![]() At the end of the summer, the antlers ossify, and elk scrape the velvet off on trees. During this period, the antlers are soft, cartilaginous, and covered in fine hair-known as “velvet”-and they contain reproducing stem cells. Adult male elk, or bulls, grow their antlers between April and August. ![]() Unlike horns, which are permanently attached to an animal’s head, antlers regenerate annually. The animals eat government-funded alfalfa pellets, living in a carefully managed symbiosis with a town that presents itself as a frontier outpost, and which has a median home price of three million dollars. Most of the antlers come from the National Elk Refuge, an expanse of hills and meadows on the outskirts of Jackson where roughly eight thousand elk spend the winter. Jackson’s trademark is a town square with four archways each arch was made from some fourteen thousand pounds of antler. A large arch of intertwined elk antlers greets passengers as they arrive at the local airport, and, in town, antler chandeliers hang from tall ceilings at a high-end furniture store. Nearly 30 years later, Ellsworth must have felt similar pride in owning the antlers and putting a conclusion on a great story: a new world’s record scoring 442-5/8 points.In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, some antlers are easy to find. Friends and relatives remember how proud Lon was when he showed them his trophy.” His children can remember eating elk burger that winter, and the rack was stored for years in the garage. Lon was unable to fit this tag on the large elk, so he notched the bull’s antler between the G-4 and G-5 points, so he could properly tag his elk. "In 1968, the Arizona Game and Fish game tags were a metal band. “Tagging his elk presented a problem," Ellsworth said. 308. The hunters headed out of the canyon with their prize packed on their horses, but Winters had a dilemma to deal with. Winters took down the elk using a Savage Model 99. Riding through the White Mountains during the fall of 1968, Winters and a close friend, Bill Vogt, spotted the magnificent animal near the Black River. Winters, since deceased, was a second generation cattle rancher who grew up enjoying Arizona's outdoors. Now I was really excited, but also in disbelief! Could I possibly have a new world’s record?”Įllsworth wanted to know more about the amazing elk and traced the story to the previous owner’s brother, Alonzo (Lon) Winters of Globe, Arizona. When I returned home that night, I re-measured the huge rack, this time a lot slower! After double checking everything I came up with a score of 445-4/8. While I was gone I kept thinking, I must have made a mistake on my score. I didn’t think it was that big. Telling my wife, Debby, that we may have a new state record, I hurried out the door to get back to my antler business. ![]() I took the rack back home, quickly put a tape to it, and came up with a score of 438 points. “To make the story short," Ellsworth said, "I was able to purchase the elk antlers. The truck turned into a local restaurant, and I had to see the bull up close, so I turned in as well. My first thought was, ‘There’s a 400 point bull!’ I followed the truck for about a mile, guessing the 6圆 would score about 420 points. It was turned upside down, straddling the dryer. As I pulled onto Main, behind the truck, I was in awe of the faded elk rack. “Being a local antler buyer, I was leaving my home to pick up some antlers," Ellsworth told the Boone & Crockett Club. "As I was waiting at an intersection to pull onto Main Street, a blue Dodge pickup loaded with a washer and dryer, along with a great elk rack, drove by. But he'd never seen anything quite like the set of antlers he spotted in the back of a pickup truck on February 28, 1995, a set so massive that he had to find out the story behind them. Ellsworth has seen some great elk antlers. Growing up in eastern Arizona's White Mountains, Alan C. Later, after Winters' death, the antlers were scored and recorded as the new World's Record typical American elk. Arizona Rancher Alonzo Winters used a Savage Model 99 rifle to kill a massive bull elk in 1968.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |