Summer 2015 Fair Chase Magazine by Boone and Crockett Club

SUMMER 2015 | $9.95

CONSERVATION EDUCATION PROTECTING HUNTER’S RIGHTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 6

FROM THE EDITOR | In this Issue

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

Volume 31 n Number 2 n Summer 2015

8 FROM THE PRESIDENT | Private Land Stewardship Morrison Stevens, Sr. James Bullock and James L. Cummins 12

CAPITOL COMMENTS | The Specter of Public Lands

SPRING BLACK BEAR HUNT

CARTRIDGE REVIEW | 8mm Remington Magnum

THE FOLLOW-UP SHOT

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL | To Shoot or Not to Shoot

MINNESOTA GOVERNORS DEER OPENER

54. Mind Games

Steven Williams

Mark Ryckman

Craig Boddington

Wayne van Zwoll

Chuck Adams

Philip P. Massaro

FRONTIER TYPES | Excerpt from Ranch Life and Hunting Trail

Theodore Roosevelt

MILESTONES IN CONSERVATION

THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF HEADS AND HORNS | Part One

One was a short, square-built, good-humored Kanuck, always laughing and talking, who interlarded his conversation with a singularly original mixture of the most villainous French and English profanity.

18. Spring Black Bear Hunt

34. MN Governors Deer Opener

Doug Painter

B&C Staff

Lowell E. Baier

The National Collection of Heads and Horns in historical perspective poses a real paradox. How could the world’s finest big game trophy collection be assembled just after the turn of the century by one of the country’s strongest hunting opponents while America was decrying the destruction of its vanishing wildlife?

52 SCIENCE BLASTS | Collective Science and Collaborative Conservation John F. Organ

26. The Follow-Up Shot

MIND GAMES

NEW GUNS AND GEAR

Bob Robb

64 WILD GOURMET | Grilled Marinated Caribou Sirloin Scott Leysath 66 TROPHY TALK | 29th Big Game Conservation Awards Jack Reneau 68

B&C PRESS RELEASE | Elk, Deer Research Honored by

Boone and Crockett Club

64. AWARD WINNING! Wild Gourmet

BEYOND THE SCORE | Roosevelt’s Elk Hunt

COVER Whitetail buck from central

GENERATION NEXT | 29th Awards Youth Trophy List

RECENTLY ACCEPTED TROPHIES AND TROPHY PHOTO GALLERY 29th Awards Program Entries | Sponsored by Realtree Xtra Green

I AM A FAIR CHASE HUNTER

Montana. © DONALD M. JONES

@BooneAndCrockettClub #BooneAndCrockettClub

Terry Raymond

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5

ABOUT THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB The Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt. Key members of the Club have included Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, Madison Grant, Charles Sheldon, Gifford Pinchot, Frederick Burnham, Charles Deering, John Lacey, J. N. “Ding” Darling, and Aldo Leopold. The Club, through Roosevelt and these early leaders of the American conservation movement, saw a crisis in humanity’s impact on wildlife and their habitat and called people to action to change America’s direction. They initially focused on protecting wild places and impeding the killing of game and fish for markets. The result of the Club’s efforts to establish a foundation and framework for conservation in America includes what has lately become known as the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation. The Club’s efforts were aimed at the development and passage of the Timberland Reserve Act, which reserved approximately 36 million acres for national forests. The Club worked to develop the

Yellowstone Park Protection Act, which expanded the size of the Park, established laws for its protection, and became the model piece of legislation for all future national parks. The Club played a major role in establishing many other areas for use by the public, including the Glacier National Park, Mount McKinley National Park, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, National Key Deer Refuge, Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge, and Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge, to name a few. The Club played a major role in impeding the massive killing of wild animals for meat, hide, and plume markets, which resulted in the Club developing and working for passage of the Lacey Act and other modern day game laws. Other significant pieces of legislation the Club was involved in included the Reclamation Act, National Wildlife Refuge System Act, Migratory Bird Conservation Act, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Healthy Forests Restoration Act, and what is commonly called the “Farm Bill.” The Club and its members were also active in establishing other conservation organizations such as the New York Zoological

FAIR CHASE PRODUCTION STAFF

Society, Camp Fire Club of America, National Audubon Society, American Wildlife Institute, Save the Redwoods League, Ducks Unlimited, North American Wildlife Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, and more recently, the highlyeffective American Wildlife Conservation Partners. In 1906, the Club established the National Collection of Heads and Horns as a repository for examples of the vanishing big game of the world and to enlist public support for their protection. In 1932, the Club published the first Records of North American Big Game. It has consistently published records books and has held Big Game Awards Programs since the 1940s. Boone and Crockett Club’s highly-popular scoring system was adopted in 1950 and is still the most popular scoring system in the world and one of the few based on science and fair-chase principles. The Club has long advocated for the need for science to be the backbone of professional wildlife research and management, including the establishment of Cooperative Wildlife Research Units at the nation’s land grant universities.

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

Club President – Morrison Stevens, Sr. Secretary – Tom L. Lewis Treasurer – C. Martin Wood III Executive Vice President – Administration Timothy C. Brady Executive Vice President – Conservation James F. Arnold Vice President of Administration Marshall J. Collins, Jr. 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 2015 CJ Buck Class of 2016 Ned S. Holmes Class of 2017 Anthony J. Caligiuri

FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

FOUNDATION

Foundation President – B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Secretary – Tom L. Lewis Treasurer – C. Martin Wood III Vice President – R. Terrell McCombs Vice President – Paul M. Zelisko Class of 2015 Gary W. Dietrich B.B. Hollingsworth, Jr. Ned S. Holmes Tom L. Lewis Paul M. Zelisko Class of 2016 John P. Evans Steve J. Hageman R. Terrell McCombs John P. Schreiner C. Martin Wood III Class of 2017 Remo R. Pizzagalli Edward B. Rasmuson James J. Shinners John A. Tomke Leonard J. Vallender

Editor-in-Chief – Doug Painter Managing Editor – Karlie Slayer Conservation and History Editor Steven Williams Research and Education Editor John F. Organ Hunting and Ethics Editor Mark Streissguth Assistant Editors Keith Balfourd Jim Bequette CJ Buck Kendall Hoxsey Marc Mondavi Jack Reneau Tony A. Schoonen Julie L. Tripp Editorial Contributors Chuck Adams Lowell E. Baier Craig Boddington James Bullock James L. Cummins Scott Leysath Philip P. Massaro John F. Organ Terry Raymond Jack Reneau Bob Robb Mark Ryckman Morrison Stevens, Sr. Steven Williams Wayne van Zwoll Photographic Contributors Victor Clark John Hafner Robert Harvey Don Jones

Fair Chase is published quarterly by the Boone and Crockett Club and distributed to its Members and Associates. Material in this magazine may be freely quoted and/or reprinted in other publications and media, so long as proper credit is given to Fair Chase. The only exception applies to articles that are reprinted in Fair Chase from other magazines, in which case, the Club does not hold the reprint rights. The opinions expressed by the contributors of articles are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Boone and Crockett Club. Fair Chase (ISSN 1077-4627) is published for $35 per year by the Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801. Periodical postage is paid in Missoula, Montana, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fair Chase, Boone and Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801 Phone: (406) 542-1888 Fax: (406) 542-0784

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Chief of Staff – Tony A. Schoonen Director of Big Game Records – Jack Reneau Director of Publications – Julie L. Tripp Director of Marketing – Keith Balfourd Office Manager – Sandy Poston Controller – Jan Krueger TRM Ranch Manager – Mike Briggs Assistant Director of Big Game Records – Justin Spring Development Program Manager – Jodi Bishop Assistant Controller – Abra Loran Digital Strategies Manager – Mark Mesenko Creative Services Manager – Karlie Slayer Conservation Education Programs Manager – Luke Coccoli Customer Service – Amy Hutchison Records Dept. Assistant – Wendy Nickelson

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IN THIS ISSUE If you’re a country music fan you no doubt recall Miranda Lambert’s big hit of 2014, “Automatic.” It’s a lovely ballad in which she recalls not only the slower pace but also the more “hands on” way we lived in the predigital age. A portion of the lyrics go: “If we drove all the way to Dallas just to buy an Easter dress We’d take along a Rand McNally, stand in line to pay for gas God knows that shifting gears ain’t what it used to be I learned to drive that 55 just like a queen, three on a tree” If you’re too young to have hunted with paperhulled shotgun shells, I’ll point out that “three on a tree” refers to a 3-speed manual transmission with the gearshift lever mounted on the steering column. I had one on my first car, a ’52 Chevy Business Coupe. Rand McNally, the map folks, is still, I assume, part of our current lexicon. More than just a wistful reminiscence of her youth, Ms. Lambert also leaves us with a good point to consider. Part of her refrain goes: “Hey whatever happened to waiting your turn Doing it all by hand ‘cause when everything is handed to you It’s only worth as much as the time put in it” 6

FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

FROM THE EDITOR

When I was a youngster, I spent my summers at an outdoor-oriented camp in western North Carolina heading out on week-long hiking trips in the Pisgah and the Nantahala National Forests. Instead of a road map, my challenge was how to learn to use a topographic map and compass. It took me some time to memorize the various map symbols and the meaning of the contour lines, to understand the effect of declination and to finally plot a course on the map. More than learning how to get from point A to point B in the woods, what I really learned from my new found orienteering skills was a new measure of confidence and self-reliance. No different really than starting a fire (with a limit of three strikeanywhere matches) on a rainy evening, shooting well with an open sighted .22 or paddling a canoe in swift water. I’m not stubbornly oldfashioned. Today, give me my GPS any time. My point is that if newcomers to hunting, whether youngsters or adults, learn hunting and woodcraft skills “from scratch” they will learn much

more than just the skill itself. As we reach out to new audiences we should continue to emphasize the contributions our community has and continues to make to wildlife conservation and the role of hunting and record-keeping as key aspects of scientific wildlife management. We should not neglect, however, to point out that the learning curve to becoming an ethical and capable hunter has helped instill in our participants important values, from self-reliance and hardiness to self-restraint, responsibility and a respect for our natural resources. For the newcomer, that learning curve shouldn’t be too easy, indeed, “Automatic.” Siri may now have all the answers. A strike-anywhere match may still be the better teacher. It’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be part of the Boone and Crockett Club team. If you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions you can reach me at painter.doug@yahoo.com. Hope to see you down the trail. n

As we reach out to new audiences we should continue to emphasize the contributions our community has and continues to make to wildlife conservation and the role of hunting and record-keeping as key.

Doug Painter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Boone and Crockett Club welcomes shooting, hunting and outdoor industry, and communications veteran Doug Painter as editor-in-chief of Fair Chase, the official publication of the Boone and Crockett Club. Painter served 38 years with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, working his way up from a media relations writer in 1973 to the president and CEO in 2002. He retired in 2011. Along the way, Painter played a key role in developing numerous communications campaigns emphasizing firearm and hunting safety, hunters’ roles in conservation, good sportsmanship and positive public image of hunting and shooting sports. He remains active in the industry. Painter is involved in many communications projects, is an editorial advisor to Sporting Classics magazine, and is on the boards of the Wildlife Management Institute and Youth Shooting Sports Association. A lifelong hunter, Painter’s sporting passions have taken him from Alaska to Africa and South America to Siberia. “Respect. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of Doug and his career. We’re thrilled to add his caliber of esteemed experience, insight and skill to the masthead of Boone and Crockett’s publication,” said Morrie Stevens, Club president.

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5

FROM THE PRESIDENT

PRIVATE LAND STEWARDSHIP I would like to thank James Bullock and James Cummins for their contributions to this column. Both of these articles illustrate the big picture view of the importance of private lands and touch on major federal programs that focus on private land conservation. In this article, I hope to “get in the weeds” and highlight other programs and resources available to landowners, provide a list of important contacts, and present some personal examples regarding private land ownership and enhancement on Michigan properties. My goal is to encourage our readers to engage themselves and become good stewards and preservers of their land. As Bullock and Cummings mention in their respective articles, our efforts will extend well beyond our property lines, and are an important part of the bigger conservation picture, as most of the United States is privately owned. No single agency, group or individual can do it alone. Today, conservation is a collective effort—partnerships and networks being key—and can only be achieved from a united front. MICHIGAN PROGRAMS

Since I am a Michigan resident and landowner, I have listed Michigan-specific programs here that serve as resources for private landowners. n n n

Qualified Forest Program Forest Stewardship Program Landowner Incentive Program Wildlife Habitat Grant Program Wetland Mitigation Banking

FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

If you are interested in discovering what programs are available for the type of land you own then I suggest you contact your local DNR or Fish and Game regional office where your land is located. A personal visit with the appropriate agency representative will assist you in choosing the program(s) that best compliment your land and your personal objectives.

land use and protection of conservation areas for species or habitats at risk; an example is sage grouse and range land management in the Great Basin area. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) also administers the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), which is a program focused on improving farming practices. EQIP has taken over Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).

FEDERAL PROGRAMS n

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency administers the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and its many forms that vary by State. CRP is a “set aside” program, which means that land must be actively farmed and taken out of production for a period of time in order to be eligible for enrollment. Contact your local USDA Service Center or Conservation District for more information. The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs (ACEP), which includes programs and protection for wetlands, grasslands, and forest lands. The focus of the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE), formerly Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), is to restore and protect degraded wetlands. To qualify, the land must have altered hydrology, such as ditches or tiles, or be farmed wetlands. There is also protection for working land in the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRLPP), which promotes wise

The USDA Forest Service (USFS) offers the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) and Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), which are grants given to state agencies aimed at sustainable and wildlife friendly forest management and protection on private forest lands. The Department of Interior’s (DOI) US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has two private land habitat programs; 1) the Coastal Program, which can be on public or private land involving coastal habitat concerns regarding federal trust resources (e.g., migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, fish, and rare and declining habitats); and, 2) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW), which is one of the most flexible and landownerfriendly programs available. PFW benefits federal trust resources on private land. PFW funding is at least 50 percent non-federal, making it tax payer friendly.

Morrison Stevens, Sr. PRESIDENT

make contact with the agency office that has jurisdiction for the land that you own or want to enhance. They will be eager to help you due to the private property presence in the United States and its importance in the sustainability of our land and wildlife resources. To get you started, I list here some potential points of contact. n

Non-Profit Conservation Organizations (NGOs): Many of us are also members of other conservation organizations. Most of these organizations partner with state or federal conservation programs to ensure that their objectives are covered. Being involved with these NGOs can help keep you informed.

Conservation District Offices: Sometimes called Soil and Water Conservation Districts, these are typically located in every county and are often co-located with the USDA Service Center. They are a hub for many private land conservation programs.

USDA Service Centers: Usually co-located with Conservation Districts, house both FSA and NRCS.

USFWS State Private Lands Office: Assistance for the PFW and Coastal Programs.

State Wildlife or Natural Resource Agency: For state specific programs.

University Extension Services: Offers programs and consultation that vary by state.

GETTING STARTED

There is not enough room in this article to properly cover the specificities of each program. Thus, I urge you to

WHAT WE DID

I want to provide you with real life examples of how a team put together a number of these programs and contacts to use on a hunting property that I own with five other partners in northern Michigan. The Tuttle Marsh Club in northeastern Michigan is a 400-acre hunting camp that I have been a part of for almost 40 years. It is surrounded by the HuronManistee National Forest, which is designated as the Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area. This is a 5,000-acre area that is managed by the US Forest Service (USFS) primarily for wildlife habitat. The USFS has improved over 400-acres of wetland and has also established a couple hundred acres of native grassland in the area. The FS is devoted to keeping the forest young and vibrant for the benefit of wildlife. Understanding that my team is a part of a larger landscape and that collective management is important, the first thing we were advised to do was to develop a forest management plan. This was facilitated and completed by a professional forester, and was cost-shared through the Forest Stewardship Program with the Michigan DNR. First, our club had to prioritize our management goals. Our goals were to improve habitat for wildlife with an emphasis on game such as deer, grouse, woodcock, and turkey, and to generate revenue while maintaining forest aesthetics around the lodge. The forest management plan provided a baseline and template of a process to achieve those goals. The plan outlined specific areas and techniques for habitat improvement such as tree plantings, timber harvests, forest opening improvement, food plot establishments, nesting structures, fruit tree establishment and maintenance, and forest edge improvement. With the plan as our guide and

with some additional support from a USFWS Biologist, we implemented many of the suggested practices and preformed several others as opportunities arose. First, we established food plots and mineral licks in key locations. Second, we planted conifer trees, fruiting shrubs, and apple trees along the edges or our larger openings. We also instilled an annual apple tree management plan for pruning, fertilizing, and spraying. Third, we worked with the USFWS to improve our larger fields by controlling invasive knapweed and establishing diverse native grasses and wildflowers, which met both federal objectives and our own by providing benefits to migratory song birds and pollinators, as well as water, food, and cover for our game. Fourth, we enhanced several wetland areas on the property through the PFW program. These wetlands provide critical habitat for a wide array of species, not just ducks. Fifth, we conducted two timber harvests; one to regenerate aspen and young forest while maintaining mast producing trees. The other was a timber stand improvement, or thinning, to improve understory cover and mast production. As part of the timber harvest we installed more food plots and trails and seeded them to clover. Using revenue from the timber sale we planted more conifers and fruiting shrubs in the cut over understory. Sixth, we established nest boxes for wood ducks and bats around the wetland areas. Seventh, we found a beekeeper to put hives on the property in an effort to improve pollination and fruit production of our apple trees and fruiting shrubs. Eighth, we worked with the PFW program to perpetuate alder and aspen that were not commercially viable and declining in value to wildlife. Strips were clear cut,

basically mowed using a hydro-axe or forestry mower, to regenerate the young trees and shrubs. These species need to be occasionally cut down in order to maintain optimal habitat for woodcock and golden-winged warblers, which have national importance, but also provided great habitat for grouse, deer, rabbits, and turkey of interest to our club. These outcomes did not occur overnight; in fact, our first step, the Forest Management Plan, took place back in 1998, but over the years we have become more educated as a club and can readily see the difference our efforts have made in the land and the wildlife. In 2001, a resource professional from the Conservation District approached my family with a proposal to place our family farm land in a “set aside” program. The program was called the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program or CREP, an enhanced version of CRP. His plan was to restore the hydrology by breaking some tiles and doing shallow excavation to mimic land formation, similar to what might have been there prior to land grading and farming, to create some open water, and to plant the fields to native grasses. CREP, which is a DNR and USDA cooperative effort, offered a substantial annual soil rental rate plus incentive payments to take our land out of production for 15 years. After the 15 years we could farm it again if we desired. This seemed to make sense not only financially, but also to improve the land for wildlife, hunting, soil conservation and water quality—so we signed up! It took a few years to implement the program, but once it was complete we immediately saw the benefits for deer, turkey, waterfowl, and even some pheasants and

quail. Plus, we no longer had to worry about losing the crops to floods. Our 15 year contract is due to expire soon, so we are now pursuing permanently protecting the land in order to continue these resource benefits in perpetuity. This land serves as a perfect example of the old conservation slogan, “farm the best, and conserve the rest.” Even though the land has productive soil to grow crops, it still floods annually, which makes the land difficult to farm and contributes to water quality problems. We have decided to be good stewards and protect this land permanently by enrolling in the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) program. Through the WRE program, we hope to further improve the wildlife habitat and restore it to a more natural f loodplain plant community. We look forward to the satisfaction of knowing that its benefits will long outlive all of us. We will give up some of our land ownership rights, but we will also retain the rights to hunt, fish, and control trespassing, which is ideal for our situation. Neither of these examples would be presentable without assistance from professional natural resource folks such as foresters, resource professionals, and wildlife biologists. Nor would we have had the financial incentives to do the right thing, as land management can be very expensive with little economic return on investment. I encourage you, especially if you are a landowner, to find the right program or person to help you meet your goals. It is your duty and responsibility as a landowner to be a good steward of the land. If you seek professional assistance you, too, can be effective. Spread the word! n

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATE LANDS TO WILDLIFE JAMES BULLOCK B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Vice President for Forest Sustainability for Resource Management Service, LLC

From its inception, the Boone and Crockett Club promoted the scientific management of wildlife and wildlife habitat throughout the United States. Much of the Club’s focus has been on wildlife management and conservation on public lands in states west of the Mississippi River. This emphasis was driven in part by the large amounts of land in public ownership in the western U.S., and also by the first tenet of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation, which states that wildlife belongs to the public and is managed as a public trust resource. In recent years, the Club has renewed its commitment to natural resource conservation, and strengthened its support for science-based management of those resources on both public and private lands. BUT, WHY PRIVATE LANDS?

