thanks to the generosity of many individuals, organizations and foundations, including many Boone and Crockett Club members.

For high school students and educators, we offer the Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume I and our upcoming Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume II. For the younger crowd, we offer The Bear Essentials, our science-based education program with nine lessons that target kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. n

Melissa Reynolds-Hogland, Ph.D., is the executive director of Bear Trust International. Melissa has a background in field science (bears to birds) and management. At home in the woods, Melissa thought she would be a field rat forever. It wasn’t until her children arrived that she began to fully comprehend the critical need for high-quality, science-based education. With Bear Trust, Melissa blends her passions into actions for children and bears everywhere.

About Bear Trust International Bear Trust is a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3), conservation organization founded in 1999 with a mission to help conserve all eight species of bears, other wildlife and habitat. To this aim, we focus on four core initiatives: 1) science-based education, 2) scientific research, 3) bear management, and, 4) habitat conservation. Bear Trust is based in Missoula, Montana, and is governed by a board of seven members. Four of Bear Trust’s board members are members of the Boone and Crockett Club (Gilbert Adams, Marc Mondavi, A.C. [Charles] Smid, and Gray Thornton). Our other board members include John Chaney, Derek Craighead, and Geoff Pampush.

If you would like to learn more about Bear Trust, make a donation toward our science-based programs, or receive free copies of our sciencebased programs, please visit our Web site beartrust.org or contact Dr. Melissa Reynolds-Hogland; melissa@beartrust.org (406) 523-7779.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 31

HUNTING, ETHICS, AND BIG GAME RECORDS

Š TONY BYNUM

Half Buck Billy | 34 .30-06 Springfield | Page 38 One Shot at a Time | 42 Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies | 50 Generation Next | Page 56 Hunt Ethics | 62 Trophy Talk | Page 66 Recently Accepted Trophies | Page 68 B&C Field Photos | Page 74

32 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

K

entucky sportsman, Troy Sheldon, shares the story about the hunt for the new World’s Record Rocky Mountain goat he shot in British Columbia during the 2011 season. The goat was verified as the new World’s Record by a Special Judges Panel that convened this April. We’re also pleased to announce a new series authored by Craig Boddington detailing different cartridges. Wayne van Zwoll continues his line up of various rifles with an article about single-shot firearms such as the Ruger No. 1 and Remington’s Rolling Block. This spring we released the first two books in our new B&C Classics eBook series. Take a moment to read an excerpt from Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies and be transported back over 100 years on a British Columbia adventure. Lastly, readers will want to spend time on “Hunt Ethics,” a thoughtful essay by one of the Club’s Lifetime Associates, Ron Gabriel.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 33

Half-Buck

By Troy Sheldon B&C Trophy Owner

Billy

B&C Special Judges Panel Verifies New World’s Record Rocky Mountain Goat

The road to Boone and Crockett Club’s new

Troy Sheldon and his guide Heidi Gutfrucht with his new World’s Record Rocky Mountain goat scoring 57-4/8 points. The billy was taken in British Columbia’s Stikine River Drainage in 2011. Sheldon was shooting a 150 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertip bullet with his Tikka T3 (.270 WSM) topped with a Nikon Monarch 3-9x40 scope.

34 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

World’s Record Rocky Mountain goat began in January 2011.

My longtime hunting friend, Carey Renner, and I have a bucket list of hunts that we want to complete before we can no longer go after the big game. We take turns picking out the species we want to go after, and this time it happened to be my choice. I suggested the Rocky Mountain goat because it’s one of the most challenging pursuits. With Carey onboard, we did our research finally choosing Heidi Gutfrucht of Northwest Ranching and Outfitting in British Columbia to be our guide. We agreed that we would take a late hunt to ensure the mountain goat’s hide would have the maximum fullness. We booked our hunt for October 1, 2011.

As I prepared for the expedition, I scoured the Internet to determine what I might expect. There were several articles that provided guidance on what I had to look forward to, how to physically prepare for the journey, and what should be carried in the backpack. It soon became clear that I should have put more effort into the physical preparation, and a bit less on what I deemed necessary to be packed (except for the mole skin and duct tape, which when combined, are the most effective resources for hotspots and blisters!)

We arrived at Telegraph Creek by way of connecting flights from Vancouver, Smithers, and Dease Lake where Heidi met us at the landing strip. After a quick lunch, we were on our way up the Stikine River to start the backpack trip into our basecamp.

About four hours into our climb, we reached the halfway point up the mountain. Being a free market advocate, I told Heidi that I had about $1,000 in my pocket for anyone who would rent me a mule or packhorse. She seemed to find that incredibly funny.

Since this was a two hunter and one guide trip, Carey and I agreed that we would take turns each day as to who would be the first to shoot when we came upon a suitable goat. After six days of walking up and down the mountains, and seeing a fair amount of nannies with kids but no billies that were accessible, Carey and I were starting to doubt our bucket pick. We stopped for a quick lunch at a large ravine, and Carey dug into his pocket and pulled out two quarters. He gave me one and took the other one, saying we needed to change our luck. We made our wishes, and pitched them down the 4,000 foot ravine. Throughout the rest of the day we did see some nice billies, but they were inaccessible. We returned to our basecamp and enjoyed freeze-dried beef stroganoff, and Carey said he felt that the following day would be a good one.

The next morning was October 8, and we were up and out of the spike camp at sunlight to get to a ridge about three hours away, where Heidi had seen some good goat activity the day before. The day was overcast with a light rain and about 40°F. We got to the ridge and crawled up to glass the other side for activity and saw a very nice billy eating in the plateau among the trees. We glassed him for about 20 minutes trying to get a good view through the thicket. Finally, he stepped out into a clearing, and we were

Previous World’s Records Also Hail From British Columbia “British Columbia continues to set the standard for Rocky Mountain goats,” said Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner, chairman of Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game Committee. “The province remains home to more than half of the world’s population, and trophy-class specimens have been trending upward each decade since the 1970s. That testifies to the professionalism of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.”

The previous record was actually a tie between two British Columbia goats, one taken in 1949 and the other in 1999, scoring 56-6/8.

ABOVE: E.C. Haase shot this record goat in B.C.’s Babine Mountains in 1949. Haase was awarded the Sagamore Hill Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Club for an outstanding trophy worthy of great distinction.

RIGHT: Fifty-two years later, Gernot Wober received the Club’s Sagamore Hill Award for his record goat taken near Bella Coola, British Columbia. Wober was with his long-time hunting partner Lawrence Michalchuk when he shot the goat in 1999.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 35

New Pennsylvania State Record Elk Confirmed The largest elk ever recorded in Pennsylvania, a bull taken by a lucky hunter in 2011, has been confirmed as the new state record. The official declaration was made today by the Boone and Crockett Club.

A B&C Official Measurer determined a final score of 442-6/8 B&C nontypical points, which ranks 9th among all non-typical elk in Boone and Crockett Club’s records.

The bull has nine points on the right antler and eight on the left. The antlers tally 190-3/8 on the right and 188-1/8 on the left, with 47-7/8 inside spread and 29-7/8 in abnormal points. The antlers are unusually wide--an impressive 69 inches at their widest point.

The Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system is based on antler size and symmetry, and accepts only trophies taken in fair chase.

Since the early 1900s, the Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system has been used to measure the success of wildlife conservation and management programs across North America.

Elk are native to Pennsylvania but had been extirpated by the late 1870s. Hunters and game commissioners in 1912 began discussing the idea of re-introducing the species. The following year, a shipment of 50 elk arrived by train from Yellowstone National Park. Half were released in Clinton County, half in Clearfield County. It was the beginning of a long elk restoration and habitat conservation effort that by the late 1990s would begin to generate significant tourism, wildlife watching and, of course, hunting opportunities.

The new Pennsylvania Today there are 10 Pennsylvania bulls recognized in Boone and Crockett records. Seven record holder, William Zee, are non-typical elk with a minimum score of 385; was hunting in Clearfield three are typical elk with a minimum score of 360.

County when he harvested All have been taken since 2003. the bull scoring 442-6/8 The new Pennsylvania record holder, points.

William Zee of Doylestown, Pa., was hunting in Clearfield County, Pa. “Congratulations to Mr. Zee, and especially to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for its work building one of America’s most up-and-coming elk herds,” said Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner, chairman of the Club’s Records of North American Big Game committee.

The previous Pennsylvania state record for non-typical American elk was a bull scoring 441-6/8 taken in 2006 in Clinton County by hunter John Shirk.

Since the Zee bull is a Top 10 entry, its score will be panel-verified in April 2013 and announced during the Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Program to be held in Reno, Nevada, in July 2013.

able to get good look, confirming that he was indeed a nice goat. Heidi did a quick laser range showing him 319 yards across a 100 yard drop-off with a five to seven mph crosswind, before he was concealed again by the thicket.

It was my turn to shoot, Carey was on the left side of me, and Heidi was on my right as we waited for what seemed to be an eternity for him to show himself again. (It actually turned out to be only about 20 minutes.) Finally, he stepped out between two trees and gave me about a two-foot window through which to shoot. I whispered to Carey asking what he thought about the shot, and his response was that it was a risky shot, but 36 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

if I was comfortable, to go ahead. Not a lot of help. I then turned to Heidi and she said about the same thing. I took a few moments and said a prayer that if it was God’s will, please let my bullet fly true. I pulled the trigger, and the billy collapsed. After about a 45 minute hike, we found him lying in a small depression. We dressed him out and started our trip back down the mountain at about 1:30 p.m. Later that evening back at the base camp, Heidi called Carey and me over to where she was fleshing the hide, and said she thought he might be a record mountain goat. Little did we know just how right her prediction would be!

After the required drying period, the

“Half-Buck Billy” officially scored 57 points for Boone and Crockett Club on January 10, 2012, which made it a potential new World’s Record. At this score, it exceeded Boone and Crockett Club’s old World’s Records (two way tie) by 2/8ths of an inch (see side bar for details on the previous World’s Records).

On April 11, 2012, Boone and Crockett Club assembled a Special Judges Panel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with veteran B&C Official Measurer Paul D. Webster as its Chairman to verify the score and status of my billy. Other panel members included Glenn E. Hisey, Kevin Hisey, Larry Streiff, and Pete Carlson, all highly experienced Official Measurers.

Special Judges Panels are assembled anytime a potential new World’s Record is accepted.

I almost missed my appointment with the Special Judges Panel because of a last minute business meeting I couldn’t miss. So, Deb, my wife delivered my horns to the Panel in Minneapolis for me. I was later told that my billy was scored twice by two teams of two Judges each. Both teams scored the horns, and all differences were resolved by all four judges with Paul Webster as the supervisor.

In less than an hour, the Special Judges Panel was able to verify my trophy’s score. When Deb picked it up, Webster said he couldn’t tell her the score because that was the responsibility of Buck Buckner, the Chairman of B&C’s Records Committee.

However, he did hint to her that it did slightly better than the entry score. I was elated when I heard the news, but the suspense on hearing the final was killing me.

Webster reported the Panel’s findings to Buck Buckner, who called me two days later to tell me that the Panel had indeed confirmed my billy as the new World’s Record at 57-4/8 points. I was ecstatic with this score and couldn’t wait to tell Heidi and Deb. Not only is my billy a new B&C World’s Record, but it shattered the old World’s Records by an incredible 6/8ths of an inch. This may not sound like much, but it is with goats.

Boone and Crockett Club has been keeping records with its current scoring system for 63 years. It could be a long time before someone takes a better goat. n

Best of 2012

Sponsored by

The Boone and Crockett Club has a tradition of honoring trophies and the fair chase hunts that produce them, including photographs from the field. In keeping with this tradition, the Club, and our friends at Swarovski, thought it would be a good idea to take this one step further and celebrate some of the best examples of field Don C. Weston > bison > 120-6/8 photography, and share them with you in each issue of Wayne County, Utah > September 2011 Fair Chase.

Br ia n K. Ti lm an Ly nn La ke , Ma > bla ck be ar > 20 6/16 ni to ba > Ma y 20 09

For the fourth year, our editors will be sifting through hundreds of field photos looking for exemplary trophy field photography. The most outstanding examples will be featured in the Spring 2013 issue with the top three being awarded prizes provided by Swarovski Optik.

NOTE: All field photographs from accepted trophies in 2012 are eligible

de er > 181 l w hi te ta il rd t > ty pi ca r 2010 ha be in m Re . ve M > No K lin t W is co ns in , ty un Co o Bu ff al

Winners Receive Second Prize - 10x42 EL

Swarovision The combination of field flattener lenses and HD optic ensures impressive image resolution over the entire field of view. Thus providing outstanding contrast even when observing at dusk.

Eyeglass-wearers also benefit from the full wide-angle field of view due to the large eye relief distance.

First Prize - STM 65 HD Third Prize - Z3 3-9x36 Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 37

B o d di n g t o n’s Ca r t r i d g e R e v i e w – N e w

Series

s ’ a c i r e m Still A Best?

.30-06 Springfield

By Craig Boddington B&C Professional Member Photos courtesy of Author

It’s a matter of history that one of the first sporting uses of the .30-06 Springfield cartridge was by Boone and Crockett Club founder, Theodore Roosevelt, on his epic 1909-1910 safari.

Except Roosevelt’s famous Springfield wasn’t actually a .30-06! Some time back I actually held that rifle at the Springfield Armory Museum, and the truth is it was chambered to the original 1903 version and never modified; thus, was actually a .30-03!

In 1892 we adopted the Danish Krag-Jorgensen rifle in .30 U.S. or, if you prefer, .30-40 Krag. This was a rimmed cartridge firing a round-nosed 220-grain bullet, somewhat similar in ballistics to the .303 British. Although the .30-40 cartridge became a standard sporting round (and surplus Krags, with that butter-smooth action were popular with hunters), the Krag had a very short run as America’s service rifle. By the late 1890s it was eclipsed by clip-loading designs from Mannlicher and, especially, the much stronger Mauser action. In 1903 we tried again, and the result was the 1903 Springfield, a Mauser clone that would remain in service for 40 years…and, clear into my youth in the 1960s, would remain a favorite sporting rifle action.

The original .30-03 cartridge used a 220-grain round-nosed bullet, but the times were changing yet again, and European powers were proving the superiority of lighter, faster,

The .30-06 is accu rate, but is ra rely know match-wi nnin n for g groups, wh ich de pe nds on and the load. the rifle This group wa s fired from of-the-box Sa an outva ge with Fede ra l fa ctor y loads.

You ca n’t ask for an y more!

38 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

sharp-pointed (spitzer) bullets. In 1906 we shortened the neck slightly, increasing powder capacity, and went to a 150-grain spitzer bullet at 2,700 feet per second, very fast for the day. Existing Springfields were easily modified, and from 1906 were chambered to this new “.30-caliber cartridge, model of 1906”—what we now know as the .30-06 Springfield. All .30-06 rifles will chamber .30-03 cartridges—the reverse is not true— and for some years, both versions were available.

The .30-06 cartridge was also used for our light (air-cooled) and medium (watercooled) Browning machine guns. In 1926 the military load shifted to a boat-tailed 174-grain bullet at 2,640 feet per second, the heavier and more aerodynamic bullet proving more effective for “plunging fire” at extreme range.

Years later, for more reliable functioning in the semiautomatic Garand, the military shifted back to the 150-grain bullet.

These were only a few steps in the evolution of loads for the .30-06. After World War I it became America’s most popular bolt-action cartridge. After World War II, when the bolt action pulled away from the lever action, it became America’s most popular sporting rifle cartridge. It is not clear that it still retains that title today, but for sure it remains among America’s favorites, and is a world-standard cartridge that will be encountered—and respected—anywhere game is hunted. Although the case hasn’t changed since 1906, propellant powders have changed, and .30-06 loads have benefited from more than a century of intensive load development.

In the days when iron sights were king and expanding bullets somewhat erratic, a 220-grain round-nose at about 2,400 feet per second was a favored hunting load. (Whether you call it a .30-03 or a .30-06, Roosevelt used a 220-grain bullet, and so did Ernest Hemingway.) That heavy-for-caliber, deeppenetrating 220-grain load still has application for close-cover hunting for bear and moose, but today we have better bullets as well as better propellants. Also, with the telescopic sight now in almost universal use, we need more range—and the .30-06 has responded. More or less standard today are: 180-grain loads at 2,700 feet per second; 165grain loads at 2,800 feet per second; and 150-grain loads at 2,910 feet per second.

