Archery Business Jan-Feb 2012
BETTER BOWHUNTING CONTESTS it up he said Our digital scale weighs it to within a tenth of a pound We record the deers sex and weight and then lower it back into the truck Weaver and Brunett said their stores use a simple antler scoring system to score contestants bucks They agree its too timeconsuming and complicated to score bucks using the Pope and Young Clubs measuring guidelines In addition Weaver uses a big game needle scale with 2 pound increlengths Streiff Sporting Goods Manager Nick Marvin emphasizes the importance of clear simple rules and enforcing them fairly 32 archeryBUSINESS January February 2012 Most all shops polled recognized the need to keep contest scoring systems simple to save time and promote fairness Bay Archery adds up a bucks inside spread in inches and awards one point for each antler point exceeding one inch in length So a 10 point buck with an 18 inch inside spread would score 28 We like to keep things fast and easy for registration he said To weigh fish Clanahan prefers an old fashioned balance beam scale with a weighing platform Weaver uses the same big game needle scale he uses for does and turkeys and hangs the fish from a 2 by 6 board with rubberized hooks The rig weighs about 8 or 9 pounds but he zeroes the scale to ensure it weighs only the fishs actual poundage We used to weigh every single fish with our Easton electronic scale but that took forever Weaver said When you have 80 registered bowhunters and lots of smelly fish waiting around in 80 degree temperatures you want to process them as fast as you can Thwarting Cheaters Unfortunately no matter how fair and consistent you make a bowhunting or bowfishing contest youll eventually deal with cheating and cheaters Mark Land Muzzy Products director of bowfishing promotions suggests pro shops follow guidelines developed by national groups like the Bowfishing Association of America a regional group like the Mid America Bowfishing Organization or a state group like the Land of Lakes Bowfishing Association in Minnesota We follow the BAA rules for the Muzzy Classic because most of our guys are familiar with them already Land said Most contestants do a pretty good job policing themselves We also keep a polygraph on standby should the need arise Most shops probably cant justify that option but its important for contestants to know you wont tolerate cheating and that youll investigate reports of cheating Weaver said he learned the hard way that a tournaments format can affect whether people cheat His first bowfishing tourna ments to weigh in does which must have all entrails removed Its all about consistency Weaver said As long as you use the same system and equipment for each deer everyone realizes its fair To score bucks Weaver adds up the racks inside and outside antler spreads adds in its total number of tines and then adds the measurement from the antlers peak height from its head I take a straight edge off the top two tines generally the G2s and measure down from there he explained Id estimate our top bucks here in Pennsylvania would score in the 90s to 130s in Pope and Young but thats more detail than you need for an archery store contest Bay Archery uses a similar scoring system Brunett said they add the bucks inside spread in inches and then award a point for each antler point exceeding one inch in length For example a 10 point buck with an 18 inch inside spread would score 28 in the contest For scoring turkeys Paducah Shooters Supply uses the National Wild Turkey Federations scoring system because its not overly complicated Clanahan said The NWTF system adds the birds undressed weight both spur measurements multiplied by 10 and beard length multiplied by 2 Weaver simplifies that system further by just adding the turkeys undressed weight the beards longest strand and both spur
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
