The 900 Club: Revisiting the Original Trophy Whitetail Benchmark

(Editor’s note: Jim Shockey’s feature from NAW’s Jan. 1992 issue offered a fresh perspective on trophy-hunting achievement, and longtime readers still mention it to us as providing great food for thought. With updated photos and minimal formatting changes, we republish it here to offer a glimpse into that era before trail cameras and many other current hunting technologies were in use. For a look at how the 900 Club concept has held up since this original feature was published, see NAW’s Aug. 2024 issue.)

"I was sitting in my truck eating lunch when a doe stepped out of the woods. I missed twice, and she ran away. I was disappointed, but then a buck came out. I shot, and he fell. When I walked over, I realized it was a big buck . . . ."

"Well, I was driving along on my way to work when I noticed a buck standing beside the road. I stopped and shot him . . . .”

"My dad put me on a stump and said to wait for him to return. I was not sure if it was a buck or not, but I knew it was a deer, so I did everything just like I was taught . . . .”

Heard any of these stories before? Probably. All three are condensed versions of actual hunts that produced Boone & Crockett bucks. The truth be known, though, the names and places may change, but tales of this type describe the taking of MOST B&C bucks.

Of course, there are exceptions, but let's face it: “The book" is really a comprehensive list of hunters who got lucky once in their lives.

Still, whether they are lucky or not, the rest of us not-so-blessed hunters hang into each word these rd it's-setting hunters utter, preparing ourselves for the day when the B&C buck of our dreams will appear before us while we're eating our lunch or perhaps while we're driving work. But it's kind of like preparing to be struck by lightning on a sunny day.

Unfortunately, rolling the dice of cutting the cards never has adequately defined rhinos skillful and who is lucky. Neither, necessarily, does making the minimum score requirements for the record book.

What we trophy hunters really need is a new minimum-score requirement, a number such more clearly defines the fine line between hunting skill and hunting luck.

This number this would have to effectively remove random luck as a factor in the hunter's success and u stead measure ability. Rather than one-time success, the number should recognize consistent success. To meet these criteria the number then should be the aggregate score of the hunter's best bucks.

How many?

Two is no good, and neither is three; the element of luck is still there. Four or five? Maybe – but even though most persons with this number of trophy deer are very good hunters, a couple of lucky bucks and another hard couple of years of hunting might account for this many.

What about six? Most hunters would not question the dedication of a trophy hunter who has six big bucks to his credit. We then would get a fair reading of a hunter's ability by measuring the aggregate net point score of his six biggest bucks.

Still, there is the matter of the number, the benchmark. First, we have to ask ourselves if one number can accurately reflect the hunting situation in every corner of our continent. The greatest hunter in North America, hunting exclusively in the overcrowded deer ranges of southeastern United States, never will meet criteria designed to judge the a Lith of a hunter living in the northernmost range of the whitetail. A hunter simply cannot kill what is not there. In such cases, a hunter should be allowed to tally his top seven bucks, instead of the top six.

Now for the number itself. Talk to most hunters, and they would agree that gross score is more representative of antler size than is net score, but the B&C scoring system is based upon net, so for ease of calculation, so should our number be. B&C has 170 as its minimum score for typical bucks. Our average score for the six bucks measured must be below this score, yet high enough so keep out bucks are not of genuine “trophy” size.

From Texas to Montana and up into Canada – in fact, anywhere in world-class whitetail country – when the measuring is done and the scores tallied, there is one number which will bring a smile to the face of virtually every hunter: 150 net B&C. Such a whitetail would be considered “big” anywhere. Multiply this score by six and we have both a benchmark and a relative scale by which to measure a trophy hunter’s ability and desire. That number is 900.

Add the net scores of your top six bucks if you hunt in the North, or seven if you hunt in the Southeast or other non-trophy areas. Whether non-typical or typical, the bucks’ net scores should do a good job of establishing their status as trophies.

If you have taken six bucks by way of fair chase which average the 150 net points necessary to qualify for the 900 Club, then you clearly have crossed the line between luck and skill. You stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best whitetail hunters in the world – hunters who do not wait on sunny days for lightning to strike, but who instead rely on knowledge and skill.

Some of these hunters are well known, such as Montana’s Dick Idol, whose top six bucks net score 171, 164, 162, 158 and 155, for a grand total of 972 points. A bona fide qualifer for the 900 Club, Dick admits he will take luck over skill on truly big bucks, but he is quick to state a successful hunter “makes his own luck.” He feels that if you put yourself into the right position enough times, you will succeed.

Like most other qualifiers for the 900 Club, Dick tends to hunt alone. Five of his six largest were taken while he was walking slowly, the other while sitting. Dick was hunting for the specific buck he ended up taking on three of his top six. Half of his biggest have come from Canada.

Dick’s primary source of hunting information is rubs. He looks for large-diameter trees with heavy damage, especially early in the season. Scrape sign plays a much more important role as the rut approaches. Dick feels there is no question that deer rely on scents and as a hunting aid they can contribute to success, but he also feels they’re only one piece of the puzzle.

Interestingly, Dick feels the importance of rattling increases as he moves farther south to hunt, while the importance of grunt calling increases as he hunts farther north.

“Most of my time has been spent on bucks I never got.” Perhaps this statement from Dick, above all others, gives the rest of us the greatest insight into what it takes to qualify for the 900 Club. When you look for really big bucks you’re almost always hunting an area where some factor makes a trophy deer difficult to hunt. It takes time and effort to shoot several really good bucks.

Jim Krissa of Alberta, Canada, whose top six bucks total 903 points, could not agree more with Dick. “Just short of divorce time” is how he answers the question of how much time is involved with making the 900 Club.

