Harvesting a Record Trophy

The experience of a lifetime and proof that conservation is working

BY DEANNA NELSON-LICKING

Clayton Miller of Draper, South Dakota had been applying for a bighorn sheep tag since he was 12, so in the spring of 2018 when he received a phone call from the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks he thought it was a joke. But he had drawn the first ever bighorn sheep tag for the brand new Badlands unit in South Dakota. Having grown up sixty miles from there, Clayton and his family had been through there many times and he knew there were some nice rams. He made numerous scouting trips over the summer looking for rams.

Clayton lost sight of the ram as he followed a ewe away from the group and they searched unsuccessfully for him, only to find the monster near their camp after giving up the search. The ram was lying in a position that forced the hunters to get very close since Clayton was determined to use his bow. “When we reached the 20-yard mark I came to full draw and settled my pin. The rams screamed out of their beds in a mad panic and my worst fears came to life. The wind had pushed me as I released and placed the arrow slightly forward of my aiming point. It stuck in his opposite shoulder and bounced out hanging by a thread giving me the appearance of what looked to be stuck on the shoulder facing me with not enough penetration for a lethal shot. I was sick. I’ve never nocked a second arrow so quickly in my life. From the moment of impact it was less than five seconds until my ram expired. It ended up being the quickest most ethical archery kill I have ever seen. To say that I had a sigh of relief was an understatement.

Clayton Miller with his world record bighorn ram taken in the South Dakota Badlands.

PHOTO BY DUSTIN LUTT FROM ROCKHOUSE MOTION

“Finally walking up and putting hands on this animal was remarkably surreal. He was absolutely massive. The ram ended up netting 209 1/8 inches making him the new all-time hunter-taken world record.”

Clayton Miller had the ram full-body mounted by Chris Cammack of Union Center, South Dakota, who also harvested a world record brown bear in the spring of 2018. Chris was invited on a spring bear hunt by some friends who were also his taxidermy clients. They were hunting with Cole Kramer of Adventure Mountain Hunts.

Chris, Cole and friend Dan Watson stayed on to hunt after their friends had to leave after eight days of hunting. Chris’ first morning hunting was windy and rainy; they set up overlooking a brushy valley and started glassing. Cole spotted a huge bear, which joined a smaller female before taking a nap. The hunters crept closer to the bears and waited near an open patch of grass about 200 yards from the bears. The bears woke up and began feeding, but the boar started pushing the sow up the hill away from the hunters. They decided Cole would try to call the bear into bow range, by roaring and breaking brush. The boar responded, and he was only 80 yards away when he stopped. “Cole and I were tucked into the only opening in the brush, with deep cover all around us. The boar continued toward us, on a mission, then suddenly disappeared into a ravine. Cole whispered, ‘This is going to happen fast, Get ready!’” Chris said. “But nothing happened. There was only dead silence. We stared into the thick brush straight ahead, where we thought the bear should be, nearly in bow range. But then suddenly a stick snapped to our right. Cole swung his rifle in that direction and then said, “Draw!” I drew my bow as the bear rushed up out of the ravine, crashing through the brush straight at us. Then he stopped for a split second and glared at what he expected to be his competitor. ‘Shoot him now!’ Cole urged.”

Chris shot, hitting the giant bear in the chest at just 14 yards. The shock seemed to stop his forward momentum and he spun around and quickly disappeared into the thick brush. The sow immediately came running down the hill and turned in the direction of the boar. With less than an hour of daylight left and rain, they had to follow the blood trail immediately. “Cole was fairly confident in my shot, so the three of us started following the blood trail through the alders. Cole was about 10 steps ahead of me, armed with his .375 H&H rifle. I had my bow, and Dan carried another rifle. We were instructed to stop when Cole stopped, so he could be sure to hear and observe every movement unhindered,” Chris said. “Cautiously we inched our way through the sea of alders for what seemed liked forever, though we’d probably only covered about 150 yards. Then Cole stopped suddenly and slowly motioned for me to come forward quietly. As I approached, a massive form appeared, silhouetted in the brush. It was the bear, and he was still alive! I drew my bow as the huge boar swung his massive head toward me at just eight yards away. All I had was a quartering-to shot, but I took it. The boar jumped up, roaring, biting, and ripping alders out of the ground. He was an out-of-control bulldozer going off just eight steps away. I nocked another arrow and shot him again as he angrily spun around, and incredibly, within just seconds the old boar expired right in front of us.”

