World Record Bull

[ThomC]

Wow I thought that this was a new subject till I saw Lark.  Then I looked at the date.  I miss Lark and others who would tell it like it is.  Nowa days people get their panties in a wad un less you agree with them. Just recently someone gave pepe camalliro an award for being good for wildlife.  Stuffed shirt awards for phoneys.  😒

[trphyhntr]

12 hours ago, AZ .22-250 said:

 I cant say more because it will give away who I am but I am from the White mountains.

 

everyone already knows that story and nobody cares who you are. 

[Outdoor Writer]

I wrote this article on Shipsey's bull for Rocky Mt. Game & Fish magazine in 1998 (before controversy) from phone interviews with Amanda and Bradley Joe. 

 

A BULL FOR THE BOOK

Copyright by Tony Mandile

The recommendation, “If you want a trophy elk, try to get a permit in Arizona,” is quite common nowadays.  

Over the last decade,  the “secret” that Arizona produces big, record-book class elk has become an accepted fact. The Boone & Crockett  Club (B&C), Pope & Young Club (P&Y) and Safari Club International (SCI) record books list dozens of bulls from the Grand Canyon State, several of which rank within the “Top 10” in both the typical and non-typical categories.  The B&C Records of North American Big Game contains 60 entries from Arizona in the typical and 15 in the non-typical categories. 

Although several of these trophies -- and others from around the West -- are quite impressive, few come close to the monster Las Vegas, Nev. resident Mike Shipsey killed during the 1997 season on the 1.8 million-acre San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. Shipsey’s pending entry will likely take over as the reigning official B&C world-record in the non-typical class for a bull taken with a gun. 

How big is it? 

First, lets look at some of the top bulls to put Shipsey’s in perspective. 

The Ninth Edition of the SCI Record Book,  published in January 1998, shows the largest Rocky Mountain typical elk as a 6x6 bull killed in 1993 by Jean Luc Mendler near Trinidad, Colorado.  It scored 407-6/8. The book lists a 7x8, killed in the White Mountains of Arizona in 1995 by Hyland Erikson, as the number one non-typical elk. Total score -- an impressive 415 points. 

B&C still lists the 7X8, John Plute bull, taken in 1899 from Dark Canyon, Colorado as it’s typical world-record. It scored 442 3/8 points and is on display in a tiny hardware store/gas station in downtown Crested Butte, Colorado. The main spread was 45 4/8, and the right and left main beams measured 55 5/8 and 59 5/8 respectively. The second largest typical, scoring 441 6/8,  hangs in the Jackson Hole Museum.  No one knows who killed this 7X8 bull, however. 

Jumping up to the more modern records of bulls killed this century reveals no surprise; it’s a stunning 7X7 trophy from Arizona’s Gila County -- or more accurately, from the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Killed by James C. Littleton in 1985, this elk scored 421 4/8 points, ranking it #3 in the B&C listings as of the 1995 update.  The inside spread was 39 inches, and the main beams measured 55 4/8 and 58 2/8. 

The CURRENT (emphasized!) B&C world-record non-typical,  shot by James R. Berry in 1961,  grew up near Gilbert Plains, Manitoba. The 9x9 antlers totaled 447-1/8 and had a spread measurement of 39 7/8 inches. The right beam was 54 1/8 and the left was 52 5/8.

Now here’s the scoop on Shipsey’s possible non-typical world record.

The inside spread between the main beams was 42 inches, and the right and left main beams measured 61 1/8 and 56 4/8. The gross score was an astounding 502 6/8. After the 15 6/8 in differences were subtracted, the overall score came to an incredible 487 points -- more than yardstick bigger than the above current listed record!  And if this bull had been scored as a typical, it still would have added up to an impressive 418 6/8 points. 
Although Shipsey’s bull is a cut above the best ever, Amanda Moors, the San Carlos reservation’s biologist, knows there could be others, especially with the evidence backing her. 

“Our management goal on the reservation has leaned more toward quality rather than quantity. We don’t have an overabundance of elk, but because we have very limited hunting pressure and mild weather, our elk get a chance to grow old. We also maintain our cow/bull ratio quite high at 60 bulls for every cows.”

