 What
do we know about this bull?
Back in 1998, We (King's Outdoor World) were contacted by Mike Shipsey and Shirley Hayward
and expressed interested in having his elk featured in our King's Calendar. Mike had
just killed a monster bull elk from the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona.
This 11x10 point bull was scored at 502 6/8 gross and an amazing 487 0/8 net non-typical
B&C. It was forecasted as the new pending world record and would shatter the
current world's record non-typical elk (465 2/8). This would be the first bull elk on
record that was taken by a hunter that gross scores over 500 points.
Unfortunately we could not come to equal
terms with Mr. Shipsey and we decided not feature this bull in our King's Calendar.
What has happened since and why are
we not hearing more about this elk?
Since that time things have been fairly quiet about this bull outside of rumors
and speculation. Was this bull killed illegally? Why is this bull not
recognized by Boone & Crockett? I contacted Jack Reneau at Boone &
Crockett regarding this elk in August of 2001 after the 24th annual Awards Banquet to see
if the Shipsey Bull was indeed accepted and officially panel scored. This was Jack's
statement to me:
"The non-typical American elk that was
taken by Mike Shipsey and is currently owned by Shirley Hayward is not accepted entry in
the Club's Awards Program."
Not much to go on and I do not know why it
is not accepted entry. No reasons were giving even after inquiring specifically
about this issue to Boone & Crockett. So lets take a minute and take a look at
some of the speculations and rumors that have been going around about this elk:
Some say this elk was called in using an illegal game call. Another speculation is
that the bull elk, being so big, was a steroid bull similar to what you will find on a
game farm. Lastly, some say the funds used for the hunt were illegal funds (whatever
that means).
I am not going to say that I know for sure
about anything on this bull, and am not here to start or reinforce any rumors - that is
not what this is about. But I think the above mentioned rumors are just that -
rumors that we just don't know if they are true or not.
Why is this bull not accepted entry
for Boone & Crockett?
This is a question that only Boone & Crockett knows and talking with others
and also the taxidermist who has done work with the Shipsey bull itself there is
definitely hard feelings and contention from both parties involved. It sounds like
Boone & Crockett has some issues with Mike Shipsey himself concerning others issues
about Mike outside of this bull elk itself. I don't think there was a problem with
this elk and the hunt itself as far as being illegal, but Boone & Crockett is keeping
the bull elk out of their records due to other illegal issues that they are concerned
about in regards to Mike Shipsey. What are these issues? I don't know.
They might be past hunting concerns or a run-in with the law is just speculation but is in
line with what I am hearing. We can only hope that both parties can come to terms so
this bull can get the recognition it deserves. Or maybe this will never happen and
the Shipsey Bull will go down as another world record class animal that is not in the
record books.
How did this elk get so big?
There are a couple of factors as to why this bull got so big. The year Mr.
Shipsey killed this elk was a good year for moisture on the Reservation and rich habitat
for antler growth was present. Also, this bull peaked in his prime of life and hit
full potential when Mr. Shipsey was fortunate enough to harvest such a magnificent
animal. There are reports that 2-3 sets of sheds were found from this bull.
None of them close to the 500 point mark, but strong 400-plus sheds. Another
fortunate thing is that this bull did not brake any points off. This could have
affected the final net score dramatically when a bull of this size brakes a point or two
off during the rut. All points were in tact and tine length was incredible. I
have heard that this bull was killed September 22, 1997 in the Dry Lake Unit, but am not
sure if this is correct. The bottom line - this bull peaked at its prime and Mr.
Shipsey was the fortunate hunter to take him.
Where can I see this elk in person?
There have been a total of seven replicas made of this bull from what I
understand. Back in October of 2001 there were still two of them left and they were
selling for about $4,000. The San Carlos Fish and Game does have one of these
replicas of the elk in their office - so if you are down that way you can check it out. |
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