Well the 15th of February has come and gone signaling the end to another awesome Saddlehunter.com hunting contest. First of all I want to thank @redsquirrel for putting this contest on again this year and letting me keep score. I really enjoy following along and sharing in everyone’s success. Thanks also to all of you who participated again this year. I do believe the contest builds a sense of camaraderie among the members as well as showing us how our own hunting challenges compare to the challenges incurred by others in different parts of the country. This contest has been compared to a virtual hunting camp and I really feel that vibe in the shared experiences, both success and failures, heartfelt congratulations and good natured ribbing, just like we would experience in person in a camp full of life long friends.
First of all, congratulations to all the successful contestants this year. Once again we had a really productive 2023 season with 142 deer posted to the contest (77 bucks and 65 antlerless) by 143 participants. We had some real nice bucks taken from the saddle this year. There was one each 14, 13 and 12 pointers, two 11 pointers, four 10 pointers, twelve 9 pointers and twenty-six 8 pointers included in this year’s take. I think that skews the buck harvest towards one of the better years in the contest’s history. Of course I can’t pass up the opportunity to get in good with the boss by pointing out the fact, in case you missed it, our own @redsquirrel managed to take two 10 points himself, his first 10’s in his hunting career. I think this is the root cause of him posting the “My challenge to you thread”. His taxidermy bill was so big this year that Mrs. Redsquirrel has probably restricted his spending on new gear so he’s trying to share the pain with the rest of us!
Just kidding of course . . . Congrats to him.
Now onto the team results:
Third Place goes to Team 4 with a score of 129 points. They took 16 deer among them (9 bucks and 7 antlerless). Really solid effort by that team.
Second Place is Team 7 racking up a score of 138 points. It felt to me like they led the way most of the season. Their take was also 16 deer (10 bucks and 6 antlerless).
And the 2023 season winner is Team 11! They managed an impressive 145 points taking the final lead late in the season and holding off the competition the rest of the way. Among them they took 17 deer (10 bucks and 7 antlerless). The true killers of 2023 are @Boomah21, @CZMark, @Just_Hangin_N_GA, @gcr0003, @Kuk09, @dramsey25, @Vorsteg, @Will Harris, @EricS, @PEEJAY, @Seekbigger, @Birddoggin19 and @GCTerpfan. For future reference you will want to be on either @EricS or @GCTerpfan teams. This is @GCTerpfan ’s third time on the winning team (2023, 2021 and 2019) and it is @EricS ’s unbelievable fifth time on the winning team (2023, 2022, 2019, 2018 and 2017) . . . what a run! Congrats again guys!
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone here for their participation and adherence to the rules. One of the hardest part of this contest for me is when entries need to be disqualified due to the lack of saddle in the photo. Unfortunately it happens more than most of you know. I understand it can be difficult to remember in the heat of the moment and I truly understand. However, this year, for the first time ever I can't recall a single instance where an entry needed to be disqualified for this reason. Outstanding job and a sincere Thank You from me to you all.
Speaking for everyone here, Thanks again @redsquirrel for hosting the contest! We certainly couldn’t do this without you and we really appreciate the opportunity to interact with each other and share in our virtual hunting camp. I know I personally look forward to it every year. As always I'm already looking forward to 2024's contest.
Have a great offseason everyone! Be safe and get ready for 2024!
Final Scores:
Breakdown of Deer Taken:
First of all, congratulations to all the successful contestants this year. Once again we had a really productive 2023 season with 142 deer posted to the contest (77 bucks and 65 antlerless) by 143 participants. We had some real nice bucks taken from the saddle this year. There was one each 14, 13 and 12 pointers, two 11 pointers, four 10 pointers, twelve 9 pointers and twenty-six 8 pointers included in this year’s take. I think that skews the buck harvest towards one of the better years in the contest’s history. Of course I can’t pass up the opportunity to get in good with the boss by pointing out the fact, in case you missed it, our own @redsquirrel managed to take two 10 points himself, his first 10’s in his hunting career. I think this is the root cause of him posting the “My challenge to you thread”. His taxidermy bill was so big this year that Mrs. Redsquirrel has probably restricted his spending on new gear so he’s trying to share the pain with the rest of us!
Just kidding of course . . . Congrats to him.Now onto the team results:
Third Place goes to Team 4 with a score of 129 points. They took 16 deer among them (9 bucks and 7 antlerless). Really solid effort by that team.
Second Place is Team 7 racking up a score of 138 points. It felt to me like they led the way most of the season. Their take was also 16 deer (10 bucks and 6 antlerless).
And the 2023 season winner is Team 11! They managed an impressive 145 points taking the final lead late in the season and holding off the competition the rest of the way. Among them they took 17 deer (10 bucks and 7 antlerless). The true killers of 2023 are @Boomah21, @CZMark, @Just_Hangin_N_GA, @gcr0003, @Kuk09, @dramsey25, @Vorsteg, @Will Harris, @EricS, @PEEJAY, @Seekbigger, @Birddoggin19 and @GCTerpfan. For future reference you will want to be on either @EricS or @GCTerpfan teams. This is @GCTerpfan ’s third time on the winning team (2023, 2021 and 2019) and it is @EricS ’s unbelievable fifth time on the winning team (2023, 2022, 2019, 2018 and 2017) . . . what a run! Congrats again guys!
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone here for their participation and adherence to the rules. One of the hardest part of this contest for me is when entries need to be disqualified due to the lack of saddle in the photo. Unfortunately it happens more than most of you know. I understand it can be difficult to remember in the heat of the moment and I truly understand. However, this year, for the first time ever I can't recall a single instance where an entry needed to be disqualified for this reason. Outstanding job and a sincere Thank You from me to you all.
Speaking for everyone here, Thanks again @redsquirrel for hosting the contest! We certainly couldn’t do this without you and we really appreciate the opportunity to interact with each other and share in our virtual hunting camp. I know I personally look forward to it every year. As always I'm already looking forward to 2024's contest.
Have a great offseason everyone! Be safe and get ready for 2024!
Final Scores:
Breakdown of Deer Taken:
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