08' Indiana Predator Challenge Recap

[Jrbhunter]

The 2008 Indiana Predator Challenge was once again a record setting event in every way!

Registration opened on July 15th and was closed on the 29th of September, jamming the contest full with 56 registered hunters in record time!  At Fridays initial check-in we saw 52 of those participants on hand; making this the largest field of callers we’ve ever had.


          

Hunters were anxious to get in the woods, chasing predators that could put them within striking distance of the $2,858 worth of prizes displayed at headquarters!   This prize package contained dozens of the finest custom calls and cow horn howlers on the market, 4 shiny new 22-250 rifles, truck decals, magazine subscriptions and beautiful laser etched plaques.  With the help of some generous companies offering us price breaks and awesome donations; we were able to offer the largest prize package in IPC history!

          
          
          

We had a weather scare for the beginning of the competition, with weathermen anticipating 1-2 inches of ice and a few inches of snow overnight Thursday and into Friday.  As usual; the weathermen were wrong and roads were dry with a light dusting of snow sticking only in wooded areas.  High winds were a factor as contestants rushed off to their favorite stands, but it didn’t take long for The Hoosier Daddy team to tag a coyote.  Team K-Nine also hammered home their first points with a 31 pound coyote.  Team Savage also struck an early lead with a Friday afternoon Red Fox just a few miles from the Headquarters building!

Friday night was chilly and very dark so several teams hoofed the hills all night making stands.  The Regulators would score big with a Grey Fox around 11pm Friday and a coyote just before daylight Saturday.  The Howlers knocked down a hefty 45 pound mail on Saturday morning just before the mandatory check-in: putting 5 teams on the board with fur!



Saturday Check-in

Hoosier Daddy's and their 36 pounds of luck.
           


Team K-Nine with their 31 pounder.
          


Team Savage with their 9# Red Fox
          


The Howlers with their 45# whopper!
          



The Regulators with their 9# Gray and 35# Coyote

          

Saturdays Collection:
          


As animals were weighed and scored by volunteers, teams gathered inside the HQ building for some great food prepared by the Chef.  After gorging themselves to the brink of misery; contestants marveled at the prizes for a little motivation then congregated outside for the infamous IPC Rifle Contest.





The Indiana Predator Challenge Rifle Contest was once again challenging for all involved and entertaining for those in attendance.  5 targets were placed at various ranges in random positions on the course; shooters were given 5 rounds and/or 60 seconds to attack the course from one location.

It didn’t take long to set a benchmark, as Jason Brunner (Regulator) stepped up to the plate second in line and knocked down 4 targets in 46.93 seconds.   One by one, a representative from each team addressed the course with his favorite rifle.  It wasn’t until The Howlers stepped up that we saw some competition for Regulators blazing speed…. As Patrick wielded his single shot rifle knocking down 4 targets then struggling to find the 5th critter hidden in the woods! 

As he searched for the remaining fox, Patrick’s 60 second time window elapsed, and he was awarded 2nd place.  If he had fired his 5th round into the air immediately after knocking down the 4th target- he would’ve taken first place!  Fortunately for The Regulators, he didn’t empty that round… and the rest of the field failed to match their 80% kill ratio. 

Other points of interest: Team Savage managed to whiff on all 5 targets 29.67 seconds, while Team Clark took twice as long to miss them all.  (Sorry Gary)

08 IPC Scoring Sheet
        

Regulator preparing to blaze through the course. 
          

A tough one up on the ridge.
          


Gary Gann of Illinois wishing his brother Scott could shoot!
          


A chipshot coyote that went unnoticed by several shooters.
          


After the rifle competition we had a clear leader and an offset tie for second; The Howlers held 2 points with their coyote and a second place finish in the rifle contest while Savage had two points from their Red Fox.  The tie breaker (weight) would throw the position in favor of the Howlers but there were two teams that could overthrow that balance by popping any fox or coyote out there!  We didn’t know how 2nd-5th would pan out- but we knew someone would really have to step up to catch the Regulators.

As they say, you have to crawl before you can walk… and Seth was feeling pretty low after missing all those targets but he was flying high just hours later when he popped a beautiful male Gray Fox!  Darren defied all odds by killing the female of the pair, on the daytime stand, giving their team a shot in the arm and propelling them into the lead!

Knowing that other teams were out there hunting hard; Team Savage couldn’t afford to rest on a one point lead.  Their foxes were lightweight critters compared to the coyotes being checked in; so they would lose any tie that came about.  Not to be outdone; The Howlers came through with a 272 yard shot on a nasty little female coyote just before dark to keep themselves in contention.  As the sun went down we had no idea what would show up at the final check-in on Sunday afternoon.