Handloaders can edge this a bit, and there are “extra fast” factory loads such as Federal’s High Energy and Hornady’s Superformance that take the .30-06 into territory once owned by the .300 H&H. With the right bullets and in the right hands, the .30-06 is adequate for all North American big game. Grancel Fitz proved this

a generation ago, and my friend J.Y. Jones proved this just a few years ago. Many of our icons, like John Batten, George Parker, and my uncle Art Popham hunted sheep with the .30-06.

But while it is more than adequate in power and generally adequate in ranging ability, the .30-06 is not the ideal tool for wild sheep and goats. It is also not optimum for the largest bears and is probably overpowered for smaller big game like pronghorn, blacktail deer, and Coues’ deer.

On the other hand, it will do all these things with few apologies. It is to North American big game what the .375 H&H is to African game: The utility infielder, jack of all trades and master of few, not always a perfect choice, but always an acceptable choice; it does its work without excessive recoil and muzzle blast.

Thanks to the great hunting bullets we have today, the .30-06 is probably better and more versatile than it ever was. With a good 150-grain bullet it shoots flat enough for just about any deer hunting you can think of and is just fine for the largest whitetail and mule deer. With a 180-grain bullet it’s awesome for elk, black bear, and moose. And with the 165-grain bullet, you can compromise and have the best of almost all worlds: relatively flat trajectory and great performance on game.

I was a latecomer to the .30-06, but I have had a love affair with the cartridge since my first African safari in 1977. For years I was strictly a “180-grain bullet guy,” and that will always be the default position. More recently, recognizing that our bullets are so much better, I have softened. Today I still use the 180-grain bullet for heavier game, but for deer I am more likely to use the flatter-shooting 150-grain bullet. For general purpose, I often take the compromise position and choose a 165-grain bullet. Honestly, if you’re shooting a .30-06, you can’t be very wrong! n

DETAILS: TOP: The .30-06 is a fine elk cartridge, offering great performance with little recoil—and it’s even better with the great bullets we have today. This bull dropped in its tracks to a single 180grain Barnes X from a Savage .30-06.

MIDDLE: One of the great advantages to the .30-06 is, because of its popularity, the variety of factory loads is almost infinite.

BOTTOM: A great Colorado mule deer, taken with an accurate Kenny Jarrett rifle in .30-06. The great old .30-06 remains a fine choice for hunting our biggest deer, whether mule deer or whitetailed deer.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 39

NOW AVAILABLE

Our 2012 Limited Edition Hat for Associates, Members and Official Measurers

This will be the only new hat offered by B&C for 2012. Supplies are limited! Show your support of B&C with this low profile, brushed twill cap in Mossy Oak Breakup.

The front of the hat features an embroidered B&C label and the side features “Limited Edition 2012” embroidery. Order the limited edition hat before they are gone!

HT2012 | $24.95

Celsius Vest

The Celsius vest’s quiet soft-shell is designed with R-value in mind. Backed with high-loft fleece, this vest is designed to keep you warm without bulk, while sitting motionless on the stand. Available M-XXL VSCLS | $149.95

90% Jacket

Optifade: JKS90 | $249.95 charcoal: JKS90c | $229.95

VINTAGE HUNTING ALBUM A Photographic Collection of Days Gone By

We’ve all heard it before… a picture is worth a thousand words. This couldn’t be truer with the release of Boone and Crockett Club’s newest book on the history of big game hunting featuring page after page of remarkable photographs of our hunting heritage dating back to the late 1800s. n

Hardcover

n

10 x 8 inches, 200 pages

BPVFP | $29.95 | Associates $23.95

Legendary Hunts II

Legendary Hunts II chronicles the heart of our hunting culture – the accounts of everyday hunters who defied the odds to take exceptional big game trophies. Sportsmen love a good hunting story and Legendary Hunts II delivers with over 40 unforgettable tales about some of the top trophies taken in our lifetime. n

Paperback

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Stratus Jacket

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40 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Fair Chase

Magazine

Fair Chase

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Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 41

ne O

Shot at a Time

Riflemen who carry single-shots declare their willingness to bet a hunt on one pull of the trigger.

Mr. Patterson was fortunate. “Slowly he advanced along

the path.… I let him approach to within about fifteen yards of me, and then covered him with my rifle. The moment I moved to do this, he caught sight of me…. I pulled the trigger, and to my horror heard the dull snap….”

42 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

By Wayne van Zwoll B&C Professional Member Photos courtesy of Author

Lyman’s delightfully trim Ideal Model dropping-block rifle (here a .38-55) mirrors a “baby Sharps.”

Chiappa produced this Ideal Model for Lyman—a fine example of a high-quality Italian reproduction.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 43

The animal that day was among the most infamous of beasts, a man-eating lion that, with another, stopped construction of East Africa’s Tsavo railroad a century ago.

The pair killed many workers, braving camps at night to snatch men from their fires. The terror stopped only when Colonel J.H. Patterson caught up with them after an epic, often heart-stopping effort that inspired the film, Ghosts in the Darkness.

The misfire unnerved Patterson. “I forgot to fire the left barrel, and lowered the rifle … with the intention of reloading….” But there wasn’t time. The lion could easily have killed his antagonist. Instead, it bounded off.

Two shots, two locks, two chances, instantly. So goes the rationale still, among hunters who favor double rifles for dangerous game. Others argue that the magazine capacity of the repeater trumps a quick right-and-left. The reliability of modern ammunition has contributed to the popularity of bolt-action rifles where doubles once ruled. The cost of a best-quality double—still less than that of a red Maserati—makes the choice easy for most of us.

Then there are hunters who settle for one shot only.

A pivoting block

Before there were cartridges, almost all rifles were single-shots. Muzzleloaders gave way slowly to breech-loading rifles in the middle 1800s. Thirty years before coolies gathered at Mombasa to lay rails, Remington, America’s biggest gunmaker at the time, bought the N.P. Ames Company. The deal included the services of Welsh designer William Jenks, whose breech-loading carbine seemed destined for military issue. Alas, in a 1,500-round test, a nipple broke just shy of the finish, and the rifle was disqualified. After sulking in France, Jenks returned at the government’s behest, altering his carbine for cardboard cartridges coated with tallow and beeswax. A year later William Jenks fell from a hay wagon on his farm and died.

Lite Remington, 70 years old as Stonewall Jackson’s brigade routed the Union Army at Bull Run in 1861, took ill shortly thereafter and did not recover. The firm carried on under sons Philo, Samuel, and Eliphalet III. But at war’s end in 1865, workers in Ilion sat glumly by silent, heavily-mortgaged tooling. To court sportsmen, Remington rushed Joseph Rider’s improvements on the Geiger split-breech rifle. By 1866 Rider had corrected the remaining flaws, and Remington announced its Rolling Block Rifle.

Simple but clever in design, the Rolling Block had a rotating breech-block that sealed a cartridge in the chamber. To load, you thumbed the hammer to full cock, then retracted the breech-block. Inserting a cartridge, you pushed the block forward. Block and hammer interlocked at the instant of firing. Almost foolproof, the breeching was so quick to load, a practiced shooter could send 20 rounds a minute! It was strong, too.

Once, a Rolling Block was loaded with 40 balls and 750 grains of powder, the charge filling 36 inches of its 40-inch barrel. Upon firing, “nothing extraordinary occurred.”

The Ruger No. 1 at top has been rebarreled The rifle proved itself in 1866 when to 7mm WSM. The lever rifle is a 30 cowboys led by Nelson Story herded 3,000 Winchester 71 rebored to .450 Alaskan. cattle through Wyoming. With Rolling The 71 was discontinued in 1957, nine Blocks they’d bought at Fort Leavenworth, years before the No. 1’s debut. the men repulsed an Indian attack near Fort Laramie. Forbidden to go beyond Fort Kearney, Story waited two weeks. Then, on October 22, he quietly moved his herd north.

Sioux, led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, swooped from the hills. The cowboys fired with deadly effect, their barrels becoming so hot they had to cool them with water from their canteens. The Sioux anticipated a pause in the volleys, but none came. After retreating, they stopped to look back and discovered the Remingtons also had great reach! Twice more on the drive, Story and his cowboys blunted Indian attacks. They reached Montana with the loss of only one man.

44 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

After the Civil War, the Rolling Block gained favor among European heads of state who enjoyed hunting. Prussia was the exception. There, amid great pomp, a cartridge failed. The man, who would soon become Kaiser Wilhelm I, rode off in a huff.

By 1870, the Remington Arms plant covered 15 acres. Monthly payroll reached $140,000, a huge sum when a restaurant dinner cost 25 cents. Production peaked at 1,530 rifles a day. Though the Rolling Block faced competition from Winchester’s leveraction 1873 (in .44-40), the Remington offered more power, better accuracy. In 1873, George Custer reported, after a hunt: “With your rifle I killed far more game than any other single party… at longer range.” In 1876 at the Little Big Horn, Custer’s doomed troops carried Springfields; the Sioux used rifles by Sharps, Winchester, and Remington.

Remington’s Rolling Block ably served buffalo hunters who raked in as much as $10,000 a year selling hides for up to $50 each. “Brazos” Bob McRae claimed 54 buffalo with as many shots at one stand with a .44-90 Remington and a Malcolm scope! In his memoirs, market hunter Frank Mayer praised the .44-90 as well.

The accuracy and reach of Rolling Blocks showed famously in long-range competition. In 1874 Remington’s L.L. Hepburn began work on a rifle patterned after those used by the Irish in their recent win at Wimbledon. The Irish had challenged “any American team” through an ad in the New York Herald. Each team would comprise six men, shooting three rounds at 800, 900, and 1,000 yards, 15 shots per round. A newly formed National Rifle Association, with the cities of New York and Brooklyn, each put up $5,000 to build a range for the match on Long Island’s Creed’s Farm, provided by the State of New York.

Remington unveiled its new target rifle, a .44-90 launching 550-grain conical bullets, in March of 1874. In September a favored Irish team firing muzzleloaders lost to the Americans and their Remington and Sharps breechloaders. The score: 934 to 931, with one Irish crossfire. Matches in 1875 and 1876 were won more decisively by the U.S. team, with Remington’s “Creedmoor” rifles posting the highest scores.

Off-shore military sales accounted for most of Rolling Block production. Thousands were bored to .43 Egyptian and .43 Spanish.

In 1878 such rifles listed for $16.50, a Sporting model for $30. Hunters flocked to both. By then, more than 900,000 Rolling Blocks had already been shipped! Bottleneck rounds like the 7x57 Mauser would usher the Rolling Block into the smokeless era.

The Gun That Won The West The 1873 Springfield (not the Colt or the Winchester of that model year), was truly “the gun that won the West.” It came from the 58-caliber 1865 muzzleloader of the Civil War. Erskine S. Allin, chief mechanic at Springfield Armory, designed a breech-loading conversion with a hinged breech-block fitted to the milled-out roof of the chamber. The block held the firing pin; modifications brought the hammer onto the pin. In 1872 Allin’s design earned Ordnance Board approval, but with a separate receiver and a threaded .45-70 barrel. Infantry and cavalry carried 1873 Springfields in rifle and carbine form.

Its fast-opening breech helped put the skids under Indian uprisings. After firing, you drew the hammer to half-cock, letting the breech-block (“trap door”) spring open. Late in its arc, the block activated the extractor, which kicked the case rearward over an ejector stud.

The 1873 Springfield proved stout enough for stiff black-powder loads of its day.

Still, 70 grains of black behind a 500-grain lead bullet generated only about 25,000 psi. That’s half as much as a .30-06. The trap-door mechanism is not suitable for smokeless loads. Nor is it a candidate for long black-powder cartridges. Because many trap-door rifles were issued, many were also surplused when in 1892 the .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen became the U.S. service arm. The director of civilian marksmanship once offered 1873 Springfields to NRA members for $1.25 apiece, plus shipping. Hoo boy.

Before cartridges, almost all rifles gave shooters one chance only. And reloading was a glacial effort.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 45

One advantage of dropping-block rifles is their flat profile. No projections to hang up on scabbards!

Special orders for Rolling Blocks came quite cheap, and many were filled.

Barrels longer than the standard 26 inches could be had for 50 cents an inch. A singleset trigger cost $2.50. Still, Rolling Blocks with heavy target barrel, tang sight, set trigger and checkered stock—Creedmoor rifles—started at $100!

A Prodigy in Utah

Following the Civil War and a long flight from persecution with his fellow Mormons, Jonathan Browning established a tannery and a gun shop in a new Utah settlement.

His son John, then seven years old, rode the horse that plodded in a circle to drive the machinery. At his mother’s urging, John attended school too. When he turned 15, the schoolmaster said: “You’re done. You know as much as I do.”

By that time, the precocious youngster had already designed and built guns. As a 10-year-old he fashioned a flintlock from a scrapped musket barrel and a board he shaped with a hatchet. He screwed a crude pan to the board, which he wired to the barrel. He stuffed the barrel with a charge of powder and rough shot, then heated a batch of coke on the forge. “It’s fire,” he told brother Matt.

“So we can hunt.” To keep the coke burning, Matt put it in a perforated can, which he swung on a string. Presently the boys found some dusting prairie chickens. John aimed.

Matt stuck a smoldering splinter through the touch-hole. John was hurled to the ground under a cloud of smoke, but the birds fared worse.

When Jonathan Browning heard the tale, he snorted, “Can’t you make a better gun than that?”

Like his father, who eventually lost interest in the tannery, John spent most of his time working on guns. He was in a good place at a good time. Two rail lines had just joined at Promontory Point, 50 miles from 46 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Ogden. By 1878, when John turned 23, cartridge rifles had appeared. Without drafting tools, John sketched a single-shot action. His only “power tool” was a foot-lathe Jonathan had brought by ox-cart from Missouri, so he hand-forged the parts and filed them to dimension. Those big, simple parts and the rifle’s clever design would become Browning hallmarks. John wrote to a supplier (Schoverling, Daly and Gates) in New York: “Please tell me how to patent a gun.” He filed for his first patent May 12, 1879.

Soon thereafter, Jonathan Browning died, leaving John the head of two households. With brothers Matt, Ed, Sam, and George, he built a 25x50 shop on a 30-foot lot at the edge of Ogden’s business district.

Fortuitously, Frank Rushton, an English gunmaker touring the West, stopped by. He helped them install the machinery needed to turn the shop into a factory. Ed ran the mill. Matt made stocks. Sam and George rough-filed receivers, while John finished them. Frank assisted with barreling.

At $25, John Browning’s single-shot rifle sold briskly. Just a week after opening a retail counter, the brothers had sold all the rifles they’d finished in three months! Unfortunately, burglars made off with everything of value, including the prototype of John’s rifle. The Brownings struggled to recover, finishing as many as three rifles a day. John and Matt were now partners, and John had designed another dropping-block action. By 1882 he’d sketched and built a repeating rifle.

Awaiting that patent, he started a second.

In 1883 Winchester salesman Andrew McAusland stumbled upon a used Browning rifle. At that time Winchester lever-actions had a huge slice of the sporting-rifle market.

Not as powerful as the Rolling Block, they could deliver aimed shots with great speed and slid easily into a scabbard. Colt’s chambering of the .44-40 in its 1873 revolver made Winchester’s .44-40 rifle even more popular.

Still, Winchester had nothing to match the punch of Hawken muzzleloaders, or of breechloaders from Sharps and Remington.

McAusland must have been impressed by the Browning’s slick-running lugs in vertical rails—a lockup much like that of the Sharps. He probably also figured the rifle would sell. McAusland showed it to Winchester president Thomas G. Bennett, who left New Haven immediately on the six-day rail trip to Ogden and what was billed as the biggest gun store between Omaha and the Pacific. He found a modest shop manned by half a dozen striplings barely out of their teens. But Bennett was no fool. He asked John, “How much for your rifle?” One rifle?

No, the rifle. Winchester would buy all rights.

John evidently had the figure in mind.

“I’ll take $10,000.” An enormous sum in 1883.

Bennett countered successfully at $8,000, paid a $1,000 deposit and left.

The Brownings worked overtime to build more rifles. After Bennett paid the remaining $7,000, he had to remind John to stop making what was now Winchester’s product. Embarrassed, John complied. The rifle debuted as the Winchester 1885 in its model year. Browning’s original design, with a high rear receiver, chambered powerful big game rounds. Stronger than the 1873 Springfield, it was slimmer than the equally stout 1874 Sharps. A “low-wall” version offered improved loading access for small cartridges.

