Name: Garry Adams

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 53

Occupation: Self Employed - Building Material Dealer

Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK

Family: Wife Teresa, Two Children, Chad and Gary, Daughter In Law, Shonie, Three Grand Children, Carson, Maddy and Cooper

Years Hunting: 25

Favorite Method: Rifle

My Biggest Buck: 10 pointer scoring in the 150’s

Primary Hunting Area: The area I whitetail hunt is in Northwest Oklahoma ( Woods County ). The Terrain is mostly open rolling hills and canyons with occasional creek bottom areas. Agriculture in the area is limited to mostly winter wheat.

Other Hunting Areas: I do most of my Whitetail hunting in Oklahoma, but do travel for other types of hunting on a regular basis and have hunted in Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Florida. Other countries I have hunted include Most Provinces in Canada, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon Territory, as well as Mexico and South Africa

Strengths: I believe one of my strengths is being able to adapt to different types of terrain and areas, as far as special abilities I try to gather all the information I can about moon phase, weather and best case feeding times then take all into consideration in my scouting and try to figure out just when to hunt more or less aggressively.

Name: Carl D. Chism

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 41

Occupation: Professional Cowboy

Hometown: Manford, OK

Family: Not Married, 4 Children Ages 4, 9, 10, 14

Years Hunting: 36

Favorite Method: Bow

My Biggest Buck: 187 7/8

Primary Hunting Area: Central Oklahoma the terrain is mostly woodland and mixed grass patches. Non agricultural area.

Other Hunting Areas: This is a list of states I have hunted, however none of them on average yearly basis if asked to give an estimated successful rate I would say Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan and Florida

Strengths: : I started hunting at an early age thanks to the influence of my father and his family this allowed me to not only observe the wildlife but a lot of opportunity to be in the woods and learn firsthand the deer's habits and some tricks of the trade that work as well as do not work.

Name: Doug Craig

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 44

Occupation: Truck driver / Dock worker

Hometown: Independence, MO

Family: Wife-Tracey, Children-Tiffany 18 , Taylor 17, Julia 16, Benjamin 22

Years Hunting: 30

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 162 1/8

Primary Hunting Area: Primarily Missouri. Ranges from old growth timber to agricultural w/wood lots.

Other Hunting Areas: I've had the occasional opportunity to hunt throughout the Midwest. Haven't had the opportunity to travel with young children. Looking forward to that chance now that children are older.

Strengths: Three things will give me a distinguished advantage in the competition to become the AWA world champion.
• First- general knowledge of animal behavior and ability to find and interpret small signs gained through years of trapping.
• Second- Intimate knowledge of Whitetail behavior gained thru 30 years of observation , hunting in areas with high deer densities which has allowed me the opportunity to observe deer for long periods on most outings.
• Third- 20 years of competitive fishing has helped me to develop the skills at taking a large area and breaking it down into smaller sections, keeping in mind animal behavior coupled with topography , food sources and cover. This then allows me to concentrate my efforts in area's that provide a higher probability for success. It has also taught me to remain adaptable to changing weather patterns and local conditions.

Name: Lee Fesmire

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 46

Occupation: Real Estate Investor

Hometown: Marion, AR

Family: Wife- Robin, Stepdaughter- Brittany 16; Son- Case 8; Daughter- Anna Caroline 6

Years Hunting: 32

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 12 point 150” 5 1/2 year old, Archery on public land

Primary Hunting Area: Arkansas near the Mississippi river, wetland, CRP, Hardwoods, mostly public land.

Other Hunting Areas: I don’t travel alot to hunt. Hunted AR, MS, TN, AZ

Strengths: I feel I can read the woods/area well. I like hunting where there are big deer and high pressure . Most of my success has been on public land. When the pressure is on…late season…my game is on! Patience and mobility are the key. Reading other hunters helps. Be a good listener. Think like "where would you go in a high hunting pressure situation" to hide.

Name: Jesse Gates

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 29

Occupation: Construction - Project Manager

Hometown: Pryor, OK

Family: Faith - wife / Wesley - Son

Years Hunting: 16

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 141 7/8

Primary Hunting Area: Wooded creek bottoms that are primarily flat with small fields.

Other Hunting Areas: I have never hunted out of state, but I do hunt several areas within Oklahoma that offer a wide variety of terrain.

