After nearly a century of Records Keeping, the Boone and Crockett Club has

dug deep into its records archive and produced the ultimate history book for

whitetail enthusiasts!A Whitetail Retrospective will take you back through the evolution of whitetail hunting and big-game

records keeping from the late 1880s up through 1980, and is packed with hundreds of amazing vintage pho-

tos, historic score charts, records-keeping correspondence, and portraits of award-winning whitetail deer.

What’s a history book without historians? Authors of A Whitetail Retrospective include the B&C’s long-time Director of Big Game Records,

the current Chairman of the Records Committee, along with other Records Committee Members, and

Official Measurers — all with extensive first-hand knowledge in the history of the B&C scoring system and the whitetail deer, as well as historic B&C whitetail trophies.What’s a history book without maps? To know where we are going, you must see where we’ve been. Another special chapter in A Whitetail Retrospective is a geographic look at one of our greatest conservation success stories. The whitetail deer once numbered in the millions, but were reduced to a mere 500,000 animals by the early 1900s. It is now back in numbers believed to be greater than when European settlers first landed in the New World. The chapter reveals this recovery with detailed maps separated by decade, which highlight the top trophy-producing counties across the country from 1830 through 1979.

PLUS...Learn the history and reasons behind why the Boone and Crockett Club began its program to record data on native North American big game and how this system has evolved over the years. Revisit some of the most publicized and significant whitetail trophies ever recorded: The Breen Buck, Mel Johnson’s archery World’s Record, James Jordan’s legendary typical from Wisconsin, and many other truly

outstanding but lesser-known trophies.

A Whitetail Retrospective is the essential book for every whitetail deer hunter.

What happens when the unprecedented storytelling ability of hunters and the deep-rooted fascination for the most widely distributed, respected, and sought after big-game animal in North America collides with over 100 years of records keeping and memorabilia? The answer…

A Whitetail retrospective As sportsmen, the only thing better than this hunting season is last season, and the season before that. For reasons hard to quantify, hunters have a propensity for history and reflection. Maybe it is the fond memories of youth, early experiences when everything was new and for the first time. Maybe its because, as we age in our hunting careers, we evolve. What was important years ago may not be as important today, replaced with different approaches or priorities. Maybe it’s the recurring vision that captures us all at one time or another. That feeling of “Boy, I would have liked to have lived and hunted here back then.” Maybe it’s the saddening feeling – that realization that creeps in and reminds us that we can’t go back. We can’t un-pave what has been paved or undevelop land that has been developed. The lost places of our youth where we used to hunt that are now void of game… void of nature. Regardless, we marvel at history. A Whitetail Retrospective is the book whitetail enthusiasts have been waiting for. It is the ultimate collection of days gone by. The “super bucks” as they were, honorably taken by the crew cuts, plaid jackets, iron-sighted .30-30s, and stick bows. Trophies that remain just as important to our hunting culture now as they did back then, perhaps even more so. History teaches us. Along with hundreds of vin-tage B&C whitetail deer records and memorabilia, chapters within A Whitetail Retrospective offer a unique glimpse at the origins and significance of re-cords keeping. It is not known that when Theodore Roosevelt, Caspar Whitney, and Archibald Rogers were appointed to the Boone and Crockett Club’s first subcommittee on recording measurements of big-game animals in 1902 if these men envisioned that someday there would be such a book. Thankfully, through the conservation efforts of these men and many others, we have the material. We have the history.

Published by the Boone and Crockett Club250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801

406/542-1888 t 888/840-4868www.booneandcrockettclub.com

ISBN: 978-0-940864-56-6Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006933015

Dust jacket designed by Julie T. Houk

A Brief History of the Boone and Crockett ClubThe Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and a small group of his friends. It is one of our nation’s first conservation organizations. Early members — such as naturalist George Bird Grinnell, artist Albert Bierstadt, author Owen Wister, forester and governor Gifford Pinchot, and ecologist Aldo Leopold — helped shape the course of conservation in America. The Club’s earli-est achievements — protection of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, establishment of federal for-est reserves, which became the National Forest Sys-tem, support of national and state wildlife refuges, and the framing of wildlife protection laws — are monuments to that legacy. The Club now promotes conservation and outdoor ethics; supports wildlife research, education and management; and main-tains records of North America’s big game animals taken in fair chase.

