I heard he was bascilly kicked out of SCI or at least the leadership. Why was that? He was mentioned in a wildlife book that had some anti-hunting rhetoric in it that I read a long time ago now. In it they pretty much accused him of taking his #1 B&C jaguar in Venzueala(sp) not Sinaloa Mexico where he claimed. I would think an expert in jaguar sub-species could tell from that full body mount whether that was true or not; the spot patterns, etc. I know he was the last of the worldwide hardcore record book hunters in the Elgin Gates and Frank Hibben mold; both friends of Jack O'Connor.

Could be wrong, no big stretch for me, but it seems like I remember some mentions in other threads here on AR concerning the methods mr. Mcelroy used in killing some of his trophies.

Maybe someone with better info will respond.

the stories surface from time to time about the methods he used to kill some of the harder to get trophies. Occasionally guys get so caught up in the competition that having something, especially high up in the record books; that they take short cuts...
It is so prevalent in the Elk hunting today that the DNA has to be checked to see what animal is actually being submitted for the books.

Look at all the poaching taking place today NOT by someone out of work and trying to keep a family fed.

Rich

Thanks rich, I thought it was questions about the legalities that were at the heart of the issue.

quote:

Could be wrong, no big stretch for me, but it seems like I remember some mentions in other threads here on AR concerning the methods mr. Mcelroy used in killing some of his trophies.

kinda like buying someone elses & claiming it was his you mean. like the big elk that used to hang in a bar in alberta, or my wolf

It was a power struggle, plain and simple.

Mac's vision of SCI differed significantly from that of the group that ousted him.

They used a bogus justification (they claimed that he took some carpeting left over from the remoodeling of the SCI HQ and used it for his own home).

The guy spent his own money to create and build SCI, and he was kicked to the curb so that others could swoop in and enjoy the fruit (and perks) of his labors.

George

George

Although Mac may not have been a saint - few of us qualify for that category - he created an organization that was instrumental in the resurgence of african safari hunting and a record book that has been more widely adopted and accepted worldwide than any other.

I was fortunate to meet him when he was an old man, not far from his passing. One thing he said to me has stuck with me throughout the years. As regards SCI: "I never thought it would become as big as it is." This was said to me in Las Vegas at an SCI convention in the '90s and he wouldn't believe what it's become in the intervening years! He passed 10 years ago.

Before one repeats negative comments on the deceased, it would always seem relevant to conduct at least a minimum of research into the individuals life. Mac was a self-made man who had less than a grammar school education. He loved big game hunting and founded SCI in 1972, when there weren't many folks going on safari and the ones who did were wealthy individuals. I first joined SCI in the early '80s but then let my membership lapse until I actually began hunting africa myself.

RIP, Mac, and thanks for all you did to make safari available to so many people.

Perhaps I am biased as I knew him personally and visited him in his home when we both lived in Tucson. Were it not for Mac we would not have SCI....I found him to be a gentleman; passionate about life, hunting and SCI.....my lion has been on display in the McElroy room at the museum....and I have been proud to have it there associated with Mac. May he rest in peace.
P.S. now that my gun room has been finished in Pinetop, I am bringing the lion home this weekend.

Our own Bill Quimby knew him well and wrote about him in several publications...perhaps he will add his comments.

Billinthewild
SCI Life; master measurer
SCI Quarter Century Society
NRA Benefactor

Mike, I respected Mac for his accomplishments. He was not without flaws, and I related the charge levied against him as it was related to me when I was a member of SCI.

I still resent the manner in which he was humiliated and relegated to 'the ash heap of history' by men not worthy to polish his boots.

George

George, again

Many today will criticize some of Macs hunting techniques, without considering that when he hunted those methods were legal and, in fact, practiced by many hunters of the day. Things have evolved and hunters today wouldn't use those techniques. That does not, nor should it, demean Macs hunting accomplishments when taken in light of the times in which they were made.

And yes, his treatment by those who became the power elite in SCI was deplorable, and worse. He was one of the greatest hunters of all time and should be remembered as such, without asterisks.

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
Mike, I respected Mac for his accomplishments. He was not without flaws, and I related the charge levied against him as it was related to me when I was a member of SCI.

I still resent the manner in which he was humiliated and relegated to 'the ash heap of history' by men not worthy to polish his boots.

George

Amen

quote:

I heard he was bascilly kicked out of SCI or at least the leadership. Why was that?

I suppose I knew Mac in his later life as well as anyone, except perhaps the woman who was his nurse/companion for a few years before he died. I worked for him from 1983 until the SCI board of directors fired him, and our friendship grew after that. I hunted with him in Spain and Zambia, wrote all of his books except for "McElroy Hunts Africa," and created the advertising material for the booking agency he launched after he was fired.

As someone said, stories about carpeting bought for the museum winding up in his home were circulated in his final days as CEO of SCI, but it was not what got him fired. (An audit showed he had paid for the carpeting remnants -- well before he was accused of misappropriating funds.)

Details about what led to his firing can be found in my "The History of SCI." I also wrote about the awful way he was treated after that.

What got Mac on the wrong side of his long-time supporters was the International Wildlife Museum that he built in Tucson. Several years earlier, the board had approved building a museum and headquarters. However, new board members would not approve money for it, so he launched another non-profit not associated with SCI, and borrowed money based on leasing office space to SCI.

The building was halfway completed when the bank refused to renew the loan. Mac's new foundation sued and lost and had no other source for funds. So, as SCI CEO, he formally accepted from his foundation the uncompleted building and about $4.5 million in debts associated with it.

That action put SCI dangerously close to bankruptcy. It was saved by ten members (including McElroy) who put up $100,000 each to keep it afloat.

The board gave him a golden parachute of $1 million, payable over seven years. When the money ran out, a few friends tried to assemble a private fund to pay him $1,000 month as a pension. I never heard if they were successful, but I would think not. The feelings against Mac at the time were too strong.

As for his hunting methods, as someone said here it was a different time. However, Mac was highly visible and you can bet money that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the various wildlife agencies around the world would have loved to have busted him for the slightest infraction. I did considerable research on this when writing the SCI history book, and could find no instance of his ever being charged with a hunting violation.

Mac was a controversial person, but there is no doubt that he created the world's largest and most influential hunting organization. Even Mac agreed that he could not have done it without help from a large number of people, and he credited many of them in one of the interviews that wound up in my book.

Bill Quimby

Bill, many thanks for clarifying and explaining...

By the way I was at the museum once more last Friday and brought my lion home....the museum in many ways is a testimonial to Mac and a grand one...