Too many contests!!!

Wyote222

New member
I feel some people are putting way too many contests together. Here in wyoming, you can just about find a contest in the area every weekend. I used to hunt the contests and do quite well, but over the years I have really noticed a decline in the number of dogs we could call in a day. I seriously doubt they are killing too many dogs, but there were 70+ teams in the last one. I think they are just educating all the local yotes and making them very call shy. Whats you thoughts?
 
I agree... I think an excessive amount of calling contests may just be the death of our sport. Too many idiots out there educating dogs in hopes of winning a prize, people who otherwise aren't even into predator hunting.
 
Last edited:
I agree. I luv contests but having a contest every weekend somewhere between riverton and rock springs is a little crazy. A lot of the guys I know are hunting and educating a lot of dogs, and not really killing that many. just my .02
 
The popularity of this sport has little to do with contests.
I went out today (no contests) and saw two trucks that were obviously hunting coyotes. I still killed coyotes. I work in the all over South West Wyoming, and there is not very many days that I don't see coyote hunters.
The first weekend in November the RS contest had 70 teams, and the nationals had 35plus teams. I imagine there was another 100 groups of people just out hunting coyotes. Across the state thats 200 groups of people hunting coyotes. I dream of the day when I can go deer hunting and have that few of hunters spread across Wyoming.
If tomorrow coyote contests were illegal and there was never another contest held, all of us that are hunting coyotes wouldn't just say oh well I guess I'll take up ice fishing.
If you don't like contests its your perrogative. Just don't blame your problems on those of us who enjoy contest hunting. Instead find some posts with these new hunters asking questions and help them be successful. Encourage people to sight in their rifles and practice shooting. Theres never been a dead educated coyote so the more successful we all are the less problems well have with educated coyotes.
 
Originally Posted By: wyoyotebuster1 The popularity of this sport has little to do with contests.
I went out today (no contests) and saw two trucks that were obviously hunting coyotes. I still killed coyotes. I work in the all over South West Wyoming, and there is not very many days that I don't see coyote hunters.
The first weekend in November the RS contest had 70 teams, and the nationals had 35plus teams. I imagine there was another 100 groups of people just out hunting coyotes. Across the state thats 200 groups of people hunting coyotes. I dream of the day when I can go deer hunting and have that few of hunters spread across Wyoming.
If tomorrow coyote contests were illegal and there was never another contest held, all of us that are hunting coyotes wouldn't just say oh well I guess I'll take up ice fishing.
If you don't like contests its your perrogative. Just don't blame your problems on those of us who enjoy contest hunting. Instead find some posts with these new hunters asking questions and help them be successful. Encourage people to sight in their rifles and practice shooting. Theres never been a dead educated coyote so the more successful we all are the less problems well have with educated coyotes.

Well said. It may mean you need to get off your duff and try a little harder. I seen a text of two guys who went calling in the Rock Springs area this last week. The picture contained 8 dead coyotes, all shot in one day.
 
You guys are off topic.. I don't hate contests, and I'm not getting down on anybody for participating.

An excessive amount of them, however is not to the sports benefit IMO.

 
Last edited:
i never liked the I'm better then you attitudes that contests promote.
even in fishing.
i never cared how many coyote other kill just how many i get weather i had a good day or a dry one.
I'm strange i like football if I'm playing but could care less about football games on TV last one i watched Denver was in the Superbowl.
i went to two contests and never had the desire to participate in another. I'd like to meet the guys in them but not to play. to me the winners in coyote hunting are the ones who had the most fun.
I'd go calling with them but keeping count isn't why I'd like IT
 
I dont really think I am off topic. What I get out of everyones posts is that contest are educating the coyotes. Contests arent educating the coyotes the people are. Like buster1 said people go out half cocked and they are the ones educateing coyotes. And I hate to tell you that they are out there whether they are in a contest or not. My point is a person went out in the area that the contests 222 and song dog are refering to and killed 8 in a day. Vooster you yourself said that contest may be the death of our sport.
 
I believe what I said was "an excessive amount of calling contests may just be the death of our sport"

Excessive being the key word..
 
I think these contests are inconsistent with the hunting ethics I grew up with (and still try to aspire to....

Hunting is supposed to be about your own personal experience and satisfaction of the fair chase hunt, not about how many, or the largest, but about effectively applying and improving hunting skills.

It is not about a competition, or keeping score, or artificial parameters of excellence (established by someone else) based on weight,length, etc.

You are "supposed" to have a good time hunting even when you bag nothing; the enjoyment comes from the possibility of bagging game. A kill is anticlimactic to the experience.

The contest stuff, and ESPECIALLY anything with the word "world" in the hunting contest title, is just plain juvenile and silly.
 
