If you're a hunter passionate about the sport and about fair chase, you'll be excited to learn about the Boone and Crockett (B&C) Club's new contest. The contest, sponsored by Blaser, Leupold and B&C, runs from now through December 1st of this year. In keeping with B&C's mission of supporting ethical and sustainable hunting, the contest asks hunters to answer the question, "What does fair chase hunting mean to you?" For either the best essay or video, the winner will receive a new Blaser R8 Professional S rifle, a Leupold VX-6 riflescop and VIP passes to the Boone and Crockett Club's 29th Big Game Awards and banquet in July 2016 at Bass Pro Shops' new America's Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.
Submissions, which can be delivered in the form of either essays or videos, should cover topics such as:
- What does "fair" in fair chase mean to you? It's not the same as in sports like football or baseball, where fair means equal. The "fair" in fair chase means honorable, genuine or appropriate. What's your definition?
- How has fair chase influenced your choices about where, how or why to hunt?
- Have you ever allowed an animal to escape rather than break one of your personal hunting rules?
- How does fair chase hunting enhance the overall experience?
"Fair chase has been an integral part of the hunting community for well over a century," said Boone and Crockett President Morrie Stevens. "It's a topic well established and extremely important to conservation, and we'd like to hear what today's hunters think about it." Fair chase was first promoted by the Boone and Crockett Club to distance legitimate sportsmen from wrongful association with commercial market hunting and poaching, where ethics, respect for the game hunted and conservation do not apply. In time, fair chase became the foundation of many game laws. But fair chase ethics also extend beyond laws and regulations. Explained Stevens, "Ethics are the personal decisions we make about how we'll hunt within the framework of what's legal. The choices that hunters make individually also reflect on hunting as whole."
For entry instructions and details about the Fair Chase Contest, visit www.boone-crockett.org/fairchasecontest.