 “We estimate the population in the Dry Lake unit at about 700 animals, and during our annual aerial  surveys, we have observed at least 10  bulls in this area that would top 400 points.”

“Our Hilltop herd is a bit smaller at approximately 300 head but has still produced two heads over 400 B&C points. Right now, we think there are at least five or six more 390-plus bulls wandering the Hilltop range.”

“Since 1985, we have recorded at least 11 bulls that netted over 400 Boone & Crockett points. One set of sheds that was picked up in 1986 netted 450 6/8 B&C points, and they are the largest of any sheds ever found., But hunters have killed seven of those bulls since 1993.”

It was one of these seven that started Mike Shipsey on his quest for the “big one.”

In 1997, the San Carlos wildlife department auctioned off one of four non-tribal member bull permits at the Safari Club International Convention. The tag was good for the September season in the Dry Lake elk unit, one of two where non-tribal members may hunt elk.  The winning bid came from Washington state resident, Dan Agnew. It cost him $19,500.

When the wildlife department ran an ad for qualified guides to assist Agnew on this tribe-sponsored hunt,  Donovan Case and his fellow guide, Bradley Joe, became business partners in Associated Guides to answer the call.  Agnew later said the tribe made a wise choice. Understanding why is easy.

Case and Joe, along with noted Arizona elk hunter John McClendon, provided Agnew with the hunt of a lifetime. He had twice purchased the “governor’s tag” offered by the Arizona Game & Fish Department and had already killed two Arizona bulls in the 390-class over the past 5 years. His 14-yr.-old, 6x6 San Carlos trophy was special, though. The symmetrical typical antlers scored 416 2/8 gross and 401 5/8, placing it high in the state record book.  As a non-typical, it would have scored 421 6/8.

As soon as word got out, Shipsey took notice.  He called and found out there were still non-tribal member tags left for the Dry Lake hunt. After some negotiating over the price, the tribe settled for $20,000. Shipsey also wanted Donovan Case and Bradley Joe as his guides. They were happy to oblige, of course.

Nearly half the season had gone by before Shipsey even started his hunt, but it made little difference. Case and Joe had the camp ready to go when he arrived. They began hunting on a Saturday morning, and according to Joe, passed on many good bulls. “We probably saw at least 20 good bulls while we were hunting on Saturday and Sunday. Some of them would have been records, too. But Mike wanted a really big one, so we kept looking.”

Case had to leave on Sunday night to go back to work, leaving Joe to guide Shipsey. Having been in camp for several days already, however, Joe decided to go home that night and get cleaned up. He returned at 3 a.m. Monday. After a brief conference, he and Shipsey decided to hunt a different area where Joe had previously scouted it and had heard bugles that he knew came from big bulls. 

 He was right.

Before the sun came up, Shipsey and Joe heard several different bulls bugling in one small area.  Joe thought three or four were goods ones. “I wanted to look over some of the ones we heard, but it was still too dark. We had to wait at least an hour and a half. Once it got light enough to see, we started sneaking through the woods. “

Joe said he and Shipsey often crawled on their hands and knees. “A few of the bulls we came up on were satellite bulls, so we had to work around them carefully. We finally spotted the big one in a clearing. He was the herd bull and had at least 20 cows with him. But there were satellite bulls all around him. We saw at least four or five that would score 350 or better and at least one that would go 380 or 390. The big one was really heated up to. He was running all over the clearing , trying to protect his cows and keep the other bulls away.”

As soon as Joe saw the bull, he knew it was the one Shipsey wanted. “We were about 350 yards away, and he still looked huge compared to other ones around him.  I looked at Mike and said, “That’s your bull.” 

Joe decided against trying to call the bull any closer. He knew doing so with so many bulls in the area would be futile. “The big one was so protective, that no amount of calling would have pulled him away from his harem. We decided to just get a little closer, but as it started getting lighter, the bull started to move his cows into the pines surrounding the meadow. Finally, we were less than 200 yards away, and the bull decided to come out of the trees again. I guess he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss a cow or two.  It was a mistake.”