Despite hunting hard, and nearly nonstop, nobody connected on fur overnight!  Sunday morning Team Savage was able to seal the deal by calling and killing one more coyote; The Howlers called several but couldn’t knock any down to clinch a runner up position.  Team Savage would win, Regulators taking second place!





Sunday Check-in

The Howlers and their 27# mudball.
          

Team Savage with their 7# & 10# grays and the 33# coyote for good measure.

          

Sundays Collection:

          


WINNERS:  Team Savage:  Kevin, Seth & Darren
          


2nd Place:  The Regulators:  Randy, Jonathan, Justin & Jason.
          



The Chef’s son Casey (15) won our youngest hunter award and took home a subscription to Predator Extreme magazine!

Youngest IPC Contestant: Rawdawg
    


Also; Patrick Byrum from The Howlers will receive a subscription to the Trapper & Predator Caller for his valiant effort and second place in the IPC Rifle Contest.  Anybody that can shoot like that deserves a prize... even if he did miss a REALcoyote at 40 yards! LOL!

It's also noteworthy that we were able to offer each participant $27 worth of free door prizes and feed them that killer meal!  Not bad for a $50 entry fee; and we expect to do even better next year!!!  Heck, I think we'll have to pay some of these guys to come back and tackle these hills!

Each Hunter took home magazines & vinyl decals:



In short, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out and especially all those who volunteered or contributed to this prize package in some way!  I had a great time and we’ve already begun working on a summer meet and we’re ironing out details of the 2009 event!   There are hundreds of pictures to come; keep an eye on the Indiana Predator Challenge website for those galleries in the near future!   Also, visit the Midwest Predator Forums to see photos and hunt reports posted by dozens of contestants; more and more of our hunters are joining this online community after attending our events!  It’s a great way to keep in touch with new friends made at the event and get to know guys that will be in attendance next year!


www.IndianaPredatorChallenge.com   (Visit our Website)
IndianaPredator@Yahoo.com   (Subscribe to our Newsletter)

[browning204]

Looks like bunches of fun!!!

[canine]

Glad you had a good hunt Jason

Boy, it's been a long while since I have seen a grey fox    Nice to see someone still has them available to call in...they sure are fun.


JD

[FinsnFur]

Looks like a real good turn out
Hey who's calls hanging on the board up there in bubble packs?

[HaMeR]

That looks like a lot of fun & Congrats to everybody for hanging in there on such a long weekend!!

Those look like Orion calls next to the bubble packs. 

[kevinm]

do they look like this Jim??

[Jrbhunter]

JD, there are several grays in the area but we've never had one scored for an IPC event until this year.  And obviously; the grays were a major factor in the way those scores fell out!  At $35 a piece in the round- I plan on calling a few more this season myself... I've taken 3 this season with the rifle but it's time to dig out the shotgun and do it right!

Jim, I don't recall any bubblewrap on that table... and I guess I don't see what you're looking at.  There are some Orion calls, some KevinM calls and some Jerry Hunsley products on that table.  I know all thee of those guys are FNF members- maybe some of the others are as well?  You can find a listing of all our contributers and sponsors at www.IndianaPredatorChallenge.com and looking for the 2008 Prizes & Sponsors link to the left side of the page.  Not all prizes are shown there; but anyone that helped us with a prize is recognized there.

This event continues to grow bigger and stronger, we're trying to keep up with it as best we can and show these hunters a great event.  The eligible field will be increased next year, along with the prizes and gifts we hand out.  All 16 teams from the 2008 event have pledged to return in 2009 and we've had 18 inquiries from new teams in the last four days... if you're interested in joining us for February 6th, 7th & 8th of 2009 I suggest you keep an eye on www.IndianaPredatorChallenge.com this summer for your chance to sign up early!  Registration opens July 15th.

PS: Thanks to all the companies that sponsored this event in some way.  Your contributions made it possible for us to offer such a great prize pacakge while balancing the growing organizational costs.  I hope to work with you guys again in the future!

[frshwtr]

i believe HaMeR is right about the orion calls, they are the ones standing on end on top of the long white ticker paper; at least their shape is the same as the st. francis calls.

[FinsnFur]

  I didnt say bubble wrap, I said bubble pack.

Yeah you got er Kevin, those be it.  looks good.

[Bluesman]

Now that's really a great post.  Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed about your organization.  Could someone from out of state register for the challenge?  Or, could one hunter on a team be from out of state?
JB