Not only the excessive amount, but the type of people they bring out as well. I have hunted numerous contests and you get all kinds. The ones that really P*SS me off are the ones with the cooler full of beer and fifth of whiskey. They don't give a [beeep] if they can shoot or not. These kinds are the ones being referred to as educating the dogs.
I have heard a lot of BS from these so called hunters that if they are out 4-wheeling, drinking beer, and shooting, they might as well be trying to win some cash. And Dustballs, I have been hunting coyotes in southwest wyoming for nearly 30 years. I can tell you, since the contests started, the dogs are not coming like they use to. As for shooting skills, I don't miss! Not because I am that good, I just don't take stupid shots nor drink beer while I hunt.
 
i agree that there ar getting to be too many contests. i am very serious about my predator calling, and it is time taken seriously when i'm afield. i am guilty of entering the RS December contest and when i left there i felt as if i'd sold out by entering it, i'd let myself down, a big part of what bothered me is that i went and stood shoulder to shoulder with them beer drinkin four wheelin kinds that were talked about in the previous post. i just kinda felt ashamed of myself because i've always thought of coyote hunting as my getaway, and on contest day i felt like i was going crazy to kill a few yotes for dollars, and thats not what it should be about.
 
Waaaaay too many contests in S/SW Wyoming!!! So far this year, I have seen as many as 6 different groups of people in a single day that were obviously calling coyotes during contest weekends. I've had them hunt on top of me, leap-frog my stands, drive through my stands and discharge their firearms as they drove by. I've seen a total of one other person that was obviously coyote calling on non-contest weekends.

I know there are people like me that hunt every weekend, contest or not. But there are also lots of other people that only coyote hunt a couple times a year during the contests. I know some of them personally.

I've heard of teams/people 'running through' many of the popular areas near town on the days leading up to a contest purposely pressuring the areas to increase their chances of winning. I have had people flat out tell me they were out "shooting coyotes for their buddy who is in the contest". IMHO injecting money, notoriety, and pride into something that is otherwise pure risks corrupting the activity alltogether. Just look what happened with the big buck contests in Utah.

It's still a free country and I wouldn't want to tell anyone, especially a fellow hunter/shooter, what he can or cannot do, but the fact is that calling contests DO take a toll on calling success. I've seen it firsthand and lived with it for the last six years.
 
I have never been in a contest. Out here in utah it does not matter if its a contest weekend or not, there are a ton of coyote shooters(they are not hunters) that cover the west desert. It seems like if you go on a saturday its almost impossible to go somewhere without running into other people. I have nothing against the hunters or people in the contests. I do have a problem with the people driving around shooting any coyotes they see. The same people shoothing at me and my dog.I was taught to id your target. I truly believe its not the contests but it's the people. Like was said before the people educating the coyotes in the contests are still out there doing the same thing any other weekend. I've been shot at, almost ran over and have had people pull up and start drinking beer right next to me. all on non contest weekends.

Good luck guys!!
 
You have the 10% whether they are in contests are just hunting on a weekend. Like I said earlier I saw two trucks today and I still killed coyotes. My friend killed 6 yesterday and guess what he saw hunters too. Some of you are making it sound like before contests we had a utopia where no one drank and there were no unethical hunters, this is nonsense.
The Rock Springs contest now has strict no alcohol at either check in's and we've made it as uncomfortable as possible for people who are causing the problems. We have rules that demand that all laws are obeyed. I'll make the arguement that a group of guys hunting a contest are more ethical by percentage than the same size group that are not hunting a contest, as the non contest hunters don't have to worry about getting kicked out of the contest and don't get a 15 minute reminder before they go for the day.
Do I miss the good old days? [beeep] yes I do but I guess at the end of the day contests are here to stay and regardless of whether we like it or not the popularity of this sport is also here to stay. If you can't or don't want to adapt to the pressure take up bowling (I heard on espn that the popularity of bowling is plumetting) its alot warmer anyway.
 
Last edited:
I understand everyones concern about coyote calling contest. I wish I could have every area all to my self; just because. But, are the contest getting more people involved and creating a bigger industry for selling calls etc. Secondly are they actually good for the game species by taking out more coyotes? Seems there are good and bad sides of everything.
 
Most of the peopl that are new to the sport and enter contests may educate them. They go out and buy a $400 call, rifle, and all the accesories and it is all up for sale in a year. Because they cant call in anything. This sport is very hard unless you have someone experienced show you the ropes. I know I educated my fair share. I think that the contests are a good way to get people interested in the sport. Just like bass fishing you just have to get better than everyone else. If everyone used the same lure then the fish would stop biting it. They dont say hunt the hunters for no reason.
 
Back
Top