Discontinued in 1920, the Model 1885 was later resurrected by Browning as the Japanese-built Model 78, and subsequently renamed the Model 1885. It is no longer cataloged.

A Bible for the Cause

By the time John Browning was risking his adolescence with black powder guns of pipe and wire, Christian Sharps had put his name on rifles that would beat Browning’s

dropping block onto the prairie. Actually, Sharps began working on guns in the 1830s, under the severe tutelage of John Harris Hall, who patented a breech-loading rifle in 1811. When his design met with government approval eight years later, Hall moved to Harpers Ferry Arsenal in Virginia to produce rifles “interchangeable in all of their various parts.” Christian Sharps stayed until at least 1837. The New Jersey native then struck out on his own. In 1848, while still in his 30s, he received a patent.

The Sharps sliding breech-block, operated vertically by an under-lever that formed the trigger guard, was designed to replace the lock of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle. It accepted paper cartridges. Sharps took pride in the tight breeching, aware that a signal failing of the Hall rifle was its tendency to leak gas. Alas, the Sharps mechanism was better engineered than it was promoted. Almost broke, Christian Sharps got a $500 loan to “interest an established manufacturer.”

Albert S. Nippes took a chance, contracting to build 100 to 200 Sharps rifles in his Pennsylvania shop. The two men reached agreement early in 1849, the year New York inventor Walter Hunt came up with the Volitional Repeater that would spawn Winchester’s lever-action line. The 1850s brought myriad improvements in rifle design and

manufacture. It proved a turbulent decade for Sharps. The Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was incorporated October 8, 1851, but Robbins & Lawrence would produce the rifles on contract. The largest manufacturer in the gun industry then, Robbins & Lawrence went out of business in 1856.

Meanwhile, Christian Sharps had divorced himself from his company, which then took over the Robbins & Lawrence factory. Unrest between North and South spurred government interest in Sharps rifles, and a series of new mechanisms marched through the early 1860s. The Kansas border wars earned for the Sharps the nickname “Beecher’s Bible,” after Abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher’s belief in the rifle as a moral agency: “You might as well read the Bible to buffaloes as to [our opposition]; but they have a supreme respect for the logic [of] Sharps rifles.”

After the war, Sharps converted many percussion guns in arsenals to accept metallic cartridges. Christian Sharps would soon die of tuberculosis, but the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Co. kept shooters supplied with powerful dropping-block single-shots. The New Model 1869 was its first rifle in metallic chamberings: .40/50, .40/70, .44/77, .45/70, and .50/70. It preceded by only a few months the New Model 1874 Sharps and soon faded. The classic 1874 Sharps endured for 12 years after

its debut late in 1870—a decade that spanned the height of the market-hunting era.

The Sharps Rifle Company’s hammerless 1878 rifle did not compete well with Winchester lever-actions. German immigrant F.W. Freund tooled up in his Cheyenne, Wyoming, shop to build a conversion for Sharps that speeded feeding and extraction, but Sharps management demurred. The popularity of the Sharps among buffalo hunters was due in part to its appetite for long hulls. Indeed, Sharps produced its own big metallic cartridges: six .40s, three .44s, four .45s, three .50s. The .50 favored by buffalo hunters used 100 grains of black powder in a 2½-inch case, behind a 473-grain paperpatched bullet. But despite its potency, this round (and its siblings) did nothing for the longevity of Sharps rifles. An Indian warrior snagging a Sharps could use it only as long as the ammunition lasted. Sharps rifles were found—smashed—near bodies of hapless settlers and hunters. Winchesters and Springfields, in contrast, were treasured, as .44-40 and .45-70 ammo could be had everywhere.

On distant paper, Sharps target rifles gave good account. You could own a LongRange Model 1877 Rifle for $100. A custom-built, 22-pound 1874 match rifle in .44-90, with factory-installed scope and spirit level, sold for $118. Despite its hallowed

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reputation, the 1874 had a few flaws: Its extractor was weak, and cartridges could be inserted ahead of it. Also, the heavy hammer fell in a long sweep. Generous lock time punished shooters who couldn’t follow through from unsteady positions. Subsequent Sharps rifles offered improvements, though the firing pin didn’t retract until the action began to open.

Still, the biggest market obstacle for the Sharps rifle (and its competitors) was the rush to repeaters. Demand for 1,000-yard match rifles was tiny. Sharps had designed its hunting rifles for deliberate shooting at heavy game. It failed to see early enough the swing to lightweight, versatile repeating rifles. Prairies emptied by commercial hunters brought the firm to its knees in 1880. By the

middle of that decade, so many bison had been killed that human scavengers would glean three million tons of bones from the fly-blown plains.

A rifle justly named!

Perhaps only Bill Ruger could fashion a rifle that looks as good as the company’s No. 1 and sells at retail for the cost of a mid-grade bolt-action. While affordable hinged-breech rifles have always been available, the dropping-block No. 1 is surely the defining single-shot for 20th-century hunters. Introduced in 1966 (for $265!), it has appeared in several configurations, many chamberings. It’s still as fetching as ever, though the fine walnut that distinguished early Rugers seldom shows up now.

The rifle that inspired the No. 1 was designed by John Farquharson of Daldhu, Scotland, in 1872. He sold part interest to Bristol gunmaker George Gibbs, who manufactured it until the patent expired in 1889.

Though fewer than 1,000 Gibbs Farquharsons left the shop before the last was delivered in 1910, the mechanism found its way into other rifles too. Auguste Francotte of Herstal, Belgium copied it. So did British maker W.J. Jeffery & Co, as early as 1895. In 1904 Jeffery announced an oversize version for the .600 Nitro Express. Farquharson actions built after the Gibbs era bore a “PD” stamp, to show the design had become public domain. You’ll have to hock your first-born to snag an original well-kept Farquharson now. Ruger’s No. 1, however, remains within reach of ordinary shooters like me… .

Deep in Idaho’s wilderness, we’d seen no elk for most of a week. When we spied the herd, with a fine bull, Ken pressed his No. 1 on me. “Take this. You might need it.”

A long sprint down the mountain put me within 400 steps of the elk, and I bellied a few yards closer. The herd was on the move, heading to cover through a cemetery of charred lodgepoles. Reluctantly, I swapped my iron-sighted lever rifle for Ken’s Ruger. I slinged up, flopped prone, and sent a 140grain Nosler AccuBond through the bull’s ribs. Pulling another round from the butt sleeve, I followed quickly with a second aimed shot.

Compared to bolt-action rifles, shortcoupled dropping-blocks deliver about 4 inches more barrel for a given overall length.

That means a higher level of ballistic performance in a rifle that’s still nimble in thickets.

The 26-inch barrel of Ken’s rifle gave the stiff charge of Vihtavuori powder plenty of bore to accelerate the bullet. Yet the rifle was nimble in hand, and it hung conveniently low from my shoulder. A 22-inch barrel, as on Ruger’s Light Sporter (“A” suffix), puts the rifle in league with lever-action saddle guns.

Lively and quick-pointing, it has fine balance.

As on the Medium Sporter (“S” with 26-inch barrel), the A wears a stylish Alex Henry forend. Mine in 6.5 Creedmoor sends Hornady 129-grain SST and 140-grain A-Max bullets over Oehler sky screens at 2,910 and 2,603 fps. The same ammo from the 24-inch barrel of a bolt gun clocks 2,939 and 2,647— just 30 fps faster.

As it is short, so too the No. 1 receiver is flat. No projecting bolt knob. The rifle slides easily into cases and scabbards. That trim breech takes rimmed and rimless and belted cases, .22 Hornet to .416 Rigby. An adjustable extractor lets you choose ejection or a gently raised case.

48 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

I’ve found B (standard rifle, no longer listed) and V (varmint) No. 1s most consistently accurate. Many have delivered thumb-print groups. Barrel heft gives them an edge over the lighter A version. While slender barrels can be accurate, they’re more easily influenced by sling tension on barrel-mounted swivel studs. A taut sling affects barrel vibration during bullet passage. Even a forend-mounted stud can transfer such stresses, however. The forend hanger on Ruger’s No. 1B and V does not isolate the barrel from pressures applied by sling or bipod. Forend modifications to mitigate these pressures came early. Some shooters installed an externally adjustable set-screw. I looked for a less visible fix for my No. 1B in .300 Winchester. At 200 yards, groups from sandbags were centered 9 inches above groups shot from prone with a sling! A rubber washer at the rear of the hanger, with a brass shim at the forend tip, shrank that difference to an acceptable 4 inches. A No. 1 International, with full-stocked 20-inch barrel in .303 British, accompanied me last fall to the Dakotas. Sneaking through the tall grass on a bedded buck the last day, I was dismayed when the deer bolted into a draw.

Already on my belly, I snugged the sling and trained the rifle on the opposite slope.

In seconds, the animal galloped into view, headed for the ridge. Because I seldom fire at moving game, this buck would have been safe, had he not stopped.

The next week, late on another hunt, my partner and I spotted a fine whitetail. “Three hundred,” he hissed. I shook my head. The .303 would kill deer that far, but 300 was beyond my comfort zone. We flanked in a long sweep, hoping the buck wouldn’t vanish in the labyrinth of prairie creases. When again I eased my binocular above the grass, we’d closed to 220 steps. Steadying the Ruger, I crushed the trigger.

Initial reports on No. 1 accuracy varied. One of my first rifles performed poorly on paper. “Won’t do better than 3 inches,” I whined to a colleague. We were competitive shooters, used to accurate rifles.

“What about the throat?” Rich asked. So I seated a 175-grain bullet as far out as possible, the base barely gripped by the case mouth, and chambered the round.

Upon extraction, it showed no rifling marks. The throat was exceedingly long.

A more recent 7x57 Light Sporter does not share this affliction. But truly, that first No. 1 shot well enough. Long ago, prowling Oregon’s high basins, I rousted a big buck. That slim rifle aimed

itself as the mule deer bounded downslope.

A 140-grain Partition tumbled him. The next year, I took a long poke at a buck quartering away. My bullet struck low and too far back. The deer ran off; I followed.

Rounding the mountain at timberline, I stopped on a rockslide to listen. Scree tinkled. I looked up to see the buck dash across a chute. The Ruger flew to my cheek; the shot echoed as the deer vanished behind a chimney. As I dropped another round into the breech, a rock rolled. Then the buck hurtled into space, its heart shattered.

I’ve come to believe ever more firmly in the value of an accurate first shot.

The first opportunity is almost always the best. As a hunting guide, I noticed that

hunters who filled their magazines to capacity were typically not as careful to make the first shot lethal. Having only one cartridge is powerful incentive!

Not long ago I visited Ruger’s factory to speak with the craftsmen assembling No. 1s. “Each rifle requires hand fitting,” said a spectacled fellow timing the close of the lever. He deftly adjusted the metal until the action cycled silkily, but with snappy precision. His colleague was fitting buttstocks, trimming the walnut on its many mating surfaces so tang and action walls would show no gaps, while heavy recoil would cause no splits. Watching these craftsmen, I wondered how Ruger could ever have sold a No. 1 for $265. And why I hadn’t bought more. n

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An Excerpt from Chapter XIII The Boone and Crockett Club launched a series of classic hunting and adventure books digitally re-mastered as eBooks. Works from Theodore Roosevelt, William T. Hornaday, Charles Sheldon, Frederick C. Selous and others are being converted to high-quality versions for eReader and iPad users.

Following is an excerpt from Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies by William T. Hornaday and John M. Phillips. Travel to British Columbia with Hornaday and Phillips on an expedition to collect dozens of museum specimens and capture their adventures with a Hawk-Eye Stereo Camera.

Photographing A Mountain Goat At Six Feet Wild-Animal Photography—A Subject on the Crags—At the Head of the Grand Slide—The Billy Goat at Bay—Exposures at Six Feet—The Glaring Eyes of the Camera Stops a Charge—A Sleepless Night from the Perils of the Day.

AT LAST THE CAMERA HAS fully and fairly captured the elusive, crag-defying Rocky Mountain goat. Oreamnos has stood for his picture, at short range, looking pleasant and otherwise, and the pictures call for neither an “if” nor an apology. They are all that the most ambitious wild-animal photographer could reasonably desire.

In photographing rare wild animals in their haunts, the camera always begins at long range and reduces the focal distance by slow, and sometimes painful degrees. To the difficulties always present in photographing a large wild animal in its haunts must be added the dangerous crag-climbing necessary in securing fine pictures of the mountain goat.

So far as I know, the first photographs ever made of Oreamnos in his native haunts were taken by the late E.A. Stanfield, on the rock walls of the Stickine River, northern British Columbia, in 1898, not far from where he afterward lost his life in that dangerous stream. This was a single negative showing two goats in the middle distance, and three others, far away, sticking against the side of what appeared to be a perfectly smooth wall of rock several hundred feet high.

After that came three or four pictures of goats taken in timber, on level ground, and amid surroundings that seemed more suitable for white-tailed deer than crag-climbing goats. The distance was so great that it was only when the negatives were much enlarged that the goats became interesting.

Head of Largest Big-Horn Ram, (Ovis canadensis). Carnegie Museum On both sides of our ideally beautiful camp in the head of Avalanche specimen (No. 1). The hump on the nose is due to recent fighting.

Valley, the mountains rose steeply and far. First came the roof slopes, a mile

50 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Phillips Peak, from Bird Mountain

Elevation about 10,000 feet.

Our camp on Goat Pass was under the right shoulder of the sitting figure .

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 51

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: Mr. Phillips’s most dangerous position, drawn by Charles B. Hudson | The goat climbing down and away. | The finest mountain goat picture taken at eight feet.

from bottom to top, their faces seamed with parallel “slides “and ribbed with the ridges of rock and points of moss-green timber that climbed up between them. Above all that rose the long stretches of crag and rock wall, crowned by peak, “dome,” and “saddle.”… there was one old billy who fascinated us all.

When we looked out of our tents on our first morning in that camp, he was calmly lying upon a ledge at the foot of the cliff immediately above us, near a bank of perpetual snow.

For two days he remained there, at the same elevation, moving neither north nor south more than three hundred yards. When hungry, he came down to the foot of the cliff and fed on the tender plants that grew at timber-line, then climbed back to his favorite contour line, to lie and doze away the hours.

That goat seemed so sociable that finally we began to regard him as one of us, and we scrutinized him and apostrophize him to our heart’s content. On the fourth morning, the beautifully clear sky and faultless atmosphere revealed a rare opportunity. While the cook was putting the finishing touches to an inspiring breakfast of fried mule-deer steaks and other luxuries, those of us who had most quickly succeeded in finding the clean spots on the camp towels took our usual earlymorning gaze at “that old goat.” (Ye gods!

How glorious was the crisp air, the sprucewoods odor, the crackle and snap of the 52 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

camp-fire, and the golden glow of sunrise on the western peaks and precipices! That was life,—without a flaw.)

As we gathered around our standinglunch breakfast table, I remarked to Mr. Phillips that it would be a glorious feat to secure some really fine photographs of that billy goat in his natural environment. Turning to his side partner, Mr. Phillips said very positively, “Mack, it is up to the unscientific section to get those pictures!”

“I dunno about them environments,” answered Mack slowly, while he steered a long line of condensed cream into his coffeecup, “but we can shore git a boxful of scenery up thar. We never yet shot a full-grown billy with a camery; and they’re mighty onsartin critters. If we corral him too close, he’ll like as not go vicious, and knock us clean off the mountain.”

We soon saw that an attempt would be made to round up that goat somewhere, somehow, and take a picture of him at short range. In a few minutes we invented a wigwag code of signals by which the cook was to signal at intervals, with a clean towel on the end of a fossil tepee-pole, the position of the goat. Mr. Phillips and Mack Norboe made ready for the event, and with Kaiser to assist in manipulating the goat, presently set out.

Mr. Phillips dislikes writing about his adventures, but in view of the fact that he

alone is able to relate the occurrences of that day, I prevailed upon him to write out the following account of that daring and dangerous episode.

Had I known on that morning the risks that he would run on those cliffs, hanging by one hand on a knife-edge of rotten rock with an angry goat at a nearness of six feet and threatening to knock him off into midair, I would not for any number of photographs have encouraged the enterprise. It was only the merciful Providence which sometimes guards insane camera enthusiasts which prevented a frightful tragedy; for it is well known throughout the goat country that an old male goat cornered on a ledge will fight dog or man.