Strengths: Dedication and passion for Whitetails has provided me with the knowledge to locate quality deer. I am also very thorough with my scouting techniques, and every factor is analyzed before a strategy is put into place. I work hard year round planning for the upcoming season, and enjoy the time I spend outdoors.

Name: John L. McMahon

Nickname(s): Gunny

Age: 67

Occupation: Retired Fire Investigator

Hometown: Newton, IO

Family: Wife – Gail, Two children – Mike (42) and Michelle (45)

Years Hunting: 41

Favorite Method: I've hunted all methods, but my favorite was always bow. However, due to injuries a few years back I turned to muzzleloader, shotgun slug, and rifle.

My Biggest Buck: A typical 10-pointer that scored 168. The 15-pointer in the photograph was not scored.

Primary Hunting Area: Most of my hunting is in Iowa, in heavy timber and river bottoms.

Other Hunting Areas: Besides my home state, I’ve hunted in Wyoming, Colorado, and Missouri. My hunts are always successful. If I get a shot, I get the deer.

Strengths: I was a guide for several years in Wyoming for deer, antelope, and elk. I've never been a trophy hunter; while I have always enjoyed hunting, I think the challenge of finding game for someone else requires more knowledge and skill than hunting for myself. My special ability is putting the pieces of the puzzle together regarding bedding, trails, travel routes, rubs, scat, etc., to find and harvest mature Whitetail…and not missing when I shoot.

Name: NAME

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: AGE

Occupation: OCCUPATION

Hometown: HOMETOWN

Family: FAMILY

Years Hunting: YEARS

Favorite Method: METHOD

My Biggest Buck: BIGGEST

Primary Hunting Area: PRIMARY

Other Hunting Areas: OTHER

Strengths: STRENGTH

Name: Doug Williams

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 48

Occupation: Oklahoma City Fire Fighter

Hometown: Oklahoma

Family: married and I have a 23 yr old son. I have one sister and my parents live in Yukon Ok where I grew up

Years Hunting: 35

Favorite Method: I really don’t know that I have a favorite. If I had to pick one and not be able to hunt with the others I might pick rifle but you get to hunt more with the bow, so I really don’t know.

My Biggest Buck: Biggest buck was 135 5/8 One of my favorites is the first descent buck I killed with my bow from the ground. To be honest all the bucks I have harvested have a special place in my memories for one reason or another.

Primary Hunting Area: I have two little leases near Perry Ok. that are open with agriculture and wooded creek bottoms. I try to always get out and hunt on public land if I can find the time, I like the challenge.

Other Hunting Areas: I go Elk hunting every year if I draw in New Mexico and if I don’t draw in I go to Colorado and buy an over the counter archery tag. 90 percent of the New Mexico hunts have been for cows and I have never come home empty handed. My bull hunts on the other hand have not been as successful. I have never killed a big bull. And I have never killed an elk in Colorado. I have hunted in Texas and Mississippi for deer, but that was a few years ago.

Strengths: I’m not going to beat my chest and say I will have a leg up on any body, I don’t know the men or their abilities. I hunt because I love to hunt and every year I make a mistake and sometimes I even learn from my lessons. To answer your question, I’m in good shape and I’m very patient. I feel I can still hunt very well if I keep my concentration.

Name: Ryan Woollard

Nickname(s): Woolly or R-Dub

Age: 35

Occupation: Architectural Intern / Designer

Hometown: Coffeyville, KS

Family: Children: Caden (boy) 4 years old, Sadie (girl) 2 years old

Years Hunting: 15

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 142" 9 Point

Primary Hunting Area: I do most of my hunting in northeast and north central Oklahoma. I have a few places with a wide variety of terrain but mostly it's a mixer of crop and hardwoods. Usually little elevation change on the properties but enough to create natural funnels with saddles, slues, draws and dry or wet creek bottoms.

Other Hunting Areas: I don't get to travel to hunt as much as I would like to at the moment, but usually every other year I find myself in a neighboring state. I have hunted in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Colorado. In 2010 I will be hunting Oklahoma and Kansas. In 2011 I will be hunting Oklahoma and Colorado. I would rank my success in other states as good. Not always harvesting an animal of course but with archery equipment nothing rarely comes easy. I love getting on new land, getting in the heads of these whitetail and taken it to them in their own house.

Strengths: I feel that my experience will be a major factor in the competition. Yes, there are guys out there that have hunted more years than myself, but I would challenge most anyone near my age to put total hours spent in the field head to head with mine. I live and breathe hunting year around. When on private property I am out there putting in the time doing after season scouting, shed hunting, and prepping the grounds for the next years food plots. I know how deer think, when they move and why, what the moon phase does to them at different times of the season.