While wildlife is publicly owned, most of the nation’s wildlife habitat for game and non-game species is in private ownership. Approximately 1.42 billion acres or 73 percent of all land in the United States is privately owned. Almost 88 percent of the annual rain and snowfall each year is on private lands. About half of all federally listed, threatened, and endangered species have at least 80 percent of their habitats on non-federal lands, 10 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

the vast majority of which is privately owned. Over 100 bird species have more than half of their breeding grounds on private lands. Draw a line from the Dakotas, south to Texas, and in every state east of that line except Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, and New York, private land ownership exceeds 80 percent. While private landowners have various reasons for owning land, the three major land uses are forestry, agriculture, and ranching. The Boone and Crockett Club has the opportunity and also the challenge of serving as the national leader in balancing land use objectives with conservation priorities; ensuring that wildlife habitat and fair chase hunting experiences will exist for future generations of hunters and conservationists. MEETING THE CHALLENGE

The Boone and Crockett Club is uniquely positioned to integrate science with management of wildlife and natural resources on private lands. Dr. E.O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, recently attracted attention with his writings about a “long landscape” corridor strategy for conserving up to half of the country for wildlife habitat. While his overall goal is ambitious, the core idea is sound, and is one that translates well to a landscape conservation strategy for the Club. The first step is to identify priority areas for private land wildlife management initiatives that promote habitat for big game and other wildlife species. Then assemble the public and private landowner stakeholders to the table to identify opportunities for meaningful conservation and habitat management. Lastly, work using existing programs and policies, as well

as new administrative efforts and programs to incentivize the project, particularly on private lands. Throughout this process there is a need to build support at the grassroots levels—support from landowners, academia, local politicians, hunters, and other land users. I have observed this approach to be effective for the conservation of black bear and restoration of longleaf pine in the southern United States, and I believe it could be an equally effective model for future conservation efforts in which the Boone and Crockett Club can have a meaningful role every step of the way. OUR TIME IS NOW

The time is right for the Boone and Crockett Club to increase our conservation and stewardship mission on private lands, especially in the eastern and southern United States; and to emerge as a thought leader for sciencebased wildlife management and conservation of natural resources on private and public lands. How can we succeed? The Boone and Crockett Club and our members need to be engaged thought leaders in major conservation initiatives. Landscape-scale wildlife conservation strategies that retain working forests, working farms, and working ranches, and that promote science-based wildlife management of our natural resources are some of the best ways to unite wildlife professionals and private land owners. The Boone and Crockett Club and our base of regular and professional members, is uniquely positioned to move this strategy forward. Advocacy will play a major role in furthering wildlife management on private lands. Legislation or policy that provides incentives for

private landowners to manage their lands in a way that benefits the public trust doctrine of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation can pay huge dividends to all of us who own, manage, or hunt on private lands; while legislation or policy that increases the regulatory burden on, or cost of ownership of private lands can cripple conservation or habitat initiatives on those lands, or even worse, result in unintended conversion of those lands to a use not compat ible w it h w i ld l i fe management. The Club must remain true to the vision of our founders; a vision that has carried the club forward since 1887. The mission of the Boone and Crockett Club includes the phrase, “…promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat; to preserve and encourage hunting; and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship…” Club members as far back as founder Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold were strong advocates for science as a base for natural resource management decisions. As a natural resources manager, a certified wildlife biologist, a hunter, and a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club, I believe we must be involved in conservation and management of private lands. If we can meet the challenge of engaging as a thought leader on natural resource issues and strategies, and be tireless advocates for legislation and policy that encourages science-based wildlife management on private lands, and if we remain true to the vision that is the Boone and Crockett Club, we will successfully meet the challenge of maintaining wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities on private and public lands. n

STATE BY STATE BREAKDOWN PRIVATE LAND VS. PUBLIC LAND Rank

USA % Public

39.8

% Private

60.2

US BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE UNITED STATES: 1991 (11TH ED.) WASHINGTON, DC, 1991, P.201.

% Public 95.8 87.8 75.2 70.4 60.4 56.8 55.9 52.1 47.4 43.3 41.9 37.5 37.1 29.2 28.1 23.5

18.3

17.8 17.3 17.1 16.5 16.1 15.8

81.7

82.2 82.7 82.9 83.5 83.9 84.2

State AK % Private 4.2 Rank

12.2 24.8 29.6 39.6 43.2 44.1 47.9 52.6 56.7 58.1 62.5 62.9 70.8 71.9 76.5

State NC

50 RI

% Public 14.6 14.1

11.8

11.2 10.9 10.7

9.7

9.1

8.9

7.6

7.4

7.1

6.3

6.2

5.7

4.6

4.5

4.2

4.1

2.8

1.9

1.5

% Private 85.4 85.9 88.2 88.2 88.8 89.1 89.3 90.3 90.9 91.1 92.4 92.6 92.9 93.7 93.8 94.3 95.4 95.5 95.8 95.8 95.9 97.2 97.2 98.1 98.5

PRIVATE LANDS POLICY AND WILDLIFE JAMES L. CUMMINS B&C REGULAR MEMBER Executive Director of Wildlife Mississippi

All too often we associate public land with wildlife, but private lands are vitally important to the conservation of wildlife in the United States. Private lands constitute 73 percent of the land ownership in the lower 48 states. In addition, 50 percent (890 million acres) of the land-base in the contiguous United States is managed as cropland, pastureland, and rangeland. The successes in conservation and wildlife management we have been able to achieve in this country are anchored by key pieces of legislation that have been passed in the last 100 years. One such critical piece of legislation is the Farm Bill, which had its beginning in the 1930s. Back then, it was known as the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This initial legislation was intended to help steer the country out of the Great Depression. It addressed widespread domestic hunger, falling crop prices for farmers, and the catastrophic Dust Bowl that resulted in massive soil erosion. This act restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies to

not plant part of their land, to let natural vegetation grow, and to remove excess livestock. The purpose was to reduce the surplus of agricultural commodities and therefore effectively raise the value of crops. Periodically the legislation is re-authorized, often improving conservation policy, addressing commodity payments such as disaster assistance payments and crop insurance, as well as supplemental nutrition assistance programs. The recent Farm Bill is a compilation of many different acts that have been passed by the United States Congress to enhance agricultural productivity and conservation on private lands. The Farm Bill is not a single piece of legislation but a dynamic series of acts implemented over the past eight decades that include new programs or revise existing ones. The Farm Bill affects every citizen. Each Farm Bill has a name and a five-year shelf life before it requires any reauthorization by Congress. From a sportsmen’s perspective, the most effective conservation provisions of the Farm Bill are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE), and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). These provisions directly impact wildlife habitat and the health of upland game bird, waterfowl, and big game populations. The CRP has been the

single largest contributor in securing upland bird habitat, as well as native grass food sources and cover for whitetail deer, mule deer, and elk. The WRE has restored over 1 million acres of bottomland hardwoods and wetlands in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, which is aiding in recovery of the federally threatened Louisiana black bear. The WHIP is a costeffective program that has helped install a variety of fish and wildlife improvement projects on approximately 7 million acres under 40,000 different contracts. Landowners enrolled in these programs receive incentives for land conservation practices. These include native grass establishment, wetland restoration, and forest restoration or enhancement. These programs gained traction in the 1980s, after the prevailing farming practices of the 1970s, when farmers began to cultivate fencerow to fencerow to maximize production. These practices removed what native habitat was left for wildlife to survive, which also had a detrimental effect on soil quality. The Boone and Crockett Club’s Conservation Policy Committee, under the leadership of Bob Model, has left its mark on past Farm Bill legislation. In 1996 the Club played an active role in getting WHIP included as part of the Farm Bill. In 2005 it was active in including provisions in CRP to conserve bottomland

hardwoods, as well as establishing the Healthy Forests Reserve Program. In 2008 the Club was able to include provisions for an emergency forest restoration program and endangered species recovery. The 2014 Farm Bill, which also involved the Boone and Crockett Club, consolidated 23 existing conservation programs into 13 programs, while strengthening tools to protect and conserve land, water, and wildlife, as well as reduce the federal deficit by $23 billion. By streamlining programs, the Farm Bill provides added flexibility and ensures conservation programs are working for producers in the most effective and efficient way possible. Other important private lands policies include the USFWS’s Partners for Wildlife Program, conservation easements through the federal tax code, and environmental asset mitigation programs such as those for wetlands and streams, as well as carbon, water quality, and threatened and endangered species. Theodore Roosevelt, said, “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.” While our country is facing some mighty grave issues, I just have to believe TR would be proud of how America has advanced the system of conservation he created to expand beyond lands the government owns to those of the private landowner. n FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 11

THE SPECTER OF PUBLIC LAND Language in the 2016 Congressional Budget Resolution and the actions of western state legislatures has intensified the debate concerning the disposal of federal public lands. This is not a new idea; many of us remember the Sagebrush Rebellion of the late 1970s and early 1980s. That effort did not produce land transfers but it served to galvanize voters around certain political candidates and views. Today, that specter rises again. Our nation’s public land is at stake and a short history lesson is in order. Prior to the 1870s, the federal government’s policy was to dispose of western lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Compromise, and the Mexican War. Unlike the 13 original colonies, which became separate and sovereign states, the federal government owned these lands and their settlement was rigidly controlled by federal presence and rules. Federal efforts to settle these lands included the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Mining Law of 1872. Land grants to railroads helped develop transportation routes and towns that further encouraged western settlement. In the 1870s, the federal government shifted its policy from settling the entirety of public lands through private individuals and commercial interests, to providing protection for lands from development. The establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 established a clear policy that conservation should accompany development. Forest Reserves, the predecessor of the National Forest System followed in 1891, and wildlife 12 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

sanctuaries, the predecessor of the National Wildlife Refuge System, in 1903. Unchecked resource use, changing public attitudes, and a strong social movement led by the likes of Club founders, George Bird Grinnell and Theodore Roosevelt, drove this federal policy shift. These actions led to a conservation legacy unparalleled across, and envied by the world. During the 1930s, the federal government responded to the flagrant disregard for conservation on private and public lands by est abl ish i ng t he Soi l Conservation Service and passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. The establishment of the Bureau of Land Management in 1946 was driven by recognition that the federal government must play a stronger role in the management of public lands that were not managed for beneficial, sustained use. Although the debate on federal land management and land transfer had raged for decades, in 1970 the Public Land Law Review Commission issued a report that included a recommendation that public land disposal be curtailed and land retention be emphasized. Today federal land occupies 30 percent or more of the landmass of 12 western states, and almost 85 percent in Nevada. It is understandable why the debate about federal land transfer continues. However, individual state efforts to transfer federal land to state control ignore not only the U.S. Constitution but also the constitutions of states involved. As a condition of statehood, the states of Nevada, Utah, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and others, forever relinquished

CAPITOL COMMENTS

their right to federal public land within their boundaries. This legal matter has prompted some members of the U.S. Congress to take their own action. A recent report titled, “Principled Stewardship of the American West,” authored by The Joint Senate and Congressional Western Caucuses, lays out four principles. Embedded in one of those principles is a statement that the Caucuses “will work to reduce the size of government by selling excess federal land suitable for disposal.” In December, the House Committee on the Budget requested a description of how the Congressional Budget Office would estimate budgetary effects of land sale, exchange, or transfer. As it has in the past, once again, the issue of transferring federal land to other interests has captured Congressional attention. Clearly Congress has the authority to transfer lands. However, they also have the responsibility to fully explain to the American public why there is a change in a more than century-long public policy of public land retention and enhancement. The arguments against public land are nothing new: too expensive to maintain; too burdensome to administer; not managed efficiently; not enough tax revenue for local communities; not responsive to local communities’ economic needs, and on and on. The dissatisfaction with public land is real and deserves a measured debate. That debate should include a discussion of the economics associated with current and future development on those lands, recreational access and use, ecosystem services

Steven Williams, Ph.D. B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER PRESIDENT Wildlife Management Institute

provided, and sustainable use. Public involvement and transparency must be part of the process. The capability of state agencies to assume the cost of management, over and above what federal agencies are providing today, must be part of the discussion, as well as the public’s involvement in the management of these lands at the state level. The sale of public land to private interests for private profit and enjoyment must be part of the discussion. Fina l ly, Congress should provide the American public with an explanation of why they have not changed federal laws and regulations that have stymied the effective management of public lands, why Congress hasn’t addressed the litigious activity associated with land management decisions, and why inadequate financial resources have been provided to land management agencies. T he B o one a nd Crockett Club has been instrumental in creating the public land base that Americans enjoy today. These lands stand as a monument to our founders and to our passion. Using that passion, we must work with Congress to improve the care and use of these national treasures. n

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 13

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A level of respect

THAT LED TO THE NEED FOR CONSERVATION

ÂŠ VICTOR CL ARK

Whatever the game, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no shame in a second shot. A fast follow-up to an animal still mobile is as much an imperative as careful placement of the first bullet. A finisher to an animal down and dying,

PR MIM NG E R2 020 1 51 5 16 FA I R CH A S E | SSU

from a distance that spares it further terror, takes that life more humanely than would nature. All shots, it seems to me, are best delivered to that end. PG 26. THE FOLLOW-UP SHOT by Wayne van Zwoll

This white sheep photographed in the desert near Las Vegas, Nevada is a rare example of a divergent coat color. Although mostly white, this ram is technically not a true albino because some level of pigment is being produced, note that the eyes are not pink as in a true albino. Dr. John Wehausen, retired biologist from the White Mountain Research Station, reported that about eight percent of the bighorn sheep on Clark Mountain in California were white.

| S P RI FAIR FAIRCH CHASE ASE | SUM MN EG R 2 0 1 5 17 17

SPRING BLACK

MARK RYCKMAN Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Senior Wildlife Biologist

BEAR HUNTS

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE At a time when more and more North ONTARIO FEDERATION

OF ANGLERS AND HUNTERS

American game and fish departments are considering spring and/or fall hunting seasons to manage increasing black bear populations, it is helpful to examine the experiences of other jurisdictions. Ontario has a long and varied history of black bear hunting and management and can provide some useful insight into the state of bear management today. Ontario is blessed with healthy big game populations that support sustainable hunts in every corner of the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one million square kilometers. Until 1960, black bears were considered vermin and were persecuted under a bounty system. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until 1961 that the province, with encouragement from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), recognized the black bear as a valuable big game animal that deserved increased protection and management. In that year

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The cancellation of the spring bear hunt in Ontario is symptomatic of a larger problem facing hunters and anglers across North America. Hunting and fishing seasons for certain species all across the continent are under pressure from a variety of sources, including urban-based antihunting, animal rights activists and their political supporters. Governments of all stripes would rather take the easy way out, closing seasons or cutting tags or licences

that only affect hunters and anglers, rather than looking for the root causes of wildlife or fish population declines and managing these on the basis of science, not social or political pressures. The cancellation of the spring bear hunt in Ontario is only one example of how uninformed governments act in the face of pressure that has little to do with the causal factors behind a species decline, and more to do with what’s politically expedient. In doing so, they ignore the

fact that hunters and anglers are the ones who called for the creation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in response to threats to our wildlife and fish populations; they ignore the fact that hunters and anglers put their money where their mouth is and fund on-the-ground conservation programs to protect and restore species throughout the continent; and they ignore the fact that hunting and angling contribute billions of dollars

to the national economies of our respective countries and pay for a majority of the fish and wildlife programs that everyone benefits from. The next time a government decides to take the easy way out, or to bend to the will of anti-hunting activists, who contribute little but hot air, they would do well to ask themselves, who’s paying the freight? GREG FARRANT MANAGER OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND POLICY - OFAH

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SPRING BLACK

BEAR HUNTS

the black bear was listed as a game mammal and the bounty was revoked, increasing the black bear’s value to both hunters and the province’s overall biodiversity. In 1980 the province created a separate black bear license, requiring deer and moose hunters to purchase a separate licence to hunt bears. For over 60 years Ontario enjoyed the benefits of both spring and fall hunting seasons. For much of that time, the spring bear hunt catered mostly to non-resident hunters. Resident participation was insignificant in the early season (most hunted strictly in the fall), but began increasing after black bears were listed as a game animal. By the early 1990s, resident hunters accounted for approximately 50 percent of bear licence sales, but only 25-30 percent of the spring harvest. The difference in harvest is owing to the higher success rates of outfitter-led, non-resident hunters. All told, 6,000 bears were harvested by over 20,000 hunters each year. But this proven wildlife management tool came to a screeching halt in 1999 when then Premier Mike Harris caved to pressure from a wealthy industrialist and animal rights activists and abolished the spring bear hunt in Ontario. These groups pressured Harris with an emotionally charged and scientifically inaccurate tagline that “Even one orphaned bear cub is too many.” With the stroke of a pen, anti-use activists were successful in eliminating 20 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

hundreds of jobs and $40 million in annual economic contributions. Public consultation revealed that the majority (64 percent) of comments supported maintaining the spring bear hunt. Wildlife management decisions were being made based entirely on emotion, as opposed to sound and defensible science. The OFAH, along with representatives from the tourist industry and academia took the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to court in an attempt to have the decision overturned. As the largest non-profit, conservationbased organization in Ontario and Canada, the OFAH remains the only stakeholder group with the capacity to fight this type of injustice. We argued that the purpose of Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act is restricted to conservation and safety issues where game populations are managed, and that the government’s objective of individual animal welfare was contrary to the basic principles of conservation and natural resource management. We feared that if the law permitted the government to cancel the spring bear hunt to prevent the accidental and already illegal orphaning of a single bear cub, then it could easily be extended to moose, deer, duck, or wolf seasons. Government data estimates that on average, a maximum of 27 bear cubs were accidentally orphaned by hunters per year, which is significantly less than the number orphaned by vehicle collisions and about ten times fewer than what the anti-use activists falsely claimed. But this case was about much more than the spring bear hunt—it was about our rights as Canadians to ensure that government policy is not based on misinformation. The case worked its way through the provincial court system, but was ultimately defeated when

the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear our final appeal. By that point, our colitigators had abandoned the case, leaving the OFAH to shoulder the burden of protecting our hunting heritage. It was a direct attack on hunting, and remains one of the greatest anti-hunting victories in the history of North America. Despite losing the case, the OFAH is proud to have challenged the government, reminding them that wildlife management decisions must be evidence-based and not determined by those with the deepest pockets. Over the past 15 years the OFAH has never given up the fight for full reinstatement of the spring bear hunt, because of the suite of benefits it provides. The spring bear hunt provides significant personal, social, economic, and biological benefits. Spring bear hunters are rewarded with the riches of the hunting experience—spiritual fulfillment, self-improvement, connection to nature, as well as wholesome food and valuable hides. Government information shows that for the 12-year period 1987-1998, the spring bear hunt generated $350$500 million in direct and indirect economic benefits, and 2,600-3,600 person-years of employment. A spring bear hunt successfully reduces bear densities (particularly

male bears) immediately prior to the peak human-bear conflict period, reduces cannibalism by male bears on females and cubs, and reduces predation on deer fawns and moose calves. Ontario’s spring bear hunt was a proven example of sustainable development in practice, where the benefits from a renewable resource were maximized and costs to society were minimized. Ironically, our opponents’ goal of saving bear cubs by abolishing the spring bear hunt likely resulted in the death of even more cubs as a result of cannibalism by large male bears, because these boars were no longer being targeted by hunters in the spring. In early 2014 we received news that, in response to increasing human-bear conflicts, our provincial government was considering reopening the spring bear hunt on a limited basis to address concerns about public safety. Not surprisingly, animalrights activists were furious at the government’s proposal and launched a legal challenge, and even received an endorsement from former Price is Right host and animal rights advocate Bob Barker. In part, they claimed that the spring bear hunt would result in cub orphaning, and therefore contravened Canada’s animal cruelty legislation. Apparently they weren’t aware that the

Many hunters feel that the pilot project was designed to fail. Annual variations in weather will continue to contribute to the number of human-bear conflicts in a given year, but a spring bear hunt can certainly help by reducing the density of bears that are typically involved in conflicts (males between one and five years old).