In order to assist the photographers to the utmost, Charlie Smith and I considerately went bear-hunting; and this is Mr. Phillips’s account: “Shortly after twelve o’clock, Mack and I started for the goat that had been hanging out above our camp. We took my stereoscopic camera, Charlie Smith’s four-byfive camera, the dog, and my big gun in order to kill the goat if he attacked me.

“After crossing the narrow flat of Avalanche Creek, we struck up the long, grassy slide directly opposite our camp. At first its slope was about twenty degrees, but this gradually increased until finally, where it struck the slide-rock, it almost stood on end. We reached the slide rock about 2 P.M., after which the going was harder than ever. Gradually we worked our way out of the slide on to a high, rocky point which rose toward the south.

“Although lightly clad, we were by that time very warm. I had taken off my hunting shirt, and hung it upon my back, and opened the sides of my knickerbockers. Inside and out, we needed all the air we could get. I wore that day a pair of light golf shoes with rubber soles, tipped at the toes and heels with leather in

which were fixed some small steel nails. These soles were very flexible, and adjusted themselves so well to the inequalities of the rocks that I could jump, and stick where I lit. Mack said: ‘With them foot-riggin’s, you shore kin go whar a bar kin!’ Mack was not so well equipped as to footgear, having on an old pair of shoes with turned-up toes, set with nails that were much worn. This handicapped him on the bare rocks. “‘It’s about time Cookie wiggled that rag, to show us whar that goat is,’ said Mack as we seated ourselves to rest, and took out our glasses.

“Sure enough. In a few minutes we saw Huddleston out on the green flat in front of the tents, waving vigorously; and from his signals we knew that the goat was still there, toward the south, and above us. We decided that the Director’s semaphore system was a good thing. We knew that our best chance for success lay in getting above the goat, to prevent his escape to the peaks, then in cornering him, somewhere. After a long diagonal climb we found ourselves under the wall of the snow-capped mountain, which rose sheer up two hundred feet or more, then rounded off into a dome going about three hundred feet higher. Now, just here we found a very strange feature of mountain work. A great rock buttress stretched along the foot of the mountain wall, originally continuous, and several hundred feet long. But somehow a big section had been riven out of the middle of that ridge, going quite down to the general face of that mountain-side, like a railway cut standing almost on end. This central cut-out section is now the head of a big slide, five hundred feet wide at the cliff, from which it descends at a fearful pitch...

“We stood on the top of the northern ridge, close under the foot of the cliff, and looked down the rock wall which dropped almost perpendicularly to the slide-way far below. On the south side of the slide rose a ridge very similar to the one on which we stood.

“From the signals Huddleston made at that time, we knew that the goat was below us. ‘Thar he is, now!’ exclaimed Mack, pointing down our ridge, and looking as he pointed I saw the animal about one hundred and fifty yards below us on a point of rock overhanging the slide. He was staring down toward our camp, as if he saw Huddleston and his signals, but I doubt if he did see our cook, for without glasses the distance was too great.

“Up to that moment, our dog Kaiser had been obediently following at our heels.

Then we showed him the goat, and explained to him what we desired. He seemed to quite understand what we wished him to do. Leaving us at once, he silently worked his way down over the rocks, and in three or four minutes jumped the goat. And then Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 53

pandemonium broke loose. Kaiser barked excitedly, Mack rolled stones, and I yelled.

“The goat was very much surprised by all this noise, and the sudden assault of the dog. Seeing that his retreat to the upper sanctuary of the cliffs was effectually cut off, he bounded like a great ball of cotton down the almost perpendicular wall of the cliff, into the slide-way two hundred feet below…

“In the meantime I had scrambled down the rocks into the head of the slide, and found that although it pitched at a frightful angle, I could get footing close under the sheer mountain wall, so I ran and scrambled across, jumping over some water-worn fissures.

When I reached the opposite wall, I saw the goat below me coming up the ridge. Owing

to the shape of the slide, I had travelled only one-third the distance covered by the goat.…

“Seeing that the goat was safe for the moment, I thought of Mack, and fearing that he had fallen, went back. I found him at the bottom of one of the water-worn fissures. It was too wide for him to jump, so he had gone down into the rock crevasse, and when I found him he was on his hands and knees; and no wonder. The bottom was worn quite smooth, and pitched down at an angle of about sixty degrees. When he heard me he looked up, and said: ‘I wisht I had some of the legs them octopuses had that the Professor was tellin’ us about! I’d shore rope myself over this ditch!’

“When finally Mack crawled out of his trouble, we went over and looked at the goat. I took a picture of him from the slide,

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EDUCATION.

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Join DSC today or visit us at www.biggame.org ©2012 Dallas Safari Club

54 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

then leaving Mack in the slide with my gun, I worked my way with the cameras out up on the ridge, and finally secured a position above the goat.

“I found him standing on a ledge about 18 inches wide, backed against a slight projection on the face of the cliff, which cut the ledge off. The ledge rose at rather a steep incline for about twenty feet up to the level on which I stood. The goat was about eight feet below me, while below him was a sheer drop of a hundred and fifty feet or more, down to the slide-rock.

“He was a very large goat, weighing, I should say, fully three hundred pounds. He had a magnificent pair of horns, fully ten inches long. I was surprised to note that he did not show the least sign of panic, or even fear. He looked up at me quite calmly, and then, ignoring me entirely, solemnly and serenely gazed out over the crags below.

“After a few trials from above I found it impossible to get a good picture of him without getting much nearer; so I yelled down to Mack: ‘I’m going down to him. If he charges me, you must kill him, in a hurry.’

“Setting the focus of my stereo camera for six feet, and placing the bulb in my mouth, I gradually worked my way down the ledge, carrying my camera in one hand and holding to the wall with the other. When I was within about twelve feet of him, Mack yelled to me: “‘Look out thar! He’s a-raisin’ his tail, like a buffalo bull! He’s goin’ to knock you off!’

“Mack was raised in Texas, with the buffalo, and diagnosed the case correctly. The very next instant, so it seemed to me, the goat came at me, head and tail up, ears drooped forward and eyes blazing green. He came with a bouncing rush, hammering the stones with his front feet so that the loose ones flew like broken ice. I was taken completely by surprise, for I did not think that on a ledge so narrow an animal could or would charge me.

“I was perfectly helpless, for I could not step aside, and it was impossible for me to back quickly up that steep and narrow shelf.

The goat was too quick for Mack, for I heard him yell, in great alarm, ‘I can’t shoot, or I’ll hit ye both!’

“Mack told me afterward that he dared not shoot from where he was, for fear the heavy ball would go through the goat, glance against the rock, and either kill me or throw me off the ledge. I was terribly frightened, but mechanically snapped the camera when the goat was about six feet away. There was really nothing that I could do except to hold the camera at him, and snap it.

“He charged up to within a yard of me, but with his eyes fixed on the two lenses. Then he appeared to conclude that any animal that could stand that much without winking was

too much for him, so shaking his head and gritting his teeth he stopped, and to my great relief slowly backed into his niche.

“Believing that he would not charge the camera, I followed him down, and secured a picture of him at six feet. Then Mack began to see more symptoms of trouble, and since I had exposed my last film I backed out. Then I remembered the four-by-five camera, and started down with it, but Mack yelled angrily: “‘Hold on there! That goat’s plumb dangerous, and if you start down there again, I’ll shorely kill him! What’s the use o’ bein’ locoed an’ gettin’ killed fer a few picters?’

“Mack was so wrought up that to save the goat I abandoned my intention; and when he finally joined me, we slipped another roll of films into the stereo camera.

“Just as we finished our reloading operation, Kaiser took a look down at the goat, at very close range, when all of a sudden, like a Jack-in-the-box, the old billy was up from the ledge and after him. Kaiser ran to us for protection, the goat charging after him, most determinedly. Mack and I yelled, and waved our arms, and finally turned the goat down over the point, this time with Kaiser chasing him.

“They were soon out of our sight, but we could hear the rocks rolling below, and knew that they were going back across the slide. So we slid off the crags into the head of the slide, and running across at some risk to our necks, finally turned the goat on to a small pinnacle, about where we first jumped him.

“It was here that I secured some of my best pictures. Mack, perched on the top of the crag, attracted the goat’s attention and tantalized him by waving his hat, while I made pictures as fast as possible. We had to keep Kaiser in the background, for apparently the goat blamed him for all his troubles, and I believe Billy was mad enough at that time to charge the dog through fire.

“My footing was very insecure, and being obliged to hold on with one hand and watch the goat in fear that he would charge me, I could not use the finder of my camera.

Once as the goat charged up the rock at Mack I got in close to him, when he suddenly turned on me, gritting his teeth as he did so. His lip protruded like the lower lip of a charging bear, and with his front feet he stamped on the rocks until the small, loose fragments flew in every direction.

“It was just then that I got my best snapshot from in front, although the picture fails to show his ugly temper as I saw it. As I rolled in another film he charged me. Unfortunately I was so scared that I did not have presence of mind to press the bulb at the right distance. He bounced up to within four feet of me, when again the two big, glaring eyes of the camera fascinated and checked him.

Just as he turned his head from the unwinking eyes of my stereo, I snapped it, but he was inside the focus....”

Mr. Phillips’s narrative, as he records it, does not half adequately portray the frightful risks that he ran on that memorable afternoon. That night, I think he was awake all night, save once. Then he threshed around in his sleeping-bag, and clutched wildly at the silk tent-roof over his head.

“Hey, John!” I called out sharply, to waken him.

“What’s the matter? Are you having a nightmare?”

“Oh!” he groaned. “I thought I was falling off those rocks, clear down to the tents!”

Just before breakfast the next morning

Mr. Phillips said to Mack in a quiet aside, “How did you sleep, Mack?”

“I didn’t sleep none!” said Mack, solemnly.

“Whenever I dozed off I dreamt that old Oramus was buttin’ us off them rocks. Every time I lit I shore made it lively for Charlie.”

They were not the first men whose sleep had been destroyed by the recrudescence of the horrors of the rocks.

The next day men and dog rested quietly in camp, too tired and sore to move out. n

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Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 55

Generation Next: Essays Submitted by: Morgan V. Reed Age: 11 Trophy Type: Typical Whitetail Location: Warren County, MO When I said goodbye to my mom and sister and headed off with my dad for a weekend of hunting, I never imagined how awesome that hunting trip would be. It was October 30, 2010, and I was 11 years old. I had been hunting with my dad for three years, but had yet to pull the trigger on a deer. I didn’t know it yet, but my luck was about to change.

It all started when I got home from school on Friday afternoon; Dad had our bags packed, the truck loaded up, and we were ready to go. Dad decided we should go to my cousin’s farm for a few practice shots before we headed up to my grandma’s house at Pinnacle Lake, Missouri. My first shot wasn’t very good, but the next two were right on the bull’s-eye, so I was feeling pretty confident in myself.

LEFT: Morgan V. Reed with her typical whitetail deer scoring 175-2/8 points. BELOW: B&C Official Measurer Jason Davis measured Morgan’s buck after the 60-day drying period.

56 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

When we finally arrived at Grandma Ridgway’s house, my dad and his uncle, Kenny, decided I should hunt in the same woods where my late great-grandpa Leroy Ridgway used to hunt. That is where my dad killed his first deer when he was 13. I didn’t care where I hunted.

I just wanted to shoot my first deer!

When we got up early Saturday morning I was really excited. We had a quick breakfast with Uncle Kenny, and then the three of us set out for our hunt. We drove to the other side of the lake, then Uncle Kenny went off to bow hunt while Dad and I went to the box stand where I would hunt. The squirrels were making a lot of noise, and Dad’s phone kept buzzing with text messages from his friends in the duck blind. My dad was missing out on opening weekend of duck season to take me deer hunting.

After a couple hours of watching the squirrels and munching on beef jerky, Dad decided to use the rattle bag and the grunt call. A few seconds later we heard a loud crash in the brush, and we saw a doe pop out with a nice buck following close behind. I couldn’t get the buck in the scope as he trotted off. A few moments later the doe returned and stopped really close to our stand. I was anxious to shoot, but Dad told me to wait. His advice really paid off!

Dad switched seats with me so I could line up my Rossi .243 in the doe’s direction. As I got the deer in my scope, Dad whispered, “Wait, Morgan!” I looked into the brush and saw a humongous deer standing there. He was walking right at us, so Dad told me to be ready. Dad hit his grunt call and the buck stopped in his tracks about 30 yards away from us. I was really nervous, but I tried not to shake. Dad whispered, “Shoot, Morgan!” So I pulled the trigger, and I got him! He ran off, but I knew that I had just shot a monster buck!

I was anxious to get out of the stand and see my deer, but Dad

said that it was best for us to wait a few minutes. We finally climbed down from the stand and looked for a blood trail. We walked over to the tree where the buck had been standing, but there was no blood.

Then I looked over and saw the big guy lying against a nearby fence. We eased over to the deer to make sure it was dead. We were shocked! I was so amazed that my first deer was a 13-point buck! Now it was our turn to send a picture to the duck hunters.

We called Uncle Kenny and told him to meet us at the truck right away. He asked if I had any luck, and I decided to play a little trick on him.

I told him that I had shot a 6-pointer, and he congratulated me. When he got there we all walked back to see the deer and Uncle Kenny was surprised that it was so big. He said, “I thought you said you killed a 6-pointer!” I replied, “ I did! Six on one side and seven on the other!”

Then Dad called Mom to tell her the news, but she didn’t believe him at first. He finally convinced her when

he said, “You and Kristen better drive up here because Morgan just killed the buck of a lifetime.”

News about my deer traveled quickly and people from all around the lake stopped by to see it and take pictures. I didn’t even know most of them. When Dad’s uncle, Warren, showed up, he looked to see if the buck had a nick in its back. He missed a deer the year before when he was bowhunting from the same stand, and sure enough, my deer had a scar. Uncle Warren was happy that I was able to get the deer he missed out on. I liked all of the attention, but after a while my face hurt from smiling for all those pictures! It was the best day of my life.

A couple months later, we took the rack to get it officially scored.

My buck scored 175-2/8 points and with a B&C gross score of 186-6/8 points. My dad told me that in the four generations of hunting in our family, with over 30 deer mounts, my monster buck is now the biggest in the whole family! n

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 57

Generation Next: Youth Essay Drawing If you’re interested in donating a rifle to the youth essay drawing, please contact the Club’s Headquarters at 406/542-1888 and ask for the youth essay coordinator.

Boone and Crockett Club is pleased to announce our first-ever youth essay contest open to all youth with accepted trophies in the Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Program!

As a way to celebrate young hunters who have embraced the outdoor way of life and embody the spirit of Fair Chase hunting, the Club’s Fair Chase magazine will be featuring select essays in this special section as we lead up to the Club’s 28th Awards Program. Our editors will be selecting the top three stories, which will be awarded our grand prize, as well as second and third prizes shown below. Judging will be based on criteria such as involvement of youth hunter and mentor, story-telling ability, ethics demonstrated in the field, and understanding of our hunting heritage. Contributors of the remaining stories will be eligible to be drawn for one of seven CZ 452 American Rifles.

Drawing to be held in Reno, Nevada, at the 28th Big Game Awards Program in the summer of 2013.

Donated by Kyle C. Krause

GRAND PRIZE Remington Model 700 CDL in .30-06 rifle laser engraved with the Boone and Crockett Club logo, with a Minox scope (not shown).

SECOND AND THIRD PRIZES CZ 452 American .22 rifle laser engraved with the Boone and Crockett Club logo, with a Minox scope (not shown).

58 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

How to Enter!

Boone and Crockett Club’s

28TH AWARDS PROGRAM DRAWING The youth authors of the stories not selected for the other prizes are eligible to win one of seven CZ 452 American .22 rifles.

Donated by L. Victor Clark

Donated by Margie Clark

Donated by Wilson Stout

Donated by Richard T. Hale

Donated by Timothy Humes

Donated by David Rippeto

Generation Next

Youth Essay Drawing STEP ONE:

Write your hunting story. We’d prefer a Word document, but we can accept typed or handwritten stories as well.

STEP TWO:

Submit your story and photos online by going to the link below. You’ll have to set up a new account to get started: http://tinyurl.com/youthessaycontest

You can also mail a hard copy of your story and photos to: Boone and Crockett Club ATTN: Youth Essay Drawing 250 Station Drive Missoula, MT 59801

STEP THREE:

That’s it! Once we receive your story you will automatically be entered in the contest for the rifles.

