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CCal Bergsma with a Pending Illinois State Record.

Boone and Crockett Club

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Trophy whitetail entries from 2011 hunting seasons are beginning to pour into Boone and Crockett Club headquarters.

But while the sporting world waits to see which states are hot, or not, producers of giant bucks, North America’s overall robust trend in whitetail entries is a story for all conservationists to celebrate.

B&C historical records show that trophy whitetails are up 400 percent over the past 30 years.

“It’s worth remembering where America’s favorite big-game species stood not so long ago, at the brink of extinction, said Ben Wallace, Club president.

“In 1900, less than 500,000 whitetails remained. But habitat programs, research, science-based management, regulations and enforcement, all led and funded by hunters, brought this game animal back to extraordinary levels. Today there are more than 32 million whitetails!”

The Boone and Crockett system of scoring big-game trophies originated in 1906 as a means of recording details on species thought to be disappearing. Over time, these records evolved as an effective way to track the success or failure of conservation efforts.

As North America’s whitetail herd has grown, numbers of big bucks also have risen.

• For the period 1980-1985, hunters entered 617 trophy whitetails into Boone and Crockett records.
• For the period 2005-2010, the total jumped to 3,090, an increase of 400 percent.

During this 30-year span, many states and provinces saw percentage gains much greater than the continental average (see data below). For example, trophy whitetail entries from Wisconsin have risen 857 percent. In Illinois, the increase is 896 percent. Ontario went from a single entry to a whopping 41—a 4,000 percent gain!

Six states and provinces had zero entries in 1980-1985. For 2005-2010, they combined for 48.

Boone and Crockett offers two premier ways to trace and detail historic conservation developments, not just with whitetails but many other species as well.

A book, “Records of North American Big Game,” offers detailed tabular listings for trophies in 38 different categories of game. Each entry includes the all-time entry score, date harvested, location of kill, hunter and owner names, and selected measurements. At 768 pages, the book retails for $49.95.

A searchable online database, called “Trophy Search,” is another exceptional resource. By buying an annual subscription, users can sort B&C archival data in infinite ways to identify national as well as local trends. An annual subscription is $50.

Boone and Crockett Club Associates receive discounts on both items. Order online at www.boone-crockett.org or by calling 888-840-4868.

The list below includes state-by-state rankings for whitetail entries during the period 2005-2010, plus comparative data from 1980-1985.

B&C Trophy Whitetail Production, 2005-2010
(Typical and non-typical trophies combined)

1. Wisconsin, 383 entries (1980-1985 rank 3rd, 40 entries)
2. Illinois, 299 entries (1980-1985 rank 6th, 30 entries)
3. Iowa, 224 entries (1980-1985 rank 2nd, 59 entries)
4. Ohio, 215 entries (1980-1985 rank 14th, 16 entries)
5. Missouri, 214 entries (1980-1985 rank 9th (tie), 25 entries)
6. Kentucky, 199 entries (1980-1985 rank 9th (tie), 25 entries)
7. Indiana, 195 entries (1980-1985 rank 16th, 14 entries)
8. Kansas, 181 entries (1980-1985 rank 4th, 35 entries)
9. Minnesota, 172 entries (1980-1985 rank 1st, 76 entries)
10. Saskatchewan, 147 entries (1980-1985 rank 7th (tie), 27 entries)
11. Texas, 132 entries (1980-1985 rank 12th, 19 entries)
12. Alberta, 115 entries (1980-1985 rank 7th (tie), 27 entries)
13. Nebraska, 78 entries (1980-1985 rank 18th (tie), 12 entries)
14. Oklahoma, 48 entries (1980-1985 rank 22nd (tie), 7 entries)
15. Ontario, 41 entries (1980-1985 rank 42nd (tie), 1 entry)
16. Arkansas, 40 entries (1980-1985 rank 34th (tie), 3 entries)
17 (tie). Michigan, 39 entries (1980-1985 rank 17th, 13 entries)
17 (tie). Mississippi, 39 entries (1980-1985 rank 18th, 12 entries)
19. North Dakota, 31 entries (1980-1985 rank 31st (tie), 4 entries)
20. Pennsylvania, 26 entries (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)
21. New York, 25 entries (1980-1985 rank 28th (tie), 5 entries)
22. South Dakota, 24 entries (1980-1985 rank 20th (tie), 8 entries)
23 (tie). Georgia, 23 entries (1980-1985 rank 5th, 31 entries)
23 (tie). Maryland, 23 entries (1980-1985 rank 28th (tie), 5 entries)
25 (tie). British Columbia, 19 entries (1980-1985 rank 24th (tie), 6 entries)
25 (tie). Maine, 19 entries (1980-1985 rank 11th, 20 entries)
27. Virginia, 17 entries (1980-1985 rank 22nd (tie), 7 entries)
28. Tennessee, 15 entries (1980-1985 rank 20th, 8 entries)
29. Colorado, 13 entries (1980-1985 rank 42nd (tie), 1 entry)
30. Idaho, 11 entries (1980-1985 rank 24th (tie), 6 entries)
31 (tie). Massachusetts, 8 entries (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)
31 (tie). Quebec, 8 entries (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)
33. Delaware, 7 entries (1980-1985 rank 42nd (tie), 1 entry)
34 (tie). Louisiana, 6 entries (1980-1985 rank 28th (tie), 5 entries)
34 (tie). Manitoba, 6 entries (1980-1985 rank 15th, 15 entries)
34 (tie). Washington, 6 entries (1980-1985 rank 31st (tie), 4 entries)
37 (tie). Montana, 5 entries (1980-1985 rank 13th, 17 entries)
37 (tie). Alabama, 5 entries (1980-1985 rank 34th (tie), 3 entries)
37 (tie). North Carolina, 5 entries (1980-1985 34th (tie), 3 entries)
40 (tie). Connecticut, 4 entries (1980-1985 rank 38th (tie), 2 entries)
40 (tie). New Hampshire, 4 entries (1980-1985 rank 38th (tie), 2 entries)
42 (tie). New Jersey, 3 entries (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)
42 (tie). New Brunswick, 3 entries (1980-1985 rank 24th (tie), 6 entries)
42 (tie). West Virginia, 3 entries (1980-1985 rank 34th (tie), 3 entries)
45 (tie). Mexico, 2 entries (1980-1985 rank 24th (tie), 6 entries)
45 (tie). Wyoming, 2 entries (1980-1985 rank 38th (tie), 2 entries)
45 (tie). South Carolina, 2 entries (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)
45 (tie). Nova Scotia, 2 entries (1980-1985 rank 31st (tie), 4 entries)
49 (tie). Oregon, 1 entry (1980-1985 rank 38th (tie), 2 entries)
49 (tie). Rhode Island, 1 entry (1980-1985 rank 45th (tie), 0 entries)

