Today marks the start of the Boone and Crockett Club’s 27th Annual Big Game Awards, held June 24 to 26 in Reno, Nevada.  This free triennial public exhibition celebrates the role hunting plays in conservation and features some of the finest North American big game ever taken by hunters. The top five trophies from 36 categories of North American big game entered into the Boone and Crockett books over the past three years are invited to the exhibition; one hundred of them are expected to be on display this year.

We’re guessing most of you won’t be able to reach Reno on short notice, so we’ve set up a slide show of all the animals included in the exhibition for which field photos could be found. We've matched these photos with tips for how to judge the animals in the field. For more information about the Big Game Awards exhibition, go to www.biggameawards.com.