DEADLINE: The deadline for us to receive stories is February 28, 2013. But don’t delay. The sooner we receive the story, the better your odds are of having it published in Fair Chase magazine!

QUESTIONS: Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We can be reached by calling 406/542-1888 Monday through Friday, or email jthouk@boonecrockett.org with your questions.

THE FINE PRINT ELIGIBILITY & DETAILS

Contest is open to all youth hunters (16 years old or younger when they harvested their animal) who have a trophy accepted in the Club’s 28th Awards Program (2010-2012). Simply submit your story on-line at http://tinyurl.com/youthessaycontest along with your photos, or mail your submission to: Boone and Crockett Club, ATTN: Youth Essay Contest, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801. Deadline to submit stories and photos is February 28, 2013. Once we receive your story and photo you will be automatically entered into the essay contest and be eligible for one of the top three prizes. Authors of the stories that don’t receive one of the prizes are eligible for the drawing to be held at 28th Big Game Awards Youth Event in Reno, Nevada, Summer 2013. By submitting your hunting story, you also grant the Boone and Crockett Club the right to edit and publish your materials, in Fair Chase magazine, future print publications, and on other digital platforms. Visit the Club’s web site at www. boone-crockett.org for complete details.

NOTE: The 28th Awards Youth Essay drawing is only open to youth hunters who have a trophy accepted in the Club’s Records Program.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 59

28th Awards Program Youth Hunters Accepted trophies from February 10, 2012 through May 29, 2012 Hunter Kyle H. Arnell John D. Berry Ian C. Booth Abbigail J. Faxon Tyson Hope Jacob K. Lesser James H. Mason Amanda J. Mueterthies Austin J. Trudell Ryan L. VanTassel

Category pronghorn non-typical whitetail deer Alaska-Yukon moose pronghorn mountain caribou pronghorn pronghorn non-typical whitetail deer black bear pronghorn

Location of Kill Sweetwater Co., WY Mercer Co., MO Pilgrim River, AK Fremont Co., WY Kluane Lake, YT Fremont Co., WY Carbon Co., WY Chickasaw Co., IA Florence Co., WI Haakon Co., SD

Date 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 2009 2010

Final Score 81 220-1/8 218 7/8 80 2/8 394 3/8 82 82 6/8 216 3/8 20 4/16 80

NOTE: Trophies listed in orange include field photos.

Abbigail J. Faxon

Tyson Hope

John D. Berry

Jacob K. Lesser

60 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Where There’s a Will...

“Making the decision to include the Boone and Crockett Club

in our will was easy for my wife Cindy and me. We strongly believe in the Club’s multi-tiered mission of conservation leadership for North America, the support of science based conservation education, the fair chase hunting tradition, and maintaining the most respected record book scoring system in the world. Meeting this mission in the future will be much more challenging than it is today. Leaving a portion of your will to the Club is a positive way you can help. I think it is one of the greatest legacies one could leave.

Please join me in the Roughriders Society. Together, we can ensure that the Boone and Crockett Club will have the ability to fulfill its vital mission far into the future.”

- Terrell McCombs Regular Member Boone and Crockett Club

The Boone and Crockett Club Foundation can help with your plan. Call today: Winton C. Smith, J.D. 1-800-727-1040

HUNTETHICS

By Ron Gabriel B&C Lifetime Associate illustrations by gordon allen

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

This essay was essentially written, in large measure, in 1992 and circulated to many of my urban professional colleagues. It was met with interest and some sympathy. However, a non-hunter will never understand the difference between an individual and a species. Then I was surprised and gratified when I found an essay in Boone and Crockett by Jack Ward Thomas, who thoroughly analyzed “Just What is Fair Chase.”

(Fair Chase, Winter 2002 and Spring 2003.)

62 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Aldo Leopold pioneered “land ethics” in the first half of the 20th century. Inspired by Leopold, his fellow professor at the University of Wisconsin, Van Rensselaer Potter coined the term “bioethics” in the second half of the 20th century (1970). Both terms have a powerful social and personal component. Both terms connote an integration of values and the environment. So, too, do “hunt ethics,” an integration of values and action based upon biology and the land.

The hunter has affection and awe for all of nature’s creations, perhaps more so than any other human observer, for the hunter must read the most subtle signs of his quarry—its behavior and its habitat—to be successful. If he succeeds, respect and regret are dominant sensibilities. The hunter’s moral responsibility is linked to the purpose for which the quarry is killed. Is it for food, for the human joy of the chase, or to build a tangible repository of memories? Or, is it to test the civilized human self against an amoral and harsh natural world? Buried within us, too deep for memory but underneath only a few layers of civilization, lie the ancient instincts which make no distinction between the artificial and the natural; the hunter-gatherer is entirely focused on the chase.1 Our Paleolithic era was millions of years, our Neolithic just a few millennia.2 The image of the hunter as a morally responsible human was seriously vitiated in the public consciousness in the mid 20th century by the Bambi saga.3 Written by Felix Salten in 1923 and animated by Walt Disney in 1942, it featured a “depraved male” murdering “doe-eyed innocence.”

The trope projected nothing more than a sentimental and romantic anthropomorphism, crying out against man’s very nature and condemning the human products of scientific materialism, one of which is the gun. Bambi was a falsification of man and his place in nature, forgetting that man himself is part of nature. Yet, it was a very lucrative perversion for Disney and a damming defamation of the honest hunter.

In fact, such a hunter has a love affair with nature and his quarry. Such a hunter reawakens, even recreates his biological center—all five senses fully and sublimely engaged.

Yet, one must acknowledge that the trophy, the score, and the adulation by fellow hunters and fellow travelers represent for many trophy hunters the primary, even the only reason to hunt. If so, then the hunt is transformed into an act of “collecting.”

It must be asked, can this residue, the trophy, satisfy a sport hunter’s innermost needs?

The answer is, yes, of course, providing the trophy is a byproduct and not the prime reason for the hunt. Trophy quality should connote a challenging hunt where we stay in the field longer and hunt harder for a larger old male in his last year or two of life. In the end, however, every animal we kill is a trophy; that is to say, a cherished reality brought to fruition by our honest effort.

Fair chase hunting is meaningful only in the broad domain of recreational or nonsubsistence hunting. However, “hunt ethics” may be a better term, since hunting is more than just the chase. It is the preparation, anticipation, finding, stalking, and legal killing of the prey. This is a complex drama and requires perseverance, intelligence, and courage. The latter virtue is essential since death or great harm to the hunter is not a negligible risk.

Consider the number of deaths and injuries each year to hunters across the globe: Africa’s dangerous game animals, tropical diseases, snakebites, the North American bear, light plane crashes, falls from mountain peaks and other dangerous variables of weather, terrain, air travel, and physical collapse.

Conservation Force was started by John J. Jackson, III in 1997, a former president of Safari Club International from 1995 to 1996, a nonprofit 501(c)3) organization. It has become perhaps the most powerful legal force in the United States and the world on behalf of hunters, hunting, and sustainable harvest in the context of wildlife conservation. Boone and Crockett Club had been a major political and legal force in wildlife conservation in the latter quarter

Hunt ethics also means understanding, protecting, and building the environment that sustains the quarry. The projects and publications of the Boone and Crockett Club, the Wild Sheep Foundation, and World Conservation Force exemplify these values.

When hunting—whether for survival, for the fur, food, tools from bone, to control predators, aid the survival of game species, or to protect human and domestic animal populations—one necessarily kills by any humane means. In destroying a man-eating tiger or leopard in Asia, a rogue elephant in Africa, the deadly red wolf of the Pamirs and Altai, or the voracious magpies and foxes in the game-bird coverts of the British Isles, success is essential and many means are acceptable, provided that they do not inflict gratuitous pain or produce asymmetrical collateral damage to the surrounding countryside, e.g. poison. Jim

of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. Its founders and members, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt, were responsible for the establishment of many national parks and forests for the protection of large game animals from extermination by market hunters. However, after World War II, the Club refocused on the “book” and the scoring system. It fomented a competitive ethos, brought to its apogee by Safari Club International and Grand Slam Club/Ovis. This ethos is a mixed blessing; often diluting the inherent joy and self-satisfaction of the hunt by the hunter, yet upgrading the health and trophy size of the species. In the early 1990s, Boone and Crockett Club increased their efforts in the arena of wildlife conservation with a 3 million dollar establishment of a Boone and Crockett Professorship of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana (Fair Chase, Winter 2005, p 10). In the last 20 years, it has recaptured its original mission, best illustrated and chronicled by the Club’s Fair Chase magazine documenting the many conservation projects it is espousing and executing.

Ron Gabriel, the author of American & British 410 Shotguns, has been a mountain hunter all of his life with over four dozen expeditions for the wild sheep and ibex of the world, a consuming avocation. A graduate of Yale University in philosophy in 1959, Ron’s professional vocation is that of a pediatric neurologist. He is now a clinical professor emeritus in neurology and pediatrics at the University of California (Los Angeles) School of Medicine, where he had taught for 45 years. He is certified by the American Boards of Neurology and Pediatrics and certified as a Pediatric Neuroimager by the American Society of Neuroimaging. He co-authored the Textbook of Child Neurology for the first four editions and has authored many other professional publications. Currently he takes care of children with neurological disorders and enjoys the company of a large family in Southern California and the world of ideas.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 63

Corbett understood this and acted accordingly in his many trials against the Asian man-eating beast. It is worth considering that the only right the animal has is not to experience unnecessary pain by human hands.4 The ethics of sport hunting implies sportsmanship, a quality sadly lacking in modern athletics at both the professional and amateur levels. This is a quality that connotes honesty, absence of subterfuge, playing by the rules, and not attempting to injure an opponent while giving the process, the game or the stalk itself, the highest priority, regardless of outcome. A sportsman does not take undue advantage of an opponent; he maintains that bond of shared endeavor and due friendship. A corked bat or a sniper-honed rifle defeats the notion of sport.

Yes, in sport hunting the hunter seeks to kill the prey, but only to complete the stalk as the predator becomes one with the prey. The stalk and the kill satisfy the atavistic impulse in all humans. But this impulse is not one of annihilation, rather one of humanely sacrificing an individual while spending time and treasure to help the species flourish. The hunter is responsible for, and the most important factor in, maintaining and enhancing game species and their coverts. The desired result is that all game species thrive. In terms of knowledge, motive, action, time, and funds, the hunter is the ultimate ecologist; the hunter promotes the healthiest symbiosis between man and the rest of nature. Much of nature is now a product of human culture and man’s footpath girdles nearly every acre of the globe.

Recognize the conservation done by eight hundred thousand hunters of Ducks Unlimited and their reconstitution of twelve million acres of natural flora and fauna; the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its over 6 million acres of habitat restitution and its elk repopulation throughout much of its original North American habitat; Wild Sheep Foundation and its sister satellites restoring wild sheep populations and their habitat; the remarkable legal work of World Conservation Force in North America, Asia, and Africa.

Recognize other hunting organizations and outfitters such as Kern’s Hunting Consortium and Stark’s Safari Outfitters. Bighorn sheep have increased fourfold from 25,000 in 1900 to one hundred thousand in the year 2000.

White-tailed deer have increased thirty-fold from less than one-half million to over 15 million in the same time span, and antelope fifty-fold, from 20,000 to more than 1 million over the last 100 years.

All of these entities have ushered in a worldwide golden age of game and its 64 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

habitat with help from enlightened modern governments, but precious little help has come from professional environmentalists and animal rights extremists. There are now over eight hundred million acres of national forest and grasslands. This revolution, which began in earnest with the establishment in 1905 of the United States Forest Service, was the progeny of founders and important personalities of Boone and Crockett Club including Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. Theodore Roosevelt said in 1905, “The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must, and we will.”

G. Evelyn Hutchinson, the father of the ecologists’ use of the scientific method and long ago my teacher at Yale, said, “Scratch a hunter and you find under this predator’s cloak and gun nature’s greatest friend.”

In recent times, terms of war—enemy, duel, kill, destroy, crush, blitz, assault, combat, battle, trenches, offense, defense, platoon— have been applied to athletic contests, children and adults playing childish games.

It is not surprising that modern athletics as a human activity has failed to implant those values necessary for the advance of civilization. True, such games have tamed, stylized, and redirected the hunting impulses. However, the ethos of late 20th-century athletics, though a pathetic mime of war, seeks the annihilation of the foe by any means, fair or foul. Breach the rules but escape detection.

Sport hunting, in its best sense, turns real war on its head. In war, the young are slaughtered. The wars of Europe (World War I and II), Burma, Russia, Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and others of this last century, were ones of attrition and annihilation. Machiavelli murmured that a main purpose of war was to rid nations of excess and unruly young male creatures.

Sport hunting certainly ends in blood, but that of the single oldest beast on the mountain, and not, for such a hunter, wanton destruction by any means, however foul.

Modern athletics has ceased to be sportsmanlike and has become a passive multibillion-dollar entertainment forum, a “Roman Coliseum” for the spectator population, with success defined only by winning and revenue flow and not by “how you play the game.” This latter concept has become a quaint notion, a relic of the past.

However, for the sportsman, winning is not everything, and it is not the only thing and certainly does not justify the use of any means, holy or unholy, to procure success.

So should the quest for the sport hunter.

Not surprising, hunting is one of the last bastions of sportsmanship; a word that connotes an activity that is lawful, logical,

Parenthetically, it is widely recognized by behavioral pediatric psychologists that one of the best ways to inculcate the values of responsible and compassionate behavior is to expose the juvenile delinquent to hunting and survival skills in the wilderness, a very effective antidote to the evils of city streets.

The tens of millions of hunters and their sympathizers and the tens of billions of dollars generated in the United States is a useful economic argument. So also is the hundreds of millions of dollars generated

by African countries in their sport hunting programs, and far greater than all the moneys generated by the tourism and photography safaris to that benighted continent. Still, let us blame the old European colonial powers for its present tragic squalor and killing fields. But the economic argument, though important, is tangential to my analysis.

loving, and regenerative. The laws of the land are obeyed and the human uses his reason and only minimal technical advances (gun, bow, scopes, binoculars, horses) to find, stalk, and kill the quarry. It is done with sympathy and affection for the prey, devoting more resources to the conservation of the species than to the harvest of the individual of that species. “By pursuing the individual and worshiping the species, the hunter guarantees the internal recurrence of his prey.” The death of the individual is the price paid to enhance the species.5 Sportsmanship, the essence of hunt ethics in sport hunting, has a strong cultural foundation in family, friends, and community, but ultimately it is a personal, deeply intimate sense of honor in having done the right thing in the right way at the right time. It becomes a part of one’s personal history that is recollected with happiness and satisfaction. The trophies garnered are viewed then as of inestimable value; the quest is cherished.6 Was my fatigue deep enough? Were the natural elements harsh enough? And did my modern tools not open too widely the technical divide between prey and predator?

The answers will vary from person to person, group to group, community to community, and hunt to hunt. Jeeps may be necessary in the Gobi Desert and the Pamirs but unacceptable in the Madison Range of Montana.

Floatplanes in Alaska and helicopters in Russian Siberia may be necessary to reach base camp but unacceptable to find, stalk, or kill the beast. Dogs or baiting may be necessary in one venue but illegal or unfair in another. The challenge and use of a .410 shotgun on wing game or the bow and arrow on mammals does not absolve us from the mandate to kill quickly and cleanly to minimize suffering. The methods used to narrow the technical advantage between prey and predator allow us to say to ourselves, my effort was worthy of my quarry.

In addition to a preoccupation with the methodology of the chase and kill, we must also justify the very hunt itself. But can this be done in our artificial urban society that has lost touch with nature itself?

Yes, but only if we reestablish a connection between man’s deepest nature and his need to pursue wild creatures. Call it a DNA imperative. In this sense, not to hunt is the unnatural, the perversion. Indeed, the hunter will be the final protector of wildlife and its habitat.

With the bullet’s impact, the gap between hunter and hunted is closed instantly and forever. What follows is elation sobered

by sadness for having silenced another living creature. Nevertheless, the kill concludes the hunt, though it is not the purpose of the sport hunter, as Ortega y Gasset said many decades ago.7 The kill, if it is to be honorable, does not permit needless or negligent suffering because of an overlong or running shot, poor or inadequate equipment for the task, or failure to track down a wounded beast. In fact, an excessively long-distance shot usually reflects a failed stalk. To close within 100 to 200 yards on the animal is essential for a robust satisfaction and indescribable communion never appreciated by the longdistance marksman.