I have taken the majority of my whitetail from the ground. I grew up stalking/still hunting and my years in Colorado going after Elk has helped refine the skill. I think during the qualifying event it will be important to cover a lot of ground and get within range of as many mature deer as possible in order to pick the "right" ones to "harvest". It will put a whole new spin on running and gunning.

There are a thousand ways it could play out with having a camera crew with you, so we will have to play that by ear and obviously take that into consideration for the game plan.

Name: Russell Barngrover

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 46

Occupation: Plant Manager/ Executive VP

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Family: Wife Judy, 3 Girls ages 21, 18 and 13

Years Hunting: 34 years of hunting but started going out with my dad many years before I could actually hunt.

Favorite Method: Archery with Pistol running second.

My Biggest Buck: 167

Primary Hunting Area: Northeast. Heavy hardwoods rather flat terrain. Some swamps.

Other Hunting Areas: Yes, I am successful 80% – 90% of my trips per year. Which include (8) Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Colorado, (1) Canada/Alberta

Strengths: Draw from my years of hunting experience in any given situation to be successful in accomplishing my goals. I'm driven and determined to be the best at what I do.

Name: Danny Henwood

Nickname(s): Henny

Age: 32

Occupation: Guns sales at Bass Pro Shops Atlanta

Hometown: Norcross, GA

Family: Engaged

Years Hunting: 17

Favorite Method: Archery only since 1997

My Biggest Buck: I've never connected with a monster, but every buck that I have ever shot has been a trophy to me!

Primary Hunting Area: Most of my hunting is done in suburban Atlanta in small woodlots and drainages. The terrain is typically hardwoods mixed in with privet and heavy underbrush.

Other Hunting Areas: I will hunt anywhere and anytime that I get the chance. For several years I hunted a 3000 acre pecan farm on lake Blackshear in Cordele Georgia. The deer were large and plentiful but for some reason they never grew into the trophies that you would expect! (you talk about some beg deer with little funky racks). The only state that I have had the opportunity to hunt is Georgia, but I can't wait for the chance to hunt in other places.

Strengths: I think that my greatest strength when it comes to hunting is my ability to "read the woods". I have always (or at least most of the time) been able to put myself in the position to get within bow-range of the deer. I look at a piece of woods just the same as a body of water that I have never fished trying to identify certain features that stick out from the rest and after factoring in the wind, that has been my recipe for success. I am confident that my knowledge of both the woods as well as whitetail behavior coupled with perseverance and patience can win me the championship.

Name: William Mitchell

Nickname(s): Mitch

Age: 50

Occupation: Vocational Counselor

Hometown: Rome, GA

Family: Married with two boys ages 30 and 21

Years Hunting: 15

Favorite Method: I like archery because it requires some skills to get close to the animal. Mano a mano.

My Biggest Buck: 9 pointer

Primary Hunting Area: Private property in Cave Springs, Georgia. It is a rural community with plenty of hills and springs. The terrain is hilly, but it is thick with undergrowth. What makes this property special is that it has limited access for other hunters, and it's well managed. I have planted foods plots and crabapple trees throughout the property.

Other Hunting Areas: Once a year we travel and hunt a managed hunt in South Georgia. We usually harvest a doe, but it's the hanging out with my comrades that makes the hunting trip special, "Deer camp". I usually hunt in my local area. I travel about forty- five minutes to hunt a property that borders on the Alabama line. I hunt this property early in the season to harvest a couple of does for friends who are requesting meat for their freezers.

Strengths: When I first started hunting, I didn't have any mentors in the sport. I learned about hunting from reading magazines, books and real life experiences. Most of the hunters I knew only hunted small game. I harvested my first deer by reading deer signs and listening to my intuition. What I try to do when I am in the woods is to become one with the woods, blend in, not stand out. What will give me a leg up in this competition are my determination, my patience and my ability to read and follow signs. I believe in preparing in be successful and no excuses.

Name: Dennis W. Moser

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 44

Occupation: Commercial Real Estate – President of The Moser Group, Inc.

Hometown: Weddington, NC

Family: Wife: Patti, married for 20 years Children: Mackenzie, 16; Lexie, 12

Years Hunting: Several as a kid. Hard the last 10 years, only missed a few days per season the last five years.

