Two things you need to know about Talkhunting; we don’t tolerate inappropriate posts and we have a Blast every time we get together. This year’s SummerBlast was no exception. With tons of food and fellowship, we had the makings of an epic event. Add in WesternKY Hunter’s farm, ATVs and a 3D archery shoot and we started having so much fun ‘dem Kentucky folk knew we was around.’

Though Pennyrile State Park had all the space and facilities that we needed, we opted to make use of Ron’s (WesternKY Hunter) farm. At almost 1,000 acres of rolling hills of forests and hay fields, we frolicked and tromped and marveled at the view. Thursday mornings ATV trail ride gave us an opportunity to see a variety of terrains and scenery. We began in a hay field, freshly cut and bailed, where we piled onto 4-wheelers and UTV’s with a trailer for the kids and ice chests. We were lucky the temperatures dropped into the high 80’s from the heat index above 100 degrees the previous few days. Still, we needed lots of water to stay hydrated.

From the hay field, we traveled to forested trails; up and down hills, through muddy lowlands to rocky highs. Ron showed us a grouping of caves in the side of one hill. The boys, being brave and adventurous, discovered “cave crickets” in one cave. Further down the trail we stopped on a hill top to admire the view. As a flatlander, I was taken in by the magnificence of the rolling countryside.

Our ride ended back in the hay field where the kids took turns driving the ATVs, (supervised of course). I would say we held the ride for the kids, but I think the old folks enjoyed it almost as much.

Friday morning we started the day with a drive back out to the farm for the SummerBlast Fun Shoot. Eleven shooters entered for the opportunity to best their opponents and to warm up for the Hunt Master Challenge that would take place the following morning. The shoot turned out to be challenging and fun; the targets were well placed and set up to mimic a hunting experience. For the Fun Shoot, all of the targets were set at thirty yards or less, none closer than ten yards. The terrain offered the challenge of shooting on level ground as well as uphill and downhill. We shot 14 targets, each with a five inch black circle and a half inch yellow dot. Hitting the target scored one point, the black circle three points and the yellow dot scored five points. At the end of the morning, all of the shooters scored well, but Denny “bugfixer” Chambers finished with the high score of the Fun Shoot.

The Hunt Master’s challenge and Fund Raiser Archery Tournament has been a hot topic since it was announced on the forum. Twelve archers showed up Saturday morning and began unpacking their bows and gear. Robert “Hunt Master” Householder dropped the challenge to any brave soul who dared, “beat me if you can”. The stakes: $50 to enter, winner takes half the pot, the rest go to Benefit 4 Kids to send Caleb on his dream hunt. The goal: Smear the Hunt Master across the face of Western Kentucky.

To make things interesting, five more targets were added to the course and a few “challenging” obstacles. We would be shooting some of the targets from a ground blind and some from lock-on stands with instructions to sit or stand. With three groups of four shooters, we set out to claim a title and a pot of cash. As we moved through the course, the other group’s scores remained a mystery to us. We all wanted to know how the others were doing but the secret remained hidden until the banquet that evening. Shooting from the ground blinds and lock-on stands proved a challenge that we all enjoyed. We lost a few arrows to trees and misfortune, (mostly mine) but proved in the end, that in hunting situations, death follows us.

Competition runs deep through us, not one cell allowing for submittal. To the end we fought, not once bending to the heat or the rigors of the sport. We all gave until the final thrum. One thing I know, we don’t just Talk Hunting, we hunt. We practice, we thrive, we live the hunt. The tournament proved that. The competition was fierce, but in the end only THREE stood.

A three way tie for first place? The tie breaker was determined by scoring each archers WORST shots. Of the three, Hunt Master, Bugfixer, and DLR, the final placements are as follows:

3^rd Place – Robert “Hunt Master” Householder 2nd Place - David "DLR" Rice

1^st Place – Denny “Bugfixer” Chambers Womens Division Winner - Mrs. Hunt Master

Because no-one actually BEAT the Hunt Master, no one won the pot. Therefor the entire sum of money was donated to Benefit 4 Kids. No one hated to see the money go to Caleb and his family. The Archery Tournament was exciting and profitable. We raised money and we competed. All in all, well worth the time.

By Brent Sawyer

TalkHunting Pro Staffer, Brent "Cobrican" Sawyer, was born into a sporting family.  His first couple years of life were spent on the banks of Lake Arthur and around his grandfather's farm in Jennings, La.  Even when his family moved to the city, they visited the farm often.  Brent's parents and Pawpaw spent as many hours as they could find taking him outside to learn how to care for and survive on the land around him.  They camped and hiked.  They gardened.  Brent joined the Boy Scouts as a Bobcat and continued to be involved through his High School days.  There, he learned many new skills to help him belong out of doors.  Brent and his cousins would often sleep out under the stars with only a blanket.  

At the age of 8 he was given his first BB gun.  At 10 he was allowed to hunt with a shotgun.  The family had a lease where they hunted, predominantly, Speckle-belly geese with the occasional snow or duck.  They also hunted doves and rabbits.  Brent learned how to call specks well enough to hunt on his own in only a short time.  About the time Brent went to college, his grandfather dropped the hunting lease.  Fortunately, North Louisiana offers some great opportunities for hunting on public lands.  He spent many hours duck hunting as well as hunting small game.  In 2000 Brent was invited to his first deer hunt.  Since then he has been fully involved in the deer hunting experience.  He also loves to fish.  Lately he has made more opportunities to fish salt water than freshwater but he enjoys both.

Brent Graduated with a degree in Forest Technology and has used his degree as a basis for hunting and recreation properties management.  He joined Talkhunting.com in 2008 and has attended gatherings in Louisiana and Alabama.  He also works for Breathe Safe Environmental Services as a third party monitor for lead and asbestos abatement.  He loves his job but hopes to be able to one day move exclusively to property management and consulting.