YO YO YO

[DMP]

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[BowBendr]

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         Ready......

[derek]

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Here's to another fun season!

[canadatom]

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Good day everyone, hope everyone is good. Can't wait to get this going once again!! 

[Fullfan]

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Welcome back fellers, we going to do some damage this year? I'm headed to Ok,ks.Ne and might try and get Missouri.

[turkey buster]

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Team choot em n da face is on your turf! Lol

Good luck guys

[derek]

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Where's Bama at?  I want to win this thing legit not cuz they took their wins and left on a high note!

[n2deer]

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My ears just got red. Seriously good luck guys, we won't be participating this year.

[DMP]

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My ears just got red. Seriously good luck guys, we won't be participating this year.

What's up with that?

[BC]

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Hey fellas. Like n2deer said, good luck to y'all this season.


Since you asked I will tell you why we are NOT going to participate this season.

1. In year 1 there was a concerted effort from some folks to try and get several of our entries DQ'd when we were in the lead late in the contest. A moderator who is no longer here was right in the middle of it.
2. Incessant complaints about pictures. I cannot tell you how many PM's we have received from various members over these past three years telling us why our pictures weren't up to snuff. We've heard it all....... "The numbers on the tape are blurry", "You aren't putting the base of the tape at the right spot", ect, ect....

As Co Captain I took these seriously and looked at all other teams pics for reference and our pictures were as good as better than any other teams. They weren't perfect but unless you wanted to be anal about it you really couldn't have any complaints.

3. The accusations of cheating EVERY year we were in this contest. I've been told that one of our team owns a taxidermy shop and we take birds that customers bring in and take pics and enter them in the contest. I've heard that all of us are outlaws and kill way over the limit. Been accused of taking friends birds and entering them in the contest.

4. Last year one of our members killed a turkey that he entered as a double beard. I didn't see the bird personally but I knew that the pictures were inconclusive (Didn't show the gap between the beards so it could be construed as a "split beard" and it probably would not stand (which it did not). About two weeks after he posted it, our team thread just disappeared. It was gone for an entire day. We found out later that the above mentioned bird was being questioned, but we didn't understand why a HUGE production had to be made and our whole Team Thread taken down. A simple PM would have sufficed.

5. Last year we won the contest for the third year in a row. We were never announced as the winners of the contest, and there was never any mention of it. In years past a thread was started calling the contest and announcing the winners. Not last year though.

We talked about it at the end of last seasons contest, and decided as a group that last year would be the final year we would participate. N2deer and I hand picked our team from a bunch of fellow Alabama turkey fanatics. Nearly every single one of us hunt until our season is spent and then start hunting states all over the Midwest. All of us were good honest sportsmen who collectively kill close to 100 turkeys per season. I knew we would be hard to beat, but we never expected the level of disrespect, butthurt, and jealousy that we encountered just from winning a for fun contest with no prizes other than bragging rights. Don't get me wrong, most people on here were great but there were a few that were not. It probably didn't help that we fired back when fired upon and we may have earned a little bit of a reputation for being mouthy or trash talkers. I assure you though we are all just a bunch of good fellas who enjoy turkey hunting, and for the reasons above this contest ceased to be fun for us. When it's no longer fun, it's no longer worth participating in.


As I said, a big Good Luck to you guys this season. I hope you do well.


BC
Co-Captain of Team Alabama

[derek]

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Sorry to hear that fellas.  Jealousy ruins a good many things and this contest should be nothing more than just having a good time.  While the pictures required aren't an extremely difficult requirement,  they can be difficult to take particularly if you're by yourself and in less than ideal conditions.  I've had 2 birds in the last few years that I knew would be scrutinized.  I did everything I could to get perfect pics, an extra set of hands, good camera and still they weren't perfect.  I put good faith in people, and even if a tape measure is slightly out of focus the intentions were there.  It's a contest for fun not for a prize.. no one should be cheating.  If they do, that's pretty sad but they're the ones who gotta live with it.  You guys consistently put up birds, and big birds at that.  You deserved those three wins and became THE team to beat.  I guess we had our chances but failed to do so.  Good luck this season fellas.  And keep those Bama dead turkey pics on the main boards at least, they help me get through the month before our season even comes in. 

[BowBendr]

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Great post Derek !!

Thanks for the pm BC. Appreciate you guys.

[crenshawco]

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I was just checking in to see what was going on with this year's contest and ran across this thread. BC pretty much summed things up with his post, but I want to give my thoughts as well.

I love these forum contests and the camaraderie and jawing amongst teams. It is all fun and competition to me and I do my best to contribute and win. I feel pretty confident speaking for the rest of our team in saying that we would never cheat to win. We assembled a team of guys from Alabama that we knew killed a lot of birds and traveled every year. Honestly, when we took on this contest the first time, I had little doubt that we would win. And, win we did. Apparently to the extreme displeasure of members, moderators, and everyone in general here at OG. Our morals, ethics, and photography skills were constantly questioned, and frankly, most of us grew tired of it.

I enjoyed the heck out of winning this contest the past three years, but to me, the rewards are not worth the trouble anymore.

Good luck to everyone this season!

Crenshawco

[DMP]

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Yeah, its a shame how some act when it comes to a turkey.  At one time I was in 4 of these contest on different sites.  Today this is the only contest that I still participate in for turkey hunting.  Reasons for cutting it down to one contest have all been mentioned.  Just tired of listening and dealing with a bunch of crying grown men over a turkey.  I will continue to do this contest as long as the core of the team stays put. 

[chcltlabz]

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Here's my take.  This is the only contest I get into, and the only reason I entered this one is there are a few guys here who asked me.  I'm not big on contests, because I hunt for the hunt, not for bragging rights to anyone.  Just my own pleasure.  If there was a prize associated with this contest, I'd probably drop out of it too for all of the reasons Team Alabama dropped out.  If it comes to that here, I'll be gone from this one too.

I don't take great pictures, probably because its not about bragging rights to me.  I'm just not that into the stats, and honestly, taking all the required pictures was a huge pain in the rear.  All in good fun I guess.

I shoot adult gobblers.  I don't judge them before I shoot other than to make sure they are adults, and if I shoot a great bird, its because that was the adult that came into range.  Last year I had a great season, but really didn't score on a huge bird, or really even a great bird.  Mostly 2 year olds with a couple older birds that scored OK.  Maybe this year.