“Mike was shooting a Model 70 in  .300 Winchester Magnum.  The bullet hit the bull right behind the shoulder. He ran about 30 yards into the trees, and then we heard the crash as he fell. I couldn’t see him because there was a big tree in the way, but Mike was 30 yards to my right and could see him from there. But even though he was down, we decided to wait at least a half-hour to be sure. We knew if he got up and started to run in those trees, Mike probably wouldn’t be able to get a good shot at him.”

“When we eventually crossed the meadow to the bull, he was stone dead. The 200-gr. softpoint had taken out both lungs and cut the main artery at the top of the heart. 

Shipsey’s bull was 12 years. old, and the antlers have been scored by an official B&C measurer. But because it’s a possible world-record, nothing will be official until a panel scores it. Regardless, with more than yardstick of inches to waste, the world-record status is almost a foregone conclusion.

Using one of the tags reserved for tribal members in the Hilltop unit, Nalani Stevens also killed a world-class bull in 1997.  Stevens, has been hunting on the reservation for more than 20 years since marrying guide Homer Stevens.  But this was the first elk the resident of Farm Station has killed. 

On September 12, she hunted with her husband and two brothers-in-law. They had left home at 2 a.m., wanting to get to their hunting area well before daylight. 

“We had spent most of the morning stalking several bulls and passed up two or three that weren’t as large. Some others we found had either crooked or broken antlers or weren’t too symmetrical. 

“Homer kept calling as we walked along, but every bull we heard and saw weren’t the one big bull we wanted. Finally at 8:30, with the prime hunting hours past, we stopped to rest. Then just before 9:00, my husband spotted a big bull. It was quite a ways off, so Homer started calling again, trying to lure it closer. When the bull answered, we knew it was the one we wanted.”

“Homer and his brothers studied the bull through their binoculars and subsequently came to a consensus that it would score at least 400 points.”

“We had followed the bull into the pine trees and were walking quietly when Homer suddenly whispered that the bull was just on the other side of the trees in some brush. At first, I couldn’t find it, but I finally spotted just a small speck of the animal. Moving slowly so as not to spook the elk, I raised  my rifle and aimed. The bull was standing at a bit of angle and almost facing away from us. I shot at the shoulder area, but he didn’t even flinch. I fired again.”

“This time, the bull jumped, then trotted off to a small rocky area. He left a trail of blood behind. As he continued to move, I fired off a couple more shots.  Finally, he slowed down at the top of a hill and went down in a heap.”

The 8X6 non-typical antlers scored 413 7/8 and assures that Stevens’ trophy will go down as one of the largest ever taken by a woman anywhere in the country. The bull was 11 years old. 

In addition to elk, the San Carlos reservation, which is the 4th largest in the state, offers myriad other hunting opportunities for non-tribal members.  The terrain covers three distinct zones that includes high desert country, mountain ridges covered with trees and grasses and the ponderosa pine forests in the northeastern part.  And the variety of animals is even more varied. 

A few years ago, the current Pope and Young Club record for Coues deer was killed there. The second largest desert bighorn and third largest Rocky Mt. bighorn from Arizona came off the San Carlos. And if that’s not enough, a mountain lion from there is the pending Arizona  record. Once we toss in some black bear that regularly top 500 pounds, excellent quail hunting for three different species and an abundance of javelina in the desert terrain that makes up a large part of the reservation, it’s easy to understand why Amanda Moors feels as she does about the quality hunting available there.
“We might not have a lot to offer, but we do have some of the best in the world.”

SIDEBAR:

In 1998, there will be four non-tribal member tags available to hunt trophy elk on the San Carlos reservation.  Two are for the Dry lake Unit and two are for the Hilltop Unit. At press time, the fee for those tags had not been set, but it’s likely they will be at least $20,000 again.  The tribe will also offer a total of 15 antlerless elk permits to non-tribal members for $550. 

For more information on elk or any of the other hunting on the San Carlos Apache Reservation,  contact: San Carlos Recreation & Wildlife Department, P.O. Box 97, San Carlos, AZ 85550; phone (520) 475-2343. 

If you do decide to purchase an elk tag and want Donovan Case and Bradley Joe to lead you to a trophy, contact: Associated Guides, P.O. Box 112, San Carlos, AZ 85550; phone (520) 475-2888. They also guide for other species.