THE SECOND CENTURYTo stimulate private sector leadership on wildlife research, education, and management, the Club, in 1986, purchased a working ranch in prime wildlife habitat along Dupuyer Creek on the East Front of the Montana Rockies. The mission of the ranch, known as the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, is research, teaching and demonstration of wildlife conservation that is integral to the economic viability of private and adjoining public lands. In 1991, the Club endowed the Boone and Crockett Professor’s Chair in Wildlife Conservation at The University of Montana to direct the Club’s conservation program. In 2001, the Boone and Crockett Club estab-lished the Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center for Education, Research, and Demonstration at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch. The new facil-ity is the headquarters for the Lee and Penny Ander-son Conservation Education Program. The Program’s vision is for citizens to treasure our shared natural and cultural heritage and advocate for diverse wildlife, fair chase hunting, and well-informed natural resource management to sustain their quality of life. Dedicated to the premise that protection, careful management, and shared uses of natural resources can achieve desired social, economic and environ-mental conditions without unnecessary waste or de-pletion, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes con-servation of all resources, especially in places where wildlife tie the land together and define the character of ecosystems.

For more information about the Boone and Crockett Club and our many programs, visit:www.booneandcrockettclub.com

$34.95

Leon Richards – New York 1955

Members of the 13th Competition Judges Panel

78-pointnon-typical Texas 1885

A WHITETAIL RETROSPECTIVE: Vintage Photos and Memorabilia from the Boone and Crockett Club Archives

First Edition 2006Second Printing

Copyright © 2006 by the Boone and Crockett Club.All rights reserved, including the right toreproduce this book or portions thereof in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Boone and Crockett Club.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006933015ISBN Number: 978-0-940864-56-6Published November 2006

Published in the United States of Americaby theBoone and Crockett Club250 Station DriveMissoula, MT 59801406/542-1888406/542-0784 (fax)www.booneandcrockettclub.com

Manufactured in Canada

Published by the Boone and Crockett Club

Missoula, Montana

2006

A Whitetailretrospective:---–—--------––---–—--------––---–—----

Vintage Photos and Memorabilia from the

Boone and Crockett Club Archives

iv

v

Take a moment and imagine the following vision. You walk into a room, and there before you are all the hunters who have ever taken the most outstanding

big-game trophies in our century-or-so-old recorded history of such things. All you have to do is approach any one of them, and they are more than happy to put their arm around you and paint the picture of the events surrounding one of hunting’s most outstanding days. How would you like to visit with Mel Johnson, Del Austin, or John Breen about the day they bagged one of the most exceptional whitetails in history? The analogy of a kid in a candy store merely brushes the surface of what such an opportunity would offer.

Such was the case when I came to work for the Boone and Crockett Club and first visited “the archives.” Being a person who takes great interest in hunting’s heritage, history, and traditions, working for B&C represented the pinnacle of each of these.

Visiting the archives can be overwhelming. It is hunting’s Hallowed Ground. All of the documented history surrounding North America’s most outstand-ing big-game animals are there. Let your imagination run and you can nearly hear the whispers emanating from the files themselves. Priceless history, important events, and simple documentation all help to complete the story contained in every file.

I’ll never forget the first time I went into the ar-chives. I went in to perform a simple record update, and proceeded to lose myself in those files for hours. File after file, I flipped through them, admiring accompanying field photos, reading correspondence, seeing authentic signa-tures, all the while being thoroughly riveted. I wanted to turn to someone and say, “Wow! Would you look at that!” At the same time, however, it was just as exciting because I could enjoy it alone and at my own pace.