About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair-chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Mont. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.

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Counties bordering urban areas had the biggest totals.

Wild Turkeys By Noppadol Paothong

Missouri Department of Conservation

JEFFERSON CITY Mo --(Ammoland.com)- Bowhunters posted increases in both deer and turkey harvests during Missouri’s 2011-12 archery deer and turkey hunting seasons, topping the previous year’s figures by more than one-third.

Hunters checked 52,671 deer during the four-month archery season. That is an increase of 10,299 (24 percent) from the previous year. Archers checked 2,923 turkeys, an increase of 739 (33.8 percent) from the 2010-2011 season.

Jason Isabelle, a resource scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), said two factors probably contributed to the increased archery turkey harvest.

“I attribute the increase in harvest to the good hatch that we had last year in most of the state and to increased archery permit sales,” said Isabelle. “There were both more turkeys and more archers in the woods in 2011 than in 2010.”

MDC sold 110,647 archery hunting permits and issued another 82,486 no-cost landowner archer’s permits last year. The total of 190,133 archery permits is a record and continues a long-term trend of increasing interest in archery hunting.

“More people discover the enjoyment of archery season every year,” said Isabelle. “The challenge of bowhunting appeals to many hunters who start with firearms. For others, the attraction is a huge increase in hunting opportunity. For quite a few hunters, opening day of deer season can’t come soon enough and closing day comes too soon. Taking up the bow and arrow allows them to pursue their outdoor passion all fall and into winter.”

MDC Resource Scientist Jason Sumners said the reason for this year’s increased archery deer harvest is harder to nail down.

“Over the past decade we have seen a steady increase in the number of archery hunters and a resulting increase in archery harvest,” said Sumners. “However, that doesn’t explain the fluctuations we see in archery harvest from year to year. There are likely other factors at work that create annual variation in hunter effort or success. We had very mild weather last fall, and that might have caused hunters to spend more time pursuing deer. But there is still a lot we don’t know about the relationship between weather and hunter behavior and other factors that affect archery harvest.”

Sumners said he hopes to explore those factors in the future to gain a better understanding of what causes sizeable archery harvest fluctuations like those that have occurred over the last four years. For example, the deer archery harvest increased from 44,434 in 2008 to a record 51,972 in 2009 and went back down to 43,281 in 2010.

Missouri’s 2011-2012 archery and firearms deer harvests total 291,592. That is up 6 percent from the previous year. The 2011-2012 firearms and archery turkey harvests total 52,226, down 3.8 percent from the previous year.

The top archery deer-harvest counties were Jefferson with 1,092 deer checked, Franklin with 1,088 and Jackson with 1,040. Top archery turkey-harvest counties were Callaway with 76 turkeys checked, Franklin with 67 and Jefferson with 58.

All of the top counties for archery deer and turkey harvest were in or near metropolitan areas. Isabelle and Sumners agree this probably is largely because all four counties are within easy driving distance of large numbers of hunters. Also, Callaway and Franklin counties are larger than average, and both have excellent deer and turkey habitat.

“Those four counties are natural choices for folks who live in nearby cities,” said Isabelle. “Franklin and Callaway counties are between the St. Louis and Columbia-Jefferson City areas and have some of the best turkey habitat in the state. Jefferson and Jackson counties are right at the edge of the state’s two largest metropolitan areas, so it’s not surprising that lots of archers would spend time hunting there.”

MDC recorded eight firearms-related deer-hunting incidents during the 2011-2012 hunting season. One was fatal.

-Jim Low-

To follow MDC on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr, or to receive RSS feeds, visit www.mdc.mo.gov. and click on the icons at the bottom of the page.

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