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FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 21

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legislation is limited to willful and deliberate acts of neglect and abuse, and therefore doesn’t apply to the accidental shooting of encumbered sows (nor would it apply if you accidentally hit a sow accompanied by a cub with a vehicle). The court dismissed the case and Ontario’s bear hunters were set to experience their first spring bear hunt in 15 years. But this spring bear hunt looks very different from what occurred in the 1990s—it is being reinstated as a twoyear pilot project, it is limited to residents of Ontario, and it only applies in eight Wildlife Management Units (all of which are in northern Ontario), instead of the 70+ units that had a spring hunt prior to 1999. Candidate Wildlife Management Units were chosen based on the number of bear conflicts in those areas and included the areas around Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, North Bay, and Timmins. Municipalities in these Wildlife Management Units were required to opt-in to the pilot project. Like the fall season, use of baits and hunting with dogs is permitted, and shooting cubs or females with cubs is illegal. It’s all well and good to have a spring season on the books, but we feared that if hunters didn’t capitalize on the opportunity to participate, then the government could take it as a sign of low support for spring bear hunting. So the OFAH used all possible forms of communication (print, radio, television, and direct mailing) to their fullest extent, encouraging hunters to show their support by buying licences early and participating in the hunt. The first season of the two-year pilot project ran from May 1 to June 15, 2014. Over 3,200 black bear licences were sold at this time, all of which

were valid for both the 2014 spring and fall bear seasons. Preliminary data indicates that about 850 hunters actively hunted in the spring season and those hunters harvested 193 black bears. Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is assessing the success of the pilot project by monitoring the number of nuisance bear calls to Ontario’s police detachments and Bear Wise Reporting Line; the number of bears harvested; as well as stakeholder and municipal perspectives on bear conflicts. Ontario’s black bear population is stable at 95,000100,000 animals, and the current harvest rate of 6-8 percent of the bear population is well within sustainable limits. By limiting the hunt to Ontario residents and only eight Wildlife Management Units, it’s doubtful that the pilot project will accomplish the stated goal of decreasing bear conflicts, mainly because it was not properly designed for that purpose. Many hunters feel that the pilot project was designed to fail. Annual variations in weather will continue to contribute to the number of human-bear conflicts in a given year, but a spring bear hunt can certainly help by reducing the density of bears that are typically involved in conflicts (males between one and five years old). As I write this, we are only weeks away from opening day of the second year of the spring bear hunt pilot project. It’s not the full reinstatement that Ontario’s bear hunters have been justifiably clamoring for, but it’s a step in the right direction. Now we just need to convince the government that proper black bear management requires both a spring and fall hunt. This valuable resource and the people of Ontario deserve nothing less. n

Ned A. Haas took this black bear in May, 1996, while hunting near Lake of the Woods, Ontario. The Boone and Crockett Club has 82 black bear listed as taken from Ontario. Out of the 82, 17 were harvested in May or June.

It might take decades for your tag to be drawn. But some experiences are worth the wait. When you get that chance, make it count. Nosler.com/TrophyGrade

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FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 23

8MM REMINGTON MAGNUM

CARTRIDGE REVIEW CRAIG BODDINGTON PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Photos Courtesy of Author

Forgotten superstar…or best forgotten? Hey, if you’ve been following this column you didn’t think I’d stick with popular cartridges forever, did you? Although still offered by Remington and occasionally chambered in custom rifles, the 8mm Remington Magnum barely hangs on, with some current references describing it as a rarity or an oddity. Although I’ve tried a couple of times, I don’t think I can change this trend…but despite its lack of popularity it’s an awfully good cartridge.

My long-barreled 8mm Remington Magnum produced the tightest group I’ve ever fired, .052-inch. Yes, that’s probably a fluke, but a group worth framing, and a handload with 220-grain Sierra GameKings well worth having Superior copy!

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The 8mm Remington Magnum was introduced in 1978, unveiled at one of the last really big Remington writers’ seminars, held at the Mescalero Reservation. So the entirety of America’s “A-list” gunwriters used it on elk, and it came out amid a raging blizzard of publicity. The parallel with Winchester’s .338 is obvious. The .338 was introduced 30 years earlier, also amid massive publicity. The .338 took off very quickly at first, but public ardor cooled quickly when word got out that although it stoned large game, it had a lot of recoil (surprise, surprise)! Similarly, initial sales for the 8mm Remington Magnum looked promising, but word quickly spread that it’s a hard kicker, and interest waned. The difference is that over time, the .338 persevered, and has become a standard choice among serious elk, moose, and bear hunters. The 8mm Remington Magnum never caught on. I suppose one should ask why but it probably doesn’t matter because the trend is unlikely to change. Part of it could simply be “the curse of the 8mm.” Bullet diameter .323inch, though reasonably popular in Europe, has never been a hot number in the U.S. Although they studiously avoided the 8mm appellation, Winchester’s .325 WSM is also an 8mm. A great little cartridge, it remains to be

seen if it can overcome the 8mm stigma—certainly the 8mm Remington Magnum has not. And yet Remington’s “Big Eight” has a lot of merit. Based on the .375 H&H, case necked down and blown out (to remove body taper and increase powder capacity), it is capable of propelling heavyfor-caliber bullets at meaningful velocities. On the caliber spectrum it falls exactly halfway between the .30-caliber (.308-inch bullet) and .338. As a full-length magnum (nominally 2.8-inch case) it is capable of higher velocity than the .300 or .338 Winchester Magnums, with similar bullet weights. Undoubtedly these were the two cartridges it was created to compete against. It offers more frontal area than the .30-caliber, and in my experience the difference is noticeable; it hits elk-sized game with dramatic authority! Realistically, it cannot equal the punch of a .33-caliber, especially with heavier bullets, but it can offer a f latter trajectory. In America the .30-caliber is unassailable, and it’s simple fact that above .30-caliber, sales drop off dramatically. Whether it’s as good as or better than either perhaps doesn’t matter; maybe there just isn’t room for a cartridge splitting the difference between .30 and .338? I was the new kid on the block when the 8mm

Remington Magnum was introduced, so I wasn’t invited to that long-ago Remington seminar. My mentors, Bob Milek and John Wootters, were. Both reported that it flattened elk, but was a hard kicker. Undaunted, I used it a bit in the early 1980s in the then-standard Model 700 BDL with 24-inch barrel. Yep, it sure did stone elk, and I also used it for musk ox and some other game. Back then Remington still had hope for the cartridge, with factory loads running from a fast 185-grain load to a very sound 220-grain load. Fifteen years passed before I messed with it again. By then the only standard factory load remaining was a 200-grain load. This remains so today, but Remington has upgraded that load to feature a 200-grain Swift A-Frame bullet at a published velocity of 2,900 feet per second. Actua l velocity varies No 8mm cartridge has ever achieved lasting popularity in the U.S. Despite merit, the 8mm Remington Magnum (right) has never achieved popularity. It remains to be seen whether a newer 8mm, the .325 WSM (left) will break the spell.

depending on your barrel length, but this is a good load with a great bullet. To date, Remington is the only major manufacturer to offer 8mm Remington Magnum factory loads, but there are a few other options out there, including a wonderfully fast Double Tap load with a 200grain Barnes TSX. But let’s back up to the late 90s and my second love affair with the 8mm Remington Magnum. Even then the cartridge was primarily a handloader’s proposition. Though impressive on paper, Remington’s loads were always fairly mild as well as limited. Bullet selection in 8mm is not robust, and in most cases lighter bullets are to be avoided because they’re often intended for 8mm Mauser velocities. Even so, there were and are plenty enough bullets, with good options between 200 and 220 grains from Barnes, Hornady, I was hunting in coastal North Carolina when I harvested one of the biggest black bears I’ve ever taken. It was handily accounted for by the 8mm Remington with 220-grain bullets.

Nosler, Sierra, and Swift. My intent was a longrange elk rifle that could deliver 2,000 foot-pounds of energy at 600 yards. That isn’t so easy, but if you can get the velocity out of a 220-grain 8mm bullet you can get there. Velocity was enhanced by a 28-inch Pac-Nor barrel, the rifle barreled and stocked by veteran Paso Robles gunsmith Norm Bridge. With handloads we were able to exceed 3,000 fps with a 220-grain bullet. As a bonus, we also got exceptional accuracy. Obviously at that kind of velocity there was plenty of recoil, but this was mitigated by gun weight. In addition to the extra-long barrel and walnut stock, we put a Break-O mercury recoil reducer in the butt. The rifle was extremely shootable, but obviously heavy; over 10 pounds without scope, nearer to 12 with scope and mounts. I guess I was younger and stronger back then! It did account for several elk, but I’m happy to say that I never attempted a shot at 600 yards. (It worked just fine at closer ranges!) Because the accuracy was marvelous and I trusted the rifle, I used it quite a lot. Elsewhere in North America it accounted for an eclectic array of game from black bear to Coues’ deer, and it also served some

tours overseas. I used it on at least four African safaris, where it accounted for a wide range of plains game. Most notable were probably Ethiopia and Zambia. In Ethiopia it managed a tough shot on a fine mountain nyala, and in Zambia it worked perfectly on game up to a massive Livingstone’s eland. I never took it on a North American mountain hunt, but I did take on two Asian sheep hunts, first to Turkmenistan for TransCaspian urial, and then on my first Marco Polo argali hunt in Tajikistan. Yep, it worked…but while the long barrel has never been an impediment in open country, I finally figured out that the rifle was too darned heavy to carry in tough country! Or maybe I’ve just gotten older, slower, and lazier. In any case, as much as I like it and as well as it has served me, with a dearth of factory loads and scarcity of rifles, the 8mm Remington Magnum is not a cartridge I would urge you to run out and buy. But if you have one (or run across a good deal on one), don’t underestimate it, especially if you’re a handloader. In some ways it really is better than either a .300 or .33-caliber magnum— just as Remington intended it to be! n

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 25

The Follow-Up Shot WAYNE C. VAN ZWOLL

B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Photos Courtesy of Author

because basketball stars making millions of dollars still miss free throws Why is there time to do it over,

when there isn’t time to do it right the first time? Our first efforts often fail. Even after we know how to get it right, we get it wrong. And we don’t always have a chance to do it over. These were my thoughts as I peered through the aperture sight. The bead covered nearly all I could see of the elk—a patch of rib above the elbow. It was a long poke, as iron sights go. I squeezed the last ounce. The bull vanished in recoil as the “whup!” bounced back. I climbed, found hoof-gashes, then red spray in the snow. He lay dead, perfectly shot. I’d like to say all my bullets flew true. If that were so, however, I’d not bother to load magazines. Killing with the first shot isn’t always imperative, though you can make it so. Hunting with a muzzleloader, you assume you have just one try. A single-shot cartridge rifle imposes the same constraint, if not an equal handicap. Or you can shackle yourself with rules, per Wyoming’s One-Shot Antelope Hunt—a celebrity contest adapted from routine killing. A follow-up to a miss is an indulgence every shotgunner covets when chukars pitch hard into a 26 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

Rain, brush make first shots difficult, follow-ups more so. After a hit, shoot moving game again, fast!

Approach ready to fire again, from behind the animal, rifle up front. Save congratulations for later.

canyon’s maw, or when in grouse cover, alders eat the first ounce of 8’s. Riflemen enjoy second chances less often, the advantage going to those who can cycle a bolt fast from the shoulder. Bullets that hit game without killing it put you in a different place. The option to fire again becomes a requisite. That stricken animal is yours. You damaged it. You can’t fix it. The best you can do now is kill it, right away. Late one afternoon in thickly falling snow I still-hunted a pair of mule deer near timberline. My shot staggered the buck; the blizzard erased him. Then, suddenly, he reappeared, laboring from a hit that struck too far back. I fired again, called a better strike and hurried on the track. Snow as heavy as any I’d ever seen filled the prints. I swept a rock; it winked back, naked and glistening red. As darkness curtained the trees that had swallowed the buck, I found a trail down. The next morning I climbed back up, to flounder helplessly in powder deep enough to hide a picnic bench. The deer lay forever lost. An animal hard hit but with vitals intact can “carry lead.” Perhaps, as some hunters argue, “it’s adrenalin.” Recovering and determined to escape, your quarry can push beyond ordinary limits of speed and endurance. Dangerous game targeting hunters has brooked hailstorms of bullets. The powers of terror and murderous intent can propel animals with shredded vitals. In contrast, a lethal first shot, landing as a surprise, brings no fear or rage. There’s little urgency when the impact remains a mystery.

If you need a second bullet, often you’ll need a third bullet. Your first chance is almost always your best because it offers the most options: fire or decline. If the animal is undisturbed, you can approach or get a better angle, but after you fire alternatives evaporate. Once with a single-shot 7x57, I fired at a deer quartering away. Alas, the buck was farther than I thought and took the bullet low. I pressed to follow across alpine slides that showed no track and occasional blood. A tall north face brought me up short. A rock rolled and the buck broke for the top; my little Ruger fired as he disappeared behind a chimney, then silence. Then he burst from the shadows, somersaulting down the steep talus—heart-shot. Most gratifying, but I had been foolish to fire my first round. The second was less my redemption than the buck’s due. Part of becoming an able marksman is knowing which shots you can make and which you can’t, then declining the latter. Betting all on the first bullet seems to me the hunt’s proper finish. With a life at stake, “I’ll try to hit him” doesn’t make sense. It demeans the creature and cheapens the event. Killing with one hardearned shot caps your effort and confirms it as a hunt. Killing with a second hit, however, can bring back what was squandered or was lost to conditions beyond your control. True aim can’t trump a wind gust, an unseen branch, or a pause in the animal’s step as the trigger breaks. Some time ago I crept toward an elk moving fast toward a timbered canyon. Still far off, I stabbed a rib with

the crosswire and triggered the 7mm. As the bull struggled to stay afoot, I dropped the lever and slid a second round home. Another hit floated back. The breech closed again but the elk had collapsed. I waited, sling taut; movement! The shoulder came clear; the rifle jumped. All three bullets had been lethal, but had I relied on the first, I might have lost that bull in the depths of the canyon. Follow-ups often fail because hunters don’t think about them early. Even when you’re certain a second shot won’t be needed–or even possible–you’re smart to prepare for it. With a caplock rifle, I once tracked a big mule deer into cover that throttled my step and popped and cracked as I pushed through. About to yield, I spied the buck in an opening 90 yards on. I thumbed the hammer and pressed the trigger: “clack!” With no time to reload, I cocked again and fought the urge to

When you’re hunting game that has the means to fight back, insurance shots make at least as much sense as the hyperbole recommending them. FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 27

HOW TO CYCLE A BOLT Running a bolt is as easy as pulling car keys from your pocket. Fast, faultless cycling when it counts, however, is more like finding the right key with frozen fingers in driving sleet. Urgency makes us fumble. A little practice helps; so too a big, smooth bolt knob. Having botched bolt manipulation in every way, I’m well schooled in what not to do. But some methods can make you very fast. I’ve run seven rounds through my bolt-action Lee-Enfield as quickly as a pal emptied his Winchester 94 lever-action. Lifting the bolt handle (knob), use the first joint and mid-section of your middle finger. Bring the bolt back with that middle finger and the first joint of your index finger. Retract smoothly and fully, with enough force to kick the empty. Then hook the base of your thumb over the handle. Shove it forward and down in an arc motion, and that’s all. Don’t pinch the knob between finger and thumb. You‘ll lose camming force and your grip will fail in rain and snow. Practice cycling with dummy rounds, from hunting positions. Always run that bolt as if you must make another shot quickly and accurately! To coddle empties at the range, spread a blanket and spill ‘em! Vigorous bolt manipulation also points up feeding glitches you’ll want to correct.

ON HARDWARE Most lethal hits result from good marksmanship. But rifle, loads, and scope affect how well you shoot—and how fast and effectively you can follow up when first shots fail. Heavy rifles that settle fast in supported positions handicap you when animals dash away up close. A rifle of eight to nine pounds, trailside, seems to me about right. Loads that deliver more power than you need still cripple if you don’t hit vitals, and their stiff recoil slows you for second shots. Modern bullets that expand aggressively and drive deep without losing significant weight add lethal effect to ordinary cartridges. In my view, a .308-class round works fine for any North American game, excepting perhaps big bears. Ironically, optical sights seem to give hunters a lot of trouble for both first and second shots. The trend to higher magnification and complex reticles serves shooters toppling steel at distance. But for big game you’re better off with a scope of modest weight and power, and a crosswire or plex reticle. The last animals I killed, from 14 to nearly 300 yards, fell to 6mm and 7mm rifles with variable scopes at 4x. They included tough, elk-size game. A lowmounted sight with a broad field helps you point the rifle naturally and speeds your aim.

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hurry the shot—a natural tendency with any misfire. By great luck the primer ignited. Through white smoke I saw the buck kick, lunge, and then tumble in a flurry of sun-shot snow. Another time with my arrow deep in the ribs of an elk, I remained still. Readying a second shaft made less sense than staying invisible. With no apparent threat, the mortally stricken bull stood before moving off. As he quartered away, I loosed another shaft. It slipped inside the near shoulder and exited the chest. Not alone fatal, it spilled blood that helped me find the elk after the first wound stopped leaking. On the heels of a shot, you’ll watch the animal’s reaction. Confident of a lethal hit, you may wish to delay movement to avoid detection. If the bullet landed well, there’s no need to move. If you’re unsure of the hit, it’s best to cycle the action fast. As this is written, the last elk I shot took the bullet through an alley in thick brush at 14 steps. But my target vanished entirely during recoil, so I ran the bolt right away. Then I stood, watching several minutes for movement. There was none; the bull had died. Absorbing the shock from a high-velocity bullet, fatally lung-shot game often keeps its feet. A heart shot typically spurs action—a

Big, smooth bolt knobs help you cycle fast. Use the bases of fingers and thumb. Cam on the return.

death-sprint. When an animal drops instantly, you’re smart to ready another round. Instant collapse results when the bullet severs the skull or spine or shatters bone needed for support. When not fatal, these shots anchor the animal for a follow-up hit. More problematic and quite common, is impact that breaks a leg or splinters a spinal process above the spine proper. Such damage and attendant shock can floor an animal as if it had been beaned with a sledge. But seconds, even minutes later, as the shock wears off or when you approach, the creature may find its feet. If it does, you must fire fast or cinch up for a long walk. Once after an elk wilted to my first bullet, I cycled the action and stayed prone despite my pal’s assurance that the animal was dead. I waited three minutes, reticle on the grass and blow-down that obscured my target. After a long climb down to the bull, I found him almost able to rise despite shattered shoulders. I put a finishing bullet from the point of his brisket up between his scapulae. Such a shot, incidentally, is a good clincher. You can stay clear of the animal and out of its ready view, in no danger but also posing no visible threat. A bullet so angled kills quickly and ruins little meat. Aimed shots are the only

Modest magnification speeds recoil recovery and follow-ups. Wayne keeps his scopes at 3x or 4x.

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useful shots—first, second, or the last in your magazine. Firing kills only when bullets land well. Recently in Africa, a friend hit a blue wildebeest a bit too far forward with a .270. The resilient bull galloped off with the herd, then split to bed in the shade on a hill where he could watch his back-trail and the behavior of nearby springbok. They broke just as we got within rifle range. He left, and we followed fast. He paused on the edge of a thicket nearly 300 yards off. Tempted to fire when the Professional Hunter handed me his sticks, I could hold no tighter than four minutes of angle, twelve inches of uncertainty. “Too much,” I shook my head. Delay was a risk, but I insisted on a steadier position, slung up against a tree. The “thwuck!” of my softpoint signaled a hit that broke the bull’s shoulder. On the other hand, a bungled first shot may justify taking pokes you’d decline at uninjured game, especially if the wounded animal is moving, wheels intact, toward cover. A cripple is doomed whether you fire again or not. Don’t think about meat damage; your first priority is to anchor the beast. I’ve shot several animals quartering

This bull vanished at the shot from 14 yards. Wayne cycled, stood ready for a follow-up. Unneeded.

