The record books are not just for men. Catherine Keene found here place in hallowed pages with this giant nontypical Rocky Mountain mulie scoring 2854⁄8 inches.

"I called my wife and told her I was staying, but it got real cold, so I eventually climbed down and left," he says. "I went home and tried to sleep, but

I couldn't." At 3 a.m., Jerman was back in his stand, shivering through the cold darkness as he waited for first light. As darkness melted into daylight, Jerman watched a group of does wander past his stand followed by a buck with a giant set of antlers--the same buck he watched the previous night. It passed within twelve yards, but for several minutes, never offered a clear shot.

"It finally walked out into the open at twenty yards. I shot and it ran just a few yards before it fell over," he said. The buck scored an incredible 2011⁄8 B&C and had 241⁄8-inch inside spread and twenty-nine-inch main beams.

Notable Trophies > Andrew Seman grew up in western Pennsylvania and hunted state game lands near his home virtually all his life. He knew the area held bears, but up until last year, he had yet to see one during the state's short bear season. Not only did Seman kill a bear, his first ever bruin turned out to be a monster that weighed an estimated 733 pounds. It scored 233⁄16 and is the third-largest ever and the largest hunter-killed black bear entered into the books.

"My two brothers and I were doing a walk-and-stalk when one of my brothers jumped a bear from its bed. He couldn't get a shot and the bear tried to circle around behind us," he says. "I heard a branch break, turned and saw this huge black thing moving through the trees. I raised my rifle and shot, but I hit a tree. I quickly bolted another shell and fired again." The second shot from his .280 was true and the bear piled up.

> Chad Hammons, a tow truck operator from St.Maries, Idaho, was also on public land that he'd hunted for years when he killed a monster Shiras moose near his home.

"The season runs for several weeks, so I wasn't in a big hurry," said Hammons. "I'd gone up to this area twice before just to look around, and I wasn't real serious about it the third time, either."

"My two brothers stayed in the truck while I walked up a logging road to have a look around and try a little calling. I wasn't expecting to see anything, but when I called I heard something down the hill. I never saw it, but a few seconds later, I heard something else above me."

He spotted two gigantic antlers attached to one very big moose. Hammons raised his .300 Winchester Magnum. and fired two quick shots as the moose turned to make an escape. Both shots connected and the bull didn't go far. It scored 1871⁄8, earning the first award for the 26th Big Game Record Book.