The Boone and Crockett Club wishes to remind the hunting community of the foundational principles that govern its records program. For over a century, the Club’s records have served as a benchmark of conservation success and habitat health. To maintain the integrity of this dataset, the Club remains steadfast in its requirement that only native, wild, and free-ranging big game are eligible for entry.
Maintaining these rigorous standards is essential to protecting our hunting heritage. As hunting remains under increased scrutiny, the Club believes that maintaining the highest ethical standards is the best way to protect hunting’s future and ensure the records—as a tool for game management, research, and conservation—remain available to wildlife managers. Strict adherence to these requirements leaves no room for the principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation to be undermined.
The Club’s Big Game Records Program, featuring a database of nearly 60,000 entries, serves as a testament to these standards.
“The sanctity of the record book relies entirely on the authenticity of the pursuit,” said Mike Opitz, Vice President of the Club’s Big Game Records Committee. “When a hunter submits an entry, they are contributing to the legacy of Fair Chase and the future of conservation. It is essential that we honor the animal and the records by ensuring every entry comes from a truly wild and free-ranging environment.”
The Club’s position on ‘canned shoots’ and animals hunted in controlled or escape-proof environments is clear: animals taken under such conditions are ineligible for the records. Read more