Trophy Takers would like to wish all its members, friends and sponsors a very merry Xmass and have safe a prosperous New Year!

Also expect to see a new TT newsletter soon where the winner of the story writing competition for 2009 will be announced!

Two new Trophy Takers number 1’s, yes what a year its been for them, first Jim Craze from Cooma has only been bow hunting for some 3 months and has taken Damain (Crusty) Zeinert’s long standing Sambar numbers 1’s, yes we know he had two of them, hes recorded the biggest Sambar with TT making then new number 1, 185 5/8, now that’s way to start, congratulations Jim a truly awesome effort!

Now Pete Novakic equalled the long standing Cat number 1 this year, with the big moggy scoring 8 2/16 DS, well done Pete!

The Dupille family have been hunting alone time and Shane Dupille has been in our rakes for a long time also, and its good to see he is still actively hunting and rating game with us. Shane took two fine Billies of late that scored 109 and 105 1/8 DS, check out there positions out in the ratings also, and well done Shane!

Paul Nicol a new TT member has rated a boar he took some 14 years ago, that scored 25 6/8 DS, well done and welcome to TT Paul!

Jason Robinson has rated allot of other Fallow bucks taken from the 2007 and 2008 season that range from 168 to 209 DS so check them out in the ratings hey, he also rated a fine Fox that scored 10 DS, congratulations on a really fine year Jason!

Adam Greentree has been flogging those legs of his, in the big hills of northern NSW and taken some very impressive trophies of late with his trusty recurve, the first off the list are some very nice billies that scored from 104 to 114 DS, and a very healthy Fox over 10 DS of late also, so check them out in the rating also! Well done Adam!

Ron McGrath took a trip up the cape to secure his P.B. Boar in Sept this year, but in the tough conditions from the inches of rain that fell while he was there made the boars hard to locate but Ron managed to finally put some good boars on the ground and rated the best of the trip which scored 25 4/8 DS, Well done mate!

James Warne has finally done it, yep he has after a 20 odd year quest to take a monster Billy James has finally realized his dreams, on a trip to his local goat hunting property, James started the weekend off with very nice P.B. Billy that scores 116 2/8 DS, not bad start mate, but some hours later he came across what can only be described as a trophy of a life time, James never took his eyes off the wondering 45 inch wide monster, one shot from his trusty compound and the awesome 128 2/8 DS Billy was his and his life long dream fulfilled, congratulations James we are really happy for you!

Ron McGrath rated his P.B. Billy form the hills around Canberra, the Billy scored a very respectable 105 6/8 and we are sure that this P.B. won’t stand for long, well done Ron!

Keith Hill also rated a good billy in recent months that nearly made it to the magic 100 DS mark, also Mark Schmitzer rated two fine Billies also in the last few months, so check it out in the ratings, and congratulations Mark and Keith!

Trevor Willis nailed his P.B. Billy this year also while hunting with a very completive mate of his, Trevor managed to nail the big wide curly horn beast at a very good distance to record his best mountain Billy to date, it scored 123 3/8 DS, simply an awesome prize, well done Trevor!

Rick Turner rated some respectable goats of late also they scored 104 5/8 and 101 2/8 DS and Mick Lewis has take a decent Billy of late also it scored 106 2/8 DS, well done guys keep them coming!

Rory Smith managed to collect a P.B. on the local mountain Goats this year also, Rory nailed the white Billy at an extended range to claim the 114 1/8 DS sinker, the goat fell another further than distance the Billy was shot and the distance it took to succumb to the deadly broad head as the very step, and shale covered mountains the Billy made its uncontrolled decent to the valley floor, as we know gravity is a bugger, but the extra leg work defiantly didn’t worry Rory as he is one happy camper with a goat of this size from and area with high hunting pressure, well done mate, keep it up!

Mick Kernaghan and Wayne Anderson has rated there person best Fallow Bucks, both taken this year, Micks was a long shot but he scored one impressive scoring trophy with his Darton Compound at 40 odd metres, the big orange buck later was officially scored by Trevor Willis at 226 3/8 DS! And Ando’s P.B Fallow buck scored 187 taken with his trusty old recurve from, congratulations again to Wayne and Mick for taking such excellent trophies , well done!

Gene Mattson joined TT with a very fine Qld Red he took with his trusty recurve, it scored 212 DS, and is a real achievement to say the least, welcome Gene and congratulations!
Dan Smith rejoined TT with an awesome Red Stag taken in the Rut of 2008, the beast scored and very impressive 314 DS, defiantly a top trophy Dan, congratulations!

Paul Southwell has rated and another two Chital Stags from his home in QLD that scored 68 4/8 and 70 7/8 to keep his freezer full and helped keep his eye in and has taken another big Chital Stag, now Paul already has the TT number 1 and he might have broken his own record, but will have to wait and see when the score sheet arrives, really well done Paul, congratulations!

Two NEW Trophy Takers number 1’s have fallen!

The long standing Chital number 1 of Mark Ballard’s has been broken by Paul Southwell, the excellent Stag fell to one arrow out of Paul trust old Hoyt, and after some very nervous searching in long grass they managed to locate the downed stag, which later was officially scored at 181 6/8 DS, congratulations Paul a truly awesome effort!

