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Conservation
Where Hunting Happens, Conservation Happens™
In the Field
B&C Newsletter Articles
By Charlie Booher Havens for fish, wildlife, hunters and anglers, national wildlife refuges suffer from chronic underfunding. How do we fix it? U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees operate an airboat at Bayou Sauvage NWR. Funding shortfalls mean reduced staff to carry out the vital mission of...
Getting really close to game is difficult. It is also a unique and rewarding experience. By Chuck Adams B&C Professional Member, Photos courtesy of Author Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine I have always been a close-range kind of guy. When my dad gave me a choice of loaner varmint rifles at the...
By Craig Boddington — Despite the current rage for long-range shooting it’s important to remember that close shots can occur almost anywhere. Bowhunters deal with this routinely; despite the challenge, they get close! Primarily a rifle hunter, I’m usually prepared for a longish shot, but I ascribe to the motto, “Get as close as you can, then get ten yards closer!”
It’s a matter of history that one of the first sporting uses of the .30-06 Springfield cartridge was by Boone and Crockett Club founder, Theodore Roosevelt, on his epic 1909-1910 safari. Except Roosevelt’s famous Springfield wasn’t actually a .30-06! Some time back I actually held that rifle at the Springfield Armory Museum, and the truth is it was chambered to the original 1903 version and never modified; thus, was actually a .30-03!
By Craig Boddington — When hunting alone, the outcome of any approach, opportunity, or shot is altogether between the hunter and his or her reflection in the mirror. When hunting with a guide or buddy, there might be a couple of witnesses, but ours is mostly a solitary pursuit. For many, meat on the table remains a primary and valid motivation to hunt. Today’s hunters are guided more by conscience, sense of ethics, and the drive to perform well.
It’s More Faith Than Equipment—It really isn’t about the equipment, you do the best you can with what you have. Rather, it’s knowing where and how to look, and believing that if you look long enough and hard enough you will see the game you seek.
Best of the Fast .30s? Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine By Craig Boddington, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author This lineup is just a small selection of the fast .30s. Although the .300 Weatherby Magnum is not the fastest, it’s a very fast cartridge that has been a solid performer for...
Long ignored, 6.5mm cartridges now rock! Why? The 7mm clan, dear for decades, holds its breath! Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine Winter 2016 By Wayne van Zwoll – regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Wet snow followed sleet. Wyoming wind hammered the cold through my soaked wool. I wiped...
Uniquely American, it’s otherwise enigmatic, with no brand name. Millions of hunters own one. Excerpt from Winter 2012 Fair Chase Magazine By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Winchester’s 94, the archetypal deer rifle, was built from 1894 to 2006 in New Haven. To some...
Building your house doesn’t have to be a large or fancy house, but what this means is use what you have to get as steady as possible—in the time available.
These stories of the biggest elk in the Boone and Crockett records are not what most hunters consider typical hunts. They are, after all, non-typical elk. Terrible puns aside, these are tales of near death, unsolved killings, mistaken identity, lethal mud holes—and one typical story about a lady from Canada.
Adding packrafting has catapulted MOHAB into the highest category of BSA high adventure programs. Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine By Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Programs Photos Courtesy of MOHAB/BSA contributors When I was filling out the application to work for Boone and Crockett,...
Because basketball stars making millions of dollars still miss free throws Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine Summer 2015 By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Approach ready to fire again, from behind the animal, rifle up front. Save congratulations for later. Why is...
Lead, copper, water and time conspire to sabotage accuracy. You can save it. But first….
Going afield this fall? Sure you are. Taking a photo with your spoils? Sure you are. Do yourself (and hunting) a favor by considering a few of these tips for better field photos.
The U.S. Forest Service oversees management of 193 million acres of land—an area the size of Spain. Without early members of the Boone and Crockett Club, our forests—and the agency that manages them—would look vastly different. Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot were instrumental in the...
More than a century ago, members of the Boone and Crockett Club spearheaded efforts to set aside areas of land and water where conservation of our fish and wildlife is the number one priority. This is how it all began.
