Something crazy just happened within the Bowtech company - the producer of the popular archery bows. This is kind of confusing, but let me see if I can get this straight. For those of you familiar with the archery industry, there is the “Martin” girl. She is the girl in all of the Martin bow advertisements. Ususally she is wearing something that gets attention (if you know what I mean) while holding a Martin bow.
Well, to add to the drama, Kevin Strother, Vice President and Co-Founder of Bowtech,(yes, a competitor of Martin) has married the “Martin” girl (sorry, I do not know her name). This apparently has caused some problems at Bowtech and the President of BowTech has fired Kevin Strother.
Kevin just posted some heated feelings about this on a popular archery message board. Click Here to read his comments about Bowtech and him being fired.
November 3rd, 2005
Due to the great interest there has been on the post about the 502 Idaho Elk (see post here), there has been some inquiries and questions arising in regards to information that I have included within that post. I will probably do a couple of different posts that will go into more detail and hopefully help answer some questions. The first post I am doing in reference to that article is about the Mike Shipsey bull. I will do another post shortly that will help explain the SCI scoring system and any confusion about SCI bull elk (and can there be fair chase bulls in SCI).
I mentioned the Shipsey bull in the post since it ties in as the only other 500 point bull taken by a hunter (that is known). This bull was not taken on a high fence ranch, but on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. I did a post in our King’s Members Only Web Site back in May of 2003 about the Shipsey bull. I thought I would include some excerpts from that post from two and half years ago about what I know about the Shipsey Bull. I really have no other information to add since that time.
Is the 502 Gross Shipsey Bull the World Record Elk? -posted 05/8/03
This elk has been going around the Internet for years and keeps people wondering if this is a real elk, and if so does it really gross over 500 points. There is not a whole lot known about this elk and there is a mystery and a question mark that hangs over this monster bull. Is this the biggest elk ever taken by a hunter? Yes, I believe it is. Is it really the world’s record? No, it is not and has not been declared any official world record.
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 interest in having his elk featured in our King’s Bull Elk Calendar. Mike had just killed a monster bull elk from the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. This 11×10 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 (currently 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 Bull Elk 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. 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.”
No reasons were giving even after inquiring specifically about this issue to Boone & Crockett. Only Boone & Crockett knows and has the right to refuse or accept any entry it wants to maintain the integrity of their record books. Maybe the Shipsey Bull will go down as another world class animal that is not in the record books. I will not go and entertain the rumors about this bull, but only have stated what I do know. That is usually where people go wrong is when they start talking about something they don’t know, and base their own knowledge off of unknown claims. I have my own conclusion as to what happened, but that is not for posting here for the world to see and speculate upon.
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 come close to the 500 point mark, but strong 400-plus sheds. Another fortunate thing is that this bull did not brake off any points. 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 intact and tine length was incredible. I have heard that this bull was killed September 22, 1997 in the Dry Lake Unit. 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. If you are down that way you can check it out.
Two San Carlos Tribal Members holding the huge rack taken by Mike Shipsey
11×10 point, 502 6/8 gross, 487 net non-typical
San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona 1997
November 3rd, 2005