Favorite Method: Archery, Rifle

My Biggest Buck: 162 B & C

Primary Hunting Area: 161 & 220 acres Union County, NC, hardwoods, open fields.
209 acres Lancaster County, SC hardwoods level to slopping.
346 acres Union County, NC pine tree farm,2 miles large creek frontage, rolling.
350 acres Lancaster County, SC pine tree farm, 44 acre lake, several creeks, rolling.
24 acres deer sanctuary, Cleveland County, NC, rolling, surrounded by pine tree farm and farmed fields.

Other Hunting Areas: I have hunted the following states in USA for whitetail, mule deer, elk, bobcats, coyotes, hogs, quail, dove, beaver, fox, turkey, and ducks: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, Kentucky, Colorado, and Kansas.. I hunted British Columbia for wolf, mule deer ,and in South America I hunted red stag, puma, ram, black buck, fallow deer and axis deer. Fallow deer # 1 in South America, #2 in world. Axis deer #8 in South America.

Strengths: Competitiveness, Passion for hunting, Remaining calm under pressure, Lucky.

Name: Kim Newman

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 45

Occupation: Operations Manager

Hometown: Westchester, OH

Family: Wife Stefanie Newman  2 Children Kellen 8 and Alonzo 17

Years Hunting: 30

Favorite Method: Rifle

My Biggest Buck: 10 pointer Net scored 148

Primary Hunting Area: Northern Kentucky and SW Ohio. Rolling hills hard woods, with some thick cover. I also have permits to hunt the urban areas in the Cincinnati, OH area to decrease the deer population in the urban areas.

Other Hunting Areas: Yes, I have travelled to Saskatchewan Canada, VA, GA, AL, IA, KY, NC to hunt over the past 5-10 years. I have taken deer in VA, GA, AL, KY, NC, OH and Saskatchewan Canada.

Strengths: I have a superior practical knowledge of white tail deer hunting strategies that I have honed over my lifetime. I also possess the ability to effectively use topographical and aerial maps to find the most likely places to come into contact with whitetail deer. I understand what white tail deer are motivated by throughout the different phases of the deer season and I use that knowledge to establish strategies for coming into contact with the the big deer that most people do not ever see.

Name: Ray Scott

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 51

Occupation: President of Construction Solutions of Georgia, Inc.

Hometown: Buford, GA

Family: Daughter- Jennifer, Grandchildren Marcus & McKenna, Son- Jonathan, Grandson Brody

Years Hunting: 38

Favorite Method: Rifle, with Archery a close second

My Biggest Buck: 6 1/2 year old 9 pointer shot at ten yards

Primary Hunting Area: Wilkes County, Georgia, East Central Georgia - Piedmont Region consisting of planted pines, hardwoods and cut-over areas

Other Hunting Areas: I travel about 200 miles round-trip every weekend to hunt in Wilkes County, Georgia. I occasionally hunt other areas, but prefer my home turf. I am very selective and generally only shoot one or two bucks per season.

Strengths: Experience & Confidence. I have confidence in my hunting skills and techniques, which will allow me to find and get close to the deer. I will have to make a combination of good decisions in planning and an invisible presence to get close enough to execute my strategies and obtain an advantage over the deer, and my competition.

Name: Alan Smith

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 65

Occupation: Property Management

Hometown: Dacula, GA

Family: Wife: Judy, Sons: Adam 42, Jason 40

Years Hunting: 47

Favorite Method: Archery 50% Rifle 50%

My Biggest Buck: Alabama 186 5/8 Gross B&C with a large portion of antler mass missing from the right main beam.

Primary Hunting Area: Currently hunting/managing a 1500 acre tract of mixed plantation pine forest with creek bottoms and hardwood edges in Green County, Georgia.

Other Hunting Areas: I have been fortunate to have been able to travel and hunt throughout a large portion of North America. I have successfully hunted/harvested the following: Florida: white-tailed deer, turkey, wild hog, Alabama and Georgia: white-tailed deer, turkey, Georgia: fallow deer, Colorado: mule deer and elk, Montana: antelope, Newfoundland: moose, Quebec: black bear and caribou, Alberta: white-tailed deer, British Columbia: Stone Sheep and black bear, Yukon: caribou, Alaska: black bear and caribou. Many of the Canadian trips and the Alaska trip were mixed bag. On the Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia trips I wanted a 60" plus moose but was not successful. Many moose up to the 50" to 55"class were passed up.