It didn’t take a big leap to realize that the history that lay dormant in these files was far too valuable to simply leave stuffed in a file cabinet to do nothing more than collect dust and slowly deteriorate. These stories,

photos, and memorabilia needed to be shared. As hunting changes and time marches on, the

chance to hop on a time machine and transport one-self back to simpler, grander days becomes all the more tantalizing. For whitetail fanatics, A Whitetail Retrospective is that chance. Most of what you will see in the follow-ing pages has never been seen before – some of it was never intended to be seen. Opening Boone and Crockett Club’s private vaults for the world to see was not a simple process, but it was more than worth the effort.

I had the honor to select many of the following photos, using the “you know it when you see it” ap-proach. Of course, all of the 33,000 files are worth see-ing, but in the interests of time and space, we have se-lected some of the most intriguing for publication here.

Some of the photos will be questionable by to-day’s standards, but to sanitize the true history would be a mistake. As such, we have chosen to leave it in its raw, unadulterated state. This serves not only to show were done in the past, but also as a reminder of our expectations of today. Just because our photo standards have changed doesn’t mean we should shy away from embracing these great historic photos.

I hope you will be as enamored with the follow-ing items as we here at B&C are, and that they will leave you yearning for more. Enjoy! t

Prefaceh a l lo w e d g r o u n d B y r ya n h at f i e l d

vi

table of contentsA W H I T E TA I L R E T R O S P E C T I V E

Preface ............... VBy Ryan Hatfield

Introduction ..... IXBy Eldon L. “Buck” Buckner

Chapter One ..........1Score ChartsBoone and Crockett Club’s

long-time Director of Big Game

Records discusses the develop-

ment of records keeping and the

metamorphosis of the whitetail

score charts from the turn of the

century through today.

By Jack Reneau

Chapter Two. . . . 14Distribution Past efforts and resources of hunt-

ers, conservation organizations

and government agencies were

realized with the overall popula-

tion of whitetail deer growing

from 500,000 in the early 1900s

to nearly 12 million by the 1970s.

That expansion is evident with

the number of entries in the

Club’s Big Game Records Pro-

gram. You can see this with the

inclusion of detailed maps, sepa-

rated by decade, that highlight the

top trophy-producing counties.

By Joel W. Helmer

Chapter Three .....24The Early YearsMembers of the Boone and

Crockett Club have history in

records-keeping dating back to

1891 when Theodore Roosevelt,

George Bird Grinnell, and Ar-

chibald Rogers judged a trophy

competition in New York City.

In the late 1800s, it was believed

that many species of big game

were going the way of the bison.

Therefore, B&C members helped

establish the New York Zoological

Society to preserve a collection of

species for future generations to

enjoy. This action ultimately led

to the creation of the first scoring

methods used by the Club, which

were in place through the 1949

Competition.

By John P. Poston

Vintage Photos ........................... 28

award-winning whitetails ......... 32

Publicity ...................................... 38

corresPondence .......................... 42

score charts ............................... 48

sPecial troPhies .......................... 50

w h i t e ta i l e n t r y d i s t r i b u t i o n : 1 8 3 0 - 19 7 9

vii

Chapter Four ..... 54A New SystemAt the end of World War II

there was renewed interest for

the Boone and Crockett Club to

direct attention to designing a

new system for measuring North

American big-game trophies.

Samuel B. Webb chaired the com-

mittee, which included Grancel

Fitz, James L. Clark, Harold E.

Anthony, Milford Baker, and

Frederick K. Barbour. The system

was officially adopted in 1950 and

quickly became the universally

accepted standard for measuring

native North American big game.

The new system was in effect be-

ginning with the 4th Competition

held at the American Museum of

Natural History in New York City

in 1950.

By Frederick J. King

Vintage Photos ........................... 58

award-winning whitetails ......... 82

Publicity ...................................... 94

corresPondence ........................ 102

sPecial troPhies ........................ 124

Chapter Five ..... 144Carnegie MuseumAfter 16 years at the American

Museum of Natural History in

New York City, the Club’s re-

cords-keeping activities and com-

petitions moved to the Carnegie

Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-

vania. The success of six decades

of big-game conservation became

evident resulting in two major

increases in minimum entry

scores within five years. Several

noteworthy whitetail deer were

entered during this time period

(1964-1971) including Melvin J.

