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American Whitetail Authority: Hunting With a Camera?

thetruthaboutguns.com

Howdy Folks!  Today, I’m talking with David Fort, president of the American Whitetail Authority.  You know, there’s all sorts of tournaments, but the AWA tourney is unique.  It’s a whitetail competition series, but the unique aspect is that you’re hunting with a camera mounted on a gun.

Here’s the details: 

The Technological Difference

What sets the AWA Whitetail Pro Series apart from all other deer competitions is the use of technologically advanced digital scopes. These scopes give the AWA unprecedented flexibility to compete beyond state-mandated hunting seasons. When a competitor has a deer in his crosshairs and pulls the trigger, a digital image of what is seen through the scope is recorded. This image includes important information for judges to evaluate following the hunt, such as antler and body size, gender, age class and location of the cross hairs. Because blank cartridges are used no deer are harvested, but the realism of the hunt remains intact.

The Events

Two events, each with a field of 8 competitors, take place in different locations in Whitetail country. One day of scouting is followed by two days of competition that are divided into four quarters. All 8 participants will hunt the first three quarters of the competition. Following the third quarter, the 4 lowest scoring participants are eliminated with the 4 highest scorers advancing to hunt the fourth quarter and compete for the event title. At the end of the fourth quarter, competitors will be ranked according to their final, cumulative scores and an event champion will be crowned. The top 4 competitors from each of the four events will move on to compete in the AWA World Championship where the AWA World Champion will be crowned.

Scoring

Our scoring system rewards hunters who can consistently encounter and make clean shots on multiple, mature whitetail deer and reflect an ethical responsibility toward wildlife management. Gender, antler score, age class, and shot placement all factor in the scoring process. Firearm and hunter safety practices, sportsmanship and other aspects of hunter behavior could also have an impact on scoring. At the end of each day of competition, a contestant submits digital images of up to five different deer for the panel of three judges to evaluate and score. Competitors will then be ranked according to their cumulative daily scores.

Find out more about the American Whitetail Authority here.