Big game program racks up world of entries, neat stories
By MATT WILLIAMS Outdoors Writer

If there is one thing that makes my journalistic juices flow, it is a rumor about a big whitetail buck showing up at a place where it wasn't expected, a bigger-than-life feral hog, or a mountain lion sighting close to home. The natural inclination is to dig deep to find out the details. To ultimately divide the facts from the fiction that often accompany big game tales.

That is the purpose behind "Trophy Watch Texas," a new addition to the Texas Big Game Awards website.

Texas Big Awards is a popular program that was hatched years ago as the result of a partnership between the Texas Wildlife Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The program promotes quality game management practices by recognizing hunters that take quality big game animals in Texas, as well as the land managers who produce them.

The program has scored categories for whitetail deer (typical and non typical) mule deer (typical and non typical), and pronghorn antelope. There also is a first harvest category.

Minimum net green B&C scores for program eligibility are as follows: pronghorn - 70, typical mule deer - 145, non-typical mule deer - 160, typical white-tailed deer - 125 to 140 (depending on region), and non-typical white-tailed deer - 140 to 155 (depending on region). Antlers must be scored by an official TBGA scorer to be eligible for entry in the program.

"Trophy Watch" is a registered trade name of the Boone and Crockett Club, the most-recognized keeper of North American big game animal records. B&C developed Trophy Watch to keep inquiring minds abreast with the most current information regarding high profile big game stories nationwide.

TBGA gained permission from B&C to promote the Trophy Watch program with a Texas twist. Alas, "Trophy Watch Texas."

Viewers can check it out by logging onto the TBGA website, www.texasbiggameawards. org, then clicking on the Trophy Watch Texas link.

There are already some interesting tales and photos posted. One of links takes you to a series of still photos depicting a black bear raiding a deer feeder near Sanderson in far West Texas.