Boone and Crockett Club Teams Up with Buck Knives to Honor Youth Hunters at 32nd Big Game Awards

The Boone and Crockett Club is proud to announce Buck Knives as the Jack Steele Parker Generation Next Youth Awards presenting sponsor at the 32nd Triennial Big Game Awards. The event honors young hunters (ages 16 and under) who have had an animal accepted into the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game from 2022 to 2024. The Generation Next banquet, presented by Buck Knives, will be welcomed by Buck Knives’ CEO CJ Buck and emceed by Into High Country’s Jason Matzinger. This year more than 40 youth will be recognized at the banquet, which will be held in the ballroom of the White River Conference Center in Springfield, Missouri the evening of July 25, 2025.

“We are incredibly honored to support the Jack Steele Parker Generation Next Youth Awards and celebrate the young hunters who embody the spirit of conservation and ethical hunting,” said CJ Buck, CEO of Buck Knives. “At Buck Knives, we are deeply committed to inspiring the next generation to uphold the traditions of Fair Chase and wildlife stewardship which brought so many species from early 1900’s scarcity to present day abundance. Partnering with the Boone and Crockett Club allows us to champion these values and recognize the achievements of youth who are shaping the future of the great outdoors.”

The Boone and Crockett Club has been measuring the antlers, horns, and skulls of North American big game since 1895 with the original vision of creating a record of what was thought to be the vanishing wildlife in the country. Conservation efforts initiated by sportsmen helped to recover species and records-keeping helps to document these conservation successes. The Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game was first published in 1932 and, now in its 15th edition, serves as a vital record of biological, harvest, and location data on hunter-taken and found big game species based on the principle that the existence of mature male specimens is an indicator of overall population and habitat health. The 32nd Big Game Awards recognizes the most impressive heads, horns, and antlers accepted into the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book over the past three years and is a celebration of Fair Chase hunting and conservation of North American big game. As part of this, the Generation Next event is critical to ensuring that young hunters understand this conservation history and the role they play in the future of our wildlife and wild places.

“The Jack Steele Parker Generation Next Youth Awards shine a spotlight on the importance of younger generations in continuing the critical work of conservation and protecting our hunting heritage,” said Boone and Crockett Club records committee chairman Mike Opitz. “We are proud to partner with Buck Knives, whose dedication to the outdoors mirrors our own. Together, we can inspire and celebrate these outstanding young hunters who share in the stewardship of wildlife and our great outdoors.”

The Generation Next display will open on May 1st as part of the 32nd Big Game Awards exhibit in the Bucks and Bulls Hall of Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium. The display will provide Wonders of Wildlife attendees an unparalleled opportunity to view this collection of wildlife and conservation success that will only ever be seen all together in this display. The 32nd Big Game Awards culminates July 24-26 with the Generation Next event on July 25th and the Big Game Awards banquet sponsored by the Wild Sheep Foundation on July 26th. 

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About Buck Knives

A young Kansas blacksmith apprentice named Hoyt Buck was looking for a better way to temper steel so it would hold an edge longer. His unique approach produced the first Buck Knife in 1902. Hoyt made each knife by hand, using worn-out file blades as raw material. In 1964, the knife industry was revolutionized with the introduction of the Model 110 Folding Hunter, making Buck Knives a leader in the field. A position we hold proudly today. CJ Buck, the 4th generation family member to run Buck Knives and current CEO, President, and Chairman, started out with the company on the production line in 1978. He has been quoted saying, “We have been helping people thrive with reliable and trustworthy edged products for over a century. Since our own name is on the knife, our quality, focus, and attention to detail is very personal.”