Strengths: With 47 years of in the field experience I feel that a natural ability to read the white-tailed deer habitat and habits will give me the needed edge to win the competition. To continue to be successful a hunter should have learned something from every animal harvested. You should also have learned a lesson from every unsuccessful encounter. I believe patience and experience will be key factors in being successful in the qualifying event.

Miscellaneous: Served 9 years on the Board of Directors of Safari Club International, Orlando Florida Chapter, 2 years as President, 2 years as Vice President. Worked on, co-chaired, or chaired the Annual Fundraiser all 9 years. Also traveled extensively for the SCI Chapter. In its infancy served nearly 2 years as the first full time Executive Director of QDMA.

Name: Jeff Smith

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 50

Occupation: Receiving Lead Bass Pro Shops

Hometown: Georgia

Family: I've been married for 25 years to my beautiful wife Terri Smith. We have been blessed with 3 beautiful girls, Lauren 22, Caitlin 17, and Meagan 13. I have a brother Tommy, and a sister Sandra.

Years Hunting: I've hunted whitetail deer since I was a boy and enjoy every second I spend in the woods.

Favorite Method: I love the challenge of Archery.

My Biggest Buck: 11 pointer

Primary Hunting Area: I do most of my hunting here in GA. Open land management and deer clubs as well.

Other Hunting Areas: N/A

Strengths: N/A

Name: Daniel Scott Street

Nickname(s): Scott

Age: 42

Occupation: VP Residential/Development Company

Hometown: Simpsonville, SC

Family: Married to Renee and we have 2 boys Hunter and Tanner.

Years Hunting: Hunted deer for 30 years. Killed my first deer at the age of 14 with a bow.

Favorite Method: Prefer to Archery hunt but have been successful by all methods.

My Biggest Buck: Biggest free ranging buck is 150's but I have killed a 190 class with a bow.

Primary Hunting Area: I hunt mostly wooded terrain here in SC. My biggest obstacle is separating bedding areas from feeding areas as most of the terrain is conducive to deer just standing up to start feeding.

Other Hunting Areas: I take at least two good hunting trips a year, sometimes more, to big buck hotspots like Kansas/Illinois or Canada. I have hunted SC, NC, TN, OH, NY, PA, IL, KS, MT, NM, UT, TX, AL, GA, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Strengths: I am not sure I have any secret knowledge that will give me a leg up on the competition other than I have a life time of knowledge and experience to put myself at the right location during the optimum hunting time available. There is nothing special about putting in hard work to give your self the best possible odds at being successful.

Name: Carson Yates

Nickname(s): "D"

Age: 21

Occupation: Student and full time Hunter

Hometown: Pike Road, AL

Family: Parents- Mike and Jo Yates, Sibling- Brantley Yates

Years Hunting: 17

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 130's Nine Point

Primary Hunting Area: Central Alabama, Hunt hardwoods bordering swamps.

Other Hunting Areas: I have traveled to Illinois once on a late season bow hunt. Passed on two 140+ deer and plan on going back in November.

Strengths: I am a fierce competitor and HATE losing more than anything else. There are a good number of deer in my area however mature bucks are few and far between. Like I said on my interview deer need three things kind of like humans and that is food, water, and shelter. If you can locate key bedding areas and set up in between food and water sources you have a good chance at harvesting nice whitetails. The key thing most people forget is patience. I believe I have patience but yet enough of a competitive strength that will help me be a world champion.

Name: George Michael Campbell

Nickname(s): Mike

Age: 42

Occupation: Sales Associate - Bass Pro Shop in Pearl, Ms.

Hometown: Verona, MS

Family: Spouse- Rubye, Children, Bailey- 13 Kenzie- 11 and William- 29

Years Hunting: 30+

Favorite Method: All

My Biggest Buck: 11 pt. gross score 154 5/8 ranked #1 in Carroll County, MS with bow

Primary Hunting Area: Delta swampland, large ag. Fields such as: beans and corn. The terrain is hill country, ridges, creek bottoms, bottlenecks, and funnels.

Other Hunting Areas: I do travel to different areas-most in mississippi due to work schedule but i do hunt in Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee. I see deer a lot, but not the quality of deer i want to harvest. It isn't always about the kill, but about the blessing of being in the beauty of nature our lord provided and sharing it with others.

Strengths: I put 100% into the hunt. Hunting deer successfully you have to become one: think, act, where is my sanctuary, my food source, and my safe travel route.