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away, pulverizing hams with bullets that proved unnecessary after autopsies showed lethal first hits. Better to be sure than to stall for a cleaner shot and lose all opportunity! If the animal stops and I can slip undetected to an opening for a better angle, I do so, rifle ready. An elk I hit with a .30-06 Springfield Ackley Improved shrugged off the strike, then stopped in a thicket. Rather than fire at the animal in the shadows, I waited some minutes until it took a step. My next bullet, threaded carefully between branches, shattered both shoulders, dropping the bull. Another time, a shot through thin willows into a moose miscued by a couple of inches. The animal splashed out into a pond, weakened but mobile. I paused. The bull gathered himself and lunged for the bush. I fired twice quickly; both .35 Whelen bullets found vitals. He crashed out of sight and collapsed—in a more convenient place than pond-bottom! O n yet a not her occasion, after a long day hunting buffalo in Namibia’s Caprivi Strip, my PH and I came upon a small group of bulls. Bless his heart, he let

me scurry ahead and sling up, prone on a hill to shoot the biggest bull. My 300-grain .375 A-Frame blasted the near shoulder and drove through the lungs. But Cape buffalo are tough. The bull struggled to keep pace with his companions. Their path, a huge arc, brought them galloping past at 50 yards. I had held my follow-up; now I loosed it, sending a solid through both shoulders. The great animal nosed into the grass. The wounding of dangerous game prefaces many memorable tales. In text, animals that can hurt hunters become demons—not only physically, as meat-grinders, but savage in their determination to get even. You couldn’t blame them for wanting revenge if that were true. Mostly though, animals just want to get away. Decades ago I knew a fellow who’d guided many hunters to brown bears. He carried a Smith & Wesson Model 29, which he said was little better protection than a slingshot. “Brownies pay no mind to revolver bullets.” One day he crawled into cover after a bear he thought hard hit by his client. The beast was quite mobile, however, and burst

from the alders a few feet away. My pal emptied the .44 into that bear as it knocked him down and ran him over, to expire in the bush beyond. He just wanted out. When you’re hunting game that has the means to fight back, insurance shots make at least as much sense as the hyperbole recommending them. In Alaska, a companion and I once sneaked crosswind to within 60 steps of a grizzly. My amigo’s .30 magnum spun the bear, which roared frightfully and tore up the tundra in its wrath. Then it sprinted for a thicket. I fired first, by a blink, and heard the bullet strike. The bear tumbled. The hit that crippled the animal, and the prospect of trailing in alders thick enough to curdle smoke, justified the running shots. Whatever the game, there’s no shame in a second shot. A fast follow-up to an animal still mobile is as much an imperative as careful placement of the first bullet. A finisher to an animal down and dying, from a distance that spares it further terror, takes that life more humanely than would nature. All shots, it seems to me, are best delivered to that end. n

On the other hand, a bungled first shot may justify taking pokes you’d decline at uninjured game, especially if the wounded animal is moving, wheels intact, toward cover. A cripple is doomed whether you fire again or not.

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TO SHOOT

OR NOT

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL CHUCK ADAMS B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Photos Courtesy of Author

TO SHOOT “Half a buck is better than none,” my dad used to tell me when I was a kid.

I cut my deer hunting teeth on Columbia blacktail deer in northern California with a Mauser-action .270 Winchester. Any buck with a fork on one antler was legal game, and it required long hours on hard-hunted public land for Pop and me to bag our deer. We used small fox terrier dogs to jump bucks from the heavily overgrown canyons above our town. Any legal deer was a trophy, and most were

taken as they dodged at high speed through the brush in front of our canine helpers. Shots were quick and often none too precise. It sometimes required a month or more of hard hunting for every buck we tagged, and some of those were dropped as they sprinted straight away or bounded across boulder-strewn hillsides choked with manzanita, poison oak, and bitterbrush. Waiting for a perfect shot was a joke, and any 130-grain bullet that smacked a buck down was considered a success. Sometimes we brought home a complete deer shot

squarely through the lungs or heart. Other times a ham or shoulder was pulverized by fragmented copper and lead. But in those memorable days of scraping to take thinly populated deer in difficult country, half a buck was truly a prize. It was often half a buck or no buck at all. Very few places are as difficult to hunt as public land in the Golden State. After I converted to bowhunting in my mid-teens and after my outdoor writing career took me to many parts of North America and abroad, I discovered that taking the right shot on big game is usually possible. Most habitats have fewer hunters and more animals than the country where I grew up. At best, a hunter with gun or bow should wait for a high-percentage shot. Knowing when and when not to shoot is the mark of a sportsman. There are four primary ingredients in any perfect shot at game. Before I describe these, let me emphasize one overriding principle. No

matter how or where you hunt, you should always take the first good shot that presents itself. This magic window of opportunity might be narrow, and it can slam shut at any instant. If you dither instead of striking like a rattlesnake, the animal might be gone. Consider my friend Albert. He saved his money and booked a guided hunt for big whitetails in south Texas. This was not a canned, highfence adventure. The deer were wild, free-ranging, and hard to find in the flat, heavily overgrown terrain. After six days of sneaking, glassing, and rattling antlers, Albert and his guide were amazed when a giant 5x5 swaggered into view 60 yards away. The buck was on high alert and locked in on the sound of the antlers he had heard clashing together. Albert can hit a pop can every time at that range with his .308 Winchester from an offhand position, but for some strange reason he decided to take two steps to the right for a steady rest across an oak

Intervening obstacles like a field fence can ruin your shot. This buck should be dead meat with a rifle, but a bow’s arching trajectory might present a problem.

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limb. He made it one step before the wise old buck turned tail and ran. That deer should have been Albert’s, but he dallied and blew the chance. He did not get another during the ten-day hunt. DISTANCE

Distance should be your first consideration before you shoot. How far is too far? If Albert’s whitetail had been 200 yards away, then taking a rest would have been the right thing to do. At 60 yards, my pal should have lifted his rifle and fired. As a bowhunter, I have no choice but to shoot offhand. I know my personal sure-kill distance on animals with various sizes of kill zones. If a shot is too far for a definite lethal hit, I try to get closer. It’s the ethical thing to do. Every hunter needs to shoot a lot of targets to determine how far is too far under various field conditions. Even very close animals can be impossible to kill with gun or bow. Intervening obstacles like bushes, logs, trees, or fence wires can screen a critter’s body and ruin your chance of success. One guy I know was elk hunting in Colorado when a nice bull came sneaking by less than 20 yards away. My acquaintance thought his .300 Winchester Magnum would blow through the thick alders in between, but he was wrong. All he got for his trouble was ringing ears, alder splinters on the ground, and a quick view of the elk’s south end going north!

BULLETS OR BROADHEADS

Bullets or broadheads—it really doesn’t matter. No projectile performs well unless you have a clear target to shoot at. Skilled hunters always try to nail the quickly lethal heart/lung zone. This requires knowledge of where those vitals are, and patience to wait for a proper body angle. In hugely difficult shooting situations like I experienced during my youth in California, it might not be possible to wait for a stationary, broadside animal. But many gun-hunting situations do allow this, and all bowhunting situations demand it. If an animal quarters slightly away, so much the better because the chest cavity is even more exposed. Aim a bit above the “elbow” of the front leg and let fly. Bowhunters in particular should wait for a broadside or quartering shot. Sure, butt shots and frontal chest shots with a bow can kill, but the odds of success are reduced. If you do not have the right body angle to shoot at, you should always wait.

moseying by, it might have been possible to take a rest. Suspicious, wound-up animals are especially bad news for bowhunters. A buck or bull on high alert can crouch and duck your arrow with speed that boggles the mind. If the target is tense, with ears cupped stiffly ahead and eyeballs probing your way, it is a mistake to release the bowstring. You will probably miss the shot, or worse yet, hit the animal in a bad place. Ethical archers wait for relaxed, preoccupied big game.

WHEN TO SHOOT

An experienced hunter knows when and when not to shoot. You need to quickly assess distance, intervening obstacles, animal body angle, and the mindset of the target. If the situation is right, you should shoot immediately before the opportunity evaporates. If the situation is wrong, you should wait for a better chance. Unless you are forced to hunt thinly populated, brush-jumping track-star deer, a whole and cleanly dropped animal is always best! n

ANIMAL ATTITUDE

Animal attitude is an important ingredient in how and when you shoot. My buddy Albert should have nailed that Texas whitetail immediately because the buck was close and wary. Trying to sashay to a nearby tree was a formula for failure. By comparison, if the buck had been feeding, chasing a doe, or just

Chuck played hide-and-seek with this huge American elk for more than an hour before he got a clear, close shot. The bull scored 411-3/8 B&C points, and was the Pope and Young Club’s World’s Record for several years.

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 33

M I N N E S O T A

PHILIP P. MASSARO President, Massaro Ballistic Laboratories, LLC Photos Courtesy of Author

GOVERNOR’S D E E R

O P E N E R “Phil, I hope you have warm clothes.

Members of the Otterstad Camp with spike buck. BELOW: Kraig Kiger taking the BB Gun Challenge.

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It’s a bit chilly this morning.” Ron Otterstad wasn’t kidding. November 8, the opening day of Minnesota’s firearm deer season had dawned with a standing air temperature of 12°F, and winds gusting over 30 mph, yet the camp was buzzing like a nest of hornets. Coffee brewing, bread toasting, boots being laced; this was the very definition of deer camp. Four gentlemen I’d never met were kind enough to host a writer from upstate New York, and I’d be joining them for the opening weekend—usually the best deer hunting days of the season. As I climbed up the ladder of the box blind, wearing almost every piece of clothing I had brought along, I watched the first light in the east and reflected on exactly how I ended up here.

What I did leave Minnesota with was a new set of friends, memories of new terrain, and a positive experience overall. And when all is said and done, isn’t that what we’re all after? My buddy Kraig Kiger, Shooting Sports Program Administrator of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, had told me about the 12th Annual Minnesota Governor’s Deer Opener, held each year in a different city throughout the state, which celebrates the common tradition of deer hunting and its universal appeal to the almost half-million Minnesota deer hunters. I was immediately intrigued to hear about a deer hunting event, not only tolerated but endorsed by the state government of Minnesota. This year’s location was the city of Bemidji, situated in the northern part of Minnesota, very near to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The event is coordinated between the Governor’s office, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA), and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It was Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2003 who initiated the Governor’s Deer Hunt Opener, modeled after the Governor’s Fishing Opener; and Governor Mark Dayton has continued the tradition. Regardless of party affiliation, Minnesota’s Government recognizes the importance of the outdoors-men and outdoorswomen, and the financial benefits associated with the outdoor heritage throughout the state. There is a huge banquet at which key speakers from the Minnesota DNR and the

MDHA address the crowd, as does the governor himself. The event features a “Wall of Shame” from the DNR, displaying the collection of huge bucks that the DNR has claimed from poachers. Believe you me, there are some jaw-dropping B&C trophies in that mix. One thing that I noticed immediately was the level of camaraderie. It really seemed like everyone was happy to be there, from the DNR officers and representatives of the MDHA, to the attendants. Adults and kids alike were entertained with a scavenger hunt of sorts, with the “Bad Axe” award as the top prize. From identifying mammal footprints to an air rifle competition and cartridge identification contest, there was fun to be had by all. Minnesota is a state that is blessed with a landscape full of natural resources, and the state government fully embraces the outdoor lifestyle. Minnesota is one of 18 States with a constitutional right to hunt and fish, having passed an amendment in 1998 ensuring that right. Article XIII, Section 12 of the Minnesota State Constitution reads, “Hunting and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage that shall be forever preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good.” This concept of a n equa l

opportunity for all to hunt and fish is widely reflected in the state’s licensing structure. Deer licenses and tags are available over-the-counter, and while deer quotas have been reduced for 2014, there is always an opportunity for a hunter to head to the woods after deer. I was privileged to sit down with folks from the Minnesota DNR and MDHA who work hand-in-hand on many of Minnesota’s outdoor programs, including a joint program to supply deer with high protein feed in especially harsh winters. A one dollar fee is added to hunting licenses and those funds are allotted for the purchase of the feed, which volunteers from the MDHA distribute on state lands to ensure the proliferation of whitetail deer. THE GOVERNING BODY

Both Tom Landwehr, commissioner of the DNR, and Dave Schad, Deputy Commissioner, were nice enough to sit and talk deer hunting in Minnesota, and Minnesota hunting

in general. They were both proud of the Governor’s Deer Hunt Opener, which is open to the public, and the way the event highlights the importance of the hunting way of life. Instead of being a prestigious governor’s tag sort of event, it celebrates the Minne s ot a out do or smen’s common ground: the family unit that hunts together, and the friends made at deer camp. There were discussions of Minnesota’s deer herd, which has been diminished by a pair of tough winters, and is feeling the effects of predation from coyotes and timber wolves alike. Tom and Dave were proud of the DNR’s efforts to help the deer herd, from the feeding of deer in rough winters to the direct application of trapping and hunting pressure to maintain sustainable, yet balanced wolf populations. With the lowered deer population, the DNR had no choice but to restructure the amount of deer each hunter could take in 2014, and both Dave and Tom indicated to me that the news was rather FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 35

THE EDUCATION When I spoke to the officials from both the DNR and Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA), there was one concurrent theme: education. The desire to pass on the hunting legacy was a high priority with both organizations, and the programs that are in place seem to be working. Doug Applegren, VP of MDHA, was very pleased with the school archery programs. Kraig A. Kiger of Minnesota’s DNR helps to implement these programs in the 400 participating schools, and there are roughly 198,000 school kids taking part in this program. The program culminates in a tournament, where over 1,300 children compete in different classes for the top prize: a lifetime hunting or fishing license. There is a top prize for both male and female winners. “Everything we’re doing leads to increasing outdoor participation,” said Kiger, “and that is the ultimate goal.” I fully concur, Kraig. Please keep up the good work. While spending time in the hunting camps, I definitely noticed that among the wizened veterans, middle aged experts (including the author), and energetic teens and twenty-somethings, there were the younger kids, soaking it all in, wide-eyed and eager. For the first time I feel optimistic about the future of hunting.

THE FINANCES In Minnesota over 470,000 deer hunters head to the woods annually; and those hunters pump more than $700 million into the state’s economy each year. Hunting creates over 12,000 jobs within Minnesota, supports restaurants, lodging, sporting goods stores, and much more. The Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council introduced a 0.375% sales tax, which goes directly toward conservation efforts. Those efforts are clearly visible in the amount of land that has been reserved, via conservation easements, for hunting and wildlife purposes. The Lessard Sams movement was put to a public vote, and was passed by a huge margin, which should tell you how strongly Minnesotans feel about the outdoor heritage. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr told me that Lessard Sams generates over $90 million per year, and that’s nothing to sneeze at! The Governor’s Deer Opener isn’t the only event of this type; it is predated by the Governor’s Fishing Opener, and Governor Mark Dayton, being an avid upland bird hunter himself, has started the Governor’s Pheasant Opener to continue the motif. Minnesota has seen it fit to protect the outdoor lifestyle in its constitution, and is one of 18 other states to do so. Vermont, my neighbor to the northeast, had the wisdom to introduce this type of language into its constitution in 1777, but it took 219 years for another state to do so. Alabama signed the right to hunt and fish into law in 1996, and Minnesota was third to follow suit in 1998. I can attest to the popularity of the hunting lifestyle in Minnesota; nearly everyone in rural parts of the state was dressed in blaze orange and other hunting gear, and no one even cocked an eyebrow. In my home state, I’ve gotten many strange looks when enjoying breakfast in a remote diner while garbed in hunting gear. Kudos to you, Minnesota; please continue to embrace hunting and fishing.

36 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

well received among hunters, who understood given the circumstances. Tom and I talked about diseases that affect deer, such as CWD and blue tongue. Blue tongue isn’t present in Minnesota, but CWD did rear its ugly head years ago, and the DNR was quick to respond, effectively containing the disease. Today Minnesota is CWD free. “We did have a problem with bovine tuberculosis in northwestern Minnesota,” said Commissioner Landwehr, “and we worked very hard to eradicate both the infected cattle as well as the infected deer. We used sharpshooters from helicopters to stop the spread, and I’m happy to report that we’ve been TB free for three years now.” Dave Schad and I discussed the moose population in the northeast section of the state, and he expressed his concerns about dwindling numbers. “The moose season is suspended at the present time, and the DNR is working very hard to find a way to improve herd numbers. We now have better radio collars, which have a ‘mortality mode,’ and will alert us instantly when the animal stops moving. This allows our personnel to rush in and retrieve the animal, so an autopsy can be performed and we can better determine the cause of

death. In the past, the corpse would be devoured by predators before the body could be retrieved.” Dave relayed that black bears and wolves are the top predators of both adult moose and calves, and that the DNR is using forest management as a tool to enhance moose habitat in that region of Minnesota. THE PEOPLE

I also had a very pleasant conversation with Doug Applegren, vice president of the MDHA, who was equally proud of the successes of the event. “The MDHA has over 16,000 members, and we work hard to promote deer hunting among the youth of Minnesota. We help promote the National Archery Shooting Program in Minnesota schools, and of the participants in that program, almost 40 percent go on to become hunters. That’s a substantial number, and it’s encouraging to see the next generation take up the tradition.” In addition, the MDHA helps fund the Four Corn Camps, a weeklong youth education program centered on deer biology. When the topic of ‘deer farms’ came up, Doug fervently indicated that the MDHA supports fair chase, and he went on to explain how the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, which the MDHA fully

supports, has helped to place a conservation easement on over 600,000 huntable acres in the recent past. “It is this kind of conservation that MDHA wants to be affiliated with” said Mr. Applegren. The banquet was a success, and although Govenor Dayton had fallen ill just after Election Day and was unable to attend the event, the show went on as scheduled. HUNTING THE LAND OF LUTEFISK

Each year, hunters with deer camps in the area of the event location offer to host members of the media, and Ron Otterstad and his campmates had drawn the name of yours truly. Less than 30 miles north of Bemidji, I arrived the night before opening day at their deer camp in Quiring. While it was remote, it was not exactly “roughing it.” Radiant heat floors, hot running water, and satellite TV (all of which were just fine with me!) rounded out the amenities, and I immediately felt at home. Mr. Otterstad, his son Jon, Eric Samuelson, and Jerry Smith rounded out the camp populous, although I was quickly introduced to the

surrounding neighbors. They are a very welcoming and accepting group of people, and I felt immediately at home. Food and drink were shared, and all the accoutrements of deer season were present. A local buck pool was settled on, and although all agreed deer numbers were way off, all had equal optimism. As I said initially, the weather was none too pleasant, with high winds and snow squalls all weekend long. Eric took a spike buck the afternoon of opening day, the only buck of the season from the Quiring camp. When we headed to the weighing station, better known as the Washenberger garage, there was but one other buck: a gorgeous eight-point that I estimated would exceed 130” of antler. Taken by 19-year-old LeAnn Washenberger, you’d have had to contact a surgeon to remove the smile from her face. Me? I didn’t see a single deer, but hey, that’s fair chase hunting. What I did leave Minnesota with was a new set of friends, memories of new terrain, and a positive experience overall. And when all is said and done, isn’t that what we’re all after? n The good people of Minnesota were kind enough to host a hunter for the event. OPPOSITE: Doug Aplegren of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association mans the booth at the event. ABOVE: 19-year-old LeAnn Washenburger and her trophy.