In the fading light the hunters cleared a 20 foot circle of brush from around the bear, all while hearing the sow crashing around in the dark. “Around 3 a.m. we were almost done. I was leaning against a back leg to prevent the carcass from rolling over, and Cole was 11 feet away skinning the head. Suddenly, the brush erupted and the sow appeared right behind Cole on the otherside of the brushpile we’d created. ‘The sow’s right there!’ I screamed as I fell away from the carcass.

“Cole jumped over the carcass as it rolled toward the sow and Dan tossed him the rifle. Cole took aim but the sow was spooked by the commotion and whirled off into the darkness. Evidently, she didn’t want to eat us, because she could have had Cole for sure,” Chris said.

World-record brown bear taken with a bow by Chris Cammack.

(PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS CAMMACK)

They finished up and packed back to camp before flying into Kodiak. The next morning, they went to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office to check in his bear. “We honestly did not know that we had a potential World Record bear until that moment, when they measured his skull.”

“It was a long 60 days drying period. The Pope and Young Club’s official measurer, Chris Lacey, scored my bear. I was told the next step was to assemble a panel of measurers to officially score my bear. They met me at my home, where they confirmed the score of 294⁄16, a new world record by just 1⁄16.”

Chris grew up on a ranch which helped instill a love for the outdoors and being close to nature. “That is why I bowhunt, it’s more exciting and for the extra challenge.”

He absolutely recommends having your trophy big game measured. “It’s good for the outfitter and guide and it would be a shame to not have that animal be part of the records. It’s very helpful to conservation and it is something to be proud of.”

Justin Spring is director of big game records at Boone and Crockett. “Record setting trophies means they are doing amazing, there’s not a negative trend, and that conservation is successful. A growing population means that we are doing great by our wildlife. The data is used to gauge conservation successes and failures, mature male species, means things are working.”

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

The Boone and Crockett Club official score charts are now available as on-line scoring calculators. To begin select from the list of Trophy Types and enter the measurements, a 1/4-inch wide flexible steel tape will be needed for measuring.

Their intention is to provide hunters with an easy method to “green” score their animal. If the score is close to or above the minimum score for that category and they want to enter it in Boone and Crockett’s records book, the club will provide a list of official measurers for their area. In order for a trophy to be entered in the Boone and Crockett Club Awards Program, it must be scored by one of our designated Official Measurers. All volunteer B&C Official Measurer must first attend a measurer training workshop sponsored by the Club’s Records Department, all training is taught by two people and is a 100 percent scientific data system.

Early on, Club members and others in the scientific community recognized that the system was an effective means of tracking the recovery of big-game populations and the success of new conservation policies. The Club utilizes the Records of North American Big Game Program to communicate the basics of conservation and Fair Chase to sportsmen. The Club’s book, Records of North American Big Game, emphasized a keen understanding of species biology and proper habitat management, which is necessary to ensure the future of all wildlife.

“Wildlife conservation is one of our country’s greatest assets and we need to make sure that it continues into the future,” Justin Spring said.

The Records Program provides an opportunity to honor each individual outstanding big game animal, for all of time. In first and foremost honoring the animal, each record book listing also recognizes a bowhunting achievement and celebrates the time and efforts involved that culminated in that moment.

The Pope & Young Club is recognized as the official repository for records on bow-harvested North American big game animals. Together with the Boone & Crockett Club, the Pope & Young Club maintains the universally-accepted scoring system and sets the standards for measuring and scoring North American big game. Obviously, the limitation of the bow compared to the gun dictated lower minimum scores for determining trophy class animals. Information on measuring and finding an official measurer are available on their website.

Statistical data collected from the entered animals are added to the Records Program archives as part of the Club’s ever-growing file on bowhunting and North American big game species. The P&Y Records Program archives provide great insight into the past and present management, health and trends of North America’s wildlife populations and bowhunting opportunities. The Records are a testimonial to wildlife, traditional wildlife management and the importance and success of hunting as a management tool.

Alfred J. Martoin's Shiras' moose. Jefferson County, Montana, taken with a compound bow.