Big game . . . Utah has it's share - according to the record books.
The official big game record keepers, Boone and Crockett Club, shows Utah has its share of mule deer with large racks, but shows noticeably smaller numbers when it measures Utah's American elk.Of the 13 states that allow hunting for the American elk, Utah is 10th. Only Nevada, South Dakota and Texas have smaller state records.
Of the 14 states holding mule deer, Utah is 4th in the typical class. Only Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho are showing larger state records. In the nontypical area Utah is No. 1. No state has produced a larger buck.
Recognize, of course, that records for deer and elk deal strictly with antler size, and even then bigger is not always better.
In the typical category, big and symmetrical means more than simply large antlers. Animals are scored on antler size and how closely one set of antlers most matches the other.
The overall size of the animal means little in scoring. A deer can have a small body and large rack and score high, while in reverse a deer can have a giant body and small rack and not score at all.
In measuring, such things as overall width of the horns, length of the main beam and the length of each point are considered. With typical animals, abnormal points are subtracted.
The mystery here is that while Utah can produce deer with large racks, it can't give up elk with the same qualities.
The largest typical mule deer belongs to Colorado. It was shot in 1972 and scored 226 1/2 points. Then came Wyoming with a deer shot in 1925 that scored 217, Idaho with a deer shot in 1961 that scored 215 5/8 and Utah with a deer shot by V. R. Rayburn in 1973 in San Juan County that scored 212 7/8.
The largest nontypical mule deer taken in the U.S. came from Utah. Alton Hunsaker shot the deer, which scored 330 1/8 points, in Box Elder County in 1943. When the trophy was first turned in, the record keeper did not know the identity of the hunter. Hunsaker later produced a photo to prove his claim.
The largest nontypical deer taken in North America was shot in Alberta, Canada, in 1926 and scored 355 1/4. Utah's is No. 2 overall.
Here in the U.S., Arizona owns the second largest nontypical at 324 1/8 points, and California is third with a deer that scored 319 1/2.
Things are different with elk.
The largest elk taken in the U.S. came from Colorado, was shot in 1899 in a place called Dark Canyon, and scored 442 3/8. The second largest came from Wyoming, was shot in 1890 in the Big Horn Mountains by an unknown hunter, and scored 441 3/4. Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Oregon all had elk that scored over 400. New Mexico, Washington and even Kansas has records higher that Utah's.
In fact, only two elk have been recognized from Utah. Neville Wimmer shot the state's largest elk in 1939, which scored 385 1/2, and Brett Nybo shot the second in Garfield County in 1984, which scored 374 1/2. Colorado has 13 elk that scored higher than Utah's best, and 34 in the records.
Why are Utah's elk turning out smaller racks? No one knows for sure.
Grant Jense, assistant big game manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, says three things are needed to produce a trophy animals: 1. A good genetic pool; 2. Age; 3. Ample food supply.
"A couple of hard winters can effect antler growth. Genes also play a big part. And, in order to get maximum antler size a deer has to reach seven or eight years old, and an elk eight or nine years old. With the right genes, good nutrition and age, we should be getting some trophy animals. We are with deer, but we're not with elk," he points out.
"There are some areas we are managing for trophy animals, like Deseret (Land and Livestock), Book Cliffs and Heastons, and still we're not getting elk out of there that score points."
One theory is that Utah started its elk population with a small herd of 25 animals from Yellowstone National Park.
"There was a lot of inbreeding in the beginning and this could have resulted in a weak genetic pool. Another theory is that we only had a few elk, maybe 5,000 to 6,000 head, until the early 1970s. When the elk started to take off we hunted them pretty hard. That could have had an effect," Jense adds.
"You've got to remember there are two extremes - very small and very large antlers. Most of the elk, about 95 percent, fall in between. Very few elk get to be record-size."
New management programs, specifically restricting hunters to taking spike bulls only in many areas of the state, are having a positive effect on Utah's elk herds.
Possibly, within a few years, Utah could be putting more trophies into the record books.
CHART #1:
Deer and elk trophies
Graphic lists the highest-ranked trophies even taken in each state.
MULE DEER(Typical) MULE DEER(Nontypical)
STATE SCORE YEAR STATE SCORE YEAR
Colorado 226 1/2 '72 Utah 330 1/8 '43
Idaho 215 5/8 '61 Arizona 324 1/8 '43
Utah 212 7/8 '73 Colorado 306 1/4 '54
New Mexico 211 7/8 '65 New Mexico 306 1/4 '63
Arizona 209 5/8 '85 Idaho 300 7/8 '85
Oregon 209 1/2 '20 Oregon 297 7/8 '71
Wyoming 217 '25 Wyoming 293 7/8 '24
Montana 202 '63 Montana 275 7/8 '62
AMERICAN ELK
STATE SCORE YEAR
Colorado 442 3/8 1899
Wyoming 441 3/4 1890
Montana 419 1/2 1958
Idaho 412 5/8 1954
Arizona 405 7/8 1970
Oregon 401 3/8 1972
Utah 385 1/2 1939
New Mexico 398 1963
Chart #2: Utah big game records
AMERICAN ELK
Score Hunter Area Year
385 1/2 Neville L. Wimmer Emery County 1939
374 1/2 Brett R. Nybo Garfield County 1984
MULE DEER (typical)
Score Hunter Area Year
212 1/8 V.R. Rayburn San Juan County 1973
210 William Norton Manti-LaSal Mts. 1970
209 1/4 Dee Hildt Rich County 1968
208 Ned H. Losser Utah County 1972
207 1/2 John K. Frei Washington County 1987
206 1/8 *Picked up Peterson 1965
205 2/3 Loyd Folkstad Kanab 1968
204 1/4 James D. Perkins Garfield County 1965
204 1/8 Kenneth R. Dickamore Morgan County 1967
203 5/8 Glen Dumas Grand County 1960
MULE DEER (nontypical)
Score Hunter Area Year
330 1/8 Alton Hunsaker Box Elder County 1943
302 Darwin Hulett Iron County 1950
286 1/8 Joe Allen Utah County 1950
284 3/8 Clyde Lambert Duchesne County 1935
284 Melvin T. Ashton Provo River 1961
283 Verl N. Creager Rose Creek 1960
277 1/4 Jim Kilfoil Morgan County 1938
274 1/8 Murray Bohn Beaver 1920
273 7/8 Waldon Ballard Kane County 1950
273 5/8 Harold B. Rollins Morgan County 1944