Jim believes it takes a measure of luck to have a buck come by exactly where you expect him, when you expect him. Being in that spot, though, is a matter of applied skill. He hunts alone and sees most of his biggest bucks prior to the season.

Because he relies heavily upon this “visual acquaintance” with a buck before the season, Jim says he’s not too concerned about rubs or scrapes, other than when he finds a particularly big rub. Then he says, his curiosity might be piqued enough to attempt to locate the buck and judge his size.

Over and over again during conversations with Dick, Jim and several other hunts who meet the minimum qualifying score of 900 points, the time factor came up as the common denominator. Dr. James C. Kroll of Texas, whose top six bucks total over 950 points, quantifies the time he spends in the field. In 1989, he says, he spent a total of 761 hours sitting on stands during the season alone. “To consistently take big bucks will exact an equally big price in time,” James claims.

And though he feels you never can discount luck as a factor, he hates to rely on it. “The book is full of the lucky,” this well-known biologist points out. He says he is happy to see it, too, as he believes there is a certain element of danger to our sport in creating hunting “superstars” who might use such kills for financial gain.

Even though he easily qualifies for membership in the 900 Club, James is quick to point out that in his opinion the true measure of trophy quality is the age of the deer.

A strong believer in hunting a particular deer rather than ambushing it, James knew about each of his top six bucks before he took it. He worked out a strategy for each particular buck, stand-hunting most of the time. Five of his biggest bucks came from Texas and one from Canada.

James is big on rubs, and in fact he uses them to develop his “road map” of a particular buck’s territory and travel corridors. It’s the best way to pattern bucks, he says. Scrapes, on the other hand, have been overemphasized, he claims. He says that while he believes some hunting products used for whitetails are merely gimmicks, he’d recommend “a string of garlic around a hunter’s neck” if it gives him the confidence to sit an hour longer on his stand.

Bentley Coben, who lives in Saskatchewan, qualifies for our exclusive club at 907 4/8 points. This exceptional hunter had prior knowledge of the buck’s presence in four out of those six cases. He feels every hunter makes his own luck.

“If you position yourself in the right area, it is not luck when a buck eventually shows up,” he notes. And, like the rest of these experts, Bentley spend a tremendous amount of time in the field. December is the only month he takes off from scouting and shed hunting.

Larry Weishuhn of Texas comes in at 934 7/8 points, with three non-typicals among his six biggest bucks. He, of all the hunters I interviewed, most eloquently defines “luck” as it pertains to hunting trophy bucks: “Luck is where knowledge and opportunity meet.”

Larry feels it isn’t luck to be in the right area; it should be because you know there are big deer there. He hunts truly big bucks by himself, to minimize disturbance. He used a combination of stand hunting and slow walking to take his six best bucks, four of which he had prior knowledge of.

This respected wildlife biologist likes to try for one particular deer each year and many times takes that deer only after three or four years. Thus, several of his best deer have been past their prime in antler development. Larry prefers to hunt these deer “on the buck’s terms,” when every advantage is with the animal. All of his best bucks were taken in Texas.

Larry says rattling will work, but he notes that while he has rattled in many good deer, he has rattled in only three or four great ones. Larry had the unique opportunity to study whitetails in college, and as far back as 1969 he was using vocal imitations of buck grunts. He’s a strong believer in using calls for deer.

Among 900 Club qualifiers, there are a few whose top six bucks’ net aggregate score tops 1,000 points. Stan Christiansen of Kansas, who happens to be the only hunter ever to qualify for the B&C record book four times, makes 1.052 7/8 with his top half-dozen.

Another is David Morris of Georgia, former executive editor and executive publisher of NAW. His total is 1,015 1/8. These bucks were taken by a wide variety of methods, including rattling and stand-hunting. Four came from Texas, one from Georgia and one from Saskatchewan. David was hunting the particular buck he took five out of six times, one after hunting it for four years.

As for rubs, David believes, “Big sign, big buck.” He feels rattling works better on subordinate bucks and that it’s relatively rare to be able to rattle in the top one. He says he finds calls to be inconsistent but still useful tools. They aren’t something to build a hunt on, he contends, but are good for stopping a buck or turning him for a better appraisal of antler size. He’s found the grunt call to be most effective in Canada.

“Luck has no place in big-buck hunting. You cannot depend on it,” David claims. He believes some individual encounters are luck but that the opportunity is created by hard work. And hard work takes time. David says it isn’t the time spent on a particular hunt – instead, it’s the cumulative time for all previous hunts that affects the outcome of that one hunt.

Randy Bean of Manitoba, an official B&C measurer as well as a hardcore hunter, has rifle-hunted his way to 919 points with his six best deer. He also comes close with his bow, at 893 6/8.

While Randy freely admits “big deer like me,” he obviously isn’t relying on charm to get bucks to walk in front of him. He is a thorough student of trophy hotspots and concentrates on areas that produce the big ones. Randy has even shot one B&C typical with his bow: a feat seldom achieved in Canada, despite its great trophy resource.

By no means are these the only qualifiers for the 900 Club. These men are listed just to show that it can be done if you work hard enough and hunt a good area. Some hunters could never hope to qualify for the 900 Club without making distant forays into world-class whitetail country. But even for these persons the number 900 provides some sort of measure of ability. It shows a hunter can and has consistently taken top-quality bucks from the area he hunts.

Then again, there are those other numbers: you know, 170 and 195. Did I tell you the story of the guy who was eating his peanut butter sandwich when a B&C buck walked by?

Along with being an iconic outdoor personality, writer and outfitter, taking nearly 400 species of game worldwide and being honored with hunting’s prestigious Weatherby Award, Jim Shockey recently entered the world of fiction writing with his bestselling mainstream novel, "Call Me Hunter." It and his nonfiction hunting books are available from a number of online retailers.

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