Well to say there was some big Fallow bucks taken this year was an understatement, the record stood for 10 years, before it was broken, and we thought that Pete’s record would stand a little longer than a month but that’s Murphy law for you! Jason Robinson on the 20th of April 2008 has taken one of the biggest Fallow bucks ever, and we mean ever, the monster scored 265 1/8 DS, and too rub salt into it a little, Peter M had the honour of scoring it, and he wished he had his hacksaw close by when Jason would dip out for a smoke brake, as Pete tallied up the massive totals on this truly massive trophy of life time! It was latter checked by Mark Southwell and now is the new TT number 1 Fallow buck that we all think we be there for some time!
Congratulations Jason!

Now defiantly not to be left out, we have our very dedicated deer hunters Andrew Morrow and Danny Bajt they got into the Fallow again this year, and Danny managed to put don two very respectable Bucks which scored 186 7/8 and 185 3/8 DS, well done Danny! But its Andrew who deserves a big pat on the back as he reached a personal milestone, taking one of the biggest Fallow bucks this season, the big fella fell to one arrow form Andrew’s trusty Mathews, but Andrew didn’t really know how good it was as the shot was taken though heavy scrub and the true size of the trophy was not realized until he approached the downed buck, and he was impressed! It was scored by Mark Southwell and Pete Morphett, again and it scored a very impressive 235 4/8 DS!
Congratulations Andrew an awesome trophy indeed!

Pedro Lever got amongst the Fallow Bucks this season too and made his mark, and he kicked of with a very nice 168 3/8 DS and a 140 DS model but managed to bring home a very good buck by seasons end that scored 212 4/8 DS, very good effort mate, also his travelling companion Ben Cambers also downed a very fine Buck while backpack hunting with Pedro, it lather scored 202 6/8 DS, congratulations guys really well done on your top trophies!

Rory Smith had a very good year hunting Fallow Bucks around his home also, Rory put it all together this year to take his first buck, which scored a very respectable 187 DS, and he didn’t stop there he also took two more nice bucks to improve on his ever growing skills with his bow, these two confidence builders also scored a very nice 172 1/8 DS and 158 4/8 DS, also he also managed down a good Fox while chasing Fallow around, it later scored 9 9/16 DS and is another personal best for him, very well done mate, excellent stuff and congratulations Rory!

Continuing on the fallow season, the boys headed to the hills again to go after some very elusive Red Stags and Bucks and Billies and Boars, the Southwell brothers had Jarrod Vyner in toe this year, as they slogged there way up over a many a mountain this Easter they scored some impressive trophies, so read on!

To start the ball rolling, Jarrod took a PB Billy of 118 5/8 DS followed closely by Mark as he dispatched a very nice 109 DS mountain Billy while scouting for Reds, and as the trip progress and no luck on the Reds, but the Fallow rut had heated up, the boys got amongst the rutting bucks, Jarrod again was first off the mark taking a very impressive old buck that may have been going backwards, a missing Trez tine robbed it of its potential higher score, but the stronger side deservers a mention of a potential score of 259 DS might have been on the cards if this massive Buck was a little more symmetrical, but it still scored a very impressive 222 7/8 DS, congratulations Jarrod!

Mark and Paul Southwell had there ups and downs for the trip but managed to take some very good trophies heads in the end, on various days flogging themselves around those big hills! Mark took a good Buck which scored 198 1/8 DS and in the end Paul managed another top head that scored 213 4/8 DS to finish the trip, congratulations guys an awesome effort, with more top footage taken for the next episode of Big Maxy Productions Hunting with the Boys to air some time this year!

As we know Pete Morphett got of the a record braking start to the season, and when the rut finally rolled around Pete managed to take another two very impressive local bucks through the rut, the first was dispatched at a mere 10 metres, in the pre rut as he was being beaten up a bigger buck that Pete couldn’t not get a clean shot at, it scored 216 DS, excellent Buck! Now Pete managed to track down that bigger buck down some 2 weeks later an fooled the big fella with a trade mark doe call, and pulled the big buck into a mere 4 metres before dispatching him, this impressive buck later scored 224 DS, congratulations Pete what an awesome season!

Tom Baxter managed to down a very good Fox and Billy with his trusty recurve recently, the Fox scored 10 DS and the Billy went 97 1/8 DS, excellent effort mate with your traditional gear, congratulations Tom!

Now last but defiantly not least, Sylvia Szabo as we know is one very keen female bowhunter and she has now shown up allot of the boys by taking a simply awesome Billy that would be the one of the biggest ever taken by a female bowhunter in this country and for a Trophy Takers member, the big stinker scored 126 6/8 DS, what a true achievement Sylvia, congratulations!

The annual Trophy Takers Awards for 2008 will be held at the Gladstone Bowhunters club in Gladstone Queensland, on the June long weekend (7th - 9th June 2008)
(see enclosed map for details).

This year’s awards have been brought forward to June, as these dates also coincide with the10th Australian Longbow and recurve Muster held at the Gladstone Bowhunters Lake Awoonga Range.

