BLAST FROM THE PAST

Blast

from the Past

This issue takes us through the year 1982.

Lee Poole was the MBA President and we were planning the 4th annual Convention Banquet in Billings. Of course with inflation, the cost of the banquet tickets increased to $14.50. Bill Wadsworth, the Chairman of the National Bowhunter Education Program, was the guest speaker. It was our chance to recruit new instructors to our state program.

At that time the MBA was pushing hard to get Bowhunter Education mandatory. They met with the FWP Commission personal Dan Oakland and FWP rep. Gene Allen. The proposal included a lot of discussion and debate. The reasons against this proposal were as follows: 1. concern for more rules and regulations and their chance of misuse 2. objection to the use of the word “mandatory” 3. concern with not having enough qualified instructors 4. not enough information or statistics about this program and its longterm effects in other states

After hearing both sides for and against, it there was agreement that a bowhunter program of some sort was definitely needed. So it was set that the promotion for the Bowhunter Education Program in this state would be on a voluntary basis. This would give the MBA time to recruit more instructors.

Another issue was the continuing saga of the Breaks. With overcrowding, there were proposals for a season from September 10th to October 16th, which would shorten the archery season by one week. Hunting in 631, 632, and 630 would be by permit only and you had to apply by June 15th. The 360 permits would replace the permits in 410, 621, 622, 623, and 700. There was also a proposal the Breaks archery season would open December 1st and run through December 30th instead of the fall season.

Lee Poole was working with a group of like-minded conservation groups along with ranchers and farmers to form a Sports Coalition for better relations with each other, and to help the fight with anti-hunting, antitrapping, and pro-gun control groups. The idea of the coalition was to be able to work out our differences behind closed doors.

While reading in my old Pope & Young First Edition record book, I came across the “Stories Behind the World Records”. As I read through the Prong Horn record story, I noticed that Archie Malm had bought a bow a few days before the North Dakota archery season for $11.50 with a set of arrows. I noticed that the Pronghorn was his first bow hunt and his first bow kill and a world record for Pronghorn. Then I moved to another book by Gordon Whittington “World Record Whitetails”. When I got to the section on the archery harvests, I noticed some interesting facts so I put together some of the information trivia.

Bowhunting’s World Records, Pronghorn Antelope & Whitetails

With the Pandemic still raging and not much else to do except fighting the crossbow yet again, I turned to my library of hunting books. I have read most of them many times. I started with the 1st edition of the Pope & Young records book and was reading the stories behind the World Records. I then moved on to another book by Gordon Whittington, “World Record White Tail Deer.” This book goes back to the beginning of keeping track of all whitetail deer antlers, Boone and Crocket, the NFAA records for bow kills, and the start of the Pope & Young Club. The scoring was changing to the Boone and Crocket scoring system which is what is still in use today with only a few minor changes from the 1950s. The old records from before 1950 were still included in the new books to not actually start completely start over. There are deer harvested in the 1800s that needed recognition, so the search was on to find these old antlers and the stories behind the hunts.

I found some very interesting stories that were in the 1st edition of Pope & Young Record Book on the Pronghorn Antelope, and the rest came from World Record Whitetail Deer. There are ten hunters involved here with world records that all have one thing in common. Every recorded kill was with a recurve bow or longbow.

I’ll start with Archie Malm from North Dakota. He took the largest Pronghorn 88 6/8s in his first year as a bowhunter having bought his bow for $11.50 with arrows. In his first hunt he took his antelope; this was his first bow kill in 1958.

First we’ll move to the Typical Whitetail records.

• The first-ever WTD recorded as the #1 buck was taken by George

Ferber from New York at 149 3/8s in 1957. • 2nd World Record WTD was taken by Bobby Tripplett from North

Dakota scoring 163 4/8 in 1953. This was Bobby’s first ever bow kill. • 3rd World Record WTD was taken by Gilbert Guttormson from

Minnesota in 1953 scoring 163 4/8 tying Bobby’s buck. This was also

Gilbert’s first ever bow kill, with a longbow. • 4th World Record WTD was taken by Jerry Polesky from Montana in 1959 with a score of–you guessed it–163 4/8, tying the second and third world records. • 5th World Record WTD was taken by Kent Price Jr. from Maryland in 1962 with a score of 165 4/8s. This also was the very first bow kill for

Kent. • 6th World Record WTD was taken by Lloyd Goad in 1962 in Iowa scoring 197 6/8s. This deer was Lloyd’s first ever bow kill also. • 7th and current World Record WTD was taken by Mel Johnson in 1965 in Illinois with a score of 204 4/8s. Believe this or not it also was his first ever bow kill. We’ll move on to the Non-Typical World Record Whitetails. • 1st would be a buck from Minnesota taken in 1959 by Don Vraspir scoring 186 2/8s and was the first non-typical measured for bow harvested

WTD. Again, it was Don’s first bow kill. • 2nd and current World Record Non-typical WTD scoring 279 7/8 from

Nebraska was Del Austin’s buck (A Buck Named Mossy Horns) This also was Del’s first bow kill.

One other side note that should be mentioned with these incredible bucks is Ivan Masher’s buck taken in 1961. A 197 5/8ths non-typical taken with a recurve from Nebraska was measured to take over the top spot, but the recording period didn’t end until 1963. In the mean time Del Austin arrowed his 279 7/8ths giant keeping Ivan’s buck from the top spot. That recording period, 1961, 1962, and 1963 was one heck of a recording period for the P&Y Club with three World Record Whitetails recorded in the period but only the Del Auston’s buck was on top by the end.

If you’ll have noticed the dates don’t line up with the order of which the deer were harvested and when it was recorded as the World Record. Easy to explain–most all these deer were taken back when the record books were in their beginning stages. Most hunters didn’t know records were being kept and the measurers were far and few between. Most all the racks were sent to Glen St. Charles in Seattle to be measured for the NFAA and then the P&Y books.

When I first came across the Pronghorn World Record Archie took and was his first bow kill and then the 2nd and 3rd Whitetails were also firsttime bow kills, I got to looking closer at these stories. Of the ten World Records, eight of them were first time bow kills. So it just goes to show that if you are a first time bowhunter without a kill, you have a 80% chance of killing the next World Record Whitetail Deer–maybe.

Anyway, I thought that this was interesting trivia. Hope you enjoyed.

The pictures are from Kevin Campbell all taken in 2020. The sheep is in the 170s. P&Y. Kevin has been a long time MBA member. The WT. is a 4X4. These are some of Kevin’s first bow harvests other than a couple of deer some time back.

Marlon Clapham