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 37

THEODORE ROOSEVELT B&C FOUNDER An excerpt from Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail Drawings by Frederic Remington

uring the fall of 1883 Theodore Roosevelt made his first trip the Dakota Territory where he got a taste of frontier life as a hunter and ranchman. Unfortunately a family tragedy was the catalyst that led him back there and helped shape the man who would later become the founder of the Boone and Crockett Club. While at his office in Albany, New York, in 1884, TR received notice by telegram announcing the birth of his daughter, but also that his wife Alice was critically ill. He rushed back to New York City only to lose both his wife as well as his mother on the same day. He went back to work as New York Assemblyman at once, but longed for the beauty of the Dakotas and the happiness he had found there. Following the 1884 Republican National Convention he struck out for the Dakotas. In his book, Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail he records his experiences from 1884-1886. Following is an excerpt from his chapter on the “Frontier Types” he encounters on his Dakota adventures... On one of my trips to the mountains I happened to come across several old-style hunters at the same time. Two were on their way out of the woods, after having been all winter and spring without seeing a white face. They had been lucky, and their battered pack-saddles carried bales of valuable furs— fisher, sable, otter, mink, beaver. The two men, though fast friends and allies for many years, contrasted oddly. One was a short, square-built, good-humored Kanuck, always laughing and talking, who interlarded his conversation with a singularly original mixture of the most villainous French and English profanity. His partner was an American, gray-eyed, tall and 38 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

straight as a young pine, with others, and he so wholly a saturnine, rather haughty lacked even a glimmering face, and proud bearing. He suspicion that murder, theft, spoke very little, and then in and adultery were matters of low tones, never using an oath; anything more than individbut he showed now and then ual taste, that I actually grew a most unexpected sense of to be rather fond of him. He dry humor. Both were images never related any of his past of bronzed and rugged deeds of wickedness as matstrength. Neither had the ters either for boastfulness or slightest touch of the bully in for regret; they were simply his nature; they treated others repeated incidentally in the with the respect that they also course of conversation. One exacted for themtime we were selves. They bore an talking of the excellent reputation curious angles as being not only bullets sometimes fly off at highly skilled in when they ricowoodcraft and the use of the rifle, but chet. To illusalso men of tried trate the matter he related an courage and strict experience integrity, whose word could be always which I shall try implicitly trusted. to give in his FRENCH CANADIAN TRAPPER I had with me ow n word s. at the time a hunter who, “One time, when I was keeping though their equal as marks- a saloon down in New Mexico, man or woodsman, was their there was a man owed me a exact opposite morally. He grudge. Well, he took sick of was a pleasant companion and the small-pox, and the doctor useful assistant, being very told him he’d sure die, and he hard-working, and possessing said if that was so he a temper that never was ruf- reckoned he ‘d kill fled by anything. He was also me first. So he come a good-looking fellow, with a-riding in with his honest brown eyes; but he no gun [in the West a more knew the difference be- revolver is genertween right and wrong than ally called a gun] Adam did before the fall. Had and begun shoothe been at all conscious of his ing; but I hit him wickedness, or had he pos- first, and away he sessed the least sense of rode. I started to get shame, he would have been on my horse to follow unbearable as a companion; him; but there was a but he was so perfectly pleas- little Irishman there ant and easy, so good-hu- who said he ‘d never moredly tolerant of virtue in killed a man, and

FRONTIER

TYPES

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 39

FRONTIER TYPES he begged hard for me to give him my gun and let him go after the other man and finish him. So I let him go; and when he caught up, blamed if the little cuss didn’t get so nervous that he fired off into the ground, and the darned bullet struck a crowbar, and glanced up, and hit the other man square in the head and killed him! Now, that was a funny shot, wasn’t it?” The fourth member of our party round the camp-fire that night was a powerfully built trapper, partly French by blood, who wore a gayly colored capote, or blanketcoat, a greasy fur cap, and moccasins. He had grizzled hair, and a certain uneasy, half-furtive look about the eyes. Once or twice he showed a curious reluctance about allowing a man to approach him suddenly from behind. Altogether his actions were so odd that I felt some curiosity to learn his history. It turned out that he had been through a rather uncanny experience the winter before. He and another man had gone into a remote basin, or inclosed valley, in the heart of the mountains, where game was very plentiful; indeed, it was so abundant that they decided to pass the winter there. Accordingly they put up a logcabin, working hard, and merely killing enough meat for their immediate use. Just as it was finished winter set in with tremendous snowstorms. Going out to hunt, in the first lull, they found, to their consternation, that every head of game had left the valley. Not an animal was to be found therein; they had abandoned it for their winter haunts. The outlook for the two adventurers was appalling. They were afraid of trying to break out through the deep snow-drifts, and starvation stared them in the face if they 40 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

staid. The man I met had his dog with him. They put themselves on very short commons, so as to use up their flour as slowly as possible, and hunted unweariedly, but saw nothing. Soon a violent quarrel broke out between them. The other man, a fierce, sullen fellow, insisted that the dog should be killed, but the owner was exceedingly attached to it, and refused. For a couple of weeks they spoke no word to each other, though cooped in the little narrow pen of logs. Then one night the owner of the dog was wakened by the animal crying out; the other man had tried to kill it with his knife, but failed. The provisions were now almost exhausted, and the two men were glaring at each other with the rage of maddened, ravening hunger. Neither dared to sleep, for fear that the other would kill him. Then the one who owned the dog at last spoke, and proposed that, to give each a chance for his life, they should separate. He would take half of the handful of flour that was left and start off to try to get home; the other should stay where he was; and if he tried to follow the first, he was warned that he would be shot without mercy. A like fate was to be the portion of the wanderer if driven to return to the hut. The arrangement was agreed to and the two men separated, neither daring to turn his back while they were within rifle-shot of each other. For two days the one who went off toiled on with weary weakness through the snow-drifts. Late on the second afternoon, as he looked back from a high ridge, he saw in the far distance a black speck against the snow, coming along on his trail. His companion was dogging his footsteps. Immediately he followed his own trail back a little and lay in ambush. At dusk his companion came

stealthily up, rifle had just killed, in hand, peering and keeping the cautiously ahead, dog from it. At the his drawn face approach of the new assailant the show ing the starved, eager fewolf sullenly drew rocity of a wild off, and man and Order your copy of beast, and the man dog tore the raw Theodore Roosevelt’s he was hunting deer-f lesh with Ranch Life and the shot him down exhideous eagerHunting Trail actly as if he had ness. It made them Contact B&C at been one. Leaving very sick for the 888-840-4868 or the body where it next twenty-four boone-crockett.org fell, the wanderer hours; but, lying continued his jourby the carcass for Paperback $24.95 ney, the dog stagtwo or three days, Associates pay only $19.95 gering painfully they recovered Also available as an ebook from major online retailers behind him. The strength. A week next evening he afterwards the baked his last cake and di- trapper reached a miner’s vided it with the dog. In the cabin in safety. There he told morning, with his belt drawn his tale, and the unknown still tighter round his skeleton man who alone might possibly body, he once more set out, have contradicted it lay dead with apparently only a few in the depths of the wolfhours of dull misery between haunted forest. n him and death. At noon he Throughout TR’s travels he encouncrossed the track of a huge tered many unique characters intimberwolf; instantly the dog cluding mountain hunters, trappers, gave tongue, and, rallying its cowboys, claimjumpers, cattle strength, ran along the trail. thieves, horse thieves, man killers, and frontier women. For more tales The man struggled after. At of the Dakotas, read TR’s Ranch Life last his strength gave out and and the Hunting-Trail now available he sat down to die; but while as part of the B&C Classics Series. sitting still, slowly stiffening with the cold, he heard the dog baying in the woods. Shaking off his mortal numbness, he crawled towards the sound, and found the wolf over the body of a deer that he

A MOUNTAIN HUNTER WITH HIS DOG

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Boone and Crockett Club

Publishing books on history and our hunting legacy since 1893. HUNTING THE AMERICAN WEST by Richard C. Rattenbury

Over 400 images, released in 2008

12 x 8.75 inches, 416 pages

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Experience the grandeur, excitement, and peril of the quest for big game in the West from 1800-1900 in this vivid interpretation with engaging narrative, direct quotations, and historic imagery. WINNER - 2009 Spur Award for Best Non-F iction, Histor ical Book WINNER - IPPY for Best Regional Non-F iction, Gold Award WINNER - SILVER AWARD, History - Foreword Book of the Year FINALIST, Non-F iction - Oklahoma Book Awards FINALIST, Large Format Cover Design - Independent Book P ublishers Association, Benjamin Franklin Award

Relive the good old days in B&C’s Vintage Hunting Album

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One would be hard pressed to find a more interesting or energetic figure in all of American history than Theodore Roosevelt, and this wonderful book captures that spirit completely, especially his joy and concern for the natural world. - KEN BURNS, FILMMAKER, THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA

Order Today! Call Toll-Free 888-840-4868 Or visit www.boone-crockett.org

42 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

We want to hear from you!

B&C’s Associates Program was created as a place where the collective voice of like-minded sportsmen could be heard, behind the Club’s ongoing efforts to make conservation of wildlife and their habitats a priority. TAKE THE SURVEY The Boone and Crockett Club is always working to tailor the content of our publication to our readers. To serve you better, we need your help. We are proud to announce a new, refreshed look to Fair Chase magazine. As an Associate of the Boone and Crockett Club your opinion is very important and we’d like to hear what you think of it. Log into the Associates community and click the link on the Web Editions to submit your survey anonymously, or email your feedback directly to Karlie@Boone-Crockett.org.

As soon as I received the magazine I was very impressed and wanted to tell you about it. Great feel and I was able to sit down and read it with pleasure. It just feels right, Love it.

CONTRIBUTE TO FAIR CHASE MAGAZINE Send us your hunting or adventure story. It doesn’t have to be about the biggest trophy. Fair Chase magazine is interested in your journey becoming a hunter, the one that got away, the dangerous, the hilarious, the camaraderie, and spirit that makes hunting so important to you. Tell us about what fair chase and ethical hunting mean to you. Submit your story online and it will be reviewed by our editorial board. Your story could be considered for print in Fair Chase magazine or online at FairChase.org. We are looking for stories less than 1,000 words. We reserve the right to edit your story. Photos to accompany your story would be greatly appreciated and can be submitted along with your story.

SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE: BOONE-CROCKETT.SUBMITTABLE.COM

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 43

Milestones in Conservation

The history of the Boone and Crockett Club is a tale of over 127 years of measured and thoughtful commitment to conservation. It is a commitment that balances human needs with wildlife needs. We will be celebrating the anniversaries of the passage of laws, the establishment of institutions, and the designation of wildlands, which exist today in large part because of the extensive efforts of the Club and its dedicated membership.

Boone and Crockett Club 2015

Club’s 1925 Book on Hunting ‘Dichotomy’ Still Valid Today The Boone and Crockett Club was publishing hunting and conservation literature long before it began publishing records books in 1932. In 1925, it published the sixth book in the Acorn series, Hunting and Conservation, a landmark book that introduced profound dichotomies, some that the American public still grapple with today. The book’s preface explains, “This book presents aspects of outdoor life, which to the uninformed, may seem opposed to one another. We have on one hand descriptions of hunting—of the killing of animals—and on the other the advocacy of measures by which these animals may be preserved from being killed. There is no conflict between these two views. Animals are for man’s use, and one of these uses is recreation, of which hunting is a wholesome form. So long as it does not interfere with the maintenance of a permanent breeding stock of any species, this recreation is legitimate and praiseworthy.” The book goes on to explore topics of fair chase, killing wildlife for food versus sport, and other issues that are relevant today. Hunting and Conservation acknowledges that sustainable-use conservation is difficult to understand for those who do not hunt or care about wildlife. It explains how some game species were once pushed to the brink of extinction, and how sportsmen could continue to hunt them, and in doing so, save them.

50th Anniversary of World’s Record Jaguar In 1965 C.J. McElroy returned home from Sinaloa, Mexico, with what would become the new World’s Record jaguar. There are 56 jaguars on record with the majority having come from Mexico, a handful from Arizona, and one from Texas taken in 1903. The oldest entry on record was taken in 1869, and the most recent, a cat from Mexico, was taken in 1971. The jaguar was placed on the Endangered Species list in 1997. Recovery efforts under the ESA were stalled over the border fence being built between the U.S. and Mexico that would cut off natural migration routes from populations still living in Mexico. Today a recovery plan is in place with nearly 1,200 square miles along the U.S.Mexico border designated as habitat essential for the conservation of jaguar. The international trade in jaguar skins was halted 1973 by the Convention of the International Trade of Endangers Species (CITES) and the Club stopped accepting entries. The protected jaguar is still killed primarily over conflicts with cattle ranching. Jaguar sightings in Arizona in recent years have surfaced, but there is no evidence of a breeding population. The B&C World’s Record jaguar scores 18-7/16. 1900

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1925

1950

50th Anniversary of Moving Club Offices In 1965 the Club moved its offices from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The Club has had a long history and close relationship with the Museum of Natural History, especially in regards to B&C’s Big Game Records Program. Dr. Harold Anthony was chairman of the Records of North American Big Game Committee during the late 1940s when the current measuring system was being developed and tested. Anthony was also the Curator of Mammals for the American Museum of Natural History. In the early 1950s with the new scoring system established and prior to training official measurers around the country, the Records Committee relied heavily on mammalogists in natural history museums to check the scores of entered trophies. The American Museum of Natural History also hosted the Club’s first Heads and Horns Competitions from its 1st Competition in 1947 to the 10th Competition in 1962. The Carnegie Museum then became the location for these Competitions. During its time at both museums the Club’s office was primarily focused on big game records and maintaining these files. 1965

1975

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LOWELL E. BAIER B&C REGULAR MEMBER B&C PAST PRESIDENT

T H E N AT I O N A L C O L L E C T I O N

OF HEADS AND HORNS A Historical Perspective

The National Collection of Heads and Horns in

historical perspective poses a real paradox. How could the world’s finest big game trophy collection be assembled just after the turn of the century by one of the country’s strongest hunting opponents while America was decrying the destruction of its vanishing wildlife? Yet, three-quarters of a century later, how could that same collection be discarded when the sporting fraternity has its largest membership, is enlightened, organized and politically active? These curious questions can only be answered by searching for clues amongst the available record woven by history.

PART 1 This four part series will narrate the history and legacy of Boone and Crockett Club’s National Collection of Heads and Horns. From its inception in 1906 to the big move next spring to Springfield, Missouri. It is a story that begins with an undertaking to memorialize through museum displays big game species whose futures, at the time, looked bleak. It is, however, a story that ends on a far more positive note: the dramatic restoration of these same species to healthy and abundant numbers throughout much of their native range. This historical recap was originally published the 8th edition of the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game 46 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

The history of the National Collection starts with the beginning of the New York Zoological Society in 1895. At the Boone and Crockett Club’s annual meeting in January, 1895, Club President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a committee chaired by Madison Grant to monitor legislation introduced in the State of New York relating to game preservation. The creation of a zoological park in New York City was one of the committee’s objectives. As early as 1880, attempts had been made without success to establish a zoological garden in New York City. When Madison Grant revived interest in this project in 1895, legislation was reintroduced on the condition that the Boone and Crockett Club would organize a zoological society and that some of its members would appear as incorporators. The bill passed the New York State Assembly, and the New York Zoological Society was organized May 7, 1895. Included as incorporators were Club members Madison Grant, C. Grant LaFarge and Charles F. White-head. The New York Zoological Society’s 1896 Board of Managers (now Board of Trustees) included 11 members of the Boone and Crockett Club. In the Boone and Crockett Club’s early history (written in 1913 by George Bird Grinnell) Grinnell observed that, “The New York Zoological Society has been and is a child of the Boone and Crockett Club.”

The purposes of the Zoological Society were clearly defined: The establishment of a zoological park and gardens unique in its concept and design; promotion of zoological science for research and education; and preservation of the native animals of North America. The burden of organizing and operating the New York Zoological Society fell primarily to Madison Grant, C. Grant LaFarge, professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, Charles E. Whitehead and John L. Cadwalader, with later help from Percy R. Pyne, George Bird Grinnell, Winthrop Chanler and Philip Schuyler (all members of the Boone and Crockett Club), together with Andrew H. Green, John S. Barnes and Levi P. Morton. Immediately prior to final site selection, the principal Zoological Society organizers sought out a recognized individual with experience to aid in the final site

selection, take on the expanding affairs of the Society, and head up the development of the Zoological Park. Enter William Temple Hornaday. Hornaday was hired in April 1896 at the age of 41 as the first Director of the Zoological Park. He made the final site selection of the South Bronx Park over three other locations for the zoo’s home and continued to firmly impress his personality upon the development of the Zoological Park until his retirement in 1926. Born prior to the Civil War in 1854 on a farm near Plainfleld, Indiana, Hornaday later moved to Iowa and graduated from Iowa State Agricultura l Col lege. During college, he taught himself taxidermy and assembled a collection of native

mammals and birds for the college museum. Determined to become a naturalist, he joined Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in Rochester, New York, as an assistant taxidermist in 1873. Ward’s supplied mounted specimens for schools and museums throughout the world. In 1882,

Hornaday was appointed Chief Taxidermist for the U.S. National Museum in Washington, D.C., where he created artistic and lifelike displays that significantly advanced the art of natural history exhibitions. Hornaday in his youth had been an avid hunter, a

Dr. Hornaday at the breaks of the Missouri River, October 1902.

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 47

by the New York Zoological Society in 1913, became a hardhitting indictment of America’s casual neglect of its wildlife resources. During his career, he’d hobby that had led him into been called upon to inspect his taxidermy career. Hornathe hunting trophies of hunday made a careful distinction dreds of men collected between killing for sport or throughout the world; what the market and killing for were their families to do with scientific study and exhibition them upon their demise? in a natural history museum. What about his own collecNatural history was explained tion? He didn’t want it broken and studied in dioramas exup and sold. An all inclusive hibiting native habitat scenes exhibition of hoofed and and full mounted animals, horned game of the world was lacking access to the audioimpossible for the private colvisual equipment of today. “I lection but perhaps not for a have never been what you widened range of interest with might call a sportsman,” he an institutional base. And, a told a reporter in an interview precept of the New York Zoosoon after he became Director logical Society was to foster of the Zoological Park. “While zoological science for research I have killed scores of species and education, which to that point was largely a A letter Roosevelt wrote to Hamilton Fish of the New York House of Representatives, product of studying asking for support of a bill to provide for a new zoological garden. fully mounted animals, heads and horns in schools and museums. All of these thoughts and considerations slowly began to crystallize in Hornaday’s mind into a course of action. He wanted some central depository, some institutional trust, for his own collection and the collections of other sportsmen, where the finest trophies might find a permaHow could the world’s nent home and the finest big game trophy collection be assembled systematic plan he just after the turn of had written about the century by one of might be worked the country’s strongest out on a grand hunting opponents while scale! Such a deAmerica was decrying the destruction of its pository would be, vanishing wildlife? in essence and fact, “a national collection of heads and horns.” Hornaday discussed his plan w it h M ad i s on Grant, the chief

T H E N AT I O N A L C O L L E C T I O N

OF HEADS AND HORNS

48 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

and hundreds of individuals of large game animals, I have never hunted save as a naturalist, bent on making studies and preserving in one form or another every animal killed that was worthy of a place in a museum.” Hornaday grew up in an era in which the herds of big game that once populated this continent and the world were measurably vanishing from pressures of man’s increasing habitation and indiscriminate killing. Bison were slaughtered to virtual extinction; market hunting was still practiced; spring shooting of game birds was a universal practice; game management was an unknown science; and game laws were extremely liberal or non-existent. His book, Our Vanishing Wild Life, published

executive officer of the Zoological Society, and secured his enthusiastic support before the Society’s executive committee. On December 20, 1906, the executive committee, by formal resolution, assumed responsibility for the creation of two complete collections of all the heads, horns and tusks of the world’s ungulates, one to be arranged zoologically and the other geographically. The title designated for this great collection was “The National Collection of Heads and Horns.” With John M. Phillips of Pittsburgh, President of the Lewis and Clark Club, acting as a liaison with the sportsmen, Madison Grant representing the Boone and Crockett Club, and Hornaday the Camp-Fire Club, a prospectus was addressed to the sportmen of America on March 20, 1907, setting forth exactly what they wanted: a depository for the finest wild animal trophies which it is possible to bring together accessible, spacious, fireproof, well lighted, finely appointed in every detail, and managed by sportsmen. There should be formed a zoological series and a geographical series—by continents—each as nearly complete as it can be made. Close on the heels of that prospectus came an announcement, dated May 1, 1907, that The National Collection of Heads and Horns was an actuality. What Hornaday and Grant were undertaking was nothing less than preserving a complete and noble memorial to the vanishing big game of the world while there was yet time. To give the dream reality, Hornaday presented his personal collection of 131 heads and horns representing 108 species to the Society, a nucleus that defined many of the lines the completed collection would later develop. n

The Multi-task Gift. “My membership in the Boone and Crockett Club is a great honor and privilege for me. I want to do my part to insure that the legacy and the relevance of this historic Club is guaranteed for the next generation of hunter/ conservationists. One way I have done this is through my IRA. I have utilized my retirement plan to help the Club in a couple of ways—first, by making rollover gifts to satisfy current pledges, such as the Wilderness Warrior Society; and second, by naming the Club as a beneficiary of my plan. This is a very simple and tax-efficient way to make charitable gifts and to satisfy my very strong commitment to this organization. Please join me as a member of the Roughriders Society by making a gift through your estate plan. At our next Club function look for the distinctive lapel pin signifying membership; or better yet get your own today and wear it proudly.” — Ben Hollingsworth President, Boone and Crockett Club Foundation

For more information, please contact: Winton C. Smith, J.D. 1-800-727-1040 wsmith@wintonsmith.com

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 49

THE MEASURE OF A HUNT

Is a measure of ourselves

Backcountry wilderness hunts are not a sprint, they’re a marathon. The race goes to the slow but steady guy, the guy who will not ever give up, not somebody that shoots their wad the first day or two and then, when it is obvious it will be a grinder, start bitching and whining and blaming people.

