Boone and Crockett Club Reacts to Critics of New World Record Elk | Travel & Outdoors | New West Network
February 11, 2009
The Spider Bull was not “pen-raised,” was shot on public land, and at least 55 other hunters had a chance to bag the trophy.
By Bill Schnei
Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho, and the
Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho, and the “spider bull.” Photo courtesy of the Boone and Crocket Club.
On January 6, I posted an article about the Boone and Crockett Club officially confirming a new world record elk shot by Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah. The comment section immediately lit up with heated criticism of the hunter, his outfitter, and of the Club for authorizing what some people thought was an unethical, if not illegal, hunt not in the spirit of the Fair Chase Doctrine.
Last week, I asked the Club to comment on all of this criticism and rumors. I know other outdoor writers who made similar requests, and today, the Club, in an unprecedented action, released its internal document on their investigation of the hunt for the so-called Spider Bull, named for its massive and unusual antler configuration.
“It’s been crazy. People across the country, including many non-hunters, are flooding the B&C headquarters with requests for more information about the new record elk, the habitat that produced it, the hunter’s role in conservation and our system of records keeping,” Tony Schoonen, chief of staff for the Club, said in today’s press release. “It’s an educational moment unlike anything we’ve seen in years,
“This background info was accumulated by Eldon Buckner, chairman of our Records of North American Big Game committee,” Schoonen said. “Eldon led the exhaustive due diligence process that our Club requires for all new World’s Records. We’ve never released this kind of internal document before but I think observers will enjoy a peek behind the scenes.”
Readers will discover, he added, that Buckner confirmed at least 55 other hunters were hunting the area where the record bull was taken, that local law enforcement personnel investigated but found no evidence that the bull was pen-raised or escaped from a pen, nor any evidence of illegal conduct, and that many hunter-based conservation groups contributed to the quality of the area’s habitat Click Link Below for Full Story
Boone and Crockett Club Confirms New World’s Record Elk
January 5, 2009
MISSOULA, Mont.—Perhaps the largest elk ever produced in the wild—a
Utah bull taken in 2008 by a hunter on public land—has been confirmed as a new World’s Record. The official declaration was made today by the Boone and Crockett Club.
A Special Judges Panel determined a final score of 478-5/8 Boone and Crockett non-typical points, an incredible 93 inches above the B&C minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk and 13-plus inches larger than the previous World’s Record.
With official data dating back to 1830, at 499-3/8 inches it is the only elk on record with a gross score approaching the 500-inch mark.
The giant bull has 9 points on the left antler and 14 points on the right. The larger antler has a base circumference over nine inches.
The Boone and Crockett scoring system, long used to measure the success of wildlife conservation and management programs across North America, rewards antler size and symmetry, but also recognizes Nature’s imperfections with non-typical categories for most antlered game. The bull’s final score of 478-5/8 inches included an incredible 140 inches of abnormal points.
“Along with measurements that honor the quality of the animal, Boone and Crockett Club records also honor fair-chase hunting,” said Eldon Buckner, chairman of the Club’s Records of North American Big Game committee. “Through our entry process, signed affidavits and follow-up interviews with the hunter, his guides, and state and federal officials, we were satisfied that this bull was indeed a wild, free-ranging trophy and that the tenets of fair chase were used in the harvest.”
The hunter, Denny Austad of Ammon, Idaho, hunted the Monroe Mountain District in south-central Utah. Hunting with a self-designed rifle, Austad killed the bull on Sept. 30, 2008. He hunted for 13 days before connecting with the trophy, dubbed “spider bull” for its unique antler configuration.
On behalf of the Boone and Crockett Club, Buckner congratulated Austad and credited his new World’s Record to the tremendous management of habitat and wildlife by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Fishlake National Forest.
“Utah’s conservation professionals really deserve a pat on the back, as do the citizens of Utah for their support of their state’s wildlife programs,” said Buckner.
Across North America, ever-improving conservation practices have translated to flourishing big game populations, with balanced age-class and mature, trophy animals. Over the past 30 years, qualifying Boone and Crockett records book entries for American elk have increased 193 percent from a total of 14 in 1977 to 41 in 2007.
Across all categories of native North American big game the overall trend is even higher with 344 qualifiers in 1977 up to 1,151 in 2007–a 234 percent increase.
The previous World’s Record for non-typical American elk was 465-2/8 B&C points. That bull was found dead, frozen in Upper Arrow Lake, B.C., in 1994, and was entered into Boone and Crockett Club records by the B.C. Ministry of Environment on behalf of the citizens of British Columbia.
For hunter-taken non-typical American elk, the previous top bull scored 450-6/8 B&C points, taken in 1998 in Apache County, Ariz., by Alan Hamberlin.
Boone and Crockett Club also keeps records for Roosevelt’s and Tule elk. World’s Records for these categories are substantially smaller than those for American elk.
Press Release
About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair-chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship, and is the universally recognized keeper of the records of native North American big game. Member accomplishments include protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the National Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Mont
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