Boone & Crockett Club Scoring
Bighorn
Sheep - Len Fabich
Judgements for discerning the excellence or the largest specimen were arbitrary until the Boone
& Crockett Club formed a select Committee on Revisions to devise, test, and review methods to
quantify a species. The Official Scoring System for native North American big game was adopted in 1950.
The third edition of the records book, released in 1952, is the first records book to use the Club's
copyrighted scoring system of the records book. It provided a method for precise comparison within
species based on a numerical scoring system. Special scoring forms are available for each species.
Eleven editions of Records of North American Big Game have been published by the Boone & Crockett Club.
The latest edition appeared in 1999. The 12th edition will be published in 2005. Many trophies taken in
Montana are in these editions.
Minimum scores for big game trophies were initiated in 1950 by the Boone & Crockett Club. Scores were
conservative in order to document the existence of rumored massive specimens that were taken from pristine
herds and to establish formal records. During the following years, minimum scores of more abundant species
were raised to limit these listings, which were becoming quite extensive.
Requirements for scoring are that a Records must be taken in fair chase, (hunter-taken trophies),
appears to have a substantial size to equal or exceed the minimum score, must be cleaned of all
flesh, allowed to dry at least 60 days, and then presented to an official measurer of the Boone &
Crockett Club for scoring.
These measurers contribute their time and effort to teh objectives and standards of the Club. It is
recognized that examination and measurements are at their convenience. Theredore, it may be
necessary toleave the Records for a time before it can be scored.
Rank
Trophies scoring in the top ten, and submitted to Boone & Crockett Club, will be subject to an
official panel review. Between publications of each book two intervening Awards Programs are
scheduled for assembling these selected trophies for public viewing, panel measuring, recognition
and awards. Final scores and national ranks will be entered in subsequent editions of
the record books.
Awards Program
Records entry now occurs during a three-year period, followed by public display of the finest
trophies entered in each category and an awards banquet. Presentation of Boone & Crockett
Club big-game medals and/or certificates recognizes Records excellence. Only top trophies
remeasured by the Judges' Panel are eligible to recieve awards. Place awards are reserved for
Fair Chase trophies entered and still owned by the hunter.
Other invited trophies, such as trophies that are pcked up or of unknown origins, are elegible
only for a Certificate of Merit>
The all-time Records Book, Records of North American Big Game, is published after two
Awards Entry Periods, or when significant changes have orrurred in Records rankings, categories,
or requirements. The 11th edition lists 17,150 trophies in 35 categories. Eight new World's
Records are recognized in the book. Six awards books have been published since 1984.
Awards books are both records books for single entry periods and supplements to the all-time
Records of North American Big Game. These books contain hundreds of portraits and field
photographs as well as hunting stories of top award recipients, and state and provincial listings
and rankings for all trophies within each Awards Entry Period.
Shrinkage
The Boone & Crockett committee formulating the scoring program recongnized that moisture
present in horns, antlers and bones dimishes after death. A majority of the moisture will
decline in a short time and the remainder gradually disappears of a longer period.
Therefore, it is required that official measurements cannot be taken for at least sixty days after
the animal was killed. A few Montana trophies measured and later remeasured by the same
indicate shrinkage as follows:
| Mountain Lion | 0.8% to 1.4% | 2/16 to 3/16 | during 4 months |
| Grizzly | 0.5% | 2/16 | during 3 months |
| Grizzly | 0.5% | 2/16 | during 9 months |
| Bighorn Sheep | 1.9% | 3 2/8 | during 2 months |
Data from the Pope & Young Club on remeasuring of some trophies indicate plus or minus differences
from measurements of 60-90 days after date of kill to panel measurements several
months later. The plus differences may be attributed to different measurers and interpretations.
Bighorn sheep had decreased scores of up to 2% from 1 to 7 years later. A few pronghorn
decreased 2% to 4%. Two Yellowstone elk changed less than 1% from the original score with
schrinkage of 1 5/8 and 3 2/8 over a 9 month period.