In 1887, Theodore Roosevelt returned from his Elkhorn Ranch in the Dakota Territory with an idea. He would assemble a group of like-minded, influential men to turn the tide in favor of conserving our nation’s resources, which, at the time, was vanishing quickly. This is how he did it. Like any good...
Bison are symbols of the American West, and market hunting nearly wiped them from the planet. The story of their near-extinction and then of their restoration thanks to members of the Boone and Crockett Club is the story of the first animal reintroduction in North America.
Ever wonder what it takes to hunt the second largest bighorn in Arizona history? What do 184-inch Dall’s sheep horns actually look like? Find those answers and more when you take a look at these 15 amazing entries recently accepted in B&C’s Big Game Records Program. From bears to bison, the trophies in this slideshow either rank near the top of the 31st Big Game Awards Program or are true specimens of their state.
As the poster child of waterfowl market hunting of the 1800s, the punt gun was incredibly effective, sometimes killing up to 100 birds with one blast. So, why can't we use punt guns anymore?
Why do hunters in nearly every vintage hero shot wear plaid? It worked. Anything a predator wears (born with or bought) needs to break up its silhouette. Tiger stripes do that. Plaid does that. Camo does that.
Ladies in the Field—When the Boone and Crockett Club was first created, those two dozen men agreed that the first purpose of the Club would be “to promote manly sport with a rifle.” Today, that dog doesn’t hunt as more women take to the field and forest (with or without their husbands). Today, entries into the Boone and Crockett Records by female hunters are commonplace—and they have been for a while. We sifted through the records and Boone and Crockett publications to bring you some of the highlights from more than a century of ladies getting it done out there.
Stylish Stalkers — There was a time when hunters would don a tie and tuck in their shirt to chase big game—and they would look darn good doing it. For that reason, we sifted through the archives to find some of the best-dressed hunters from the good old days. If you like this slideshow, more of these timeless photos can be found in our Vintage Hunting Album , which makes a great gift or book to keep up at the cabin.
Smile, You're Hunting — Too many hunting photos show a hunter, for whatever reason, looking downright mad about filling a tag. Why not smile after a successful hunt? You don’t want your great-grandkids thinking you were a complete jerk. As a friendly reminder to have a good time out there this hunting season, we compiled these vintage photos of hunters who look truly happy. We hope you’re glad to be out there, too. Say cheese.
Its slim bullets killed all out of proportion to their weight, charming hunters and changing an industry. The Jack O’Connor Center in Lewiston, Idaho, commissioned a limited run of Winchester 70s patterned on the Biesen-stocked Featherweights the famous gun writer used on hunts around the world. “...
During the fall rut, you will likely hear them before you see them. As two bighorn rams battle for dominance, the crack of their horns will echo through the canyons some call home. If you’re lucky enough to have a tag for one, maybe you’ll see one of these brutes featured below.
It may not be true that if you haven’t hunted with a .30-30 rifle, or a .30-06 or a .300 Winchester Magnum, you’re still learning to tie your shoes. Some souls so deprived reach adulthood, though mothers have long known .30s are good for you. Hunters born before there were .30s have all died.
Unless you eat your quarry where it drops, you need to get it out of the woods and into the freezer. Thanks to a wealth of vintage hunting photos in the Boone and Crockett records database and our books— Mule Deer Retrospective , An American Elk Retrospective , and Vintage Hunting Album —we bring you a slideshow dedicated to vintage rides and record-book racks.
From Toddlers to Tines—The only thing better than sharing the spoils of the hunt with your kids is having them hunt themselves. Passing down the fun of the hunt is a time-honored tradition for many families—and as you can see from this slideshow, it’s been going on for quite a while.
From the Desert to the Tundra, We’ve Got It All If you need some last-minute motivation to get out in the woods and fill your tag, we’ve got it right here. There’s a record-breaking Pennsylvania black bear, some wild trophies from the muskeg and tundra of the frozen north, and a great hunt for a...
The stories behind the biggest Alaskan-Yukon moose in the Boone and Crockett Records A mature Alaskan-Yukon bull moose can stand more than six feet tall at the shoulder. Its antlers alone can easily weigh more than 60 pounds. During the fall rut, their lonely call echoes through the boreal forests...
