Alaska Big Game Hunting Records
Big game hunting in Alaska is unlike any other types of hunting and it begins and ends with the hope for bagging a trophy - the ultimate honor.
The Boone and Crocket Club, which is the founder of the National Park Service and the duck stamp program, maintains a big game records program as a way to track conservation success and the pursuit of healthy, balanced herd populations. They keep records for 38 categories of game in North America, including six Alaskan species, and hold an awards ceremony each year to recognize the trophy kills for that year. The records can be found at www.boone-crockett.org, many of which are from Alaska.
The state of Alaska also keeps Big Game harvest records, and filing a report is mandatory for all hunters. You can access past harvest records for all species, by Game Management Unit, here:
The Alaskan World Records for several species are shown below, with their measurements recorded in inches. The full measurements listings can be found on the website listed above.
Big Game World Records
The world record Yukon Moose was taken in 1994 in Fortymile River by John A. Crouse with an overall score of 261 5/8. Key measurements were a 65 1/8 greatest spread, 19 points on the right antler and 15 points on the left and an eight circumference of the beam at the smallest point.
The world's largest Grizzly Bear, with a score of 27 13/16, came from Lone Mountain, Alaska in 1976 and is owned by Gordon E. Scott. The greatest width of the skull was 10 9/16, with a greatest length of the skull without lower jaw of 17 4/16.
The largest Alaskan Brown Bear was taken from Kodiak Island by Roy Lindsley in 1952 at a score of 30 12/16. Its greatest width of the skull was 12 13/16 and had a greatest length of the skull without the lower jaw of 17 15/16.
The world record Dall sheep was harvested in 1961 in the Wrangell Mountains by Harry L. Swank, Jr. in 1961 at a score of 189 6/8. Key measurements include a right horn length of 48 5/8 and a left horn length of 47 7/8, with a right circumference at the base of 14 5/8 and left at 14 6/8.
The Sitka blacktail deer was taken at Control Lake by William B. Steele, Jr. in 1987 with an overall score of 134. It had six left points, five right points with an inside spread of 16 3/8.
The world record Barren Ground Caribou was taken in 1999 by Daniel L. Dobbs at Iliamna Lake. With 25 left points, 17 right points and an inside spread of 38 3/8, it had an overall score of 477.
When targeting trophy big game, the first precaution to take is to be aware of the Alaska hunting regulations for information about seasons and rules. In order to qualify, an official measurer must carefully assess your kill using a system that heavily emphasizes symmetry. The Boone and Crockett Club will send a list of measurers for your state if you contact them by email (bcclub@boone-crockett.org) or phone (406-542-1888).
Boone and Crockett have also set up an online method to determine if an animal is close to a record at the Boone and Crocket Scoring page.
All measurements must be made with a 1/4-inch wide flexible steel tape to the nearest one-eighth of an inch. The following measurements are examples of those for several species that can be used for the online method.
For black and brown bear, a hunter must measure the 'greatest length' of the skull which is the distance between perpendiculars parallel to the long axis of the skull, without the lower jaw and excluding malformations. The hunter must also measure the 'greatest width,' which is the distance between perpendiculars at right angles to the long axis.
There are more measurements for determining a record moose. The 'greatest spread' is the distance between perpendiculars in a straight line at a right angle to the center line of the skull. The numbers of normal and abnormal points on both antlers are important. Abnormal points must be at least one inch long and are defined as points originating from normal points or from the upper or lower palm surface, or from the inner edge of the palm of the moose rack. Other important parameters are the width and length of the palm and the smallest circumference of the beam.
The 'greatest spread' is critical for Dall sheep, as well as the 'tip-to-tip spread,' defined as the distance between horn tips. The length of the horn, circumference of the base and horn circumferences are other measured parameters.
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