Legal battle decides fate of record trophy
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MuleyMadness
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Legal battle decides fate of record trophy
Bob Scammell
Going. . . going. . . gone!
That is where what many hunters say is North America's finest big game trophy could be headed as a result of a recent Alberta Court of Queen's Bench decision handed down in Edmonton on March 19.
The Broder Buck, since 1960, when it was first scored and entered in the Boone and Crockett Club's Records of North American Big Game, has reigned as the world record non-typical mule deer, scoring 355 2/8's inches of antler; a full 16 inches more than the No. 2 non-typical, which was taken around 1890 in the Okanagan region in British Columbia.
Had its owner, Ed Broder, seen fit to enter his trophy as soon as eligible after he shot it near Chip Lake in 1926, it would have been No. 1 since 1927.
In its latest edition of the book, the 11th edition of 1999, Boone and Crockett calls the Broder buck "perhaps one of the most outstanding trophies ever recorded."
Past columns have noted that the Broder Buck seemed to be missing, then a whole column dealt with a court case among the descendants of Ed Broder for, among other things, the return to the estate of the mount of the amazing buck.
Ed Broder died intestate (without leaving a will) in December 1998.
On March 19, Mme. Justice Myra Bielby handed down her decision settling the long, bitter lawsuit over ownership of the mount of the buck taken in 1926 near Chip Lake, Alberta by Ed Broder, father and grandfather of the litigants.
Justice Bielby decided the head belonged to the Broder estate, rather than the eldest son, Don Broder, who had removed the head from the family home in 1973 and retained it, making various efforts at publicizing it, and marketing photos, tee shirts and replicas of it.
Within a month of the trial an alleged holograph will (must be all in the handwriting of, and be signed by, the testator) was produced, stating, "I give all my personal belongings to my son Don Broder to divide up as he sees fit. Ed Broder."
The evidence was that Ed Broder had at most a grade 2 education and a very limited ability to write. Nobody in the family, including Don Broder, was willing to swear the alleged will was in the handwriting of the deceased.
A handwriting expert was 80 per cent certain that the signature was not that of Ed Broder.
Justice Bielby, not impressed with the sudden appearance of an alleged will in a lawsuit that had been going on for six years, rejected the purported will: "all the evidence supports the conclusion that it is highly likely that the document was not created by, or at the direction of Ed Broder."
The words of Justice Bielby that chill this prideful Alberta mule deer hunter are these:
"I order that the Personal Representatives of the Estate of Ed Broder are to return for directions in relation to the mode of sale of the trophy within 30 days of receipt of the judgment. . .
Steps are to be taken to sell the trophy forthwith, which may include sale by local auction, unless a better proposal is advanced by any party. . . "
This superb big game trophy will probably depart Alberta, where it was taken and kept for 78 years, and go onto the wall or into the vault of some rich, foreign born collector.
The curious will at last learn what a priceless trophy like this will bring on the open market.
But Ed Broder, a man of very modest means, never considered selling his most cherished and valuable possession during his lifetime, relatives have told me, but said it should be sold and the proceeds divided among the family after he was gone.
Poignant details emerge from the judgment:
"Aside from the trophy which had hung on the wall of the family home since it had been built in the 1940's, his estate primarily consisted of an old Model T car, chaps and a saddle, some firearms and miscellaneous small personal effects."
Hunters who dote on the story of the hunt for, and the taking of, the great buck will be wondering whether the Model T is the very one that took Ed Broder and hunting companion Philip Mohr most of the way in from Edmonton to their hunting camp back in 1926 and whether "some firearms" includes the 32 Winchester Special with which Broder shot the buck at 200 yards after tracking it for hours in a foot of soft snow in those boreal jungles in and around Chip Lake.
Boone and Crockett quotes Ed Broder, probably from around 1960 when the head was officially scored: "I started hunting in the year 1909 and have never missed a season since; I am now 72 and in fair health and who can tell, I may yet beat my old 1926 record!"
He did not live long enough to do that; it is doubtful anyone ever will. But it is a mercy he also did not live long enough to witness the family dispute over his trophy, plus simple justice that nobody can ever sell out the real trophy: his own story of his wonderful 1926 hunt.
Bob Scammell is a Red Deer lawyer and an award-winning outdoors freelance writer.
Going. . . going. . . gone!
That is where what many hunters say is North America's finest big game trophy could be headed as a result of a recent Alberta Court of Queen's Bench decision handed down in Edmonton on March 19.
The Broder Buck, since 1960, when it was first scored and entered in the Boone and Crockett Club's Records of North American Big Game, has reigned as the world record non-typical mule deer, scoring 355 2/8's inches of antler; a full 16 inches more than the No. 2 non-typical, which was taken around 1890 in the Okanagan region in British Columbia.
Had its owner, Ed Broder, seen fit to enter his trophy as soon as eligible after he shot it near Chip Lake in 1926, it would have been No. 1 since 1927.
In its latest edition of the book, the 11th edition of 1999, Boone and Crockett calls the Broder buck "perhaps one of the most outstanding trophies ever recorded."
Past columns have noted that the Broder Buck seemed to be missing, then a whole column dealt with a court case among the descendants of Ed Broder for, among other things, the return to the estate of the mount of the amazing buck.
Ed Broder died intestate (without leaving a will) in December 1998.
