Sportsman's Choice Awards Recap

I was the lucky grand prize winner which included air for two, a suite at the Palazzo and $200 cash. Very appreciative to the network.

Fin was kind enough to invite us to spend the evening with his group consisting of his son Matthew, business partner Mark and nvlongbow (Scott). Never having met I must say what you see is what you get. Super authentic, passionate about the OYOA movement and overall great people. We recruited the RMEF guys (Brandon Bates, Steve Decker and Dan Crocket) which added even more laughs...those boys are great! Efficiently posted up 3 feet from the "open" bar at Pure nightclub in Ceasers to watch awards go down.

I took away several "ah-ha" moments from the trip.

1. SHOT Show is rediculous. Sensory overload. Exhausting. Awesome.

2. We are so out numbered in this industry. I say we as the Western DIY hunter who loves to hunt hard on public land in pursuit of our passion. The "industry" is extremely top heavy with Southern and Midwestern influence. We see this is the programing, sponsorships and obviously the results of these award shows.

Randy and his team work so incredibly hard to bring this message to life. Financially, emotionally and physically. They...we are the minority. The movement is growing but we have more work to do.

140,000 votes were cast which created the winners. There was a nominee of a turkey harvest, tree stand kills of a farm whitetail and so many other scripted televised hunts. And the biggest travesty, Pig Man.

The future of OYOA is bright and Randy's authentic and passionate delivery are really the difference. This show has NO scripts. Period. Production crew is putting out some incridible quality and the challenges they face each hunt are the same ones we face.

However, nothing is guaranteed. Sponsors absolutely care about awards, ratings and the following of this program.

Collectively I encourage everyone to keep spreading the message of this program and our style of hunting. I hope we can continue chipping away at the "industry", being that Western thorn in their side and take more market share.

Thanks again for the many laughs and great stories Randy an co.

Looking forward to winning again next year!!

Oh and 3. Pigman is a giant D-bag. Literally.

Congrats on the win and thanks for the recap of the nights events.

Great post bmack. Congratulations on the win. It sounds like a great time.

Congrats, wish OYOA could get some more pub as well.

I'll second the Shot show overload observation. That thing is unbelievable. My feet were killing me and I had only made it part way through. there are literally hundreds of just Pistol grips boothes Who would of thought.

bmack, congtats on the big prize. Great post, I agree 110% on your comments. I would like to add one thing. As a lot may already know. ONYA and all that surround them, are the same on tv as they are in person. AUTHENTIC I have met some of the others and they snub you off.

I agree with your impression of the "southern and midwestern" influence on the hunting industry. I am from the midwest, and that is all I have ever hunted. When I watch hunting TV shows, however, I tend to like the few that document Western style hunting. There are few things more boring than watching a guy with a .270 sit in a treestand waiting for a 130 inch deer to show himself. That's why I started bowhunting - to give myself more of a challenge. I hope to one day be able to take the time (and cost) to do some Western hunting.

The industry is what it is. Ours is always going to be smaller, and hope it stays that way, because it is big game. IMO. Lots of factors certainly, but here is a draw - and it's tough. In the midwest and south, hunters can shoot a deer a day and hunt 4 months out of the season. I don't want to sign in here and see sponsors like Come'Er Deer, and Melk4Elk, Feeder Systems, etc
Randy is rockin', he is authentic and this OYO/DIY crowd is excellent. He is writing captivating and motivating articles in BUGLE, and believe he is now an officer, or has a new, big title in the RMEF!

BMack - we see enjoyed our time visiting with you. I think everyone had a blast, as we all knew the context in which awards shows are decided. You are welcome to join the camp with us anytime.

The party Sportsman Channel threw was first class. Regardless of the outcome, it was a great group of guys in our part of the facility, all enjoying the company of like minded hunters. Hope I get invited again next year.

The show has been a great success for OYOA. Will be lots of good things that come of this week. Our biggest partners all reiterated their support of what we are doing. They told us to take what we have been doing and "stand on it." We will be "giving it the sauce" in the upcoming year.

I hope all of you get to join us at one of these shows, either SHOT, Elk Camp, or one of the others. It is a ton of fun to meet all of you, spend time hearing your stories, and learning what of our message you find so compelling.

Glad you won, BMark.

I had the pleasure of tagging along with Bmack on this trip and let me say that it was truly a pleasure and the clear highlight of the trip meeting and spending time with the OYOA crew. It is rare to meet such genuinely good people, and even more exceptional when they are great and passionate outdoorsmen. We had some great experiences, but most impressive was the fact that we came away from the SHOT show and Sportsman's ceremony with a few more friends. The connections on this trip were made by virtue of being passionate Western big game hunters. Definitely the minority in the hunting world, but well worth the company.


Also contrast between the varying shapes and forms of hunters of which Brian spoke to above was incredible and literally spot on. I'd never seen such a grouping of hunting and fishing personalities in such tight corners and it was funny to see everyone's reactions and personalities off camera.

Looking forward to contributing to this group in the future so feel free to ask me about New Mexico.

-Cody

Thanks for the nice post Brian. It was a pleasure to meet you, Cody and the RMEF guys.

Keep at it with the OYOA idea..it is catching on...Dropped...is an attempt at it...meat eater...same...we are not going to have all tree stand deer hunts and turkey hunts...for much longer..remember who started it

Here is my take on most hunting shows. The bad ones and the majority target people that hunt. The good ones target hunters. There is a large difference between the two. Unfortunately, the market has a high majority of guys that hunt and not hunters. OYOA is great because it shows real huntin that hunters do. Sure, we all sit in a treestand from time to time, but real hunters use their feet more than their seat.

Great thread, good insight from average 'joe' that got to go see it.

Fin, glad the sponsors are all on your side!!! That is a relief.

I know the hunting industry is heavily influenced by the south and midwest, but it seems for a while there, on many many hunting forums, everyone was all about western this, western that, public land, DIY, etc etc. I guess it hasn't really taken hold yet. And I am not sure I want it to????