Trevor W. Smith found this bull that scores 3754⁄8 inches in Spokane County, Washington, in 2005.
Boone & Crockett Club founder Theodore Roosevelt called the American elk “as noble and lordly game as is found in the Western world.” Earnest Thompson Seton, noted author and founder of the Boy Scouts of America, described a bull elk”s bugle as “the most inspiring sound in nature.” To many American sportsmen, the bugle of the elk epitomizes America”s outdoor heritage--wild places and the freedom to hunt.
With the mass of antler common to elk, it is no wonder that stags of outsize proportions are prized among big-game enthusiasts. American elk range from Western Canada east and south throughout the western U.S. There are also building reintroduced populations in many Eastern U.S. states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky. For this installment of B&C Trophy Search we will focus on the Northwestern U.S. and the Boone & Crockett historical data for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
In total, there are 1,107 American elk entries on record with B&C, dating back to 1830, of which 858 are typical and 249 nontypical B&C bulls. Of these total entries, 292 have come from these four northwestern states, or 26 percent. Out of all states or provinces with American elk entries, Montana ranks No. 2 for both typical and nontypical categories in total entries. Idaho holds its own ranking: No. 7 (typical) and No. 6 (nontypical). The leader of the pack for overall entries, all-time, is Arizona with 136 (typical) and sixty-five (nontypical).
In the past ten years this ranking changes, and the results are noteworthy. Montana fell in rank to No. 6 (typical) and No. 5 (nontypical). Idaho fell to No. 14 in both categories. In the case of Montana, other states such as Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been coming on strong for the past ten years for total entries, while Montana has steadily plodded along. Not so with Idaho. The overall number of trophy bull entries from Idaho has simply fallen way off in the past ten years.
The Evergreen State, Washington, historically is not noted as a records book bull producer, but has entered some tremendous bulls in recent times. Of all states or provinces in the past ten years, Utah ranks No. 1 with ninety-four entries (typical), with Arizona No. 1 for nontypical entries (thirty-six).
Tracking the data by county within each of these four states is not that revealing in terms of exact locations where records book entries are coming from. Trophy bulls appear to be spread out; however, staying within the past ten years and looking at the top counties by state may be of some assistance when choosing a destination for your next elk hunt.
Conclusions
Like most big-game species, records book trophy quality boils down to age and habitat. These four western states certainly all have outstanding elk habitat with a diversity of vast national forests, wilderness areas, huge river drainages and lower elevations with cover, feed and water.
