Boone & Crockett has new record book out
The 12th and latest book of record big-game hunting trophies has been published by the Boone and Crockett Club.
The club, founded in 1932, began publishing “Records of North American Big Game” to celebrate the success of wildlife management and conservation systems, said Ryan Hatfield at the club’s headquarters in Missoula.
The fact that record-book bear, caribou, cougar, deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and wild sheep continue to be harvested more than 70 years later speaks highly of hunting management, he said. Twelve new world records are featured in this edition.
The new book includes tabular listings based on the Boone and Crockett Club’s copyrighted scoring method. This is the publication a proud deer hunter is referring to when he says his buck “made The Book.”
However, while the names of the hunters are printed along with the animal’s measurements and the region of kill, the hunters are afforded some anonymity by not listing their hometowns.
“That’s just to protect them for any radical animal rights people,” he said.
The 900-page book covers 22,000 trophies in 38 categories of North American big game, with photographs and the stories behind the new World’s Records and more.
New to this edition are images of hundreds of the top-scoring trophies – some dating back to the first competition held in 1932. The book also includes eight chapters on subjects such as why and how antlers grow as well as historical accounts of hunting and hunting rifles.
The Boone and Crockett Club advocates selective, fair chase hunting, Hatfield said, noting that trophy hunters are some of the most practiced “wildlife watchers” in the field. They watch, study and appreciate a lot of animals, sometimes for weeks or years, before they pull the trigger, he said.
“The trophy sought by such hunters has already contributed to the gene pool for several years and, in many cases, is near the end of a normal lifespan,” he said.
The new edition of “Records of North American Big Game” includes a CD with desk-top photos and screensavers of B&C World’s Records. The book is available for $55.90 post-paid. Call (888) 840-4868 or order online at www.booneandcrockettclub.com.