A revolver belonging to Boone and Crockett Club co-founder and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt sold for more than $750,000 at a recent auction.
Conservation
Where Hunting Happens, Conservation Happens™
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Roy Chapman Andrews was a hunter but not necessarily for big game. He hunted the past for bones and adventure. Hollywood rumors claim that he was the inspiration for Harrison Ford’s character in the Indiana Jones saga. Both men were archaeologists, fought bandits, hated snakes, and explored far-off lands. The parallels are uncanny, but there was one big difference. Indiana Jones was never a member of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Hunters wait a lifetime or spend a fortune at a chance to hunt record-book bighorn sheep in the Missouri River Breaks or the cliffs of western Montana. Nearly as impressive, Montana’s elk hunting features a shot at some trophy bulls, too. Then, of course, you can always try hunting for cougars, bison, pronghorn, the list of species to hunt in Montana seems limitless.
Modern fish and wildlife conservation is based on the public trust doctrine (PTD), which establishes a trustee relationship whereby the government holds and manages wildlife for the benefit of the public. Fundamentally, it posits that natural resources are universally important, and that the public should have an opportunity to enjoy these resources, including activities such as fishing, hunting, and trapping. Prior to the adoption of this philosophy, wildlife was often treated as an inexhaustible commodity, with little thought or concern for long term sustainability. As a result, many species suffered under this “limitless supply” philosophy, with some becoming extirpated or even driven to extinction.
Explorer, legislator, public servant, duck lover, and businessman, Frederic C. Walcott was an early member of the Boone and Crockett Club who served as Club president. His conservation achievements still resonate today, especially when it comes to waterfowl and wildlife refuges.
Yellowstone’s Rock Star – As a founding member of the Boone and Crockett Club, this quiet geologist wasn’t a hunter, but he was a force for conservation, especially when it came to Yellowstone.
As one of the original members of the Boone and Crockett Club, Albert Bierstadt documented the disappearing landscape of the American West—people and wildlife included. For that reason, he was recruited to help save it. In 1864, the United States had already endured three gruesome years of the...
Henry Fairfield Osborn was admitted in 1899 as an Associate Member (now called Professional Member) and by 1913 had been elected as an Honorary Life Member. As of 2021, only 42 Members have been so honored. Osborn was the preeminent vertebrate paleontologist (one who studies ancient life forms) of...
Much like Wyoming, Colorado is a sporting paradise. Roaming those sage-covered hillsides, record-book mule deer were quite numerous, especially in the top 20. A few pronghorn and black bear make an appearance in the top 100. The antlers belonging to John Plute’s famous “meat bull” were pulled out of Dark Canyon after the locals didn’t believe him when he told them how big the antlers were. While the state’s elk are numerous, there aren’t that many record bulls running around anymore. Then again, you can just wait a lifetime to draw a tag in one of their trophy units and see if you can find one yourself.
Even though he suffered from severe mental illness, early Boone and Crockett Club member Stephen Mather led a crusade to create the National Park Service, where he eventually served as the agency's first director. This is the abbreviated story of a most fascinating American. By PJ DelHomme A trip...
A new bighorn state record in Nebraska showcases the state’s ongoing big game restoration efforts. Auction and raffle tags are helping foot the bill. By PJ DelHomme A new bighorn state record in Nebraska showcases the state’s ongoing big game restoration efforts. Auction and raffle tags are helping...
At four in the afternoon, the three men started cutting up the massive musk ox. Six hours later, they had it quartered and stuffed into their packs. After all, this is how these guys pack their Dall’s sheep out of the Northwest Territories every year. They left behind a front shoulder and hindquarter but placed the head and hide on top of the meat so the grizzlies and wolves would get that first. After a three-mile hump across the muskeg, they got back to camp at one in the morning. At dawn, they returned for the rest.
A new state record gets one sheep hunter closer to his first Grand Slam By PJ DelHomme Growing up an Indiana boy, Grant Smith chased the state’s abundant whitetails and turkey. When he was all grown up, Smith took a trip to Colorado with his wife and discovered bighorn sheep. “I was just fascinated...
