It has been more than 40 years since Outdoor Life published The Big Game Animals of North America by Jack O’Connor. It was about that time that my interest in big game hunting piqued and O’Connor’s accounts of his personal experiences while hunting 20 different big game species, coupled with George C. Goodwin’s accompanying natural histories provided the basis for a life-long love for wild places and the magnificent creatures that live there. I read and reread each of O’Connor’s chapters and carefully studied Goodwin’s natural histories, while I quietly dreamed of the day I could hunt for many of those same big game animals.
My first experiences with big game hunting began with mule deer on our family farm in the state of Washington. I began hunting mule deer about the same time I obtained O’Connor’s book through the Outdoor Life Book Club. His accounts of mule deer hunting in Arizona provided new insights to what I already knew from hunting them on our farm with my father and brother. O’Connor’s accounts of Arizona mule deer created an excitement within me as I thought about hunting big mule deer bucks elsewhere.
It was natural that O’Connor’s book would serve as a basic reference for learning about one big game species after another over the years. From mule deer to elk to pronghorn to black bear and rocky mountain goat, O’Connor’s writings served as a basis for further research. My first hunts for Alaska brown bear and Dall’s sheep came 20 years after the publication of O’Connor’s book. This past fall, more than 40 years after I obtained his book from the Outdoor Life Book Club, I went back and reread O’Connor’s account on bighorn sheep in preparation for my hunt for a bighorn in Montana.
As time passed and I became successful in hunting different big game animals, my enjoyment of the hunting experience changed from the simple act of taking a borrowed rifle up on our “hill” after school or on a weekend to look for mule deer to a much more full appreciation for all aspects of the hunt. Subtle aspects of the hunt such as the chatter of the Douglas squirrel, the call of the nuthatch, the hollow clanking of the bells on my horses in elk camp or the fragrance of a fir thicket on a north slope in Northern Idaho created an excitement much greater than a simple hike up on the “hill” in hopes of seeing a deer. The nature of my enjoyment for hunting and exploring new, wild, and remote places fostered my active participation in all aspects of the hunt. It was not long before I was backpacking into rough country in far away places scouting new areas and learning the habits of more and more big game species. Soon, I understood the value of owning one’s own saddle and pack stock. This led to learning to pack and ride, as well as a myriad of other associated skills required for safe and successful hunting in the backcountry on my own. Soon my collateral interests, experiences, and skills related to hunting were as important to me as was the hunting experience itself. My interest in hunting and outdoor literature, rifles, shotguns, ballistics, outdoor photography, map reading, horses, dogs, and the history of our wildlife cultural heritage soon became so woven into my life that they became a part of my identity.
Given this history, it seemed only natural that I would become acquainted with the Boone and Crockett Club and its Records of North American Big Game program. My first interest in the Club came through the “records” program, but it was not long before my interest in the Club’s publications surpassed my interest in records. It was in the fall of 1992 when Club President, Steve Adams, asked me to assume the responsibilities for the Club’s Associates Program and the Associates’ Newsletter.
The first task was to develop an appropriate means of communicating the Club’s mission, visions, and programs to the Club’s membership. This was accomplished by hiring Julie Tripp (Houk) to provide oversight for the layout and design of the Associates’ Newsletter. Soon after we hired Julie, our Associates provided ideas for a more formal name for the newsletter. Fair Chase was selected as the title for the new official publication of the Boone and Crockett Club from among 46 different titles proposed by Boone and Crockett Associates. Chris Keenum of Hartsell, Alabama, and Don Moody of Gainesville, Texas both submitted the title Fair Chase.
With a new title and a lead staff person to oversee this new publication, we launched Fair Chase magazine with the Winter 1994 issue. The first two issues were well received by our Associates, but we needed a more well-defined editorial policy and a focal point for the magazine. With an eye to this venture, the influence of Jack O’Connor’s writings and The Big Game Animals of North America had upon me as an eager, young hunter stood out in my mind as I searched for an overarching plan for the series of articles that would become the centerpiece of Fair Chase. When my friend, Biff Mac Collum of Phoenix, Arizona, reminded me of his keen interest in O’Connor’s articles on each of the big game species in this book, the project’s format became clear in my mind. Each of the issues of Fair Chase over the next four years would feature a species of North American big game on the cover and an article about that species by Craig Boddington. Early issues also contained an article about the natural history of the species written by Dr. Philip L. Wright.
It was fitting that Craig write these lead articles for he and Jack O’Connor were past hunting editors for Peterson’s HUNTING. Craig was a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club and had first-hand experience hunting and writing about our North American big game. His writing and field experience made Craig eminently qualified for this assignment. As with O’Connor, I had read most of Boddington’s articles on North American big game and had an appreciation for the knowledge and expertise evident in his writing. By this time in my life, I too had acquired first-hand experience hunting many of the different North American big game species and found that my experiences afield were consistent with Boddington’s work. A telephone call to Craig was all it took to seal the deal and for the next four years his articles served as the centerpiece for Fair Chase magazine.
When Craig concluded his last article in the North American big game series in the summer of 1998 we talked of publishing all of the articles at a later date in one combined volume. I actually had this vision in mind when we started the series and was very pleased when Craig agreed to work with the Boone and Crockett Club in publishing Fair Chase in North America.
When Outdoor Life published The Big Game Animals of North America in 1961, our world was quite different from what it is today. Today, our population has shifted to be overwhelmingly urban. As a result, generations of Americans have little or no contact with the outdoors or wildlife. Modern societal norms have influenced the motivations and attitudes related to hunting. In today’s fast-paced society, fewer hunters have the time to seek out new hunting territories and learn the biology and behavior of their quarry. Time seems to be short and the “endless day” that typifies many of our lives has a great deal to do with where we hunt, when we hunt, and how we hunt.
By focusing on the “Fair Chase” hunting tradition as the common denominator, the Boone and Crockett Club has harnessed the passion of generations of hunters for the conservation of wildlife and its habitat for the common good of the American people. This passion, for over a century of conservation in North America, has led to the protection of Yellowstone, Glacier, and Denali National Parks; the foundation of the National Forest Service, National Park Service, and National Wildlife Refuge; the passing of the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, and the establishment of the Federal Duck Stamp Program. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and much of our nation’s conservation infrastructure and heritage can be traced back, directly or indirectly, to the Boone and Crockett Club.
A major part of the Club’s conservation legacy lies in having defined and promoted the “rules of the chase” for hunting North American big game, which provided the foundation for hunter ethics throughout North America and, to some extent, the world. Adherence to Fair Chase ethics have defined the requirements for inclusion of big game trophies in the Boone and Crockett Club’s North American Big Game Records Program—the program by which all other trophy recognition programs are measured.
Fair Chase in North America incorporates the Boone and Crockett Club’s Fair Chase traditions and presents them in the context of the modern hunter in today’s society. Craig Boddington has accomplished a masterful work in sharing his experiences afield in a manner that is enjoyable to read while providing insight into hunting techniques and the habits and traits of our North America big game species.
The Boone and Crockett Club is indebted to Craig Boddington for his many contributions to the Club as a professional member. After reading Fair Chase in North America, we hope you will share our enthusiasm.
BY GEORGE A. BETTAS, ED.D.
Fair Chase Magazine
Editor-in-Chief (1994-2002)