What do you think of the various record book clubs and organizations including, but not limited, to those below?

It is interesting to compare rules and ideologies of various record keeping organizations. More importantly, it reveals a lot about what is important to them.

quote:

Extracted from Boone and Crockett Club:

The Club has long been recognized for its conservation and ethics leadership. The Club’s Fair Chase statement was the cornerstone of the establishment of hunting seasons, bag limits, and the abolishment of market hunting practices at the turn of the century. This legacy will continue through activities and accomplishments in hunter ethics, and ethics for other outdoor users; ethics emphasizing shared use of natural resources to protect multiple options for use and enjoyment, and especially to protect and preserve wildlife populations, public and private land habitats, and associated outdoor recreation experiences.
Recreational hunting is under attack as never before. A principle target is the image of the “unethical hunter,” a person without respect for wildlife, land, or other wildlife users. In response, a major Club intent under the “Fair Chase Code” is to advocate an ethic of respect in all hunters for wildlife, land, and other users of wildlife.
FAIR CHASE STATEMENT
FAIR CHASE, as defined by the Boone and Crockett Club, is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.

quote:

Extracted from Pope and Young Club

The Pope and Young Club is a non-profit, charitable, membership-based organization whose mission is to ensure bowhunting existence for future generations by promoting and protecting our rich bowhunting heritage and values.
From its beginnings, the Pope and Young Club established, defined and maintains an ethical code of hunting referred to as FAIR CHASE. The concept of fair chase bowhunting is the very core of the Club’s belief system and one of our major advocacy focuses.
The fair chase philosophy reaches to the very foundations of the hunting spirit; it should be a dominant factor in the personal hunting ethic of every responsible individual; it is key to bowhunting’s future with deep roots in America’s hunting heritage. Simply defined, fair chase is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit of free-ranging wild game animals in a manner which does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the animal.

quote:

Rowland Ward, about their Records of Big Game:

It was not and is not there to establish records in the sense of biggest or best, nor to glorify the hunter. It celebrates the animal and it does not matter whether the animal’s horns, tusks or teeth were picked up in the veld from one that had died of natural causes, was killed by a predator or was shot by a hunter. By establishing the benchmark for what constitutes a trophy (particularly where the standards are high), The Book makes a most valuable contribution to ensure that trophy hunters concentrate on those big, old, lone males which have long since passed on their genes to younger generations.

And, a few bullets extracted from their Code Of Conduct:

• That no creature be hunted for sport in an enclosed area of such size that such creature is not self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency includes the ability of the animal to exercise its natural inclination to escape from the hunter as well as catering for all its basic needs such as water, food, shelter and breeding.

• That no shooting take place from, or within a short distance of a vehicle, nor the use of vehicles to drive game.

• That no shooting take place from, or within a short distance of an aircraft.

• That no aircraft be used to spot or drive game, nor the use of aircraft to land hunters within a short distance of game for the purpose of hunting the game so spotted.

• That all forms of competition in the field between Sportsmen whilst hunting and fishing be avoided.

• That no creature be killed for sport, that is deemed to be immature, breeding or dependant and cannot, by virtue of its trophy or flesh, be fully utilised.

quote:

Safari Club International:

Since inception, Safari Club International (SCI) has become a truly amazing organization. Our approximately 190 chapters provide us with a way to make and gather with friends, our Convention is a place to celebrate and enjoy our hunting heritage, and our Foundation is recognized as a world leader in wildlife conservation and education programs.
A quick look at our financial reports to the US Internal Revenue Service reveals that SCI spent nearly $300 million on hunter advocacy and wildlife conservation since inception (actual value is $278,186,963 from 1979 to 2008). The growth of the organization in both hunter advocacy and conservation led to a strategic decision to separate the two efforts into separate businesses in 1999: Safari Club International, a 501( c )4 hunter advocacy organization, and Safari Club International Foundation, a 501( c )3 charitable organization.
The SCI Record Book of Trophy Animals uses SCI’s unique all-inclusive record keeping system, the most used system in the world, to document our hunting heritage. The scoring system recognizes typical and non typical animals and both free range and estate taken animals.

All of them have their detractors, I've heard positives and negatives about all of them. I personally prefer Boone and Crockett for North American game but thats just my opinion.

I have hear a lot of bad things about Thompson Temple's "Record On Exoticts" over the years from fellow hunters and guides so I do not trust that one at all.

I tend to "stradle the fence" on the Glory Books - any of them.

Positive:
1. I really like knowing just how HUGE the Game can get. Without someone keeping Records, few of us would ever really know.
2. I like people with $$$LOTS$$$ spending it on Hunting and paying whatever it takes to get their Game listed. Good for Hunting overall with more $$$money$$$ infusion.
3. Tends to keep the blowhard braggarts localized.

Negative:
1. From what I've read and heard over many years, the guy that actually finds the Game or spots the Game almost NEVER ends up being the guy who gets "listed" in the Glory Books. Typically it is just someone paying a Fee(or on a Sponsered Trip) to Kill something someone else has actually Hunted and located. How someone takes Pride in that is something I just don't understand.
2. It tends to create "Pseudo" entries. Entries that have been Hand-Raised to attain some exhalted status(weight, length, antler, horn growth) just so someone can eventually Kill it for $$$$$$$$$$HIGH$$$$$$$$$$ and be Listed. Certainly not all of the entries, but enough to taint the Glory Books and render them as nearly worthless.
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Actually, I prefer the State Braggart Shows, like the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh. All the entries come from the state and are typically taken by someone who is a real Hunter. He found the Deer, he Patterned the Deer's movements and he Killed it on his own. No additional Guides, Spotters, Helicopters, or riding around until he "accidentally" blundered upon the Deer. All the Southeastern states have Shows similar to this every year.
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Had to have a bit of welding done to the passenger side door on a CJ-5 one December in S.C. Bad part was it happened on a Sunday when most folks DO NOT work at all. Found a guy who was extremely reluctant to burn a rod for the 2 minutes it would take to effect the needed repair. He eventually relented and told me to go wait down by the Barn past the Dogs. When I got there, one entire side of the Barn was a HUGE Shed with many thousands of Antlers. All from the Hunting Club he was in. After he got the Door fixed, he invited me back to his house to see(what would have been) the #4 Atypical Deer from S.C. The Rack looked like a Christmas Tree with all the points. On close questioning, he finally told me that he had located it, but..., his wife took it - with a `57 Chevy.

None of them really trips my trigger since I don't plan on using any of them, but if I did I would like to see two categories added to the "fair chase" categories:

1. Unguided. I would like to see those animals that someone didn't pay someone to watch all year long. Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING against using a guide or outfitter, but I just think I would like to see a different category for those animals.

2. No deductions. Your animal is really big, but we had to deduct for this and that is just BS.