©JOHN HAFNER

PG 54. MIND GAMES by Bob Robb

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COLLECTIVE SCIENCE AND COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION In the Spring Issue of Fair Chase I wrote about how several state fish and wildlife agencies working together, along with their Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, can yield powerful science and ultimately greater conservation success. I want to take this a step further and talk about broader collaborations and how these alliances can be the model for taking on our greatest conser vation challenges. The early years of scientific wildlife management involved a lot of discovery. A tremendous amount could be learned by studying one species in one local area. Just documenting basic information like births, deaths, feeding habits, and other life history factors was new and important information. Early wildlife scientists such as Herbert Stoddard, Aldo Leopold, Paul Errington, and Ralph “Terry” King conducted experiments on game and furbearer species such as northern bobwhite quail and muskrats to understand how management of habitats, hunting, and trapping affected populations. Much of this groundbreaking work was done in marshes, agricultural lands, forests, and prairies that were limited to a part of one state. The challenges facing these early conservationists were daunting, and the discoveries they made were essential in recovering our game and furbearer populations. The conservation challenges we face today are not 52 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

only daunting—they are incredibly complex. The complexity is a product of the many biological, physical, political, economic, institutional, and sociocultural factors that affect wildlife and their habitats. It gets really dicey when people’s livelihoods and a species’ survival are in competition. This can boil down to how land is used and managed. The questions are difficult: How much land is necessary? What alternatives do humans have to minimize impacts while still living off the land? What can we predict for 10, 20, or 50 years out? If a species declines to the point where it is placed on the federal endangered species list, it becomes a trust species of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the responsibility is placed upon the agency to recover that species. That can place the USFWS in a difficult position, wherein fulfilling their legal mandate they come into conflict with those who live on and derive their livelihoods from the land. The USFWS, the states, and the people on the land want to avoid conflict. There have been enough episodes of conflict in our history—some ongoing—that today’s leaders are seeking to avoid such conflicts by working together. Science can be an important leveling force in building a constructive conservation program that minimizes conflict. One such ef for t involves the lesser prairiechicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), an iconic grassland

SCIENCE BLASTS

bird of the southwestern Great Plains. The lesser prairiechicken is found primarily in the high plains of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, and is adapted to extreme environmental conditions that historically caused large fluctuations in its population. According to Drs. Dave Haukos, Clint Boal, and Scott Carleton of the Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, the species has dramatically declined during the past century, with some estimates of over 90 percent reduction in population size and occupied range. The USFWS was petitioned to list the species in 1995 and determined that listing was warranted, but precluded by the need to list and recover species under greater threat. This prompted the five affected State fish and wildlife agencies to form an inter-state group to develop research priorities, deliver the science, and develop conservation plans. Along with the states, the USFWS, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Natural Resources Conservation

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

Service, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Wildlife Management Institute have worked together to address information needs and implement conservation actions. The three Coop Units in collaboration with their state fish and wildlife agencies initiated a number of research projects investigating things such as aerial survey methods for accurate population estimates, breeding season ecology, avian predation, overwinter ecology, and habitat attributes that favor nest success. These efforts attracted other partners including the federal agencies, who then provided additional support enabling expansion of the research, allowing the population to be studied at an unprecedented geographic scale. This brief description does not do justice to the magnitude of the effort and the success it has brought. Dr. Dave Haukos of the Kansas Coop Unit presented a paper

The conservation challenges we face today are not only daunting—they are incredibly complex. The complexity is a product of the many biological, physical, political, economic, institutional, and sociocultural factors that affect wildlife and their habitats.

By Richard Crossley [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

at the recent North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Omaha that gave a detailed overview. The bottom line is that this was a species headed for listing as Endangered, which would have limited the options available to states, the USFWS, and the landowners. The collaborative effort among states, federal agencies, universities, private landowners, and conservation groups resulted in the species being listed as threatened, allowing for a special rule that provides greater ma nagement

flexibility. USFWS Director Dan Ashe, ex-officio member of the Boone and Crockett Club, stated the following when announcing the listing: “The lesser prairiechicken is in dire straits; and our determination that it warrants listing as a threatened species with a special rule acknowledges the unprecedented partnership efforts and leadership of the five range states for management of the species. Working through the WAFWA rangewide conservation plan, the

states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species—more than has ever been done before—and participating landowners and developers are not impacted with additional regulatory requirements.” Carter Smith, Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Boone and Crockett Professional Member noted that the lesser prairiechicken effort has been able to “address short-term information needs while also conducting long-term, stateof-the-art research on

c omple x , lon ger -t er m questions.” Eighty years ago we were able to accomplish a lot through simple studies. Many of the challenges today cannot be solved with a single study in one place during one time period. We are likely to see more efforts where several states, agencies, and organizations work together over large landscapes to be proactive, using science and collaboration to keep species off of the endangered species list. n

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Leica ER 5 models: 1-5x24 | 1.5-8x32 | 2-10x50 | 3-15x56 | 4-20x50 | 5-25x56

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 53

MIND GAMES BOB ROBB

B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER

Editorial Director of Grand View Outdoors

Photos Courtesy of Author

Glassing in Alaska for Rocky Mountain goats.

It was almost 30 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. The year was 1986 and I was on my first big, out-of-state guided wilderness hunting adventure, a three-week horseback hunt in Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wrangell Mountains with Master Guide Terry Overly. I had never been to Alaska before, and although I had 54 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

spent almost 20 years backpacking the high peaks of the West and hunting wilderness areas on my own, flying into the tiny remote town of Chisana I was still in awe. There are no roads into this town, the only access being by small aircraft, or in winter by snow machine or dogsled.

The future belongs to those who prepare for it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I had tags for grizzly bear, Dall’s sheep, and caribou, and all the questions and doubts had gone through my mind before leaving home. Is a .280 Remington enough gun for grizzlies? Do I have the right boots? What do I wear? What will the weather be like? Am I a good enough shot? Am I in good enough shape physically to cut the mustard? I sure don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Terry and the guides, who surely breathe fire and eat rusty nails for breakfast. I was quite literally a nervous wreck. I have been a lot of places since then. Who’d have ever thought that I would eventually end up living in Alaska for nearly 15 years, hunting the state from top to bottom and even holding an assistant guide’s license of my own? I’ve also been lucky enough to have traveled and hunted around the world, often in places you can’t find on the map. To this day when I plan such trips I still get a little queasy in the planning stages. The fear of the unknown can do that to you. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

Writing in the old Horizon magazine back in 1965, author Alvin Toffler defined “future shock” as the “dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of

the future.” The truth is, having a bit of fear of the unknown is not unusual. Both not knowing what’s coming next or a previous bad experience can increase stress triggers in all of us. In preparing for an adventure-packed hunting trip of the type you’ve never experienced, the key to both maximizing your enjoyment and your chances for success lie in understanding how to manage your own stress triggers. This can be a difficult thing for many people, especially those “Type A” folks who are used to always being in charge of their lives. Suddenly you’re not hunting at home, you’re in a far-off land where the outfitter and your personal guide are in complete control of your destiny. Then there are the vagaries of weather, the airlines, a cantankerous horse, a leaky boat, an unexpected equipment breakdown. The mountains seem bigger and rougher, the rivers deeper and wider than you ever dreamed they could be, and you think, “Can I handle it?” The truth is, stress build-up before the hunt is usually more about perception than reality. Also, stress is a very personal thing and is different for everyone. One person might envision a tough backpack hunt and not worry

Bob with an Alberta mule deer.

On days when I don’t feel like going for a run or hitting the gym, I motivate myself by thinking of a big ram, or muley buck, or bull elk I want to hunt this season. I know that those animals and the mountains where they live do not care a whit that I am older now and have had a few injuries, that my work demands more time at the desk, or that the family needs me. FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 55

When folks ask me about certain hunting trips now, before talking specifics I ask them what kinds of hunts do they like the most. You should ask yourself the same thing.

about it. Another envisions the same hunt and turns sick to their stomach with anxiety. The pressure becomes almost unbearable. For many years I hunted with a psychologist with whom I discussed this phenomenon. I’ll never forget what he told me. “Stress is usually seen as a noun; something tangible, like a rifle, or a car,” he said. “But really, stress isn’t like that at all. It should be seen as a verb—that is, something that you do; and mostly, people do it to themselves even if they are not aware of it. Pretend for a moment that stress is just the body’s way of telling it to calm down or change something. Being stressed out is all about doing something, hyperventilating, or tensing up. These are all reactions that the body and mind can have to excessive pressure. “Thus, does it not make sense that if stress is something you are doing, then you can choose to do something about it?” he asked. “Instead of worrying about it, how about doing something different that can alleviate it?” MIND GAMES

Many years ago I used to do a lot of semi-serious distance running. I ran in some organized races; 10Ks and halfmarathons mostly, but also some mountain races. I approached them differently than the serious competitors in that I used both the race and the training leading up to race day as a way to get my body— and my mind—in shape for the upcoming hunting season. Running these types of races requires more than just physical training. They also demand mental preparation that will both motivate you to train on a regular basis, and allow you to withstand the abuse your body is going to take. For example, on days when I don’t feel like going for a run or hitting the gym, I 56 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

motivate myself by thinking of a big ram, or muley buck, or bull elk I want to hunt this season. I know that those animals and the mountains where they live do not care a whit that I am older now and have had a few injuries, that my work demands more time at the desk, or that the family needs me. The animals are still as tough, the mountains still as steep and rough as they always were. If I want to have a chance this year, I best lace ‘em up and work out today—no excuses. In the field I use the same mind games to keep myself going that I use when running a hard race. For example, when running a halfmarathon of 13.1 miles, at about the eight-mile mark, when I start to fatigue and my legs begin to burn I tell myself, “Hey, I can do the next two miles no sweat; after all, what is two miles? Just a short warm-up” I tell myself, and so on, and so on. I do this until the end of the race, breaking it up into short, manageable bites. It’s a sort of mind over matter thing. This way, the greatest computer that ever existed, the human brain, is tricking the body into believing that after a certain mileage point it is just running a series of small races that are connected, but not at the same time. Thus, the body becomes less physically stressed and more capable of running the distance through mind over matter and a very healthy rush of endorphins after each mileage barrier is handily crossed. It’s the same when hunting. When I hit the mountains I break the drudgery up into little bite-sized pieces. And in being able to do so I actually helped save my life. That’s the day I fell off a cliff on a solo Dall’s sheep hunt in Alaska that snapped my left fibula, broke the same ankle in six places, and mangled my left hand. I had to slide on my butt, one small body length at a time, for ten hours down the

As a hunting guide, we always do two things before hitting the woods: make a guy shoot, and see how he handles himself around camp. Is he fit? Can he walk? More importantly, what kind of guy is he?

MANY YEARS IN THE GAME: Bob with an Alaska-Yukon moose in 1991.

mountain to a spot where I could erect a shelter while awaiting help. Breaking that “butt slide boogie” up into small segments helped keep me going without succumbing to the fear of the unknown. PREPARATION IS THE KEY

Most hunters are sports fans to some degree. You know that athletes train to be able to do specific tasks well. In fact, exercise physiologists call this “specificity training.” An example would be a sprinter. Rather than lift heavy weights to bulk up his chest and arms, the sprinter trains to be able to run fast. Doing this accomplishes two things. First, it trains the body to be able to best accomplish the upcoming task. And second, it gives the athlete the confidence that he can run the race well, defeating the fear of the unknown. As a hunter, you can do

the same thing, both physically and mentally. When planning your adventure, get as much information as you can about it. Ask lots of questions, always remembering there is no such thing as a stupid question. Talk to both the outfitter and previous clients. What’s a typical hunting day like? How much walking and climbing do I need to do? What kinds of shots are most common? What are the little things I need to know to make my hunt more enjoyable? What do I need to be able to do to maximize my chances for success? At the same time, be realistic about yourself. Even if you can spend an hour a day at the gym for six months prior to your hunt, there is still no way on God’s green earth a 50-year-old man who works at a desk job five days a week is going to be able to hike

as long and as fast as a 30-yearold hunting guide who has been guiding for a decade and been in the mountains for a month or two prior to your arrival. Nor should you expect to. To be sure, you want to be in the best physical condition you possibly can be in. Just as important, though, is a neversay-die attitude. As a hunting guide, I am much more likely to bust my petunias for the guy who tries as hard as he can, who prepared before the trip, and who is cheerful and willing to help with camp chores and who never, ever gives up, than a young tough guy with an attitude who whines a lot. TESTING ONE, TWO, THREE...

As a hunting guide, we always do two things before hitting the woods: make a guy shoot, and see how he handles

himself around camp. Is he fit? Can he walk? More importantly, what kind of guy is he? Does he pitch in and help with camp chores or expect the guide to be his personal servant? How does he carry himself? Is he a braggart, a “Big Hat, No Cattle” kind of guy, insecure deep down inside? Is he the kind that will listen to the guide, push himself a little bit, get wet and cold and have sore feet and not complain? Backcountry wilderness hunts are not a sprint, they’re a marathon. The race goes to the slow but steady guy, the guy who will not ever give up, not somebody that shoots their wad the first day or two and then, when it is obvious it will be a grinder, start bitching and whining and blaming people. Most clients think the shooting range session is to allow them to make sure their FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 57

MIND GAMES rifles or bows are sighted in after a long trip, and that’s true. But also true is the fact that the guides are testing you. The range session tells the guide what kind of shot you are, and thus, what kind of shot he will let you take once the time comes. As an extreme example, one year in Southeast Alaska my client was a guy who wanted to kill a brown bear with his bow. After a few innocent questions I discovered he had arrowed exactly three deer, none from

the ground, nor had he ever shot even a black bear with a gun. When I grabbed my own bow and asked if he wanted to shoot a few arrows he balked, which was amazing to me since I personally can never get enough practice time in. I soon discovered why. His equipment sucked, and he couldn’t hit a pie plate at 20 yards one out of five times. I went to the outfitter, a good friend, and said, “Dude, no way can I ethically allow this guy to shoot an arrow at a bear—even if he can keep from wetting his pants when one gets close, which I doubt.” Jim agreed, we had a sit-down with the guy, and he actually seemed relieved when I said I’d happily loan him my .375, which he then used to shoot a dandy bear. The pressure was off, and he had a fun time.

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS

When folks ask me about certain hunting trips now, before talking specifics I ask them what kinds of hunts do they like the most. You should ask yourself the same thing. For example, if you absolutely abhor sleeping in small tents without indoor plumbing or a camp where there is nothing but freezedried food on the menu—if

there’s any food left after the first few days—by all means do not book this type of hunt. Instead go the lodge route; nothing wrong with that. If you want to hunt mountain sheep and you have a debilitating physical problem, admit it, and search for an outfitter that will accommodate you. In the world of Dall’s sheep hunting for example, you can hunt them start to finish out of a

Bob took this mule deer with his muzzleloader while hunting in Colorado.

In preparing for an adventure-packed hunting trip of the type you’ve never experienced, the key to both maximizing your enjoyment and your chances for success lie in understanding how to manage your own stress triggers. 58 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

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MIND GAMES backpack and really get physical with it. Or, you can fly or ride ATVs or horses to main camp, and hunt on foot from there. Or ride horses all day, climbing on foot only if you spot rams. Or if you really want to make it cushy, in the Northwest Territories it is legal to use helicopters to fly to the top of the mountain and go from there. One year I saw some Alaska guides put an 80some year old man on a horse, work with him for a few days, then get him into position to make the shot on a very nice ram. The man was mentally as tough as they come, willing to do anything and everything his aged body would allow to get the job done, and it paid off in spades. Before the hunt, you also must control all those variables which you can control. These include your proficiency with your weapon, physical fitness, the condition of your equipment, researching the hunt area beforehand, etc. In so doing you’ll remove much of the doubt, knowing what you can and cannot do and making it much less stressful than going in blind. An extreme example of that was when I fell off the

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mountain and broke myself up. I am trained in wilderness survival, had my first aid and survival gear with me, and knew what to do. Instead of panicking, I just went through my checklist and performed the tasks necessary. Had I not had those skills and experiences, I am sure panic would have set in and surviving would have been much iffier. And finally, be willing to eat some humble pie. You won’t be the toughest guy in camp, or the best hunter of the animal you’re pursuing in that specific location. Your guide will be. Bond with him, trust him, work with him, and do the very best you can. Expect him to try and get a bit more out of you than you think you can give, and be grateful for it. And trust me when I tell you that after tackling a tough hunt that kind of freaks you out in the beginning, successfully enduring the tedium of preparation and the grinding during the hunt itself, then having it all come together in that one moment when you are in position and make the shot, you’ll experience a euphoria that will be hard to truly share with those who have not been there. It’s the sweetest wine on earth. n Boone and Crockett Club Professional Member Bob Robb has been a full-time outdoor writer since 1978. Currently he is Editorial Director of Grand View Outdoors.

When I start to fatigue and my legs begin to burn I tell myself, “Hey, I can do the next two miles no sweat; after all, what is two miles? I do this until the end of the race, breaking it up into short, manageable bites. It’s a sort of mind over matter thing.

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NEW GUNS AND GEAR

3. LEICA ER 5 SERIES 1. WEATHERBY MARK V® 2. SITKA KELVIN LITE ARROYO™ RC The Kelvin Lite series has set RIFLESCOPES New for 2015, Weatherby introduces the Mark V Arroyo™ RC (Range Certified).

The Arroyo maintains the treasured heritage of traditional Mark V rifles, while offering hunters and shooters a contemporary appeal and competitive price. Integrating a hand-laminated, raised comb, Monte Carlo composite stock, the newly featured Mark V rifle incorporates the highly-desired KUIU® Vias camouflage pattern. Other features include a CNC-machined 6061 T-6 aluminum bedding plate and #3 contour free-floated stainless steel fluted barrel with a recessed target crown. Barrel lengths come in 24 and 26-inch lengths, depending on caliber, and presents a two-tone finish in Cerakote® “Desert Tan” with Flat Dark Earth flutes. The Mark V Arroyo offers a SUB-MOA guarantee (threeshot group of .99” or less at 100 yards when using Weatherby factory or premium ammunition), and fully adjustable factory-tuned trigger. WEATHERBY.COM

the standard in lightweight insulation by providing warmth while remaining lightweight, and packable. New for 2015 is the Kelvin Ultralight Down Jacket, a pure insulating, mid-layer essential for all around comfort. Single-minded in its construction, the compact quilt of rip stop polyester contains 90 grams of 750 fill-power PrimaLoft® Down Blend Gold insulation. The short rise cut and elimination of all unnecessary features make it clutch for every minimalist backpack hunter’s arsenal. The Kelvin Down Ultra Lite Jacket is available in GORETM OPTIFADETM Concealment Open Country (medium to 3XL sizes) and Amber (medium to 2XL sizes) and has an MSRP of $289. SITKAGEAR.COM

Leica’s new ER 5 Series Riflescopes feature Leica’s legendary German engineering, superior optical performance and unmatched mechanical precision in an Americanmade product that meets the unique needs and demands of the North American hunter. Six new models, from the close-quarters 1-5x24 to the long-range 5-25x56, are each packed with sophisticated features. The ER 5 Series features extended 5:1 zoom ratios, ideal for any shooting application, while the higher magnifications cater to longer distances common to the North American hunter. Features at a glance: • highly versatile 5:1 magnification ratio

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MEMBERS OF THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR SOCIETY The Wilderness Warrior Society is the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier major gifts society. It was launched in 2011 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Boone and Crockett Club. With your gift of $125,000 or more, you will be honored by being named a founding member of the Wilderness Warrior Society. You will be presented with your own numbered limited edition bronze of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, a custom Hickey Freeman Blazer, as well as other custom gifts to recognize and honor you for your contribution. Funds raised from Wilderness Warrior contributions are placed in the Boone and Crockett Club Foundation endowment where the principal remains intact, and the annual interest income generated provides permanent funding for vital conservation programs. We added four new members in 2014, bringing our total to twenty-four members of the Society. This translates to more than $3 million for the endowment. It has been a huge success by any measure but we will continue to grow the Society with a goal of 25 members or more. Please join us in this grand effort on such a significant occasion. Contact the Boone and Crockett Club today to find out how you can become a founding member of the Wilderness Warrior Society.

