Annual Deer Hunting Classic offers big prizes
By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
Area deer hunters will soon have the opportunity to bag some big prizes, including $1,200 in cash and a world-class Canadian elk hunt.
That and more will be up for grabs at the third annual North Alabama Deer Hunting Classic on January 6.
Elliott's Branch Pavilion on Little Bear Creek Dam will serve as the main hub for the day's activities as well as one of two weighing stations, along with Shoals Outdoor Sports in Tuscumbia.
Dr. Warren Strickland, a professional hunter featured on the Bass Pro Shops hunting show, will be the special guest.
Food, including homemade chili, Louisiana-style cajun food, and grilled hamburgers, will be served all day long at the Pavilion, with the cooking getting underway around 10 a.m.
The most successful hunters of the day will leave with far more than full stomachs, however. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in each of three categories.
In the Biggest Buck category, first place will receive $1,200 cash and a world-class Canadian elk hunt, airfare and hunting license not included.
Second place wins a deer head mount, a tree stand and a skinning knife, and third place will receive a lock-on tree stand, a $100 gift certificate to Shoals Outdoor Sports, and a skinning knife.
The bucks must be field-dressed and will be scored according to weight and number of points. The points must be at least one inch long to count, and they will be worth 10 points each. That total will be added to the weight to obtain a final score.
In the Biggest Doe category, the first-place hunter will receive $1,200 and a wild boar hunt in Louisiana.
Second place wins a deer hunt to White Tail Acres, a tree stand and a skinning knife, and third place will take home a lock-on tree stand, a $100 gift certificate to Shoals Outdoor Sports, and a skinning knife.
Does must be field-dressed and will be scored according to weight.
In the third and final category, Buck-Doe Combo, first place will receive $1,200 and a three-day bow-hunting trip to Kentucky.
Second place wins a deer head mount, a tree stand and a skinning knife, and third place will receive a lock-on tree stand, a $100 gift certificate to Shoals Outdoor Sports, and a skinning knife.
Scoring for bucks and does will be tabulated separately as previously stipulated and then added together for a final total.
Hunters must have their deer at either of the two weighing stations (Elliott's Branch Pavilion or Shoals Outdoor Sports) by 8:30 p.m. to qualify. Weighing will begin at 7 a.m., and all deer registered at either of the two stations by 8:30 p.m. will be weighed. No deer brought in after 8:30 p.m. will be weighed.
In the event of a tie score, the deer that was weighed first will be declared the winner.
Tickets for the hunt cost $50 and would make an excellent Christmas gift for the hunter in your family. For more information or to purchase a ticket, call Quinn's Ranch in Red Bay at 356-8900, Byron Duncan at 412-7620, or Dexter Ezzell at 356-8766.