In the final analysis, hunt ethics is both personal and communal. It is personal because we narrow the technological gap between prey and predator in a humane manner and communal because we obey the laws, both written and unwritten, of the community which sanctions this quest.

At the ultimate moment, only the hunter knows, as he squeezes the trigger, if his hunt has been driven by sportsmanship, a term of art as old as the sporting fields of Babylon and practiced long before the games of Egypt or the birth of the Grecian’s Olympics or the subsequent games of skill of Christendom. n

CITATIONS: 1 Scruton, Roger. Animal Rights and Wrongs. 3rd Ed. London, United Kingdom: Demos, 2000.

2 Ardrey, Robert. The Hunting Hypothesis. New York: Atheneum, 1976.

3 Cartmill, Matt. The Bambi Syndrome. Natural History, Vol. 6, pp. 6-12, 1993.

4 Scruton, Roger. Animal Rights and Wrongs. 3rd Ed. London, United Kingdom: Demos, 2000.

5 Scruton, Roger. Animal Rights and Wrongs. 3rd Ed. London, United Kidgdon: Demos, 2000.

6 An example for sportsmanship at its highest level is illustrated in Sports Afield, September/October 2011, pp 74-79.

7 Ortega y Gasset, Jose. Meditations on Hunting. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1972.

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Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 65

TROPHY TALK Mark Your Calendars - 28th Awards Program Deadline I know many of you are not going to believe this, but the 28th Awards Program that began on January 1, 2010, ends on Jack Reneau December 31, 2012. It Director seems like only Big Game Records yesterday that we were all gathered at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno at the 27th Awards Program Banquet presenting the highly prized B&C Medallions and certificates to the owners of some of the finest North American big game specimens ever taken. That actually took place in June 2010.

December 31, 2012, is the deadline for entering a trophy in the 28th Awards Program. Only those trophies whose entry materials are sent to B&C with postmark dates no later than that date, will be eligible to receive 28th Awards Program medallions and certificates and/or for listing in Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards book to be published fall 2013. Any trophies received with later postmarks will be entries in the 29 th

Awards Program (2013-2015).

Boone and Crockett Club Medallions will be presented to some of the largest trophies ever taken by hunters and recorded in Boone and Crockett Club’s records books at the 28th Awards Banquet. If you have never been to one of these banquets, mark your calendar. This will be the one to attend.

This will be my 12th awards banquet, and I’m just as excited about this one as I was when I attended the 16th Awards Banquet at the Denver Museum in 1977. I still vividly remember many of the incredibly outstanding trophies that were on display there. Included was a typical mule deer scoring 209-5/8 points that was taken in Colorado by Mike Thomas.

A few months ago, Mike donated this outstanding buck to B&C’s National Collection for future generations to enjoy.

Thank you, Mike!

New Official Measurers

On behalf of the Boone and Crockett Club and the Records Committee, I would like to congratulate all 79 Official Measurer candidates who successfully completed all aspects of three workshops held to date during 2011-2012. Two were held in Missoula, and the third was held at Logan State Park in West Virginia. Their names, cities, and states are listed below.

We welcome these men and women and look forward to working with them in the decades ahead. We’re confident that they’ll do a great job representing B&C in the years ahead.

In order to become an Official Measurer, potential candidates attend and successfully complete a three and a half day, hands-on measurer training workshop that covers all 38 categories of North American big game recognized by the Boone and Crockett Club. In order to apply for future Entry Fee Increase There is another reason to be sure all 28th workshops and/or contact an Official Measurer Awards Program entries are submitted with to have a trophy scored, you can go to B&C’s postmarks dated no later than December website, www.booneandcrockettclub.com, to 31, 2012. The entry fee will increase from download an application and/or list of scorers Missoula, Montana, May 4-8, 2012 $40 U.S. to $50 U.S. with all trophies post- in your area. n marked on or after January 1, 2013.

27th Awards display, June 2010

28th Awards Program Schedule

It’s too early to have a complete schedule for the 28th Awards Program and events, but I’ve included a few of the deadlines/ events that have already been firmed up. While the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno met all our needs three years ago, we are pleased to announce that next year’s events will be centered at the Silver Legacy in downtown Reno. More detailed events calendars will be published in Fair Chase in the coming months.

28th AWARDS PROGRAM DATES TO REMEMBER

2012 Dec. 28 - Initial Invitations sent to top-ranking trophies.

Dec. 31 - 28 th Awards Program Deadline

2013 Jan. 25 - Invitations sent to all other trophy owners.

Mar. 6 - Trophy owners ship trophies via Cabela’s.

Apr. 30 - Panel Judging.

Jul. 16-20 - 28 th Awards Program Banquet and Activities.

66 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Mi ssoula, Montana May 20 -24, 2011

Mi ssoula, Montana May 4-8, 2012

BOOK REVIEW OM Workshop Graduates 2011 – May 2012 Travis J. Adams . . . . . Slaterville, UT David W. Arbogast . Pt. Pleasant, WV Nathan C. Ballard . . . . . Kingsville, TX Adam Berreth . . . . . . . . . . . . Langley, BC Jonathan Bordelon . . . . Opelousas, LA Toby Boudreau . . . . . . . . . . Pocatello, ID Wyatt Bowles . . . . . . . . . . . Nephi, UT Travis Bowman . . . . . . . . . Simon, WV T.J. Conrads . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boise, ID Chris Cordes . . . . . . . . . . Kenyon, MN Dustin H. Deaton . . . . . . Panther, WV Edwin L. DeYoung. . . Hudsonville, MI Charles Dietz . . . . . . . . . . . Melville, SK Samuel Diswood. . . . . . . . Grants, NM Todd J. Dowdy. . . . . . . . . Beckley, WV Dustin Dowler . . . . . Parkersburg, WV Heath L. Dreger . . . . . . . . Yorkton, SK Mel Drummond . . . . . . . . Morrice, MI Nick I. Elk Looks Back. . Parmelee, SD Luke D. Finney. . . . . . . . . Harrison, ID Terry J. Fricks . . . . . . . . Ft. Worth, TX Rick Gander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surry, BC Patrick J. Gauthier . . . . . . . Suring, WI Dale F. Good. . . . . . . . . . . Indianola, IL Hub Grounds. . . . . . . . . . . Kingman, AZ Buck A. Hagy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bath, MI Lance A. Hainen. . . . . . Columbia, MO Michael W. Halirewich . . . Estevan, SK John Hanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monroe, LA Michael D. Heeg. . . . . . . . . . . Perry, MI John J. Hooten. . . . . Lawrenceburg, IN Warren M. Howse. . . . . . . . Avonlea, SK Nick Huffman. . . . . . . . . . . . Alkol, WV Brian Ihlenfeldt. . . . . . . Kewaunee, WI Randall Kelley . . . . . . . . . . Logan, WV Carroll Kelly. . . . Dripping Springs, TX Jay A. Kolbe. . . . . . . . Seeley Lake, MT Daniel D. Kreis. . . . . . . . . . . Brady, NE

Micah S. Mauney. . . . . Sioux Falls, SD R. Terrell McCombs. . San Antonio, TX Ronnie McKinney . . . . . . . Victoria, TX Travis Metcalf . . . . . . . . . Romney, WV Mark Miller. . . . . . . . . Fond du Lac, WI Morris Monita. . . . . . Williams Lake, BC David L. Moore. . . . . . . . Lake Forest, IL George M. Moore . . . . . . Edmond, OK Matt J. Nilsen . . . . . . . Petersburg, AK William J. Norton . . . . . . . Layton, UT Michael J. Opitz. . . . . . . . Olympia, WA Edward A. Parker. . . . . . . Sanford, MB Matt Pennell . . . . . . . . . . Lubbock, TX Tyler J. Peterson. . Lava Hot Springs, ID Louis Polillo. . . . . . . . . Pittsgrove, NJ Thomas D. Pratt. . . . . Farmington, WV Rip Rippentrop . . . . . . . . . Lennox, SD Ryan M. Roberts. . . . . . . . Nashville, TN Eric Rominger. . . . . . . . . . Santa Fe, NM Slade S. Sanborn. . . . . . . . . . . . Ely, NV Lewis F. Scherer. Mountain Home, TX Jason A. Shipman. . . . . . . . Cibolo, TX Steve Smith. . . . . . . . . . . . . Pineville, LA Todd Smith. . . . . . . . . . . Jackson, WY Mark W. Streissguth. . . Bellevue, WA Gregory L. Surber. Barboursville, WV Chester Butch . . . Surma Sanford, MB Rob Tallman. . . . . . . Huttonsville, WV Richard M. Tupen . . . . . Elk Grove, CA Joshua A. Vance . . . . Hedgesville, WV Gary L. Villnow. . . . . . . . . . . . Hurley, WI Butch Wahl . . . . . . . . . . . . Somerset, PA Daniel L. Waldbillig . . . . . Seabeck, WA John M. Wall. . . . . . . . . . Riverdale, UT Billy Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bellevue, WA Jerry A. Westfall. . . . Parkersburg, WV Don White Jr.. . . . . . . . . Monticello, AR Joel G. Wiersum. . . . . . . . . Kodiak, AK Gary L. Wilford. . . . . . Georgetown, IL Daniel J. Wilson . . . . . . . Winnipeg, MB Lu A. Zimmerman. . . . . . . Spooner, WI

West Virginia, August 1-5, 2011

BOOK REVIEW NOTICE

There are many state, provincial, and private organizations publishing local records books that use Boone and Crockett Club’s copyrighted scoring system with permission of the Club. Since there is no single reference source for these books, and because there are many hunters who collect them, we will review them as time and space permit. Only those books that use the Boone and Club’s copyrighted scoring system and terminology will be considered for review. Please note that the Boone and Crockett Club cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data contained in these books. Some of the books may include trophies that were not scored by certified Boone and Crockett Club Official Measurers. If there is a question about the status of a trophy listed in any of these books, the Boone and Crockett Club’s records books/archives are the final reference source to settle any and all discrepancies.

Maine Antler & Skull Trophy Club Annual Big Game Records Publication

The Maine Antler and Skull Trophy Club (MASTC) just released its latest edition of Maine Antler & Skull Trophy Club Annual Big Game Records Publication. This high-quality 355-page hardcover book updates its previous listings for deer, moose, bear, turkeys, and sheds with new entries taken during the 2009 & 2010 hunting seasons. The listings are sorted by method of harvest.

Interspersed throughout the book are hundreds of trophy photos and scores of hunting tales.

To order your copy, send a check or money order for $35 (includes shipping) to MASTC, 150 Ames Rd, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426. For more information, please email MASTC at mastc1@gmail.com, or call at 207-564-7614.

Alberta Wildlife Records

The third edition of Alberta Wildlife Records is now available from the Alberta Fish and Game Association (AFGA). This edition covers the years 1963-2010. Included are trophy lists of all categories of big game hunted in Alberta, broken down by method of harvest, and an assortment of highly informative articles on fishing and hunting ethics, gun control, value of habitat, and field care of trophies. Also, included are copies of AFGA score charts and lists of the annual competition winners (1963-2010) for Alberta’s big game, fish, upland birds and waterfowl. A single copy costs $32 Canadian, plus shipping and GST. Since shipping prices vary significantly, email (office@afga.org) or call (780/437-2342) AFGA to place an order.

Whitetail Record Book of New York State, 16th Edition

The New York State Big Buck Club (NYSBBC), which was founded in 1972 by world-renowned wildlife artist Wayne Trimm, Herb Doig, and Bob Estes, has just published its 16th edition of Whitetail Records Book of New York State. This soft cover book features a typical whitetail deer painting on the cover by artist C. Hart. It includes 6,828 whitetail deer entries and 395 black bear records taken in the Empire State. There are well over 400 field photographs, including 60 pages in full color.

The price is $24 per copy, including shipping.

Mail your check or money order to NYSBBC, Record Book Sales Office, 54 Meadowview Dr., Schaghticoke, NY 12145.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 nn 67

The following pages list the most recent big game trophies accepted into the Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Program, 2010-2012, which includes entries received between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012. All of the field photos in this section are from entries that are listed in this issue and are shown in bold green text.

This listing represents only those trophies accepted since the Spring 2012 issue of Fair Chase was published.

ABOVE Justin J. Langlois was bowhunting when he took this black bear, scoring 20-6/16 points. He was hunting in Sandilands, Manitoba, during the 2011 season. below Phillip A. Celador was hunting during the 2011 season in San Luis Obispo County, California, when he took this tule elk, scoring 291-2/8 points.

BEAR & COUGAR FINAL SCORE

LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

black bear 22 9/16 Burnett Co., WI Chad R. Doornink 2011 C. Cousins 22 1/16 Morris Co., NJ Joan E. Robillard 2010 K. Burguess 22 Sawyer Co., WI Harlan J. Newcomb 2011 S. Godfrey 21 15/16 Polk Co., WI Walter A. Schommer 2010 D. O’Brien 21 14/16 Qu’Appelle River, SK Jeff P. Hassler 2011 P. Mckenzie 21 8/16 Queen Charlotte Picked Up 2010 R. Berreth

Islands, BC 21 8/16 Pike Co., PA David A. Mohn 2010 D. Lynch 21 6/16 Tazewell Co., VA Calvin E. Johnson 2010 C. Lawson 21 5/16 Franklin Co., PA Bradley B. Valentine 2010 T. Wenrich 21 5/16 Kaby Lake, ON Mike S. Ciemiega 2010 R. Metzger 21 4/16 Queen Charlotte Kenneth W. Thomas 2010 L. Hill

Islands, BC 21 4/16 Wollaston Lake, SK Buck Siler 2011 R. Perrine 21 3/16 Fort McMurray, AB Joey M. Menegatti 2010 L. Gatlin 21 2/16 Douglas Co., NV Frederick Houck 2011 J. Tiberti 21 2/16 Itasca Co., MN Richard F. Anderson 2011 D. Meger 21 2/16 Prince of Wales Dennis J. Knox 2011 B. Bond

Island, AK 21 2/16 Yamhill Co., OR James R. Lukinich 2011 D. Poole 21 1/16 Kelvington, SK Picked Up 2010 F. Hendrickson 20 14/16 Jackson Co., WI Jerri D. Swanson 2010 S. Godfrey 20 14/16 Wasco Co., OR Adam R. Kelley 2011 B. Piper 20 13/16 Burnett Co., WI Denise A. LaPierre 2010 L. Zimmerman 20 12/16 La Loche, SK Chris G. Sanford 2011 B. Zundel 20 12/16 Otter Lake, QC Willis M. Hadlock, Jr. 2011 L. Hansen 20 8/16 Carteret Co., NC Charles L. Hamric, Jr. 2008 M. Bara 20 8/16 Jackson Co., WI Jaclin L. Staley 2010 J. Ramsey 20 8/16 Koochiching Co., MN Kaylene S. Schultz 2005 D. Boland 20 7/16 Marinette Co., WI Neal A. Ruechel 2010 S. Zirbel 20 7/16 Platte Co., WY Jamie A. Ainsworth 2011 R. Spencer 20 6/16 El Dorado Co., CA Richard W. Brabec 2010 E. Burden 20 6/16 Lynn Lake, MB Brian K. Tilman 2009 B. Harriman 20 6/16 Sandilands, MB Justin J. Langlois 2011 E. Parker 20 5/16 Douglas Co., WI Joshua J. Stodola 2011 R. St. Ores 20 5/16 Marinette Co., WI Dale L. Weina 2011 S. Zirbel 20 4/16 Florence Co., WI Austin J. Trudell 2009 S. Zirbel 20 4/16 Trempealeau Co., WI Travis D. Matejka 2011 S. Godfrey 20 3/16 Swan River, MB Raymond E. Gockman 2011 B. Scarnegie 20 2/16 Gunnison Co., CO Justin T. Woodward 2010 M. Thomson 20 1/16 Lyon Co., NV R. Shane Rosecrans 2011 G. Hernandez 20 1/16 Marathon Co., WI Joseph Jakusz 2011 T. Heil 20 1/16 Marshall Co., MN Tony R. Weber 2011 R. Dufault 20 Gogebic Co., MI Nicholaus D. VanWoert 2010 D. Merritt

grizzly bear 26 1/16 24 15/16 24 9/16 24 6/16 24 6/16

68 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Babine Lake, BC White Mts., AK Umiat, AK Kawdy Creek, BC Noatak River, AK

