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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Book highlights elk hunting history, records

BIG-GAME HUNTING – Hunting history is being served by a wave of hunters and publishers compiling information on big-game records and the stories behind them.  Among the latest of the well-appointed books is An American Elk Retrospective,  published by the Boone and Crockett Club.

The lavishly illustrated 275 page book traces the evolution of elk hunting and records keeping from the late 1880s through the 1970s. Amont other things, the pages hold correspondence and portraits of some of the most significant elk taken by hunters, including:

  • The famous Dark Canyon bull taken in 1899 by John Plute, which stood for decades as the world record.
  • Fred Mercer’s typical American elk harvested in Montana during the 1950s that resulted in a Sagamore Hill Award from Boone and Crockett Club.
  • William D. DeWeese’s non-typical giant taken over 120 years ago in Colorado.
  • Many other outstanding but lesser-known trophies

Check out the book here or call (888) 840-4868.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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