Young hunters age 16 and under have taken 67 Boone and Crockett qualifying trophies over the past three years. Each will be listed in the triennial Boone and Crockett Club 27th Big Game Awards book due out later this year. Included among the youth trophies are a massive Alaska brown bear and the largest non-typical mule deer recorded in 36 years, both of which are Top 5 specimens in their respective categories for the awards period.

All 67 successful youths will be recognized at the Club’s 27th Big Game Awards, June 24-26, 2010, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev.

The event is a celebration of conservation successes featuring a free public exhibition of world-class antlers, horns and mounted specimens from across North America. Hunters who have taken Top 5 specimens in 36 categories of native North American big game during the past three years are invited to participate in the exhibit, alongside the youths.

“At this year’s ceremony, for the first time ever, we’re honoring young hunters who’ve taken a Boone and Crockett-class trophy during the past three years,” said Eldon Buckner, chairman of the Club’s Records of North American Big Game Committee. “It’s gratifying to see youths, both boys and girls, broadly represented across big game categories.”

The 67 trophies by hunters 16 and under include:

Alaska brown bear—2 entries (minimum score 26, top score 29-1/16)
Bighorn sheep—3 entries (minimum score 175, top score 190)
Black bear—8 entries (minimum score 20, top score 21-9/16)
Columbia blacktail deer, typical—2 entries (minimum score 125, top score 135-6/8)
Cougar—3 entries (minimum score 14-8/16, top score 15-8/16)
Musk ox—2 entries (minimum score 105, top score 110)
Pronghorn—5 entries (minimum score 80, top score 88)
Rocky Mountain goat—3 entries (minimum score 47, top score 53)
Roosevelt’s elk—2 entries (minimum score 275, top score 326-7/8)
Mule deer, non-typical—1 entry (minimum score 215, top score 242-4/8)
Mule deer, typical—4 entries (minimum score 180, top score 191-4/8)
Whitetail deer, non-typical—15 entries (minimum score 185, top score 240-5/8)
Whitetail deer, typical—17 entries (minimum score 160, top score 174-4/8)

Young hunters claimed 2.2 percent of all the trophies entered into Boone and Crockett records during the Club’s 27th awards period.

“We’ve accepted almost 5,000 total trophy entries between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2009, which is four times the number we received 30 years ago. Clearly, wild, free-ranging, trophy class animals are more plentiful today than ever. That’s a tribute to those wildlife managers and sportsmen—including the young hunters—who participate in that management,” added Buckner.

The Boone and Crockett system of scoring big game trophies originated in 1902 as means of recording details on species thought to be disappearing because of rampant habitat loss and unregulated harvest. Science-based conservation efforts led and funded by license-buying hunters brought those species from vanishing to flourishing.

Scoring records remain a classic gauge of habitat and management programs. In addition to its prestigious history and tradition, the Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system is strongly associated with the highest tenets of fair chase and hunting ethics.

Along with celebrating conservation and hunting, the Club’s 27th Big Game Awards is also a fundraiser for the Club’s mission programs. Registered attendees also can enjoy raffles, an auction featuring hunts in top trophy regions across the continent and the 27th Awards Banquet and ceremony on June 26.

InterMedia Outdoors, which owns Sportsman Channel and several publications including Petersen’s Hunting, is the Boone and Crockett Club’s media partner for the event.

For registration and more event information, visit www.biggameawards.com.