PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THE CONTEST: This contest is free and anyone can sign up to be on a team. There will be a post count restriction of 25 or more posts required before you enter. This is to help reduce the number of people that sign-up for the Contest and are never heard from again. The initial sign-up period will end on or near Monday August 15[SUP]th[/SUP] and teams will be picked. The number of teams and people per team will be based on the total number of participants. Each team will then be allowed to have their own separate team thread where members can chat back and forth about their seasons, vote for a Team Captain, and of course talk smack to other teams. The winning team from last year will return to defend their title for the second year in a row and do not need to sign up (Team 20, Lung Busters). Once the Teams are assigned, each member will have two weeks to make a post signing-in to their respective Team’s thread. After the two week mark (on or around Sept 1[SUP]st[/SUP]), any member that hasn’t checked in can be replaced with an alternate at the Captain’s discretion. Once the call is made for a replacement, it cannot be undone. Teams will be finalized by the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] of September. There will be no replacements issued after that date. The official scorecard thread will be posted as soon as teams are drawn. When you kill a deer you are expected to post your photos, score, and other information in that thread. The scorecard will be updated by a staff member as we have time, typically once every couple weeks. The Contest will officially begin on September 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and run through January 31[SUP]st[/SUP]. If you shoot a deer before the contest officially starts, you will be allowed to post it once you have been assigned to a team. I understand that some seasons run longer, but for the sake of keeping people interested we're going to end it January 31st. At that time the winning team will be announced. They'll have bragging rights for the next 12 months and prize package from Bowhunting.com. Scoring system will be as follows: Each participant is allowed to enter ONE antlered deer as their “Buck Score”. This must be the FIRST antlered deer that you harvest during the season. Score will be based on GROSS total score using the P&Y scoring system. All measurements must be listed at time when score is posted. If anyone has any problems with scoring, please ask for help first. Mule Deer and Blacktail deer will not have a multiplier for the inches of antler that the animal scores. Whatever the gross score is will count as your final score. Each participant is also allowed to enter ONE “Bonus Deer” as well. Antlerless deer, regardless of size, will count as 50 points.A second buck can be entered in place of a doe as your “Bonus Deer” counting for the 50 points. *Remember, you’re first antlered deer must be used as your “Buck Score”, your second antlered deer will be worth only 50 points, even if it’s bigger than your first. Rules for entry: 1. All deer entered into this contest must be harvested legally within the laws and regulations of the state or province in which it was harvested. This contest is only for fun so please, don't break the law. 2. All deer entered into this contest must be harvested with archery equipment only. After all, this is Bowhunting.com. This includes compound bows, traditional equipment, or crossbows. This also means you can't shoot a deer with a gun and enter it into this contest. 3. All entries must be accompanied by a minimum of TWO (2) photos of the hunter with the deer and your archery equipment in the picture. If you can manage to take one picture, you can also manage to move 4 feet to the side and take another one. It's not that hard. There will be NO exceptions to this rule. Two photos with hunter, deer, and bow in photo or it won't count. If you submit a deer without two photos, it will not count. Consider this your warning. This goes for both does as well as bucks. 3a. If you harvest the deer on film and can provide footage of you shooting the animal along with post-recovery footage including hunting, animal, and bow, that will suffice in place of two photos. Footage must be posted online for everyone to see. 4. Along with your photo (or video) you must post the date and time in which the deer was shot. 5. If possible, provide a list of the following information along with your harvest photos. We want to know what kind of gear everyone is using. This is optional. If you don't list your equipment, your deer will still count. Bow Make/Model Broadhead Make/Model/Weight Arrow Make/Model Rest Make/Model 6. Above all else, have fun! Don't change the way you hunt for a contest, no matter where it is. If you see a deer that you want to shoot that is going to make you happy then by all means shoot it. Don't worry about what people will think. We're all bowhunters and we should all support each other's decisions on what type of animals we choose to harvest, regardless of size or age. 7. If a buck's rack scores less than 50 points, a minimum score of 50 will be applied. This is known as the "Fergie Clause". This does NOT apply to button bucks. The buck must be a legally "antlered" deer in your state and have a scorable rack. 8. Post your photos and information in the scorecard as soon as you can. Holding back entries until later in the competition will no longer be allowed, especially now that people can shoot a second antlered deer. I understand that many hunters cannot post pics from camp, but be sure to get them entered when you get home. Anyone caught sandbagging their first buck in hopes of shooting and scoring a larger one, will be banned from the competition and future Bowhunting.com Contests. Remember, this contest is for fun. Part of that fun is the interaction you have with your teammates. Try to be active in your teams thread. Your teammates want to hear from you. Here the sign-up thread (Linked here). If anyone has any questions or concerns about the rules or scoring please post them here, pm me or another staff member or you can e-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll gladly assist you! Thanks everyone! Fitz
Fitz, are you able to move our thread from last years contest over to this one so we can just continue on it? or do we need to make a new one?
Hey Fitz, quick question. This October I'll be doing some Sika deer hunting on the eastern shore. These deer(actually tiny elk) are native of Japan but are free ranging on the eastern shore of MD and VA. A monster Sika is very small, and a good stag is still around the Fergie class range. If I happen to put a tag on one in October will I be required to use it as my buck score or can I hold off and use a whitetail buck later in the year? Reason I ask is if I kill a whitetail buck before my trip I won't have a stag tag but if I shoot a stag I will have a bonus tag to use on a whitetail buck. Either way is fine by me just thought I'd ask now rather than in the middle of the contest.
We've entered sitka before. It'll count as your buck, but you can still get the 50 bonus points if you get a whitetail buck after that (or vice-versa).
Fitz I just want to say good job again for your hard work buddy! I hope you have a great season. I also hope to do the same and get a buck with my bow instead of the gun. Bow bucks just don't seem to be my favor any more since I lost my honey hole.
No problem. Just wanted to make sure that if I shoot one it doesn't have to be entered in as my buck.