On March 19, Mme. Justice Myra Bielby handed down her decision settling the long, bitter lawsuit over ownership of the mount of the buck taken in 1926 near Chip Lake, Alberta by Ed Broder, father and grandfather of the litigants.
Justice Bielby decided the head belonged to the Broder estate, rather than the eldest son, Don Broder, who had removed the head from the family home in 1973 and retained it, making various efforts at publicizing it, and marketing photos, tee shirts and replicas of it.
Within a month of the trial an alleged holograph will (must be all in the handwriting of, and be signed by, the testator) was produced, stating, "I give all my personal belongings to my son Don Broder to divide up as he sees fit. Ed Broder."
The evidence was that Ed Broder had at most a grade 2 education and a very limited ability to write. Nobody in the family, including Don Broder, was willing to swear the alleged will was in the handwriting of the deceased.
A handwriting expert was 80 per cent certain that the signature was not that of Ed Broder.
Justice Bielby, not impressed with the sudden appearance of an alleged will in a lawsuit that had been going on for six years, rejected the purported will: "all the evidence supports the conclusion that it is highly likely that the document was not created by, or at the direction of Ed Broder."
The words of Justice Bielby that chill this prideful Alberta mule deer hunter are these:
"I order that the Personal Representatives of the Estate of Ed Broder are to return for directions in relation to the mode of sale of the trophy within 30 days of receipt of the judgment. . .
Steps are to be taken to sell the trophy forthwith, which may include sale by local auction, unless a better proposal is advanced by any party. . . "
This superb big game trophy will probably depart Alberta, where it was taken and kept for 78 years, and go onto the wall or into the vault of some rich, foreign born collector.
The curious will at last learn what a priceless trophy like this will bring on the open market.
But Ed Broder, a man of very modest means, never considered selling his most cherished and valuable possession during his lifetime, relatives have told me, but said it should be sold and the proceeds divided among the family after he was gone.
Poignant details emerge from the judgment:
"Aside from the trophy which had hung on the wall of the family home since it had been built in the 1940's, his estate primarily consisted of an old Model T car, chaps and a saddle, some firearms and miscellaneous small personal effects."
Hunters who dote on the story of the hunt for, and the taking of, the great buck will be wondering whether the Model T is the very one that took Ed Broder and hunting companion Philip Mohr most of the way in from Edmonton to their hunting camp back in 1926 and whether "some firearms" includes the 32 Winchester Special with which Broder shot the buck at 200 yards after tracking it for hours in a foot of soft snow in those boreal jungles in and around Chip Lake.
Boone and Crockett quotes Ed Broder, probably from around 1960 when the head was officially scored: "I started hunting in the year 1909 and have never missed a season since; I am now 72 and in fair health and who can tell, I may yet beat my old 1926 record!"
He did not live long enough to do that; it is doubtful anyone ever will. But it is a mercy he also did not live long enough to witness the family dispute over his trophy, plus simple justice that nobody can ever sell out the real trophy: his own story of his wonderful 1926 hunt.
Bob Scammell is a Red Deer lawyer and an award-winning outdoors freelance writer.
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MuleyMadness
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I read this somewhere else on the web also. Seems old man Broder has hidden this trophy pretty well. What would really be a shame is if he passes on, which from the sounds of things may not be far off, and never discloses the hiding spot it could be lost forever!
If I remember the story behind this buck, the mount was lost once before for quite some time was it not (The man asked to mount it ended up closing shop and moving without letting the Senior Broder know)?
If I remember the story behind this buck, the mount was lost once before for quite some time was it not (The man asked to mount it ended up closing shop and moving without letting the Senior Broder know)?
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MuleyMadness
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update
To bring you up to date, the trophy has been located. It was purchased by a Montana resident for $171,000 US, who has agreed to return the trophy to the Broder estate.
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WYMULEYMAN
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this is what i was writing about in my post that i started two days ago. it is a sad, sad, thing to have happen to this amazing creature. although, the man that purchased the head seems to be a good sport about the whole thing and return the head to the broder estate. however, if you read the whole story, the relatives of mr. ed broder were a bunch of money starved greedy basterds. and they all should be absolutely ashamed for the actions in which they took to return the head. just so that they could turn and sell it for even more money and divide the money among the remaining brothers and sister of ed broder. it is amazing what money will do to folks.
IT TAKES ALOT OF SACK TO BAG A BIG RACK
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longbow264
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longbow264
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Just an update on the story as I have been reading back through some of the older posts. There was a story on this buck a little while back in one of the outdoor magazines. The original individual who bought the buck and then returned it to the family by court order turned around and bought it. He ended up paying around $250,000 in the end. That may sound like quite a bit for the family, but after the lawyers fees each family member received in the neighboorhood of just a few thousand dollars each. Sad for the family, but in my humble opinion they got what they deserved. My greatest joy of the entire story is the rifle that took this monster buck. I, too, have a .32 Winchester Special. My mom bought the gun when she was 17 so she could hunt with her father. I'm not sure how many deer she took with it, but since I received it for my birthday when I turned 21, I have taken a few deer. No other gun that I own comes close to sentimental value and to know the world record muley was taken with the same rifle just bolsters my pride. I use it as my timber and backup rifle and get quite a few looks from those who don't know me. We all brag about the lastest and greatest rifles and rounds that are out today. But somehow, no one has yet to shoot a bigger buck with todays technology. If yesterdays technology worked back then, it still works today. I know.