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Boone and Crockett Club Confirms New World’s Record
Elk
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
Friday by the Boone
and Crockett Club.
A special judges panel determined a final score of
478-5/8 B&C
non-typical points, an incredible 93-plus inches above the
Boone and
Crockett minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk,
and more than 13 inches larger than the previous World’s Record.
It is the only elk on record with a gross score
approaching the
500-inch mark, at 499-3/8. Official data dates back to
1830.
The giant bull has 9 points on the left antler and 14
points on the
right. The larger antler has a base circumference topping 9
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 includes an amazing 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 provincial
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.
Enjoy!
Boone and Crockett Club Confirms New World’s Record
Elk
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
Friday by the Boone
and Crockett Club.
A special judges panel determined a final score of
478-5/8 B&C
non-typical points, an incredible 93-plus inches above the
Boone and
Crockett minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk,
and more than 13 inches larger than the previous World’s Record.
It is the only elk on record with a gross score
approaching the
500-inch mark, at 499-3/8. Official data dates back to
1830.
The giant bull has 9 points on the left antler and 14
points on the
right. The larger antler has a base circumference topping 9
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 includes an amazing 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 provincial
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.
Enjoy!