Johnson’s Illinois buck that re-

ceived the coveted Sagamore Hill

Award – the only whitetail to ever

do so.

By Gilbert T. Adams

Vintage Photos ......................... 146

award-winning whitetails ....... 194

Publicity .................................... 226

corresPondence ........................ 232

sPecial troPhies ........................ 256

Chapter Six ....... 274NABGAP BeginsIn June of 1973, the Boone and

Crockett Club and the National

Rifle Association signed an agree-

ment to cosponsor what would

then be called the North Ameri-

can Big Game Awards Program

(NABGAP). This era in big-game

records keeping lasted for seven

years and included three Big

Game Awards Programs. Other

strides in improving the scoring

system were also seen at this time.

They included the creation of a

uniform scoring manual for train-

ing measurers and a standard of

entry requirements. Such changes

provided the program a much

greater ability to detect unscrupu-

lous or erroneous entries, as well

as enforce the accurate and con-

sistent measurement of trophies.

By Tommy Caruthers

Vintage Field Photos ................ 278

award winning whitetails ....... 304

corresPondence ........................ 326

sPecial troPhies ........................ 336

viii

ix

M any of my most memorable hunts have been for North America’s most numerous and widespread big game—the whitetail deer. A wily and

adaptable animal, he has not only managed to hold his own, but has increased both his numbers and range despite man’s invasion and destruction of much of his habitats. For example, the first dozen years of my life were spent on a central Missouri farm. Back then, during the 1940s, there were no deer in the area. A couple years ago, I saw many in the same area while driving the highway. Similarly, when we moved from Arizona to northeast Oregon in 1972, we found only mule deer on our ranch. Now, whitetails are common and have been for the past ten years.

It is not surprising that this most popular of all big-game animals, whether the South-west’s version known as Coues’ deer or the more northern variety, has developed a near fanatical following in many cases. From personal experi-ence, first with the Coues’ deer of Arizona and Sonora, and later with their cousins in Oregon, Montana, Texas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania, I think the whitetail addiction stems from a chal-lenging combination of admiration, frustration, and exasperation. After all, what hunter can re-sist the thrown gauntlet of a deer who brazenly devours his wife’s roses on the front porch one day, then becomes an invisible ghost the next day when the season opens!

An example of a far-gone Coues’ deer addict was the late John Doyle, a Tucson taxi-dermist and B&C Official Measurer. He was

responsible for introducing me to the Club’s records program when I was barely a teenager. When I finally bagged a record-book buck at age 20, he measured it for me. Shortly after, the increased minimum score negated my trophy’s record-book status. I’ve been trying to repeat my initial success ever since, in vain!

This book will evoke fond memories for many, like me, who can remember when hunt-ing was a less crowded sport, permission to hunt private land was available for the asking, and major newspapers lauded the accomplishments of hunters without fear of reprisals from read-ers. Equipment was simpler, too; 4-wheel-drive vehicles and camouflage clothing were rarities, variable-power scopes didn’t exist, and ATVs and trail cameras were not dreamed of.

Younger sportsmen with even the slightest interest in trophy whitetails and hunting history will find a real treasure in Joel Helmer’s periodic whitetail distribution maps that show locations of record entries by county over the years. The maps show the spread of whitetails alluded to earlier.

The history and development of the Boone and Crockett scoring system, from a measure of

INTRODUCTIONB y e l d o n l . “ b u c k ” b u c k n e r

LEFT: The back of the score chart shown here is from the 1947 Competition. Back then, there was only one chart for all types of deer (whitetail, mule deer, blacktail, and Arizona whitetail). The buck shown here was taken in 1938 in Oneida County, Wisconsin.

x

xi

just one antler feature to the current system ad-opted in 1950, is thoroughly covered by Records Committee members John Poston and Fred King, and augmented by a special section on the evolu-tion of score charts put together by Jack Reneau.