This is an exiting opportunity for Trophy Takers to showcase our past years ratings and the photographic and trophy display skills of our members, to a number of non-members attending the muster.

New TT number 1 Fallow taken!
Peter Morphett has taken a massive Fallow Buck while hunting in Vic with fellow T.T. member Trevor Willis, the Buck was dispatched from 48metres while bedded with one deadly broad head from Pete’s Tribute! Trevor, an accredited ADA scorer, later measured the buck at 238 3/8 DS, which beats the previous TT No.1 buck taken by Tony Iles back in 1998, scoring 229 DS.
Pete, as he has put in plenty of hours over the years to find a trophy like this, congratulations Pete, a trophy of a life time!

Continuing of the Fallow front, Andrew Morrow got off to a flyer also by taking a 207 DS Fallow buck very early in the season! As we all know Andrew is a this super keen deer hunter and he will no doubt will be out to improve on last year top season, very well done Mozza!

Casey McCallum has been amongst it, as always, but this time with a bit of an Exotic trophy in mind, the ships of the desert where on his list, Casey managed to put down 2 massive Camels Bulls, with his 80lb Tribute, they scored 29 5/16 and 28 13/16 DS, well done Casey!

As all bowhunters would agree a Billy of over 130DS is a true trophy that all bowhunters would like to achieve, and in this day and age it is an ever increasing challenge to locate and secure a Goat of this magnitude, well Steven Nowlan has now shot 3 over this mark with his PSE, and he also manged a 111 6/8 Billy to go with it, now that’s impressive!
Congratulations Steven on an awesome 131 DS Billy!

Graham Cash the owner of Bowhunitng Down Under magazine has rated some quality game from over many a season with TT. His skill an knowledge of Qld Reds is obvious with many stags taken and rated by Cashy, they range from 128 to 182 DS with a massive Red taken from a N.Z. game ranch, which has the number 1 spot in re-introduced Closed Range section in TT.
Also he rated a very good Fallow Buck from 2006 that scored 210 3/8 DS, and a 23 4/8 DS Boar taken from some time ago, congratulations on all these awesome trophies Cashy!

Well last but not least T.T. has several new members to announce, Daniel Hill joined the ranks with fine 90 DS Billy, Paul Thomson joined with a fine 23 6/8 DS Boar taken with his recurve, well done!

And Ron McCrath and Mark Bates joined with goats scoring 95 2/8 and 33 respectfully.

Welcome to TT guys look forward to seeing you in future ratings, and again welcome to Trophy Takers!

Well it’s been a long time since we have had a Buffalo rated; well the last one was 1996! And our resident bullfighter, El-Matador Pedro Lever has walked away from this one, yeah true no Flying Doctors needed, looks like the awesome BowTech he used this time the stop the massive beast saved him from all those expensive hospital bills!

So no running of the bull impersonations this year, the bull scored 86 4/8 DS making it Pedro’s best Buff to date, congratulations Pedro!

On a recent mountain hunting trip (he’s normally on the flat stuff!) Pedro Lever has taken a PB Billy of 131 1/8 DS, and 25 4/8 Boar, not too far behind was Sylvia Szabo, she managed to knock over a few Billies and Boars also with her PB Boar of 24 6/8 DS, and she improved her PB Billy which scored 103 1/8 DS!

Plus a swag of other goats have fallen to them from the flat country since the TT awards, ranging from 116 to 95 DS, Congratulations Pedro and Sylvia!

We have two new TT members there names are Matt Daniel and Tom Baxter, they joined TT with two good Boars, Matts went 29 4/8 DS, and Tom’s scored 24 4/8 DS, well done guys and welcome to Trophy Takers!

Jason Robinson had a real busy year in 06, and has rated a very fine Chital Stag of 151 1/8 DS, also two good boars, 26 6/8 and 28 DS, and not bad Billy that went close to the 100 DS, mark, Congratulations Jason!

Also Paul Southwell might have taken the Number 1 Chital for TT we will find out over Easter when it is officially scored!

Note: All the TT Game Score Rating forms have been updated and changed; this includes ratings forms for Closed Range Trophies, Please update your forms when necessary and use the correct form for the appropriate section.

Also the Rules of Fair Chase Page has been updated with the current information on self measured heads (TT won’t accept self measured heads) and the details on the conditions of the re-introduced Closed Range section into TT

To welcome in the 2008 season Pedro Lever and new TT member Sylvia Szabo had headed to the Cape and took some very good hogs. Pedro managed a nice 29 DS boar while his partner managed her first few good hogs and rated her best which went 22 DS, so welcome to TT Sylvia and well done guys, and gals!

Also Pedro rated some of his best trophies from quite some time ago, with many trophy Billies ranging from 114 to 120 DS and an exotic Camel, and a very good Cat and Fox!

Also Peter Morphett managed to down his first Chital Stag, while on a northern trip, he didn’t miss the mark at the extended range on the 33inch Stag but unfortunately he was missing an Inner Tine that would have seen the Stag slip straight into the number 3 spot with ease, but them the bakes so to speak, but he still scored a respectable 131 4/8 DS, well Done!