Trevor L. Ahlberg James F. Arnold Rene R. Barrientos Marshall J. Collins Jr. William A. Demmer Gary W. Dietrich John P. Evans Steve J. Hageman B.B. Hollingsworth Jr. Ned S. Holmes Tom L. Lewis Jimmy John Liautaud R. Terrell McCombs Jack S. Parker* Paul V. Phillips Remo R. Pizzagalli Thomas D. Price Edward B. Rasmuson Morrison Stevens Sr. Ben B. Wallace Mary L. Webster C. Martin Wood III Leonard H. Wurman M.D. Paul M. Zelisko * Deceased

2014 Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida Contact Ben Hollingsworth at 713/840-1508 for more details. Boone and Crockett Club | www.boone-crockett.org 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801 | 406/542-1888 FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 63

SUGGESTED WINE VARIETALS RED Cabernet Sauvignon \ Merlot \ Pinot Noir \ Syrah

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BOON E A N D CROCK ET T COOK BOOK K A BOBS T H E COM PET I T ION Grilling season is here and B&C is sharing a kabob recipe from our cookbook that skewered the competition in Independent Book Publishers Association’s national book awards. B&C’s first-ever cookbook, “Wild Gourmet: Naturally Healthy Game, Fish and Fowl Recipes for Everyday Chefs,” received the coveted Gold Award in the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards. It’s one of the highest national honors for independent book publishers. An engraved crystal trophy was presented at an April 10 ceremony in Austin, Texas. Judges include book retailers, reviewers, editors, publicists and librarians. “A Gold Award is a prestigious accomplishment and we’re honored to receive it,” said Julie Tripp, director of publications for the Club. “Our goal was providing a valuable resource for hunters, locavores, and foodies alike. This new, national recognition will help even more people discover what

sportsmen have known all along – the tastiest, healthiest meat is wild meat.” The title has been prominent on the Amazon bestseller list since its release in November. Glowing reviews have appeared on websites from Audubon to Field & Stream. At 272 pages, the book features instructions for processing game mammals, birds, and fish, recipes from Emeril Lagasse, Scott Leysath, Hank Shaw and others, and suggested wine pairings, submitted by third-generation Napa winemaker and

B&C member Marc Mondavi, to go with each dish. To help celebrate the award, we’re sharing one of the book’s recipes just in time for grilling season!—Scott Leysath’s Grilled Marinated Caribou Sirloin. Enjoy.

The award was received by Jim Arnold, Julie Tripp, Ashley Arnold, and Rhonda Arnold.

Grilled Marinated Caribou Sirloin S COT T L E YSAT H

It sounds far-fetched, but suppose that you don’t have caribou sirloin in your freezer. What then? This simple marinade is great with any antlered game, although it’s hard to beat the delicate flavor and texture of caribou. A marinade should enhance, not disguise the flavor of game meats. Too often, home chefs go to great lengths to mask the rich, vibrant taste of wild game. This marinade has a hint of Asian flavors with both sweet and sour components. Marinated meat can be

2½ Cups caribou sirloin, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes

skewered or simply grilled alongside peppers and onions. If skewered, consider placing vegetables like peppers and onions on separate skewers to better control the cooking temperatures of both meat and vegetables.

MARINADE ¾ Cup olive oil

½ Cup honey

¼ Cup red wine vinegar

¹⁄ з Cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1½ Teaspoons ground ginger 1½ Teaspoons kosher salt

1 Tablespoon coarse ground pepper

Taming wild meat in the kitchen can foster a type of do-it-yourself pride. Much like growing a vegetable garden, it connects people to the pure goodness of the wilderness. Take Chef Nelson’s advice: “Choose to make dinner one of your core connections to hunting, and with time and experience you will begin to serve some of the best stories of your life.” ... FROM AUDUBON.ORG

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a tight-fitting jar and shake vigorously. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. 2. Place caribou in a non-reactive container or zipper lock bag. Add marinade, toss and refrigerate for 1 to 6 hours. 3. Remove from marinade, drain and place on a medium-high, well-oiled grill and brown on all sides, but preferably not past medium-rare (130°F to 135°F internal temperature).

Order directly from B&C to receive your Associates discount at 888-840-4868 or boone-crockett.org. Regular price is $34.95. B&C Associates pay only $27.95. FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 65

29TH BIG GAME CONSERVATION AWARDS Boone and Crockett Club is in the early planning stages of the 29th Big Game Conservation Awards that will take place July 13-18, 2016. The name of the Big Game Conservation Awards, which were formerly known as Awards Programs, was changed to more accurately reflect the purpose of the Awards Programs and related activities, which is to celebrate the conservation successes that were initiated by the Club since it was founded by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell in 1887. Even though the 29th Big Game Conservation Awards isn’t until next year, it will be here before you realize it. The last two Awards Program Banquets (27th and 28th) were held in Reno, Nevada, which is within easy reach of millions of people in the west. The upcoming 29th Big Game Conservation

TROPHY TALK

Awards, however, will be held at America’s Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, which is immediately next to Bass Pro Shops. It is within a one-day drive of half the population of the United States or a total of 160 million people. I know that those of you who have attended a B&C Awards Program in the past will agree that it is one of the most memorable hunting events you have ever been involved with. They are awesome. I have had attendees tell me it was the highlight of their life. I have attended 12 of them since 1977 and eagerly anticipate attending my 13th next year. Among the many correlated activities, the 29th Big Game Conservation Awards will include a spectacular display of approximately 100 of the finest big game trophies ever taken by modern day hunters and recorded by

Boone and Crockett Club. Included in the display will be at least three new World’s Records, as well as a number of trophies that rank in the top All-time 10 of their categories. I promise you that nowhere else in the world can you view such a magnificent collection of North American big game trophies. I will be covering the upcoming 29th Big Game Conservation Awards in detail in upcoming issues of Fair Chase magazine. For now, please mark your calendar and plan to attend. We look forward to seeing you there. The deadline for entering a trophy in the 29th Big Game Conservation Awards is December 31, 2015. FOUND RAM IS NEW WORLD’S RECORD

On March 7, 2015, a Boone and Crockett Club Special Judges Panel convened in Red Deer, Alberta, and certified that a bighorn sheep killed on a

29TH BIG GAME CONSERVATION AWARDS WORLD’S RECORDS ACCEPTED TO DATE CATEGORY Alaska-Yukon moose Pronghorn Bighorn sheep

SCORE 263-5/8 96-4/8 209-4/8

66 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

HUNTER Heinz Naef Mike Gallo Picked Up

LOCATION OF KILL Yukon River, YT Catron Co., NM Longview, AB

JACK RENEAU B&C PROFESSIONAL MEMBER Director of Big Game Records

highway west of Longview, Alberta, is the largest ever recorded for the species. After two teams of two panel-experienced Official Measurers each scored the ram and arrived at the ram’s final score, this outstanding specimen was certified by B&C as a new World’s Record. This trophy’s horns, which score 209-4/8 points, edged out the previous World’s Record, scoring 2083/8 points, by 1-1/8 points. That incredible ram was taken by Guinn D. Crousen on Luscar Mountain, Alberta, in 2000. A local rancher, who knew of the ram for years, found the dead animal on his property and obtained the necessary possession permit from Alberta Fish & Wildlife.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! DATE 2013 2013 2010

JULY 2016

SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI

BOOK REVIEW REACHING FOR THE TOP

He said, “This ram and a younger ram had lived on the ranch where I worked since 2009. The older ram would go down to the highway a couple times a month, but the younger ram would rarely follow. We always wondered if one of these trips to the highway would be his last.” Boone and Crockett accepts and records legally obtained “picked up” (found) trophies as part of a complete record of native North American big game species. B&C does not keep records of only trophies taken by hunters for so-called “bragging rights.” If B&C did not include “picked up” heads, North America’s conservation success story would be signif icantly

Special Judges Panel members with new World’s Record bighorn sheep include (left to right): Abe England, Lloydminster, Alberta; Victor Clark, Reno, Nevada; Chairman Jack Graham, Edmonton, Alberta; and Curtis Siegfried, Whitecourt, Alberta.

incomplete. For example, other “picked up” World’s Records include the reigning number one non-typical whitetail deer, tule elk, black bear, grizzly bear, and Pacific walrus. Remarkably, the new World’s Record ram was aged at 14 years. n

The California Bowmen Hunters Big Game Club is pleased to announce the release of the 2015 edition of their Big Game Club Record Book titled, Reaching for the Top . This new book is hardbound, over 270 pages, and contains more than 250 photographs, along with the complete bowhunting records of 21 categories of California big game animals, including black bear, mule deer, Columbia blacktail deer, turkey, wild hog, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, tule elk, American elk, Roosevelt’s elk. Tule elk, which were once an endangered species, are only found in California. They are representative of the kinds of conservation success stories attributable only to hunters. Included are new state records announced since the last edition that was published in 2009. This edition also features numerous stories, charts, facts, and figures to provide plenty of compelling reading. Reaching for the Top sells for $40.00 a copy, plus $10.00 for shipping and handling. To order a copy of this outstanding book for your personal library or for further information please contact Craig Fritz, 5710 W. Centinela Avenue #109, Los Angeles, CA 90045-8804. Copies can also be ordered on line at http://cbhbgc.com/shop/ BOOK REVIEW NOTICE

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

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 67

ELK, DEER RESEARCH HONORED BY BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015

A big-game research program in northeast Oregon is the recipient of the Boone and Crockett Club’s i naugura l Conser vation a nd Stewardship Award. The Starkey Project, established in 1989 by the U.S. Forest Service, is one of the most comprehensive field research programs in history. Research trials in an enclosed 25,000-acre working landscape measure the effects of timber management, livestock grazing, and recreation on elk and deer populations. Results help guide resource-management decisions across the West.

Boone and Crockett’s new award recognizes Starkey’s development of “applied science” for effective, scienceinformed management. “There is a significant difference between basic research and the applied research conducted at Starkey,” explained Tom Price, chairman of the Club’s Stewardship and Multiple Use Sharing Committee, which administers the award. “Most public and private lands are not like national parks. They are working landscapes where people and wildlife must co-exist. We need sound, applied science that tells us what is best for wildlife, people and the land under Jack Ward Thomas, one of the original Starkey Project Leaders, was shared conditions, presented the Boone and Crockett Club’s Conservation Stewardship Award at B&C Headquarters on May 5, 2015. In attendance were Dale and that’s what the Bosworth (left) who also served as US Forest Chief after Thomas, as well Starkey Project has as several B&C members, colleagues and friends. been supplying for the past 25 years.” Starkey’s research in elk habitat and development of nutrition models help guide informed decisions in multiuse management based on observed elk and deer interactions with cattle grazing, hunting,

roads, and forest management. Results also inform decisions about managing elk and deer forage, cover needs, desired age of elk breeding bulls, productivity, bull/cow and buck/doe harvest ratios, and nutrition levels. Price said, “The Starkey Project produces landscape-scale, boots-on-theground research that has defined successful management strategies for elk and mule deer based on how these species interact with real-world land uses.” The award was presented March 11 during the 100th annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The Conservation and Stewardship Award will be given annually to the organization or entity that best exemplifies excellence in conservation and wildlife and land stewardship – core values of the Boone and Crockett Club and its founder, Theodore Roosevelt. “As Theodore Roosevelt once said, ‘conservation means development as much as it does protection.’ That’s why this research station, the people behind it and the U.S. Forest Service are most deserving of this recognition and our thanks,” Price added. To learn more about the Starkey Project, visit www.fs.fed.us/pnw/starkey.

Left to right: Rob Mangold, Station Director, PNW Research Station, Forest Service; Ron Anglin, Assistant Director, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife; Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; Morrie Stevens, President, Boone and Crockett Club; Mike Wisdom, Starkey Project Team Leader, PNW Research Station, Forest Service; and Tom Price, Boone and Crockett Club member and Chair of Awards Committee, Conservation and Stewardship Award.

68 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 69

ROOSEVELT’S ELK HUNT I wanted a Boone and Crockett bull. I made a number of phone calls to hunters that were return clients of Brad and Pauline Lister, owners of Coastal Inlet Adventures, even before I contacted the outfitter. My wife and I drove out to visit Brad and Pauline at their residence outside of Powell River, British Columbia. A personal meeting is so much better than just talking over the phone or corresponding back and forth by email. After our meeting I was left without any doubts, only a dream. If you ever have the opportunity to meet with the outfitter inperson, do it. On October 9, I gathered with other hunters at the Lister’s residence. Hunting season with a rifle for Roosevelt’s elk commenced the next day. We drove to a private

dock, loaded up the landing craft boat, and headed out. It was a two-hour boat ride to our base camp. Basecamp was located within the Jervis Inlet. It was a nice old ex-commercial fishing boat known as a Seiner. It was anchored alongside the dock where loggers would come each morning by boat to work. This would be home for me; my guide Klaus; another guide Frank (Klaus’s brother); and from Seattle, Frank’s hunter Preston Moon and his cameraman Lee; as well as Eric, the camp cook. Garry, who owned the Seiner, also visited on occasion. Another one of the guided hunters was successful very early and spent one night on the Seiner before departing home. His guide Jay remained with us on the boat and helped out where needed. It rained everyday

BEYOND THE SCORE

Terry Raymond B&C TROPHY OWNER Photos Courtesy of Author

except the day of our arrival. The temperature was pleasantly warm between 10–12 degrees Celsius each day. Each morning after a wonderful hot breakfast, Klaus and I traveled 30 minutes by landing craft across the Jervis Inlet where we docked at the mouth of the Brittain River. Day one was spent getting set up at the base camp and touring around by boat to see some of the spectacular scenery and impressive volume and variety of wildlife. We traveled by quad as far as we could go before the road became impassable. A river had washed out the bridge so crossing by any vehicle was impossible. For the most part the roads and trails were overgrown with salmonberry bushes and deadfall. The outfitter had done some maintenance to allow access for his guides and their hunters. We hunted from the trail and also off in the timber; travel was easy-going at times and at others it was just plain ugly. Rockslides created areas where alder trees and salmonberry bushes re-established, and the river and many creeks carved their

way through the valley. Most of the riverbed was overgrown with huge alder trees, as well as tall salmonberry and raspberry bushes. In other areas only moss and ferns covered the forest floor. Green moss grows on everything where the sun cannot get through. There were huge trees covered with moss from the bottom up as high as you could see. In the middle of the day it seemed like dusk. Roosevelt’s elk are huge animals. Their bodies are bigger than American elk. They are very similar in appearance and antler except the Roosevelt’s have a tendency to have more points after the G4 point, or as they are called, crown points. The bulls love to rub their antlers on the alder and cedar trees. The alder trees produce a very dark orange and red antler color. We saw huge trees that were rubbed as high as eight feet. Locating elk was not easy since the rut was coming to an end. Normally you would bugle to an elk and receive a response. The exact opposite applies to Roosevelt’s elk. Klaus is a seasoned elk hunter but this was his first time guiding for Roosevelt’s elk. As we traveled up the Brittain River we would look for areas that had visual pockets.

For me, pictures are the greatest memory from a hunt. I typically like to set up the picture scene by cleaning up all blood, placing the animal in a more elevated position that also allows for great background pictures. This elk was like a big horse. It was raining, we were wet not only on the outside but also on the inside due to the sweat under all that rain gear. We were way behind schedule and did not get back to basecamp until well after dark. So, unfortunately I did not get the pictures I wanted. - Terry Raymond 70 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

Roosevelt’s elk, like Timothy R. Carpenter’s pictured here, have unique crown points, that set it apart from an American elk. Carpenter’s elk scores 398-1/8 points and was awarded first place at the 28th Big Game Awards in 2013.

We looked up and down the mountainside on a continual basis. We walked slowly and quietly in hunting mode, hoping to get a glimpse of elk as we traveled. Klaus would cow call every so often but would never bugle. It seemed that every elk we saw was a direct result of Klaus’s cow calling. On the first day of our hunt, Klaus cow called a nice 6x6 bull and a dozen cows. The bull came as close as 43 yards before deciding it was time to retreat. We observed him and his cows for about ten minutes. He looked like a B&C bull, but it was too early in the hunt to close the deal. Day two of the hunt was uneventful as far as elk were concerned. We walked the opposite side of the river. It appeared that the elk had moved further upstream than what successful hunters had encountered in previous years. It was a great walk with a ma zing scener y a nd wildlife. On the third day of the hunt we heard shooting across the river upstream from our location. We assumed the resident hunter docked at the base of the mountain was successful. The next day he had his elk cape, antlers, and some meat back at their landing craft. They were gearing up to go back to get the remaining meat out. Klaus talked with them briefly to learn where the carcass was located so that we would be able to prepare

Terry returned from a successful Roosevelt’s elk hunt in the District of Sechelt area of British Columbia on October 17, 2014.

for any possible bear attack. Both black and grizzly bears reside in the area. A grizzly sow and her three large cubs had their picture taken by a trail camera during late summer so we knew bears were in the area. Klaus and I continued up the Brittain River hunting slowly, and around 1:30 p.m. Klaus found another spot to cow call. I was walking up behind Klaus when he said, “Antler, load up!” I chambered a shell and placed my shooting sticks in position. Klaus quietly said, “Small bull.” I could see two bulls; I turned back around to Klaus who was looking through his binoculars,

B&C ARCHIVES:

Records of NABG Committee Dr. Philip L. Wright, Chairman Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Site, New York, NY, December 5, 1979 “The next matter had to do with the possible establishment of a new class for Roosevelt’s elk. This question was fully discussed in 1976, but no action was taken because there was insufficient information on the entry scores of existing trophies because no Roosevelt’s elk are known that score large enough to reach the minimum score (375) for Rocky Mountain elk.” “Scores of a series of trophies from Afognak Island, Alaska; recently taken trophies from Vancouver Island, British Columbia; a series of scores from western Washington (obtained from the Washington Game Department); and a single animal from northwestern California were distributed at the Executive Committee meeting at Sagamore Hill and photos of some of these heads were shown at that time. Additional photos from the Washington Game Department were circulated.“ “Glenn St. Charles, who had been invited to this meeting by Phil Wright and who had first written to the Club in the mid1960s urging the establishment of a Roosevelt’s elk category, was asked to speak. He stated that the animal is a different species [sic. subspecies], they look different, they are darker in color, weigh about 100 lbs. more than Rocky Mountain elk but have smaller antlers that tend to be thicker at the base, some tend to have webbing near the antler tops, and there are thousands taken each year along the coast of northwest California, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island.” “The matter of the class for Roosevelt’s elk was taken up again and a motion to approve this class was passed. It was understood that the initial entries would include many heads taken several years ago and these would be eligible for Certificates of Merit and that regular place Awards of place and Honorable Mention would be awarded only for heads taken in the last 5 years. Wright said that he favored the establishment of this class with a minimum score of 290 points, and that perhaps for the initial five-year period the availability of regular trophy awards might be suspended. The area to be included for Roosevelt’s elk is as follows: Afognak and Raspberry Islands, Alaska; Vancouver Island, British Columbia; western Washingt on, west of I-5, plus an area in western Skamania County (the area is occupied by the Mt. St. Helens herd); Oregon west of I-5; and, two counties in northwestern California, Del Norte, and Humboldt.” In January 1980, a new category of Roosevelt’s elk was established. In 2010 the Roosevelt’s elk boundary was expanded in British Columbia to include bulls taken on the mainland from the area including all of the coastal watersheds of Butte Inlet at the north to Frazer River, Harrison River/Harrison Lake and the Lollooet River and all its tributaries to the south. (Marked in red on the map.) FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 71

BEYOND THE SCORE and whispered, “There are two bulls.” I could see a large bull facing directly at us that had stopped behind a large tree. On either side of the tree I could see his long G-3 points. The bull moved slightly to my right. I was prepared to shoot, looking through my scope when Klaus said, “Shooter… shoot, shoot.” A tree covered his chest cavity. I had a good clear sight of his entire shoulder and settled the crosshairs

on the back of his shoulder. I don’t remember the recoil from the Finn Lite .300 Winchester Mag. I chambered another shell as he slowly moved away. The bull walked eight or nine paces before falling in a hole partially filled with water. Our excitement boiled over. Klaus was probably more excited than I was. He was so happy for me. As we walked up to the bull, he lay bedded with his huge dark orange antlers glistening from the rain. The 180-grain Accubond bullet went through both shoulders of the bull from approximately 60 yards. Klaus and I were wonderstruck by such a magnificent animal. Pictures were taken, and we removed the cape and antlers in the constant rain. We prepared

We knew we would not get the cape and antlers out that evening. It was another 30-minute walk back to the quad. The quad was on the other side of a river, which we crossed on foot earlier in the day; but now the river’s water level was so high we had no idea where we had even crossed. Luckily we were able to cross the large dead fall on our butts back to safety.