Concurrent with changes in scoring sys-tems were changes in periodic trophy displays. Originally labeled “competitions,” these were later named “Awards Programs,” as described by Tommy Caruthers, former B&C Director of Hunting and Big Game Records.

During its century-plus history, Boone and Crockett Club has headquartered at several lo-cations. The move to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh for the 1964-1971 period came right after the minimum score for whitetails was in-creased in 1965 and is ably documented by Re-cords Committee member Gilbert T. Adams. I have special memories of this period because I was appointed an Official Measurer in 1968 un-der sponsorship of John Doyle. Then–Records Chairman Elmer Rusten and I were frequent correspondents.

The unique feature of this book is the in-clusion of so many informal trophy photos, news articles and fascinating correspondence related to special trophies. An example is the documen-tation concerning the bagging of a 29-year-old buck shot in Nova Scotia in 1917 that was re-portedly one of three tagged deer released there in the 1880s. Other items that caught my inter-est in cluded a lion-killed Coues’ deer picked up in Sonora in 1937 by my friend, the late Jack O’Connor; the extended correspondence over a wrongly-classified Arizona mule deer that was once pictured as the World’s Record Coues’ deer, re ported burned in a fire but resurrected in Montana 20 years later; the controversial corre-

spondence between long-time records secretary Betty Fitz, former Measurer and Grand Slam Club founder Bob Householder, and Arizona Game Ranger Bob Hernbrode, over a possible mule deer/Coues’ deer cross. I knew all three people well, now all departed, and found it inter-esting that B&C Club is now initiating research efforts through DNA studies to help pre vent such problems in the future.

I’ll have to admit that seeing so many pho-tos of old friends and acquaintances no longer with us and reading the words of others who have passed on has caused me to shed a nostalgic tear or two. But that’s not all bad; books like this help remind us of our rich hunting heritage and encourage us to carry on those traditions we so greatly cherish. t

LEFT: In the early years, Coues’ whitetail deer were identified as Arizona whitetails. The chart shown here describes a picked-up trophy submitted by Jack O’Connor. Unfortunately, no photograph was attached.

After nearly a century of Records Keeping, the Boone and Crockett Club has

dug deep into its records archive and produced the ultimate history book for

whitetail enthusiasts!A Whitetail Retrospective will take you back through the evolution of whitetail hunting and big-game

records keeping from the late 1880s up through 1980, and is packed with hundreds of amazing vintage pho-

tos, historic score charts, records-keeping correspondence, and portraits of award-winning whitetail deer.

What’s a history book without historians? Authors of A Whitetail Retrospective include the B&C’s long-time Director of Big Game Records,

the current Chairman of the Records Committee, along with other Records Committee Members, and

Official Measurers — all with extensive first-hand knowledge in the history of the B&C scoring system and the whitetail deer, as well as historic B&C whitetail trophies.What’s a history book without maps? To know where we are going, you must see where we’ve been. Another special chapter in A Whitetail Retrospective is a geographic look at one of our greatest conservation success stories. The whitetail deer once numbered in the millions, but were reduced to a mere 500,000 animals by the early 1900s. It is now back in numbers believed to be greater than when European settlers first landed in the New World. The chapter reveals this recovery with detailed maps separated by decade, which highlight the top trophy-producing counties across the country from 1830 through 1979.

PLUS...Learn the history and reasons behind why the Boone and Crockett Club began its program to record data on native North American big game and how this system has evolved over the years. Revisit some of the most publicized and significant whitetail trophies ever recorded: The Breen Buck, Mel Johnson’s archery World’s Record, James Jordan’s legendary typical from Wisconsin, and many other truly

outstanding but lesser-known trophies.

A Whitetail Retrospective is the essential book for every whitetail deer hunter.

