A deer hunting tournament?
Competitive deer hunting?
Sounds like a crazy idea but Greg Koch of Broken Arrow, founder of the American Whitetail Authority, has a concept to make deer hunting much like competitive bass fishing.
His plan, which he calls the Whitetail Pro Series, is to find 40 of the best whitetail deer hunters and put them in four regional tournaments around the country.
The regionals would be held on hunting ranches or property that can accommodate 10 hunters each. Hunters would get to scout the land for two days then hunt for three days.
No deer would be killed. Each hunter would use a rifle that would fire blanks but be equipped with a special scope that would capture a digital image of the deer along with recording shot placement and distance.
The scope records a “virtual kill” that could be scored.
Judges would then determine the winner based on such things as antler size, maturity of the deer, shot placement, etc.
“As soon as you pull the trigger, it takes an image of what it is seeing through the scope,” said Brian Lynn, communications director for the American Whitetail Authority.
A championship tournament would be held in the fall, likely on a hunting ranch that Koch manages near Antlers, Lynn said.
Koch is on a tour of Bass Pro Shops around the country to promote the newly formed organization and the Whitetail Pro Series. He will visiting two dozen stores between now and the end of July.
On Tuesday, Koch will be in Bricktown at Bass Pro Shops to spread the word about the American Whitetail Authority and interview hunters who might be interested in competing. There is no entry fee. An undetermined cash prize will be awarded the winner.
Koch is expected to be at the Bricktown store from noon until 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
For more information, visit www.awapro.com. The Web site is still in production but hunters can sign up online now if they want to compete.
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What a waste of time. How do you improve on the real thing? This is laughable. Are our egos so out of check?