From: Stephanie Mallory Communications
Salem County father and son prevail in online voting by viewers of North American Whitetail Television.
When it comes to deer hunting, what young New Jersey resident T.J. Hunter lacks in experience he more than makes up for in enthusiasm. That passion now has carried T.J. and his father, Tim, all the way to a win in North American Whitetail Television’s “Ultimate Muzzy Moment” contest.
T.J. and Tim Hunter
In online public voting recently completed on www.northamericanwhitetail.com, the Salem County residents pulled out a last-hour victory over great entries from Wisconsin, Illinois, Alberta and Pennsylvania. The winning segment showcased the September 2009 bowhunt on which T.J., then just 10 years old, shot his first whitetail. The boy’s excitement over this memorable hunting achievement clearly resonated with fellow deer hunters everywhere, as a late flurry of votes for the New Jersey entry pushed T.J. and Tim past the other finalists. The Hunters will receive a special prize package of Muzzy’s time-tested bowhunting products as a reward for their win.
“I remember when I received this raw video footage for consideration as a ‘Muzzy Moment’ two years ago,” says Gordon Whittington, editor in chief of North American Whitetail. “When I showed it to co-host Stan Potts and editor Josh Viste, they agreed with me that it would make a great segment. Every one of the five finalists in the contest was great, so for this one to come out on top says a lot. We, along with our close friends at Muzzy Products, congratulate T.J. and Tim on a hard-won victory.”
The “Muzzy Moment” segment on North American Whitetail Television has been a hit with deer enthusiasts since the show premiered in 2004. Since then, every episode has featured one of these clips, in which a viewer’s video footage and/or still photos of a memorable whitetail encounter has been featured. Some, such as the Hunters’ entry, have centered on successful hunts. However, many others have showcased non-hunting encounters that stood out because the deer and/or its behavior was truly unique. A glance at the remaining finalists clearly illustrates that point:
Wisconsin’s John Dummer provided amazing video and shed antlers of the world’s largest known albino whitetail buck, a free-ranging giant on private land in western Wisconsin. (For more, visit www.whitetailworld.com.)
Ron Wilmore captured spectacular video of a wild Illinois buck with a massive rack spreading well over 30 inches.
Alberta’s Kelly Koneczny got shocking video of hunting partner Leon Greer literally sneaking up to a walking, 300-pound whitetail buck in the wild and then grabbing his antler.
Ray Wagner took video of a wild Pennsylvania buck seen parading through the woods with a regulation basketball goal – and net – wedged onto his rack.
T.J. Hunter
Potts, Whittington and Viste hand-picked the finalists from among the dozens that had appeared on North American Whitetail Television over the years. After the co-hosts announced the “Ultimate Muzzy Moment” contest on the milestone 100th episode of the show last fall, they invited viewers to visit www.northamericanwhitetail.com to vote for their all-time favorite. Thousands of votes were cast, with the New Jersey bowhunt narrowly topping the Wisconsin albino for top honors.
“We salute all of the finalists and are happy so many of our fellow whitetail fanatics went to our website to help select a winner,” Whittington says. “It wasn’t easy to narrow the field down to five finalists, so I know it was challenging for the public to pick the all-time best entry from among them. We just hope the contest inspires many more deer enthusiasts to send in their own footage and photos for consideration as future ‘Muzzy Moments,'” he adds.
For more information on Muzzy’s broad range of proven broadheads and other archery accessories, please visit: www.muzzy.com. Anyone interested in submitting potential “Muzzy Moment” materials to North American Whitetail Television can do so by emailing details to: whitetail@imoutdoors.com.