Name: Brandon Lee Cartwright

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 29

Occupation: Wildlife Manager

Hometown: Farris, Ok

Family: Single

Years Hunting: 11

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 154

Primary Hunting Area: South Eastern Oklahoma. The terrain is diverse. Ridges and saddles as well as bottoms and pastures.

Other Hunting Areas: Colorado elk hunting, Northeastern and central Oklahoma. I have filmed deer hunts in Kansas.

Strengths: I have been successful at deer hunting for 11 years on land that deer hunting was very tough on. I have a fishery and wildlife degree. I have been working as a wildlife manager on a ranch in southern eastern Oklahoma for two years. I am also very competitive.

Name: Bill Erwin

Nickname(s): Bull

Age: 50

Occupation: Loggin woods/road maintance

Hometown: Antlers, OK

Family: Vondale/wife, Billy/son 30, Brad/son 19, Ricky/stepson 33, Virginia/stepdaughter 30, and 4 grandkids Colton/Brooklyn/Kaycee/Jimmy Tanner

Years Hunting: 41

Favorite Method: Rifle

My Biggest Buck: 163

Primary Hunting Area: Southeast Oklahoma, mountains, open meadows to thickets

Other Hunting Areas: Kansas, Florida, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Texas, Wyoming, Alaska and of course Oklahoma

Strengths: Sportsmanship/good things come to good sports. Being able to get the crosshairs on the kill zone fast.

Name: Monty C. Fletcher

Nickname(s): C-MOR

Age: 52

Occupation: Real Estate Manager and Owner

Hometown: Yazoo City, MS

Family: Wife/Sandy 2 children Son/Jake 23, Daughter/Anna Kaye 18. I have 9 brothers and sisters, My parents are father Carroll Fletcher and step mother Brenda Fletcher.

Years Hunting: 38

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 153 1/8

Primary Hunting Area: Mississippi, Mixed hardwood and pine timber with rolling hills.

Other Hunting Areas: Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Alabama. I visited Texas to attend the great PSE shoot out hog hunt. I harvested a 50 lb. Java Lena, won 2nd. place among 600 archers. I took a Bull Elk in Colorado on my first ever Elk hunt. It was a self guided P & Y just over 300 inches. Louisiana I harvested a P & Y 124 1/8 Whitetail Buck. One side was a 1/8 off a perfect match side to side.

Strengths: Having hunted a wide array of terrains and diverse habitat will allow me to adapt quickly to conditions. Knowledge of deer, habits, instincts, basic needs, family circles, favorite foods, will supply opportunity. I have a home made locator call that is not available for market. I have the "green book", not to mention the "plug".

Vaseline

I can smell them!!!

Name: Grady Hathaway

Nickname(s): Biscuits

Age: 31

Occupation: Contractor

Hometown: Quitman, TX

Family: Wife Charity, a stepson William Dunlap, and my first on the way this coming spring.

Years Hunting: 23

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: I got a 14 pt that scored 156 7/8

Primary Hunting Area: I do most of my hunting in west Texas. Lots of mesquite flats a draws.

Other Hunting Areas: I haven't got to hunt out of Texas yet but I have been offered a place in Kansas to hunt, and I am going to try and get out there next season.

Strengths: I think just my time in the woods will help me out considerably in the competition. I grew up sneaking on deer and other critters on my parents 40 acres in east Texas. I am just going to bring everything I got and work as hard as I can to win.

Name: Larry Large

Nickname(s): Double L

Age: 64

Occupation: Guide/Outfitter

Hometown: Alba, TX

Family: Married 37 years to Ardith. One son 36

Years Hunting: 30

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 168 P & Y

Primary Hunting Area: Texas hill country Rolling hills, mesquite, live oak and cedar

Other Hunting Areas: I travel to Colorado every year and have been very successful. I have also hunted in Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Wyoming and Montana

Strengths: I don't know that anyone can have a leg up in this competition. With today's technology and education everyone can be a great hunter. What I do have working for me is my age. With age comes experience, knowledge and patience.

Name: Rollie Lunsford

Nickname(s): N/A

Age: 35

Occupation: Self Employed

Hometown: Oologah, OK

Family: Spouse: Tasha Lunsford; Number of children and age? 2 Girls, Summer 13 and Bailey 12

Years Hunting: 24

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 155 Pope & Young

Primary Hunting Area: NE Oklahoma. Creek and river bottoms.

