Red Rabbit Report post Posted April 28, 2011 Winners were recently announced and prizes are being shipped now. With the contest over, it is time to reflect and suggest. This year, it seemed that the number of entries was noticeably less than in past years. Might this be due to: *Dwindling interest? *The posting of bigger bucks in the contest entries thread kept one from entering a smaller buck? Perhaps not knowing what has been entered by not posting received entries may prevent this? Categories? Enough? Additional categories to suggest or ones to eliminate? Number of winners in each category? Did you like not having any pre-registration and just having to submit after the hunt? Feel free to post your comments here or send me a PM. Doug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
youngbuck Report post Posted April 28, 2011 I think the registration could have had something to do with it. In the past we would have to register. That makes a mental note for the guys who aren't CWTaholics; "Hey I had to sign up for that contest, I need to enter too." Maybe some guys thought they would automaticly be entered with a post. The only thing I can thing I can think of for catagories is the typical/non typical. That adds more catagories, but a couple NTs could blow everything out of proportion if those catagories were merged. I do think the archery/state/mexico hunts being seperated is a good thing. Some guys may feel they are at a dissadvantage if they are in the same catagory as guys who can go to Mexico. I also think it is a good thing the youths have plenty of catagories. There isn't very much pro-hunting influence on kids these days, so every bit helps. Maybe a topic consiting of buck entries only? Simple posts; no stories, just a picture, score and catagory. The only downside to that is everyone will easily be able to see what catagories are "already won". I think the same guys who regularly post here are pretty consistant with their entries. I would imagine the largest group of entries could come from guys who aren't regulars. I thought signing up instead of registering would increase those numbers though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhuntaz1 Report post Posted April 28, 2011 I did not enter because I MISSED the d@m deer!!!!!! It was all my fault. I guess I could have posted the trail cam pic of him and the story. Even if I was to shoot a dink deer, I would have entered. There were many options to enter, not just biggest deer. Hope to enter this year. Thank you CWT for what you do. James T. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernCouesHunter Report post Posted April 29, 2011 I did not enter because I MISSED the d@m deer!!!!!! It was all my fault. I guess I could have posted the trail cam pic of him and the story. Even if I was to shoot a dink deer, I would have entered. There were many options to enter, not just biggest deer. Hope to enter this year. Thank you CWT for what you do. James T. ^This. Missed the same deer two weekends in a row. Bow ended up blowing up on me and wasn't able to get back out for the closing weekend to get another shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted April 29, 2011 Doug- it would be interesting to see how the success rate of this year compared to last year throughout all coues unit and compare it to the percentages of people who harvested a deer this year verses last year (that enrolled in the contest) For me and some of my friends, we had a rough year, few deer taken overall, I also noticed some of the success rate in the regs being lower than the previous two years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted April 30, 2011 I think the change in the way we did registration was the main thing. People didn't have to pre-register so then it just seems like fewer people are involved because if they don't kill, they don't contact you. And maybe like elkhunter said, success rates were down. There are several people that usually submit something but they didn't get deer this year, so that leaves them out. what were the actual numbers of people who submitted photos/stories this year compared to last year? was one category down more than usual? Didn't we have more youth entries this year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted April 30, 2011 I think the change in the way we did registration was the main thing. People didn't have to pre-register so then it just seems like fewer people are involved because if they don't kill, they don't contact you. And maybe like elkhunter said, success rates were down. There are several people that usually submit something but they didn't get deer this year, so that leaves them out. +1 IMO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted April 30, 2011 In comparing 2008 to 2010 (2009 files were lost in a crash), only the youth entries increased- from 6 to 9, which is good to see. Archery entries went down from 10 to 7 Rifle entries went down from 33 to 23. Mexico entries went down from 9 to 4. About a 35% decrease of entries in adult categories. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted April 30, 2011 In comparing 2008 to 2010 (2009 files were lost in a crash), only the youth entries increased- from 6 to 9, which is good to see. Archery entries went down from 10 to 7 Rifle entries went down from 33 to 23. Mexico entries went down from 9 to 4. About a 35% decrease of entries in adult categories. Thanks for checking the numbers. It could be people see that a larger buck has already been posted and so they don't share theirs since they don't think they can win. A lower success rate can make a big difference when there are just a handful per category. Plus fewer people are hunting in Mexico due to the violence. Having no pre-registration was intended to make it easier to enter, but it's seems to have had the opposite effect. I thought the prizes offered were very good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PSEps Report post Posted May 1, 2011 I would have entered.... if I got a deer!!! I look forward to the coues contest every year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted May 1, 2011 One did not have to kill a deer to enter the photo-essay of their hunt, or have a spirit of the hunt photo. I know many help on others hunts even if they are not drawn themselves. Thus, next year I could envision more spirit-of-the-hunt photos taken while helping on others' hunts. The prizes for smallest buck have been pretty good (trail cam, gift certificates, binoculars). Surprised no one entered a spike this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THOR Report post Posted May 2, 2011 One did not have to kill a deer to enter the photo-essay of their hunt, or have a spirit of the hunt photo. I know many help on others hunts even if they are not drawn themselves. Thus, next year I could envision more spirit-of-the-hunt photos taken while helping on others' hunts. The prizes for smallest buck have been pretty good (trail cam, gift certificates, binoculars). Surprised no one entered a spike this year. maybe an on your honor long shot award.....i think we all can be trusted..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