John H. Hickok Tim H. Craig Anton J. Brennick Herbert A. Klima Richard D. Maze

2010 2011 2011 2011 2011

C. Walker A. Jubenville D. Stemler R. Berreth B. Penske

grizzly bear CONTINUED

typical mule deer CONTINUED

24

192 1/8 191 4/8 190 5/8 181 4/8 180 7/8 180 1/8

Kuskokwim River, AK

Mark A. Franklin

2010 D. Bathke

Alaska brown bear 28 4/16 27 7/16 27 2/16 26 13/16 26 7/16 26 1/16

Port Moller, AK Platinum, AK Afognak Island, AK Kukaktlim Lake, AK Talkeetna, AK Aniak, AK

Benny E. Nuckols Michael Cresswell Brad L. Brian Paul M. Opper Dale R. LeBlanc Jon T. Lee

2010 2011 2009 2011 2010 2011

M. Seamster P. Burress D. Nielsen N. Fogle L. Swanbeck J. Spring

cougar 15 11/16 15 4/16 15 3/16 15 1/16 15 1/16 14 10/16 14 8/16 14 8/16

Clinton, BC Fremont Co., CO Idaho Co., ID Lemhi Co., ID Lincoln Co., MT Boundary Co., ID Navajo Co., AZ Utah Co., UT

Rocco Verelli 2010 Vernon J. Marzolf 2011 Craig D. Martin 2011 Timothy L. Morris 2011 Scott A. Lennard 2011 Gary R. Villnow 2011 Gary L. Wilford 2009 Benjamin F. Hawke, Jr. 2010

B. Ferland P. Labushesky F. King G. Block J. Brown B. Marita R. Stayner J. Hjort

224 5/8 196 1/8 201 6/8 192 6/8 188 3/8 184 1/8

Rio Arriba Co., NM San Juan Co., UT Montrose Co., CO Idaho Co., ID Las Animas Co., CO Moffat Co., CO

Picked Up 2009 Bruce K. Sherman 2011 Michael E. Gulledge 2011 Greg A. Stedman 2010 John-Michael Sebben 2010 Dennis L. Kneese 2010

T. Watts K. Leo E. Fuchs R. Gubler T. Brickel E. Fuchs

non-typical mule deer 264 2/8 250 1/8 243 3/8 236 3/8 223 222 1/8 221 2/8 221 1/8 218 3/8 215 1/8

272 6/8 254 4/8 248 5/8 242 3/8 227 1/8 226 6/8 227 227 7/8 225 5/8 222 7/8

Sublette Co., WY Coconino Co., AZ Rio Blanco Co., CO Unknown Yuma Co., CO Powell Co., MT Unknown Garfield Co., CO Lincoln Co., NV Sublette Co., WY

Lois M. Hicks McNeel 1967 Casey A. Carr 2011 Ernest Malm 1951 Unknown Rachel H. Southards 2011 John Martinz 1956 Unknown 1970 Roy A. Newberry, Sr. 2010 Dan D. Gray 1969 Picked Up 1970

I. Mcarthur M. Golightly T. Watts J. Ramsey G. Stults F. King R. Hall J. Tkac A. Tiberti I. Mcarthur

typical Columbia blacktail 152 4/8 140 5/8 139 138 136 3/8

ELK & MULE DEER

FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

typical American elk 401 2/8 384 5/8 381 7/8 380 5/8 377 2/8 375 2/8 371 370 3/8 368 4/8 368 3/8 364 363 4/8 361 4/8 361 2/8

407 2/8 393 394 4/8 387 6/8 391 4/8 382 2/8 385 5/8 375 5/8 376 4/8 374 5/8 367 6/8 376 3/8 385 5/8 375 5/8

Iron Co., UT Rich Co., UT Petroleum Co., MT Juab Co., UT Park Co., MT Jefferson Co., CO Wayne Co., UT Union Co., OR Crook Co., WY Gallatin Co., MT Elko Co., NV Garfield Co., WA Valley Co., ID Kittitas Co., WA

Ryan Q. Chamberlain 2011 Kevin J. Petersen 2011 Colleen M. Davis 2010 Robert H. Jenkins 2008 Russell A. Laubach 2010 Stephen A. Hein 2011 Roshelle Z. Jones 2011 Edward A. Netter 2010 Rodney A. Malo 2011 Picked Up 2011 Walt D. Weaver 2011 Michael J. Carpinito 2011 John D. Leedom 2011 Judy A. Bise 2010

I. Mcarthur R. Hall V. Yannone R. Stayner R. Selner S. Grebe R. Hall T. Brown L. Jass F. King L. Clark J. Cook K. Primrose L. Carey

non-typical American elk 442 6/8 407 7/8 399 2/8 392 5/8

456 2/8 417 5/8 406 3/8 405

Clearfield Co., PA Fremont Co., CO White Pine Co., NV San Juan Co., UT

William G. Zee Picked Up Jeremy E. Page Bradley R. Harris

2011 2011 2010 2011

M. Suuck R. Newman L. Clark R. Hall

Roosevelt’s elk 397 3/8 333 3/8 333 3/8 287 1/8

408 6/8 346 1/8 420 7/8 301 5/8

Humboldt Co., CA Humboldt Co., CA Jefferson Co., WA Humboldt Co., CA

Timothy R. Carpenter 2011 James M. McCullough 2011 Archie Adams 1938 James E. McIsaac 2010

G. Hooper G. Hooper J. Spring D. Turner

160 2/8 144 141 5/8 151 7/8 143 2/8

Mendocino Co., CA Trinity Co., CA Colusa Co., CA Trinity Co., CA Tehama Co., CA

Matthew T. Burke 2010 Eric R. Smith 2011 Timothy D. Coppin 2011 Mark M. Schmitcke 2011 Wallace D. Macomber 2011

Field

L. Balenko D. Turner C. Larson G. Hooper D. Biggs

Sponsored by

Photography

Tip No. 10 Length Counts

If you’re a student of the B&C Scoring System, you know length matters. What you may not know is tine length in mule deer represents 44% of a buck’s final score, so it matters a lot.

If you’ve taken a buck that has the length, show it off. The next time you’re running through various field photo poses, take a profile photo or two. The straight on, “How wide is he?” photos don’t always give a buck’s rack justice when it comes to length of points. While you might make a screen saver out of a traditional front shot, having photos of your trophy from other angles will come in handy when its time to reflect back on a great deer you have taken.

Jasen Louma shows his trophy typical mule deer’s length with a profile photo. His buck, scoring 197-7/8 points, was taken in 2011 while hunting near Great Sand Hills, Saskatchewan.

tule elk 327 1/8 335 317 4/8 362 1/8 316 2/8 328 5/8 294 7/8 306 5/8 291 2/8 297 6/8

276 4/8 290 1/8

Colusa Co., CA Solano Co., CA Merced Co., CA Monterey Co., CA San Luis Obispo Co., CA Monterey Co., CA

Thomas L. Mello Len H. Guldman Craig Baugher Thomas A. Bengard Phillip A. Celador

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011

H. Wilson M. Thomson D. Perrien D. Perrien D. Perrien

Mike A. Carpinito

2001 K. Vaughn

typical mule deer 207 1/8 201 2/8 199 6/8 198 7/8 197 7/8 197 6/8 197 196 3/8 195 2/8 195 1/8 192 1/8

218 205 7/8 204 6/8 203 5/8 221 205 207 2/8 216 2/8 208 7/8 203 1/8 216 3/8

Lincoln Co., NV Lorin J. Wilkin Rio Arriba Co., NM James Dedios, Jr. Rio Arriba Co., NM Charles M. Wilmer Park Co., WY Alex Okonek Great Sand Hills, SK Jasen Louma Unknown Unknown Rio Arriba Co., NM Don Graham Las Animas Co., CO unknown Unknown Unknown Rio Arriba Co., NM Unknown Grand Co., CO Jimmy E. Durant

2011 2011 2008 1970 2011 1972 1960 1993 1970 2001 2011

R. Hall T. Watts J. Caid L. Lewis J. Clary J. Ramsey T. Watts J. Ramsey R. Hall T. Watts S. Grebe

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 69

recently accepted trophies typical Columbia blacktail CONTINUED 135 1/8 140 Chilliwack Lake, BC

134 4/8 140 1/8 Mendocino Co., CA 134 3/8 143 3/8 Humboldt Co., CA 133 1/8 150 1/8 Trinity Co., CA 127 3/8 135 2/8 Chilliwack Lake, BC

A. Abraham & R. Zseder Brandon J. Selvitella Robert J. Tobiason Marc J. Anderson A. Abraham & R. Zseder

2004 R. Berreth 2011 2011 2004 2007

D. Turner R. Grace H. Giger R. Berreth

non-typical Columbia blacktail 177 4/8 191 4/8 Tehama Co., CA

Don K. Callahan

2009 R. Stayner

non-typical Sitka blacktail 125

131 5/8 Zarembo Island, AK Daniel D. McMahon

1985 M. Nilsen

WHITETAIL DEER

FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

typical whitetail deer

ABOVE This typical mule deer, scoring 180-7/8 points, was taken by John-Michael Sebben with his .300 Winchester Mag. He was hunting in Las Animas County, Colorado, during the 2010 season. below Brad C. Dobbs took this non-typical whitetail deer, scoring 188-1/8 points, in the fall of 2010 while hunting in Larimer County, Colorado.

191 5/8 194 2/8 Little Moose Carl T. Grundman 1969

Lake, SK 188 4/8 196 6/8 Rogers Co., OK Jerald W. Ward 2011 187 1/8 195 6/8 Camrose, AB Eugene A. Facette 2001 184 6/8 188 6/8 Pike Co., OH Ronald L. Hale 2010 184 5/8 193 5/8 Warren Co., IA Kevin K. Barr 2009 184 2/8 189 7/8 Clark Co., IN Picked Up 2010 182 4/8 201 3/8 Iroquois Co., IL Kenneth D. Horner 2008 181 188 3/8 Buffalo Co., WI Klint M. Reinhardt 2010 180 185 5/8 St. Clair Co., IL Sheldon B. Scheehle 2011 177 2/8 187 2/8 Douglas Co., NE Jadon J. Sprague 2011 177 2/8 186 7/8 Smoky Lake, AB Brent G. Morgensen 2010 175 5/8 184 7/8 Belmont Co., OH Damon K. Detling 2010 175 5/8 189 2/8 Ottawa Co., KS Byron S. Peters 2010 175 201 2/8 Jo Daviess Co., IL Danny L. Kirchner 2010 172 7/8 204 3/8 Union Co., LA John S. Preaus 1965 172 6/8 176 4/8 Bennett Co., SD Heidi M. Williamson 2010 172 176 2/8 Keeley Lake, SK Crescenzo C. Galli, Jr. 1996 172 176 4/8 Unknown Unknown 2004 172 182 3/8 Pawnee Co., KS Scott P. Shea 2010 171 5/8 174 7/8 Rusk Co., WI Dennis J. Gallion 2010

171 2/8 181 5/8 Tippecanoe Co., IN Richard N. Mow, Jr. 2008 170 5/8 181 3/8 Pierce Co., WI Scott A. Hove 2011 170 1/8 183 1/8 Buffalo Co., WI Picked Up 2011 169 3/8 171 3/8 Faulk Co., SD Christopher M. Huiras 2009 167 7/8 171 Cass Co., MO Allan Shores 2010 167 6/8 177 5/8 Chariton Co., MO Mark E. Penrod 2010 167 6/8 173 5/8 Woodford Co., KY Robert R. Richardson II 2009 167 2/8 169 7/8 Pulaski Co., MO Luke W. Tallant 2010 166 5/8 174 Burnett Co., WI Kim J. Reese 2010

166 2/8 172 5/8 Green Lake Co., WI Nicholas J. Polcyn 2008 165 7/8 185 3/8 Orange Co., NC Douglas P. Malinowski 2011 165 6/8 174 7/8 Mirabel, QC Steve Lanthier 2010 165 5/8 181 6/8 Norman Co., MN Joshua J. Wentz 2010 165 4/8 188 5/8 Nuevo Leon, MX Christopher E. Embrey 2010 165 2/8 172 1/8 Richland Co., WI Daniel Hellenbrand 2009 165 1/8 177 4/8 Adams Co., IA Byron D. Bonnema 2010 164 7/8 181 2/8 Osage Co., MO Stephen G. Heckman 2011 164 4/8 169 7/8 Itasca Co., MN Robert M. Smothers 2010 164 4/8 169 6/8 Pine River, BC Jason R. Mattioli 2010 164 3/8 171 2/8 Van Buren Co., MI Dustin J. Quick 2011 164 1/8 168 7/8 Martin Co., IN Kent W. Gingerich 2010 163 5/8 168 4/8 Harvey Co., KS John Wiebe 2011 163 4/8 177 7/8 Shawano Co., WI Ralph F. Schacherl 2011 163 1/8 186 3/8 Lintlaw, SK J. Alick McMillan 2009 162 4/8 168 1/8 Jones Co., SD Joshua E. Diaz 2009 162 4/8 178 5/8 La Salle Co., TX Carl W. Santleben 2010 162 1/8 174 4/8 Allen Co., OH Christian Lee Shafer 2008 161 5/8 164 4/8 Hennepin Co., MN Dale T. Schons 2010 160 2/8 172 1/8 Martin Co., IN Shawn E. Gilbert 2009

A. Holtvogt J. Pennington G. Foster G. Trent W. Bunger D. Curts R. Willmore B. Ihlenfeldt M. Kistler R. Krueger J. Graham B. Todd B. Harriman P. Farni D. Moreland J. Medeiros D. Burke D. Lees W. Johnson K. Zimmerman J. Bogucki S. Fish D. Petrick L. Jass R. Bergloff R. Bergloff J. Lacefield L. Lueckenhoff K. Zimmerman S. Zirbel R. Bell G. Landry R. Dufault J. Stein S. Godfrey G. Hempey L. Redel T. Rogers D. Milton D. Merritt M. Verble M. Steffen S. Zirbel F. Hendrickson W. Jones E. Fuchs M. Wendel D. Meger M. Verble

non-typical whitetail deer 249 1/8 257 Posey Co., IN 246 5/8 251 5/8 Hamilton Co., IN 242 3/8 253 5/8 Amaranth, MB

70 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Audrey L. Sharp 2011 D. Belwood Timothy M. Jungblut 2011 J. Bogucki Edmond Kopp 1998 L. Gatlin

recently accepted trophies non-typical whitetail deer CONTINUED 232 2/8 239 3/8 Seward Co., NE J. Owens & K. Meyer 2010 D. Boland 220 1/8 228 3/8 Mercer Co., MO John D. Berry 2010 D. Skinner 219 7/8 228 1/8 Lewis Co., MO Picked Up 2008 J. Baker 216 6/8 225 6/8 Choctaw Co., MS Casey B. Orr 2010 J. Blaylock 216 3/8 224 7/8 Chickasaw Co., IA Amanda J. 2010 J. Nordman

Mueterthies 210 5/8 215 Spalding, SK Mark Fouhse 2009 A. Holtvogt 208 216 7/8 Crawford Co., WI Brian J. Barlow 2005 E. Randall 205 1/8 218 3/8 Wayne Co., IN Jon E. Stout 2010 T. Wright 203 1/8 209 1/8 Chester Co., PA David B. Collins 2010 B. Buhay 202 5/8 205 Jackson Co., IA Branden A. Post 2011 P. Farni 202 211 4/8 Cumberland Co., IL Picked Up 2009 R. Ernst 199 3/8 217 1/8 Atchison Co., KS Nicholas R. Gerety 2010 B. Rueschhoff 198 5/8 202 2/8 Clark Co., IN Kyle P. Hoehn 2010 D. Curts 197 7/8 207 5/8 Lancaster Co., NE Tyler J. Shaw 2011 S. Cowan 195 4/8 203 4/8 De Soto Co., MS Picked Up 2011 R. Dillard 195 3/8 207 Moniteau Co., MO Brock A. Wilson 2011 D.