What happens when the unprecedented storytelling ability of hunters and the deep-rooted fascination for the most widely distributed, respected, and sought after big-game animal in North America collides with over 100 years of records keeping and memorabilia? The answer…

A Whitetail retrospective As sportsmen, the only thing better than this hunting season is last season, and the season before that. For reasons hard to quantify, hunters have a propensity for history and reflection. Maybe it is the fond memories of youth, early experiences when everything was new and for the first time. Maybe its because, as we age in our hunting careers, we evolve. What was important years ago may not be as important today, replaced with different approaches or priorities. Maybe it’s the recurring vision that captures us all at one time or another. That feeling of “Boy, I would have liked to have lived and hunted here back then.” Maybe it’s the saddening feeling – that realization that creeps in and reminds us that we can’t go back. We can’t un-pave what has been paved or undevelop land that has been developed. The lost places of our youth where we used to hunt that are now void of game… void of nature. Regardless, we marvel at history. A Whitetail Retrospective is the book whitetail enthusiasts have been waiting for. It is the ultimate collection of days gone by. The “super bucks” as they were, honorably taken by the crew cuts, plaid jackets, iron-sighted .30-30s, and stick bows. Trophies that remain just as important to our hunting culture now as they did back then, perhaps even more so. History teaches us. Along with hundreds of vin-tage B&C whitetail deer records and memorabilia, chapters within A Whitetail Retrospective offer a unique glimpse at the origins and significance of re-cords keeping. It is not known that when Theodore Roosevelt, Caspar Whitney, and Archibald Rogers were appointed to the Boone and Crockett Club’s first subcommittee on recording measurements of big-game animals in 1902 if these men envisioned that someday there would be such a book. Thankfully, through the conservation efforts of these men and many others, we have the material. We have the history.

Published by the Boone and Crockett Club250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801

406/542-1888 t 888/840-4868www.booneandcrockettclub.com

ISBN: 978-0-940864-56-6Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006933015

Dust jacket designed by Julie T. Houk

A Brief History of the Boone and Crockett ClubThe Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and a small group of his friends. It is one of our nation’s first conservation organizations. Early members — such as naturalist George Bird Grinnell, artist Albert Bierstadt, author Owen Wister, forester and governor Gifford Pinchot, and ecologist Aldo Leopold — helped shape the course of conservation in America. The Club’s earli-est achievements — protection of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, establishment of federal for-est reserves, which became the National Forest Sys-tem, support of national and state wildlife refuges, and the framing of wildlife protection laws — are monuments to that legacy. The Club now promotes conservation and outdoor ethics; supports wildlife research, education and management; and main-tains records of North America’s big game animals taken in fair chase.

THE SECOND CENTURYTo stimulate private sector leadership on wildlife research, education, and management, the Club, in 1986, purchased a working ranch in prime wildlife habitat along Dupuyer Creek on the East Front of the Montana Rockies. The mission of the ranch, known as the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, is research, teaching and demonstration of wildlife conservation that is integral to the economic viability of private and adjoining public lands. In 1991, the Club endowed the Boone and Crockett Professor’s Chair in Wildlife Conservation at The University of Montana to direct the Club’s conservation program. In 2001, the Boone and Crockett Club estab-lished the Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center for Education, Research, and Demonstration at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch. The new facil-ity is the headquarters for the Lee and Penny Ander-son Conservation Education Program. The Program’s vision is for citizens to treasure our shared natural and cultural heritage and advocate for diverse wildlife, fair chase hunting, and well-informed natural resource management to sustain their quality of life. Dedicated to the premise that protection, careful management, and shared uses of natural resources can achieve desired social, economic and environ-mental conditions without unnecessary waste or de-pletion, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes con-servation of all resources, especially in places where wildlife tie the land together and define the character of ecosystems.

For more information about the Boone and Crockett Club and our many programs, visit:www.booneandcrockettclub.com

$34.95

Leon Richards – New York 1955

Members of the 13th Competition Judges Panel

78-pointnon-typical Texas 1885