We look forward to seeing you in Springfield, Missouri, this summer for a conservation double-feature – July 21-23.
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Boone and Crockett Club’s 31st Big Game Awards celebration begins tonight with three days of activities at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium and the White River Conference Center in Springfield, Missouri. Since 1947, the triennial Big Game...
MISSOULA, Mont. (July 12, 2022) – Elkhorn Coffee Roasters is the official coffee and beverage sponsor of the Boone and Crockett Club’s upcoming 31st Big Game Awards and will also be supporting the Club’s hunting conservation efforts through sales of a special Boone and Crockett blend. The Bozeman, Montana-based organic coffee producer will be the sole provider of coffee during all events during the Awards program. Elkhorn Coffee Roasters developed this Boone and Crockett blend to help support hunting conservation efforts and is donating $1 for every pound sold.
Whether you’re looking for record-book whitetail deer or the biggest moose to come out of your state, look no further. Here, you can search the Boone and Crockett database for state records for big game from Alaska to Mexico.
Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine, Summer 2013 By Valerius Geist Hunting and the right to bear arms has always been a part of North American heritage. In Hunting Trips of a Ranchman , Theodore Roosevelt (loosely depicted above), recounted his hunting...
MISSOULA, Mont. (May 25, 2022) –May 25, 2022, marked the centennial anniversary of the opening of a building housing the National Collection of Heads and Horns at the Bronx Zoo in 1922. Organized by several Boone and Crockett Club members, the Collection was intended to raise visibility for declining wildlife species and was officially dedicated “In Memory of the Vanishing Big Game of the World.” The collection, now housed at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, will be getting a new addition to the Collection—a bighorn sheep ram that was found by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island. The ram scored 206-3/8 during the recent 31st Big Game Awards Judges Panel and now ranks #9 all time.
Federal Ammunition Supports the Boone and Crockett Club’s 31st Big Game Awards as Centennial Sponsor
MISSOULA, Mont. – Federal Ammunition has signed on as the Centennial Sponsor of the Boone and Crockett Club’s 31st Big Game Awards that will be held July 21-23, 2022, in Springfield, Missouri. The event recognizes the biggest heads, horns, and antlers from North America entered into the Boone and...
With an official score of 455, this is the biggest elk ever recorded in Pennsylvania. Duane Kramer lives in Bellingham, Washington, and he bought a few raffle tickets last year (okay, a lot of raffle tickets) for the 2020 Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA) Raffle. The lucky winner would get the chance to hunt one of Pennsylvania’s monster bulls. And you guessed it, his name was drawn.
The Lord Rendlesham bison is part of the Nucleus Collection. Unfortunately, no additional information is available. The original score chart indicates it was remeasured with the new system by Grancel Fitz on May 23, 1951, with a final B&C score of 124-6/8 points. The mount now resides in the...
Boone and Crockett Club Member William T. Hornaday was the brainchild of the National Collection of Head and Horns. In a letter dated March 20, 1907, Hornaday appeals to “The Sportsmen of America” to donate their best specimens to be considered for display with the “Nucleus Collection” that he, along with Madison Grant and John M. Phillips had already pulled together. Six of the big game animals currently on display in the National Collection exhibit at Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium are from that original Nucleus Collection formed over 100 years earlier. They include:
The Reed-McMillan Collection was detailed in the 1908 release of The National Collection of Heads and Horns Part II . Boone and Crockett Club Member William T. Hornaday was the brainchild of the National Collection of Heads and Horns . In a letter dated March 20, 1907, Hornaday appeals to “The...
An early view of the National Collection before the new building was contstructed in 1922. Boone and Crockett Club Member William T. Hornaday was the brainchild of the National Collection of Heads and Horns . In a letter dated March 20, 1907, Hornaday appealed to “The Sportsmen of America” to...