Hollingsworth 193 6/8 208 3/8 Gallatin Co., KY Steven P. Otten 2011 J. Phillips 193 203 6/8 Columbiana Co., OH Justin M. Zehentbauer 2010 M. Kaufmann 192 2/8 201 4/8 Auglaize Co., OH Randall J. Springer 2011 M. Wendel 190 7/8 198 Otoe Co., NE Warren L. Reiter 2008 K. Freymiller 190 5/8 194 3/8 Fulton Co., IN Justin K. Reynolds 2011 W. Novy 190 5/8 200 4/8 Alexandria Lake, ON Pierre A. Lauzon 2009 Y. Chouinard 189 3/8 195 1/8 Hennepin Co., MN Jacob J. Grygelko 2010 P. Carlson 189 1/8 192 Decatur Co., IA Matthew W. Whitcher 2010 R. Turk 189 195 4/8 Clay Co., MO Zachary H. Smith 2008 R. Bergloff 188 3/8 191 1/8 Owen Co., KY Shannon Boling 2011 J. Lacefield 188 1/8 194 Larimer Co., CO Brad C. Dobbs 2010 E. Stanosheck 187 3/8 195 2/8 Hitchcock Co., NE Randy W. Weaver 2008 B. Wiese 186 5/8 196 7/8 Bon Homme Co., SD Curtis L. Pudwill 1963 L. Jass 186 4/8 194 3/8 Washington Co., OH Robert J. Miller 2010 J. Satterfield 185 2/8 205 2/8 Dubuque Co., IA Nathan W. Mohr 2010 P. Farni

typical Coues’ whitetail 125 115 7/8 109 5/8 105 1/8 102 6/8

135 1/8 118 4/8 119 4/8 108 6/8 106 5/8

Sonora, MX Sonora, MX Sonora, MX Sonora, MX Sonora, MX

Charles M. Wilmer Harry P. Samarin William J. Smith Charles I. Kelly Jeremy M. Wernig

1999 2011 2011 2011 2011

M. Cupell J. Bugni C. Lacey W. Keebler H. Saye

non-typical Coues’ whitetail 136 4/8 147 5/8 Santa Cruz Co., AZ John R. Kelso

1947 E. Buckner

ABOVE Nicholas J. Polcyn was shooting his .30-06 Springfield when he took this typical whitetail deer, scoring 166-2/8 points. He was hunting in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, during the 2008 season. below Brian A. Solan was on an archery hunt in Lincoln County, Montana, in 2011, when he harvested this Shiras’ moose, scoring 142-3/8 points.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 71

mountain caribou continued 406 1/8 414 Spatsizi Plateau, BC Ross S. Priest 394 3/8 411 3/8 Kluane Lake, YT Tyson Hope

MOOSE & CARIBOU FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

2011 E. Swanson 2011 T. Grabowski

woodland caribou 290 5/8 297 6/8 Parson’s Pond, NL

Joseph M. Aesif, Jr.

2011 C. Lieser

Canada moose 222 7/8 211 207 1/8 189 5/8 185 5/8

232 4/8 214 6/8 209 7/8 191 3/8 195 6/8

Kenora Co., ON Cassiar Dist., BC Aroostook Co., ME Birch Mts., AB Somerset Co., ME

Ken O. Wilson Ed Swanson, Jr. David Such Douglas G. Meyerink M.W. & T.W. Palmer

2011 2010 2011 2010 2009

D. Chambers G. Markoski C. Lieser R. Novosad D. Levasseur

Alaska-Yukon moose 242 2/8 247 5/8 Arctic Red River, NT Brian J. Woods 2010 K.

Zimmerman 230 5/8 236 5/8 Matanuska Cole A. Hagge 2010 G. Anderson

Glacier, AK 228 5/8 232 1/8 Paradise, AK Chad M. Rataichek 2011 S. Zirbel 222 2/8 226 7/8 Bonnet Plume Paul M. Keller 2009 M. Parks

Range, YT 218 7/8 226 Pilgrim River, AK Ian C. Booth 2011 P. Burress 213 2/8 219 6/8 Unknown Unknown 1973 E. Stanosheck 212 3/8 217 1/8 Dennison Creek, AK Darrell L. Edwards 2011 C. Logsdon 210 3/8 213 6/8 Nowitna River, AK James N. Wendt 2008 L. Hansen

Shiras’ moose 169 6/8 165 3/8 162 1/8 160 6/8 159 2/8 158 6/8 157 6/8 155 145 3/8 142 3/8

172 7/8 167 7/8 165 6/8 166 161 4/8 161 7/8 162 1/8 161 6/8 149 5/8 149 7/8

Sheridan Co., WY Dewayne E. Dillon Benewah Co., ID Matthew K. Ireland Weber Co., UT John D. Percival Albany Co., WY James G. Cotterman Mesa Co., CO Gregory D. Foraker Bonneville Co., ID Christopher A. Behm Grand Co., CO John W. Westfall Flathead Co., MT Edward J. St. Onge Deer Lodge Co., MT Cletus L. Wandler Lincoln Co., MT Brian A. Solan

2011 2011 1981 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011

M. Barrett L. Eidnes J. Rensel W. Hepworth D. Waechtler R. Atwood B. Smith J. Williams J. Reneau J. Reneau

mountain caribou 437

453 3/8 Mt. Nansen, YT

72 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

Colin Urquhart

2011 P. Deuling

barren ground caribou 440 4/8 449 1/8 Clearwater

Mountains, AK

Joshua J. Ellis

2011 C. Brent

Central Canada barren ground caribou 389 4/8 397 7/8 Obstruction

Rapids, NT

Todd G. Schoepke

2006 S. Sirianni

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

HORNED GAME

FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

pronghorn 95 6/8 91 4/8 88 4/8 87 2/8 86 2/8 85 6/8 85 4/8 85 84 2/8 84 2/8 84 83 6/8 83 6/8 83 2/8 83 2/8 82 6/8

97 94 88 6/8 87 4/8 87 6/8 86 1/8 86 85 7/8 84 3/8 85 84 5/8 84 3/8 84 5/8 83 5/8 83 5/8 84 3/8

Washoe Co., NV Stan S. Jaksick 2011 Washakie Co., WY Blake A. Luse 2011 Catron Co., NM Richard I. MacMillan 2010 Elko Co., NV John V. Bottari 2011 Jefferson Co., OR Ronald B. Oliver 2011 Hudspeth Co., TX Timothy D. McCreary 2007 Sweetwater Co., WY Ben A. Savage 2011 Sweetwater Co., WY Duane F. Butler 2011 Fremont Co., WY Gregory S. Faxon 2011 Sweetwater Co., WY R. Spencer Ellison 2011 Modoc Co., CA Mathew J. Garcia 2011 Las Animas Co., CO Robert W. Smith 2011 Natrona Co., WY Heath J. Overfield 2011 Big Horn Co., MT Peter P. Gierke 2011 Natrona Co., WY Shad W. Kline 2006 Carbon Co., WY James H. Mason 2011

V. Trujillo F. King R. Stayner L. Clark G. Childers O. Carpenter M. Fowlks R. Hall R. Bonander R. Hall H. Wilson J. Willems D. Hart B. Zundel R. Bonander B. Wilkes

recently accepted trophies pronghorn continued 82 6/8 82 6/8 82 4/8 82 4/8 82 4/8 82 2/8 82 81 6/8 81 2/8 81 80 6/8 80 6/8 80 2/8 80 2/8 80 80

83 4/8 86 83 2/8 83 2/8 83 4/8 83 2/8 82 7/8 82 2/8 82 6/8 81 5/8 81 6/8 81 2/8 81 4/8 81 7/8 81 3/8 80 2/8

Fremont Co., WY Jerry D. Dye 2011 Washakie Co., WY Sy L. Gilliland 2011 Elbert Co., CO Todd M. Mezeske 2011 Socorro Co., NM Nathan Creek 2010 Sublette Co., WY James M. Ellis 2011 Socorro Co., NM Matthew S. MacMillan 2010 Fremont Co., WY Jacob K. Lesser 2011 Washoe Co., NV Eric M. Johnson 2011 Sweetwater Co., WY Matthew S. Palmer 2011 Sweetwater Co., WY Kyle H. Arnell 2010 Carbon Co., WY Patrick J. Hagens 2009 Fremont Co., WY Stacey C. Porteur 2011 Fremont Co., WY Abbigail J. Faxon 2011 Sweetwater Co., WY James Creaser 2011 Haakon Co., SD Ryan L. VanTassel 2010 Lake Co., OR M. Newton Merrell 2011

L. Guldman R. Bonander S. Grebe R. Stayner E. Boley R. Stayner R. Bonander J. Capurro B. Nash K. Dana J. Mankin D. Perrien R. Bonander B. Dampman L. Jass L. Griffin

bison 128 2/8 127 120 6/8 117 6/8 116 4/8

129 5/8 127 5/8 121 1/8 118 6/8 117 4/8

Teton Co., WY Teton Co., WY Wayne Co., UT Custer Co., SD Teton Co., WY

Eugene D. Royer Picked Up Don C. Weston Pamela S. Coburn Larry L. Haines

2010 2011 2011 2010 2010

T. Atkinson R. Anderson K. Leo R. Hanson D. Fisher

Rocky Mountain goat 53 2/8 53 2/8 51 2/8 50 6/8 50 4/8 50 4/8 50 49 4/8 49 48 2/8

53 4/8 53 3/8 51 2/8 51 50 4/8 50 5/8 50 49 5/8 49 4/8 48 6/8

Morice Lake, BC Piute Co., UT Weber Co., UT Beaver Co., UT Chelan Co., WA Weber Co., UT Beaver Co., UT Whatcom Co., WA Box Elder Co., UT Ware, BC

Dustin D. Alexander Rose Rackman Brian R. Spencer Blake Gillies Tony A. Lind Skyler Miller James J. Janisch Stephen C. Stenson Clark A. Moss Gregory G. Sutley

2011 2011 2011 2008 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009

R. Berreth K. Leo J. Wall K. Leo J. Cook R. Hall R. Hall L. Carey K. Fullenkamp D. Watson

bighorn sheep 200 200 7/8 199 5/8 200 1/8 190 1/8 190 4/8 187 5/8 188 3/8 186 3/8 186 4/8 186 3/8 187 4/8 181 3/8 181 6/8 180 7/8 181 5/8 178 7/8 179 177 3/8 177 5/8

Blaine Co., MT Elk River, BC Nez Perce Co., ID Blaine Co., MT Blaine Co., MT Fergus Co., MT Missoula Co., MT Rosseau Creek, BC Ravalli Co., MT Whitehorse Creek, AB

Wayne J. Schottler Picked Up Douglas A. Sayer Randy D. Brenteson Kristina M. Rauscher Greg A. Bergum Don R. Ondrisko Michael L. Savarella David W. Hackstadt Cory R. Powlesland

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2011 2006

V. Yannone G. Markoski R. Atwood A. Flowers M. Sullivan R. Kirsch C. Sundstrom R. Berreth J. Reneau K. Wiebe

ABOVE While hunting in Washakie County, Wyoming, during the 2011 season, Sy L. Gilliland harvested this pronghorn, scoring 82-6/8 points. below Robert W. Cassell was on a hunt near Fortymile River, Alaska, in 2011, when he harvested this Dall’s sheep, scoring 162-7/8 points.

desert sheep 180 6/8 174 5/8 174 4/8 171 3/8 168 6/8 168 1/8

181 6/8 176 4/8 175 171 7/8 169 2/8 170

Pima Co., AZ Clark Co., NV Sonora, MX Brewster Co., TX Culberson Co., TX Maricopa Co., AZ

Mark T. Donovan Rex M. Indra Roy D. Glass Kenneth B. Garcia Gerald L. Warnock James D. Hamberlin

2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2009

D. May R. Stayner E. Fuchs E. Fuchs T. Rozewski R. Stayner

Dall’s sheep 174 4/8 173 4/8 172 164 163 5/8 162 7/8 162 6/8 162 1/8 161 5/8

174 6/8 173 6/8 172 6/8 164 163 7/8 163 6/8 163 2/8 162 3/8 162 3/8

Brooks Range, AK William R. Foster Tok, AK Bryce W. McGough Chandalar River, AK Charles A. Larsen Robertson River, AK Justin P. Larsen Mackenzie Mts., NT Grady M. Stephens Fortymile River, AK Robert W. Cassell Chisana Glacier, AK Michael C. Anderson Mackenzie Mts., NT Reginald A. Gassen Chugach Mts., AK Scott A. Limmer

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009 2011 2005

A. Jubenville C. Brent R. Boutang J. Zins P. Carlson F. Noska A. Jubenville P. Carlson G. Stults

Stone’s sheep 171 4/8 172 2/8 Telegraph Creek, BC Billie Joe Robb 2011 K. Leo 171 171 2/8 Racing River, BC Dave S. Fyfe 2010 D. Eider 169 1/8 169 4/8 Dease Lake, BC Ray Hiller 2011 R. Berreth 166 6/8 167 Dease Lake, BC Marvin Kwiatkowski 2011 R. Berreth 165 1/8 165 5/8 Turnagain River, BC Dion Benninger 2011 R. Berreth 163 5/8 164 1/8 Gundahoo River, BC Jeffrey M. Jones 2011 R. Hall

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 73

The trophies in the field photos on the following pages have all been accepted in Boone and Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards Program.

Check out the Boone and Crockett Club’s official web site at:

www.booneandcrockettclub.com

74 n Fair Chase Summer Fall 20112012

Top row

While on a 2009 hunt near Ware, British Columbia, Gregory G. Sutley harvested this 48-2/8 point Rocky Mountain goat. He was shooting a 7mm Remington Mag. Michael J. Carpinito was shooting a .300 Weatherby in Garfield County, Washington, in 2011, when he harvested this typical American elk, scoring 363-4/8 points.

This typical Coues’ whitetail, scoring 125 points, was taken in 1999 by Charles M. Wilmer in Sonora, Mexico. He was shooting a .257 Weatherby.

MIDDLE row

This typical mule deer, scoring 180-1/8 points, was taken in Moffat County, Colorado, by Dennis L. Kneese in late 2010.

Timothy D. McCreary was on his 2007 hunt in Hudspeth County, Texas, when he harvested this pronghorn, scoring 85-6/8 points.

Billie Joe Robb, pictured with his guide Heidi Gutfrucht, took this Stone’s sheep, scoring 171-4/8 points, in 2011. He was hunting near Telegraph Creek, British Columbia.

BOTTOM ROW

While hunting near Parson’s Pond, Newfoundland, during the 2011 season, Joseph M. Aesif, Jr. harvested this woodland caribou, scoring 290-5/8 points.

FEATURE PHOTO

Brock A. Wilson harvested this non-typical whitetail, scoring 195-3/8 points, in 2011 while hunting in Moniteau County, Missouri.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 75

76 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

TOP ROW

In the spring of 2011, Craig D. Martin harvested this 15-3/16 point cougar while hunting in Idaho County, Idaho.

John V. Bottari took this pronghorn, scoring 87-2/8 points while on a 2011 hunt in Elko County, Nevada.

While hunting in Bennett County, South Dakota, during the 2010 season, Heidi M. Williamson harvested this typical whitetail deer. The buck scores 172-6/8 points.

Justin P. Larsen was shooting a .300 Winchester Mag. on his 2011 hunt near Robertson River, Alaska, that resulted in this Dall’s sheep, scoring 164 points.

MIDDLE ROW

This Rocky Mountain goat, scoring 50 points, was taken in Beaver County, Utah, by James J. Janisch in 2011.

Edward J. St. Onge took this Shiras’ moose, scoring 155 points, in 2011 while hunting in Flathead County, Montana.

Roy Darren Glass was hunting in Sonora, Mexico, in 2011 when he harvested this desert sheep scoring 174-4/8 points. Glass was shooting a 7mm Remington Mag.

FEATURE PHOTO

William J. Smith was hunting in Sonora, Mexico, in 2011 when he took this typical Coues’ whitetail scoring 109-5/8 points.

While bowhunting near Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan, during the 2011 season, Buck Siler harvested this black bear, scoring 21-4/16 points.

BOTTOM ROW

Jim Durant took this typical mule deer, scoring 192-1/8 points while on a 2011 hunt in Grand County, Colorado.

While hunting in Platte County, Wyoming, during the 2011 season, Jamie A. Ainsworth harvested this black bear, scoring 20-7/16 points.

Fair Chase Summer 2012 n 77

A look back...

t y p i ca l m u l e de e r

Although this trophy held the title of World's Record for only two years, it remains a stand-out Sagamore Hill Award winner and record typical mule deer. This buck was taken by Edison A. Pillmore near North Park, Colorado in 1949 and scores 203-7/8 points.

78 n Fair Chase Summer 2012

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