72 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

the meat for transportation the next day and got loaded up as quickly as we could. It was just after 3:00 p.m. Normally we would start heading back to the landing craft by 2:30 p.m., walking quickly to be safely back to basecamp before dark. This time we were further back than we’d been on previous occasions, and Klaus was carrying a soaking wet cape and antlers estimated to weigh around 150 pounds. As the rain continued to fall, the dry road bed we walked up earlier in the day became a creek, and we walked along the downhill trail in water—at times—just below our knee caps. The nine kilometer hike back was long, slow, and difficult at times—crossing over deadfall, walking between trees that would grab the elk antlers, and stepping on river stones that you could not see under the water. At one point I was able to convince Klaus to let me try carrying the cape and antlers. He loaded me up and off I went. I immediately felt the weight on my back and legs. After a short distance I went down, crossing over a deadfall tree when I slipped on a stone below water level. I was pinned and couldn’t get up on my own so I waited for Klaus to get me back on my feet. I believe I carried the cape and antlers for 15 minutes; my legs were numb. Klaus, a bit rested, carried on until we finally crossed over a flowing creek that we thought might be a raging river by this point. Once safely across, Klaus put the heavy load down. We knew we would not get the cape and antlers out that evening. It was another 30-minute walk back to the quad. The quad was on the other side of a river, which we crossed on foot earlier in the day. However, the river’s water level was so

high now we had no idea where we had even crossed. Luckily we were able to cross the large deadfall on our butts back to safety. We quickly loaded up the landing craft and headed out. Klaus made radio contact with basecamp to advise that we were safely on our way. We received an immediate response from Frank and Jay; our delay back to basecamp had caused reason for concern. We could see the lights of their boat were in close proximity to us. They turned around and both boats headed slowly back to basecamp under the dark sky. The next day we walked back in with Jay. He carried the cape and antlers on his back in one trip, and all the meat in another, and walked across the downed deadfall bridge like a cat. His day job is a “tree topper.” He’s not afraid of heights or walking across slippery wet logs. Klaus and I played it safe again and went across on our butts. It was a great experience all around. Thanks again to Klaus Wolff, a top-notch guide. He did a fabulous job. Also, a special thanks to Eric, the camp cook. His hospitality, humor, and clean ship were more than could be expected. I had lost a bunch of weight due to a health issue just before arriving at camp. After three helpings of his fabulous food and dessert each evening, I actually put on weight and got stronger throughout the trip. The equipment, including the quad, boats, and facilities were all first-rate. Brad Lister of Coastal Inlet Adventures has put a lot of time, effort, and money toward providing their hunters, myself included, an opportunity to harvest a great trophy Roosevelt’s elk. It was a great hunt, a great bull, and an experience I will never forget. n

FROM LASKA TO

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When we say we tested our cases from A to Z, it is not just an expression; we have literally tested them from Alaska to Zimbabwe, before we put them on the market. So, whether your adventures take you around the world or places closer to home, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never settle for anything less than the quality and dependability you get with Boyt.

NEW IN 2015

Introducing two new cases to the Hard Sided Travel Series: î ˘e H52SG Single Long Gun Case, and the H15 Compact Double Handgun/Accessory Case FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 73

JACK STEELE PARKER

GENERATION

NEXT FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE

LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

BLACK BEAR 20 7/16 20

Waupaca Co., WI Hunter H. Milanowski 2014 D. Goers Penobscot Co., ME Colton D. Trisch 2014 T. Montgomery

TYPICAL AMERICAN ELK 373 4/8 384 1/8 361 2/8 368 5/8

Twin Falls Co., ID Justin R. McDonald 2014 D. Biggs Modoc Co., CA Andrew M. Evans 2014 R. Tupen

TYPICAL MULE DEER 193 4/8 196 7/8 186 2/8 199

Pennington Simon P. Carlson Co., SD Pondera Co., MT Savanah N. Mook

2014 P. Carlson 2014 J. Pallister

TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER 184 7/8 182 170 165 2/8

189 5/8 187 1/8 179 3/8 183 6/8

McLean Co., IL Wayne Co., KY Polk Co., AR Otter Tail Co., MN

Richard E. Pelphrey 2011 Cody L. McLean 2014 Bradley L. Creekmore 2014 Malcolm G. Bradbury 2014

E. Randall D. Weddle B. Sanford C. Kozitka

PRONGHORN 82 6/8 80

83 5/8 80 1/8

Catron Co., NM Lander Co., NV

Sidda L. Schultz Ethan J. Harrow

2014 J. Edwards 2014 R. Hall

BIGHORN SHEEP 178 178 7/8 Kamloops Richard H.J. Reid 2014 R. Berreth Lake, BC

Simon P. Carlson

74 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

The Boone and Crockett Club would like to celebrate young hunters who have embraced the outdoor way of life and embody the spirit of fair chase hunting. The following is a list of the most recent big game trophies accepted into Boone and Crockett Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 29th Big Game Awards Program, 2013-2015, that have been taken by a youth hunter (16 years or younger). All of the field photos in this section are from entries that are listed in this issue and are shown in bold orange text. This listing represents only those trophies accepted since the Spring 2015 issue of Fair Chase was published.

Savanah N. Mook

Richard H.J. Reid

Ethan J. Harrow

Justin R. McDonald

Andrew M. Evans

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 75

RECENTLY ACCEPTED TROPHIES

BIG GAME TROPHIES LISTING AND PHOTO GALLERY

The following pages list the most recent big game trophies accepted into the Boone and Crockett Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 29th Big Game Awards Program, 2013-2015, which includes entries received between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015. 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 2015 issue of Fair Chase was published. SPONSORED BY

Share your field photos with us! Follow: @BooneandCrockettClub Tag: #booneandcrockettclub 76 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

Larry L. Bartek was on a hunt in Atascosa County, Texas, during the 2014 season when he harvested this non-typical whitetail deer scoring 211-2/8 points. He was shooting his .270 Winchester Mag.

TOP TO BOTTOM

Steve J. Lulich took this grizzly bear, scoring 24-7/16 points, in 2014 while hunting along the Shaktoolik River, Alaska.

BEAR & COUGAR FINAL SCORE

LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

BLACK BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 23-10/16 22 7/16 Lackawanna Co., PA Daniel J. Beavers 2013 R. Kingsley 21 12/16 Carlton Co., MN Michael P. Bowman 2014 J. Lunde 21 6/16 Ventura Co., CA Clarence O. 2014 J. Bugni Ferguson, Jr. 21 3/16 Bradford Co., PA JaLynn N. MacNelley 2013 R. Kingsley 21 3/16 Marathon Co., WI Susan M. Christensen 2014 T. Heil 21 3/16 Mesa Co., CO Jason M. Smith 2013 R. Selner 21 1/16 Baxter Co., AR Kenneth L. Mize 2014 W. Spence 21 Bayfield Co., WI Steven M. Rusch 2014 M. Miller 20 14/16 Garfield Co., CO Tracy A. Grzeskowiak 2014 P. Allen 20 10/16 Dunn Co., WI Burke S. Shafer 2013 S. Ashley 20 7/16 Waupaca Co., WI Hunter H. Milanowski 2014 D. Goers 20 6/16 Ouray Co., CO William A. Clapsadl 2014 R. Nelson 20 5/16 Stave Lake, BC George W. Mitchell 2014 J. Spring 20 3/16 Apache Co., AZ Rick L. Andersen 2014 T. Korth 20 3/16 Burnett Co., WI Picked Up 2013 S. Ashley 20 1/16 Prince of Wales Cindy M. Anderson 2014 D. Eider Island, AK 20 Bear Lake Co., ID Jason A. Brinkerhoff 2014 W. Norton 20 Lac Larouche, QC George A. Steger 2014 R. Songin 20 Penobscot Co., ME Colton D. Trisch 2014 T. Montgomery

This typical American elk, scoring 365-6/8 points, was taken by Eric A. Strutzel, in Powder River County, Montana, in 2014. In 2012, Brittney S. Black harvested this 172-5/8-point desert sheep while on a hunt in San Miguel County, Colorado. William A. Crumrin was on an archery hunt in Clark County, Illinois, in 2014, when he harvested this non-typical whitetail deer scoring 218-5/8 points.

GRIZZLY BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 27-13/16 25 11/16 24 11/16 24 7/16 24 4/16

Kuzitrin River, AK Michael T. Kruse Fortymile River, AK Pete F. Imhof Shaktoolik River, AK Steve J. Lulich Golsovia River, AK Shay P. McGowan

2014 2014 2014 2012

D. Widby C. Brent P. Barwick R. Walters

ALASKA BROWN BEAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 30 12/16 29 28 12/16 28 10/16 26 12/16

Bear Lake, AK Kodiak Island, AK Caribou River, AK Port Gravina, AK

Tom L. Pettiette Matthew D. Balliet Scott C. Taylor Derrick J. Handwerk

2013 2014 2013 2014

V. Garcia R. Dufault C. Brent D. Razza

Cale E. Waldrip Ian M. McCrary

1999 W. Hepworth 2013 P. Allen

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

COUGAR - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 16-4/16 15 5/16 15

Carbon Co., WY Larimer Co., CO

ELK & MULE DEER FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

TYPICAL AMERICAN ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 442-5/8 385 2/8 398 376 5/8 393 4/8 376 3/8 382 373 4/8 384 1/8 366 1/8 378 7/8 365 6/8 380 1/8 361 2/8 368 5/8

San Juan Co., UT Teton Co., WY Park Co., MT Twin Falls Co., ID Cache Co., UT Powder River Co., MT Modoc Co., CA

Paul S. Miller Martin J. Kirk Nicholas P. Ricardi Justin R. McDonald Ronald R. Waugh Eric A. Strutzel

2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014

R. Hall S. Ashley F. King D. Biggs R. Krueger W. van Zwoll

Andrew M. Evans

2014 R. Tupen

NON-TYPICAL AMERICAN ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 478-5/8 400 3/8 413 4/8 Cameron Co., PA 392 407 6/8 Colfax Co., NM

Paul L. Brown Thomas J. Bronz

2014 D. Lynch 2014 R. Novosad

ROOSEVELT’S ELK - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 404-4/8 378 3/8 369 2/8 352 6/8 352 1/8

394 5/8 379 1/8 356 5/8 366 4/8

Del Norte Co., CA Siskiyou Co., CA Del Norte Co., CA White River, BC

Joseph W. Wallace Trevor R. Zediker Scott A. Cupp Jan D. Maltesen

2014 2014 2014 2014

D. Heffner S. Boero K. Evanow C. Veasey

TYPICAL MULE DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 226-4/8 200 7/8 200 5/8 197 2/8 193 6/8

205 203 6/8 227 5/8 198 4/8

Bonneville Co., ID Brian E. Hentzell Great Sand Hills, SK Jim Clary Cassia Co., ID Clyde C. Anthon Kitscoty, AB Bryan E. Stewart

2014 2014 1979 2014

D. Kelsey B. Seidle B. Ward W. Paplawski

FAIR CH ASE | SUM M E R 2 0 1 5 77

RECENTLY ACCEPTED TROPHIES

TYPICAL MULE DEER CONTINUED 193 5/8 206 6/8 Great Sand Hills, SK Jim Clary 193 4/8 196 7/8 Pennington Co., SD Simon P. Carlson 192 5/8 210 7/8 Twin Falls Co., ID Unknown 192 3/8 201 Utah Unknown 191 6/8 195 7/8 McGregor Lake, AB Colin T. Quinton 191 4/8 197 1/8 Unknown Unknown 190 7/8 194 3/8 Bear Lake Co., ID Unknown 190 5/8 195 2/8 Unknown Unknown 190 193 6/8 Colorado Unknown 186 5/8 207 Old Wives Lake, SK Blair K. Scherer 186 2/8 199 Pondera Co., MT Savanah N. Mook 184 6/8 187 4/8 Garfield Co., UT Ricky L. Erickson 184 3/8 203 Great Sand Hills, SK Jack L. Clary 184 2/8 189 6/8 Boulder Co., CO Richard G. Webb 184 2/8 190 3/8 Cascade Co., MT Larry W. Vigesaa 184 1/8 187 4/8 Hot Springs Co., WY Errin L. Montgomery 183 5/8 188 Delta Co., CO Darin H. Gardner 183 1/8 215 6/8 Coconino Co., AZ Allen R. Bradbury 182 3/8 199 5/8 Ravalli Co., MT Harold E. Wallace 181 7/8 195 4/8 Idaho Co., ID Dionisio I. Amuchastegui 181 7/8 205 1/8 Frenchman River, SK Mike P. Kwasnica 181 2/8 186 5/8 Garfield Co., CO Kirk W. Warner 180 7/8 186 1/8 Malheur Co., OR Corey W. Vance 180 1/8 194 3/8 Gunnison Co., CO Gerald G. Muething

2013 2014 1977 1970 2014 2010 1960 2005 2014 2014 2014 2014 2011 2014 1970 2014 2014 1987 1976 2011

B. Seidle P. Carlson R. Hall J. Lunde D. Patterson L. Gatlin R. Hall G. Day G. Villnow P. McKenzie J. Pallister B. Christensen B. Seidle D. Birdsall B. Zundel J. Capurro D. Jones I. McArthur R. Spring T. Conrads

2014 2014 2014 2014

M. Hanson J. Booey J. Stone R. Hatfield

NON-TYPICAL MULE DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 355-2/8 292 6/8 263 247 1/8 244 2/8 241 1/8 234 231 3/8 226 222 218 4/8 215 1/8 215 1/8

296 5/8 265 2/8 254 5/8 250 2/8 245 238 2/8 238 3/8 231 1/8 224 7/8 225 2/8 237 218 2/8

Mesa Co., CO Brett C. Ross 2014 Oneida Co., ID Robert P. Pingel 1965 Park Co., CO Unknown 2013 Malheur Co., OR Matthew T. Keeling 2014 Unknown Unknown 1970 Kane Co., UT Allen R. Bradbury 1990 Bear Lake Co., ID Unknown 1960 Great Sand Hills, SK Jack L. Clary 2013 Park Co., MT Todd C. Quisel 2014 Kane Co., UT Allen R. Bradbury 1991 Manitoba Unknown 1992 Wayne Co., UT Allen R. Bradbury 2002

T. Archibeque R. Hall J. Ramsey H. Wilson L. Gatlin I. McArthur R. Hall B. Seidle R. Selner I. McArthur J. Ramsey I. McArthur

TYPICAL COLUMBIA BLACKTAIL - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 182-2/8 137 1/8 136 135 1/8 131 4/8 126 3/8 125 3/8

140 3/8 141 1/8 137 5/8 138 2/8 131 3/8 128 1/8

Mendocino Co., CA Shasta Co., CA Mendocino Co., CA Trinity Co., CA Humboldt Co., CA Humboldt Co., CA

James E. Holland Kenneth D. Roberts II Reed S. Gatton Dustin B. Collen Brian L. Hunter Daniel P. Comer

2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014

G. Hooper S. Boero G. Hooper G. Hooper G. Hooper G. Hooper

WHITETAIL DEER FINAL GROSS SCORE SCORE LOCATION

HUNTER

DATE MEASURER

TYPICAL WHITETAIL DEER - WORLD’S RECORD SCORE 213-5/8 194 1/8 214 1/8 McPherson Co., SD 191 6/8 200 4/8 Dodge Co., WI 184 7/8 189 5/8 McLean Co., IL 182 187 1/8 Wayne Co., KY 181 2/8 189 Phillips Co., AR 180 182 Isanti Co., MN 179 6/8 183 4/8 Pierceland, SK 179 2/8 183 1/8 McCurtain Co., OK 178 4/8 181 4/8 Hyde Co., SD 177 2/8 181 3/8 Hyde Co., SD 177 1/8 181 Decatur Co., IA 174 6/8 182 1/8 Scotts Bluff Co., NE 173 6/8 179 5/8 Whitley Co., KY 173 1/8 182 6/8 Garrard Co., KY 173 1/8 197 4/8 Houston Co., MN 172 7/8 196 4/8 Howard Co., MO 172 7/8 179 1/8 Mills Co., TX 172 3/8 180 3/8 Riley Co., KS 172 1/8 184 5/8 Sauk Co., WI 171 7/8 175 7/8 Douglas Co., WI 171 6/8 177 4/8 Clark Co., KS 171 4/8 190 7/8 Lincoln Co., MO

78 FA I R CH A S E | SU M M E R 20 1 5

Michael S. Mettler 2014 Adam L. Hupf 2014 Richard E. Pelphrey 2011 Cody L. McLean 2014 Leonard P. Rohrscheib II 2014 Trevor V. Poff 2014 Joseph M. Severino 2014 Danny C. Rackley 2014 Lee F. Hussey 2014 Gordon W. Sampson 2014 Tony J. Bohlke 2014 Tommie J. Cooper 2014 Billy L. Medlin 2014 C. Anthony Himes 2014 Kraig S. Garmaker 2014 Thomas E. 2013 Patterson, Jr. David M. Podany, Sr. 2014 Jon M. Dutton 2014 Andrew P. Niesen 2012 Kimberly M. Rhein 2014 Picked Up 1999 F. Neil Norton 2014

S. Rauch M. Miller E. Randall D. Weddle B. Sanford R. Berggren E. Defibaugh D. Polk W. Norton L. Fredrickson G. Hempey C. Becker D. Weddle N. Minch P. Carlson R. Bergloff K. Witt O. Carpenter J. Ramsey J. Lunde R. Selner J. Detjen

OPPOSITE PAGE: TOP TO BOTTOM

Matthew J. Lulich was on a hunt near Shaktoolik River, Alaska, during the 2014 season, when he harvested this Alaska-Yukon moose scoring 226-5/8 points. He was shooting his .300 Weatherby. While on a 2014 bowhunt near Great Sand Hills, Saskatchewan, Jim Clary took this 200-5/8-point typical mule deer. Matthew T. Keeling was shooting his .7mm Remington Mag. when he took this nontypical mule deer, in 2014, in Malheur County, Oregon. The buck scores 244-2/8 points.

THIS PAGE: TOP TO BOTTOM

Michael A. Candela took this Rocky Mountain goat, scoring 47 points, in 2014 while hunting on Admiralty Island, Alaska. This typical whitetail deer, scoring 169 points, was taken by Diane C. Fullen, in Dimmit County, Texas, in 2014. In 2014, Jon M. Dutton harvested this 172-3/8-point typical whitetail deer while on a hunt in Riley County, Kansas. Daniel P. Comer was on a hunt in Humboldt County, California, when he harvested this typical Columbia blacktail scoring 1253/8 points. He was shooting his .270 Winchester Mag.