Why doesn’t the Boone and Crockett scoring system count all those points? A great way to get into an argument around the campfire is to tell a hunter their animal’s antlers or horns aren’t going to score as high as they think. One better, tell them that some of those points are going to be deducted...
Every October, baseball fans and hunters have reason to rejoice. Between hunting season and the playoffs, what’s not to be excited about? Babe Ruth, the Yankee slugger and Hall of Famer from the 1920s and ‘30s, loved hunting and baseball. Along the way, he killed at least one mighty fine whitetail...
The reasons why hunters don’t list their trophy in the records are many. Yet there are perhaps just as many reasons why a hunter should enter their animal.
How do some hunters always seem to find the big ones? Guides and fancy tags are one way, but there’s another, less expensive option thanks to the Boone and Crockett Club. Ohio archery hunter Brandon Clark harvested this record-book typical whitetail during the 2018 season. Ohio is currently one of...
George Bird Grinnell, co-founder of the Boone and Crockett Club, worked for decades to protect a chunk of northwest Montana we now call Glacier National Park.
At the turn of the twentieth century, members of the Boone and Crockett Club changed the way the world looked at animals—literally. They designed a new kind of zoo, which educated visitors, eliminated cramped concrete cages and conserved rare species. We still use that model today.
How one member of the Boone and Crockett Club (almost) single-handedly established Denali National Park.
By PJ DelHomme A list of those involved in the early years of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) reads like a who’s who of the Boone and Crockett Club. Even though the AMNH opened its doors in 1869—18 years before the Club was founded by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell —the...
Spring 2022 Edition – What’s better than record-book antlers, horns, and skulls? The stories behind them, of course. This slideshow certainly has plenty of big bone at which to gawk. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll find so much more. There’s the coal miner from Virginia who drove to Newfoundland with two chest freezers to hunt woodland caribou. There is the hunter who killed the world’s record musk ox, and then he packed it out on his back. And did you hear the one about the Rocky Mountain goat in South Dakota? We’ve got them all right here.
Winter 2021 Edition - Whether your hunts are in the rearview or you’re layering up for one more try, we have a number of new record entries to keep hunting on your mind. Check out a new Montana state record black bear, a behemoth bighorn ram from North Dakota, and an Appalachian sleeper-state producing some incredible whitetails.
More to the Score Why are you here? Is it for stickers and kickers? Claws and capes? Perhaps you’re here to see Oregon’s largest Rocky Mountain goat killed by a young lad who isn’t yet old enough to drive. Or maybe you want to know more about a beastly Indiana non-typical whitetail. No matter. For...
A Time Before Camo Old hunting photos are a special window into a bygone era. In the following photos, pay close attention to the rifles, the scopes (or not), the haircuts and the lack of camouflage. Just look at all that plaid! In reality, plaid is camo —and it looks good, too, which is why we’ve...
From apex predators like grizzly bears to feisty striped skunks, the Boone and Crockett Club’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front is a wildlife melting pot. You can see a small sampling of those full-time residents here. The ranch has dozens of wildlife trail cams...
It’s been a long winter, and they can be very long on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front where the Boone and Crockett Club owns and manages the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (TRM) Ranch . The mission of the ranch is to research, teach, and demonstrate integrated livestock/wildlife conservation, which is...
Much of North America is currently in the depths of winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to dwell on it. After sifting through thousands of trail camera photos and videos from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch from last spring and summer, Boone and Crockett Fellow Chris Hansen pulled the very...
PREDATOR EDITION! Snow-covered grizzlies, lions (with kittens), curious coyotes, and more. Welcome to Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. On the Boone and Crockett Club’s 6,500-acre Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, herds of elk, mule deer, and cattle share the same landscape with North America’s most...
Spend enough time outdoors, and you are bound to find something interesting. For some, those interesting things happen to be world record heads, horns, and antlers. Here are the stories behind the biggest “pick ups” ever found.
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-Theodore Roosevelt
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