Conservation

Where Hunting Happens, Conservation Happens™

End of the 32nd Awards Period Checklist

By Kyle M. Lehr, Director of Big Game Records
Excerpt from  Winter 2024 Fair Chase Magazine - Trophy Talk

And just like that, we’ve reached the last few months before the close of our 32nd Big Game Awards period.

32ndheader_fb.png

The curtain will close on our 32nd Big Game Awards period on December 31, 2024.

To be considered for this awards period, all entries must be postmarked by December 31, or all entries submitted electronically must be done by 11:59 PM on December 31. There are no exceptions to this deadline. Worry not, entries that do not make it before the deadline will be entered into our 33rd Big Game Awards period, which will run from 2025-2027.

Drying Period

Please keep in mind that for an animal to be officially measured for entry into the awards program, it has to dry at a habitable room temperature for 60 consecutive days. If the antlers, horns, tusks, or skull is frozen, left outside, in an unheated garage, boiled, or degreased, then the drying period is reset. If the animal was harvested on November 1, 2024, and immediately kept at a habitable room temperature for 60 consecutive days, it could potentially be measured on December 31, 2024. If, that is, it is measured after the time of kill. For instance, a whitetail could be shot at 8 a.m. on November 1, and the drying period started as soon as it was brought to a habitable room temperature, such as 8:45 a.m. It would be eligible to be measured after 8:45 a.m. on December 31st and either postmarked that day or submitted electronically and still be eligible for entry into the 32nd Big Game Awards.

Awards Program Process

After harvesting a big game animal, the work truly begins. Similarly, once the awards period closes, the real work begins. In the records department, we identify all trophies that rank in the top of their categories and all youth trophies. Then, we send out invitations for the 32nd Big Game Awards program. The first events to take place for the awards are our Judges Panel and Media Summit. The Judges Panel comprises around a dozen judges and a half dozen consultants. The panel’s goal is to confirm all entry scores of the top trophies.

32ndchecklist_jp.png

Occasionally, scoring policies or procedures are missed, which results in an adjustment to the final score. However, the majority are confirmed with the entry score. The judges are chosen from throughout North America to ensure that we have Official Measurers familiar with measuring all categories recognized. The consultants are usually Official Measurers who have attended previous Judges Panels to bring some continuity to the event and provide guidance on how certain situations were handled in the past. The Judges Panel typically lasts three to four days.

The Media Summit at the 32nd Big Game Awards is an event concurrent with the Judges Panel. The goal is to increase earned media and exposure for our Big Game Awards. Media professionals are invited to attend the summit and learn about the Boone and Crockett Club and scoring. Speakers are brought in to speak about the Club, and they are presented with a backstage pass to the Judges Panel. The 32nd Big Game Awards Judges Panel and Media Summit is scheduled for April 2025.

Once all the trophy scores are verified, they are displayed within Johny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri. We are honored to be able to have an exhibit within a top-notch museum. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. The trophies will be displayed from the beginning of May until our event in July.

Awards Program vs. Competition

Originally, our awards periods were called competitions and held every year to judge the “best” trophies. The winners were chosen solely at the discretion of those on the Judges Panel. There was no systematic way to evaluate each trophy; it was qualitative over quantitative. In 1950, the transition began to judge trophies based on the current measuring system, and awards were given to the trophies based on the final score. The verbiage slowly changed from competitions to awards, where the biggest trophies are recognized. They also went from being held annually to bi-annually to tri-annually, where they remain today.  We still have Judges Panels at the end of every awards period, and the panels are tasked with verifying all the accepted entry scores of the top-end trophies in attendance. 

Learn More about the 32nd Big Game Awards

The Importance of Records in Big Game Management

When you enter your trophy into the Boone and Crockett system, you aren’t just honoring the animal and its habitat. You are participating in a data collection system that started in the 1920s and was refined by Club members in 1950. Today, there are nearly 60,000 trophy records. By establishing a records database more than 70 years ago, the Boone and Crockett Club established a scientific baseline from which researchers can use to study wildlife management. If you’re still on the fence about entering your trophy, we encourage you to read Why Should I Bother to Enter My Trophy .… Read More

 

Tags: 

Support Conservation

Support Hunting

Support Conservation

Support Education

"The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak. So we must and we will."

-Theodore Roosevelt