Officially designating the world’s first national park is a milestone achievement. Conserving and protecting its wildlife for future generations is another story altogether. That mission would become the Boone and Crockett Club’s first major success as North America's oldest wildlife conservation organization.
After hanging over a couch for more than 70 years, New Jersey’s biggest whitetail ever recorded finally gets its day in the book. Norman with his 1947 non-typical whitetail, which now proudly sits atop the records for New Jersey after more than 70 years. By PJ DelHomme Back in 1947, Norman Taylor...
Boone and Crockett Club and 44 Other Hunt Fish 30x30 Organizations Submit Formal Recommendations to the Biden Administration Concerning the “America the Beautiful” Initiative’s American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas
Mule Deer Foundation leaders receiving the Boone and Crockett Club’s 2022 Conservation and Stewardship Award (left to right: Emmett Burroughs, MDF Founder; Joel Pedersen, Current MDF President/CEO; Steve Belinda, MDF Director of Conservation; Miles Moretti, retired MDF President/CEO; Jim Arnold, B...
There really isn’t a better way, in my opinion, to learn some new country than on a bear hunt. Load up your backpack as you would for a fall hunt, and head into the mountains. Early spring can reward you with morels, shed antlers, and a freshly emerging bear from hibernation whose coat and meat is second to none. A fall trip can serve as a scouting trip for an upcoming hunt, and without the common spring thunderstorm, it is really a great time to be out in the woods as well.
A Maryland state-record non-typical whitetail and a record-book typical elk from Wyoming prove that now is the time to get out in the woods and look for not-so-buried treasure Spring is coming. We promise. It may not seem like it in some places, but it’ll get here. And with it comes your chance to...
In the latest release from the Boone and Crockett Club’s Classics Series, Frederick C. Selous takes you back to early 1900s North America to hunt moose, sheep, caribou, and more. The author “tracking” up the North Fork. Photograph by Charles Sheldon. There was one man Theodore Roosevelt referred to...
Adopted December 1, 2021 Situational Overview For more than a century, Fair Chase has been the accepted expression of ethical and sustainable hunting in North America. As the originator and champion of Fair Chase 1 , the Boone and Crockett Club is often asked to render its opinion, and sometimes...
If They Qualify, the Boone and Crockett Club Accepts Archery, Crossbow, Shotgun, Handgun—and the Randomly Deceased Entry. Recent non-typical whitetail deer entries highlight the Boone and Crockett Club’s 100-year record-keeping history
Join early Boone and Crockett members as they go in search of mysterious dragons in the Far East ( Dragon Lizards of Komodo ), explore uncharted regions of the Sonoran Desert ( Camp-Fires on Desert and Lava ), and hunt for moose, sheep and caribou in Newfoundland and the Yukon ( Recent Hunting...
Hornaday's outfit coming through MacDougal Pass within two miles of MacDougal Crater, looking north. Hornaday Mountains close by on the left. The e-book edition includes seven color plates reproduced from the original edition. In the latest release from the Boone and Crockett Club’s Classics Series...
In the latest release from the Boone and Crockett Club’s Classics Series, you travel to a far away land of living dinosaurs, lava-spewing volcanoes, and, of course, there’s King Kong.
Uniquely American, it’s otherwise enigmatic, with no brand name. Millions of hunters own one. Winchester’s 94, the archetypal deer rifle, was built from 1894 to 2006 in New Haven. Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author To some hunters a...
MISSOULA, Mont. (Dec. 20, 2021) – The Boone and Crockett Club’s board approved two position statements earlier this month during its 134th Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The board approved the new “Technology and Hunting” position statement to reaffirm the importance of maintaining Fair Chase ® principles when considering the use of technological advancements in a hunting situation. In addition, the updated “Environmental Litigation Against Federal Agencies” position outlines recommended legislative changes to the Equal Access to Justice Act that is being misused by nonprofit organizations to fund litigation against the federal government on environmental issues.
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"The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak. So we must and we will."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Headquarters
Boone and Crockett Club250 Station Drive
Missoula, MT 59801
Hours and Phone
Weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
406.542.1888
