B&C Welcomes the NRA to Its 30th Big Game Awards

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the latest to join the list of sponsors for the Boone and Crockett Club's 30th Big Game Awards, scheduled for August 1-3, 2019, in Springfield, Missouri.

The theme of this year's event is, North American Big Game, More and Healthier Than Ever, Under the Watchful Eye of Sportsmen. The 30th Awards features a public exhibit of 128 recently taken, high-ranking B&C trophies from across North America. The exhibit is within the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield and will be open through August 3.

"Few people know this, but there was a time the B&C records books were published by the NRA," said Boone and Crockett Club President Timothy C. Brady. "What's more important to know is that the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation could not and would not have happened without the right of citizens to bear arms, including the use of firearms in hunting. When we think of standing up for this constitutional right, we think of the NRA."

Public ownership of firearms was instrumental to the birth of the conservation movement in North America. This movement was initiated by sportsmen that saw the need for, and supported the laws, policies, funding programs, research initiatives, expert agencies, and other delivery mechanisms that are now referred to collectively as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

"The NRA and our five million members are proud to sponsor the Boone and Crockett Club's 30 th Big Game Awards," said NRA-ILA executive director Chris W. Cox. "Sportsmen and hunters have a duty to conserve wildlife and habitat while also ensuring fair chase. The NRA is committed to our historic partnership with the Boone and Crockett Club to ensure that our American hunting tradition is preserved for future generations."

Brady explained, "The Club supports the right of citizens to own and use firearms. We know that the diverse and abundant wildlife populations that exist in Canada and the United States today are primarily the result of more than a century of wildlife conservation. The public's right and ability to legally own and use firearms, has been, and remains critical to the success of this conservation system."

Boone and Crockett Club began keeping trophy records in 1906 as a way of detailing species once headed for extinction. Today, the existence of mature, male animals are signs of species population health and habitat quality. Biologists compare and contrast B&C records data to improve local management strategies as well as state and federal wildlife policies.

The NRA joins Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, the Wild Sheep Foundation, Federal Premium Ammunition, Dallas Safari Club, Buck Knives, and the Mule Deer Foundation as 30 th Big Game Awards sponsors.

More information on the Boone and Crockett Club 30th Big Game Awards is available at www.biggameawards.com.