Arkansas Outdoors

On Wednesday, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission was presented an outline of a plan for a statewide big buck contest called Racks4Stack$. Jeremy Felton of Searcy said the contest will pay nearly $29,000 to the hunter who kills the biggest buck in Arkansas every year.

Jeremy Felton of Searcy has plans to make deer hunting more lucrative for hunters that kill giant bucks in Arkansas.

On Wednesday, Felton presented an outline of a plan to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission about a statewide big buck contest called Racks4Stack$.

Currently, the only recog- nition for the deer with the biggest set of antlers killed in Arkansas comes through the Arkansas Big Buck Classic, a long-established hunting exposition held in January at the State Fairgrounds in Little Rock. The winner of the Big Buck Classic wins an all-terrain vehicle, a trophy and a commemorative jacket, Felton said, adding that it should be worth a lot more.

Felton said his Racks4Stack$ contest will pay nearly $29,000 to the hunter that kills the biggest buck in Arkansas every year.

The Racks4Stack$ structure is similar to the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, a big bass tournament that takes place for three days every June on the length of the Arkansas River in Arkansas. The Big Bass Bonanza divides the river into pools and pays cash prizes to anglers that catch the three biggest bass in each pool per hour. It pays $10,000 to the angler that catches the biggest bass in each pool, and a total of $50,000 to the angler that catches the biggest bass of the tournament.

Felton said Racks4Stack$ will award cash prizes to hunters that kill the biggest buck in each county, each deer management zone and to the hunter that kills the biggest buck overall. County champions will win $1,500. Management Zone champions will receive $2,000. Regional champions will receive $5,000, and the overall champion will win $20,000, plus additional cash prizes.

For example, the overall champion by definition would also be the regional, zone and county champion for the area where it was killed.

A $1,000 prize will also be awarded to the “Freak of the Week,” defined as the biggest rack killed in a given week.

Before the season, contestants can predict online which county where the biggest buck will be killed. Those that pick correctly will be entered into a drawing for $10,000.

If a hunter is too young to accept a cash prize, Felton said that person’s prize might be awarded in the form of a scholarship.

The money will come from a $20 per hunter entry fee. Felton said there are 269,640 known deer hunters in Arkansas. In 2017-18 they killed 93,601 antlered deer in the state, defined as deer with at least three points on one antler. If 50 percent of the state’s hunters (134,820) entered, the total pool would be about $2.7 million. A more realistic number might be 25 percent, which would be 67,410 entries, which would translate to about $1.3 million.

Felton said Racks4Stack$ would donate 30 percent of its annual proceeds to the Game and Fish Commission’s deer management assistance program or for chronic wasting disease research. It would donate 10 percent to Hope Ministries in Searcy and 10 percent to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

The idea is still in its designer phases. Felton said the entry period would be from Feb. 29 until the day before archery deer season opens in late September. That would prevent hunters from entering only after killing a big deer.

Felton did not mention how his organization would ensure the integrity of the contest, such as preventing hunters from entering bucks killed in other states or from entering deer killed illegally.

Also, Felton did not mention whether eligible bucks could only be taken in “fair chase,” or if the contest would be open to pen raised bucks that are bred, fed and confined in conditions that promote growing giant antlers.

The members of the commission were very reserved in their reception to the presentation.

YOUTH TRAP TOURNAMENT

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation will hold its fifth annual Youth Trap Tournament on April 7 at the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation Shooting Sports Complex in Jacksonville.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s tournament will be open only to youth shooting teams that participate in the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program. Deke Whitbeck, president of the Game and Fish Foundation, said it will be almost like a warm-up for the state tournament later in April.

However, Whitbeck said he encourages individual and corporate sponsors to donate $500, which will cover team entry fees for a team of 10 participants, eye and ear protection, shotgun shells, lunch, door prize tickets and product bags.

For more information, call Whitbeck (501) 831-3382.