Other Hunting Areas: Have had about 90% success in 6 states including OK, CO, NM, KS, TX, and Idaho And 2 countries, Canada: Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and Africa, country of South Africa.

Strengths: Stubborn Experience.

Name: Andy Mitchell

Nickname(s): Bulldog

Age: 33

Occupation: Excavation Contractor

Hometown: Rockwall, TX

Family: Wife (Mandi Mitchell) Son (Gage Mitchell) Daughter (Parris Pickett)

Years Hunting: 23

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 146in archery kill Kansas

Primary Hunting Area: West Texas and the panhandle of Texas. Thick mesquite brush rolling hills with cedar breaks.

Other Hunting Areas: I hunt Kansas every year as well as Texas. I have hunted elk in Colorado both archery and muzzleloader. I have killed two 140 class deer in Kansas the past two seasons. I killed a 6 by 5 elk with a muzzleloader on public land four years ago and a 5 by 5 two years ago. I killed a 135lb mountain lion on public land during a 15 day mule deer hunt in Oregon. I have hunted dove in Argentina.

Strengths: I hunt hard regardless of the conditions. I feel that I am very good at studying the deer movement and adjusting my hunting style accordingly. The thing that will help me win this competition is being able to cover a lot of country on foot, being patient and understanding deer movements related to what time of the season and weather conditions we are hunting.

Name: Justin Shireman

Nickname(s): The Shiredude

Age: 34

Occupation: Oil & Gas Industry

Hometown: Tuttle, OK

Family: Wife – Shanna, little girl – Kalyn, age 3

Years Hunting: 25

Favorite Method: Archery

My Biggest Buck: 145" 10 point

Primary Hunting Area: Western Oklahoma, rolling hills with deep, heavy canyons. Food plots situated along wooded creek bottoms.

Other Hunting Areas: I go to Wyoming and 2-3 different spots in Texas every year. I have been very successful out of state. I have hunted in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Kansas, Wyoming, and Colorado.

Strengths: Through my years of guiding hunters, and hunting myself, I feel like I have developed an understanding of deer’s habits/movements during different times of the year. There are several factors that attribute to what deer are doing at any given point. Although these competitions are taking place in different areas than I am used to hunting, this will aid me in trying to find what deer are concentrating on and why.

Name: Jason Verbeck

Nickname(s): Verbs

Age: 27

Occupation: Hunting Guide

Hometown: Brewster, WA

Family: Single, Parents are Jim and Melody Verbeck and I have two younger sisters; Lindsey (23) and Kelsey (19)

Years Hunting: 18

Favorite Method: To be totally honest I enjoy all three, each one has its advantages and disadvantages, but I truly love just love to be out hunting, anytime a season is open. I also really want to hunt with a crossbow. That has always been a dream of mine.

My Biggest Buck: It's not the biggest buck I've taken, but the one I am the proudest of is a 9.5 year old buck that was well past his prime. His horns were taller than they were wide and he had 8.5 inch bases. He definitely wouldn't have made it through the winter. Later that same day, I also shot a bear that was 23 years old and weighed almost 500 lbs.

Primary Hunting Area: Where I am from there are a lot of different types of terrain to hunt, from agriculture fields and orchards, aspen filled river bottoms, and big pine covered mountains all within an hours drive. I can't really say I hunt one more than the others.

Other Hunting Areas: While in college I didn't have the chance to hunt other states as much as I'd like. Luckily for me, Washington has Whitetail, Mule Deer, and Blacktail Deer. Even though, there isn't as great of chance as other Western States for a trophy animals it was enough to keep me busy. Now that I am out of school, I try to fit in at least a couple out of state hunts a year. This year I'll be heading to Idaho and Montana and next year we are planning to hunt Kodiak Island Alaska, as well as whatever other western states we get drawn for. The places that are on the top of my wish list are Illinois, Iowa, Saskatchewan, and Alberta for Whitetail, along with Arizona for Coues Deer.

Strengths: There are a few things that I think will allow me to compete and do well at the AWA World Championship. I have a lot of experience hunting animals that are pressured by other hunters, as I've been on a lot of public land hunts. Those experiences should benefit me throughout this competition. The other thing that should benefit me is that I am the lone person from the West Coast in this competition. So, hopefully I'll have some different tricks and tactics that will work to my advantage. I am expecting that everyone in the competition will have a great deal of knowledge about whitetail deer. I think the person who adapts to the best, will fair very well.