I know my opion doesn’t mean nothing but please read my post

[Wesley Drennan]

Billy you called yourself an old timer lol they sure don't seem to listen to what the members say on here it is for the money men these days us poor boys going to have to start fishing I guess

[Josh Michaelis]

it is for the money men these days us poor boys going to have to start fishing I guess

Look I get some complaints. But this is ri.diculous.

There are big hunts with entrys from $50-$6500 all over the country. All year long. Texas to New York, every year. There is plenty of opportunities for a poor man to take a dog and get it's picture taken.

And those same poor men never complain when some of these "Money Men" give em 5 figures for a dog.

[Michael Brown]

It’s just the evolution of our society in general, and the faster people get used to it the better things will be. There’s visionaries, and dreamers, and usually the age of the person tells which one you are. Basically, a lot of you are dreamers always remembering the “good ole days,” but in order for a business to stay afloat they’ve gotta structure for tomorrow, thus making the visionary more successful. Personally, I’d prefer everyone quit griping about things not being like they used to be, and rather people become visionaries, and discover new and better ways to structure our sport for the benefit of each of us. Just my thoughts shared, and not trying to stir the pot.

[Billy Carter]

Michael, let’s exercise your mind.

I agree that visionary game plans are what gets us further than we are now. Without a vision you cannot get to the next level of accomplishment.

But, if you have tried a visionary approach and it is not working in the way in which you had hoped sometimes it is good to get back to what made you, regroup, build up the momentum once again and try another route of a new vision when you are stout again.

It’s not about the entry fee at these hunts to me. It’s about a hunt having a little prestige. You win the world hunt and no one remembers your accomplishment because there another major event in a couple weeks.

Too many majors in my personal opinion.

I agree whole heartedly that an individual with a vision will prosper more than one stuck in the past. What in my mind separates a successful visionary from one losing ground is when to act upon your vision and when to hold tight and not make a move that your customers are telling you not to do.

[Michael Brown]

Billy, I personally believe that our sport needs to change in a variety of ways, and by doing so we’ll have a different standard for what is prestigious. 1. I personally believe “prestigious hunts” is a UKC thing, and though there’s nothing wrong with that I don’t think that’s what generates excitement in PKC. Money of course is the name of the game, and the by product of that “pursuit” has provided us with a social factor that has obviously been very successful. Our social interaction has changed a lot thanks to technology, and if we can learn how to interact with each other online in ways that strengthens relationships that would be fabulous. 2. I think we need to gear “money hunts” more towards “prestigious dog, and handlers” titles instead of hunts. For example we need to have a hunt/tournament where dogs, and handlers are seeded like in sports based on their winnings that particular year. We could have top seeds from open events, pro events, or whatever events we decided to have, and even offer “play in games” for dogs owned by people not able to chase the hunts regularly. We then have to use social media to “blow” these dogs, handlers, and events up, and make them famous in our sport. 3. We could have a true world champion by having a year long tournament, state by state, and finish with a seeded tournament of top dogs, and handlers. If we don’t make the year long race a just as important as a one weeklong world hunt, then you greatly reduce the motivation for our hunts. 4. PKC could change their revenue stream to a membership based one, and increase their payback to the hunters. There’s a lot of ways to make this work. 5. Basically what I’m saying Billy is that I’m 100% against throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak. I think just because we’ve learned that old ways are dying off, and new ways are being formulated that we’d be failures to give up, and just go back to yesterday. I’m afraid we’ll be sorely disappointed, and a lot of people would be surprised. There’s another organization that has done their very best to make things how “they used to be,” and they’re realizing the financial cost of that mistake. Lastly, as much as I dislike him, Donald Trump had a brilliant strategy and realized it would greatly benefit him if he’d tell the people what they wanted to hear, and he used social media to excite and spur people to buy what he was selling. He realized the value of television, and modern media platforms. How many people would buy tickets to watch a coonhunt on tv between Thousand Dollar Bill, and Meltdown? Would you pay a $10 per view to see top money winners compete? I would! All of these proceeds could go towards the cost of doing it and the purse. Anyways, it’s Father’s Day, and I’m getting off here to play with my boys! I wish all you Fathers a beautiful day!

[Billy Carter]

I wish you a Happy Fathers Day also Michael !!!

I like your seeded hunt format. It gives a new twist to an old sport. That style of vision is needed if we are to move forward.

I do think one still has to keep some things for the older guys that they like or liked and add new ideas for the men and women just starting, while hoping some of the older guys graduate to picking up the new ways.

One thing I have learned in my professional career is old customers pay the bills and new customers make you money. There has to be an equalization between the two so the interest can be peeked in both sectors causing both groups to open up their wallets and participate.

I feel you are correct in social media. And, while I am a fan of that realm of media I do worry how my children and their generation will handle one on one live in person conversation and problem solving skills in a face to face scenario.

But, if marketed properly I feel a hunt live streamed as you spoke of would definitely work. I think it would be a hunt that the millennial generation would subscribe too and not so much my generation. But, I could be wrong.

And, from a view of marketing I feel any organization has to market primarily to the style of group that is paying the bills and hope others come along for the trip. Each generation has a time of importance and each generation slips to the “what has been” generations. So, if the new generation is paying the way the heck with the has beens, BUT if the has beens are still the primary customer base you better listen to them.

[Mike Fleming]

Nascar was the number 1 spectator sport for a long time till Bill Frances son took over and started changing everything .Taking Races from tracks that was the backone of what made Nascar as big as it was moved them to California and Las Vegas for all the cool people to see and it was good till the new wore off now they cant fill half the seats and the loyal fans they screwed over gave them the finger and quit coming to the races all together.So he keeps changing things over and over to where people don't know whats going on now.Its got the worst TV rating ever and they are wanting to sell out now.

[Billy Carter]

Bingo!!!!

Not saying change is bad and must have change, but some things need to remain constant. The hot bed of pkc was West Ky, west Tn, Northern Ms and Al. Now, I don’t think they have near the following as they once did after the hunts started moving north.

I love hunting north of Ohio River but I also like some of the hunts remaining where their birth was.

[Michael Brown]

Forgive my writing as I'm on my phone, and not computer. I've got lot of agreement with what you've said, Billy, and feel with good discussion, and reasonable compromise minds like us can help our sport. I do agree with Mike on NASCAR to some extent, and think it presents a good example of why “too much too soon” is always a bad idea. Although I think the ignorance of NASCAR was trying to take a “country boy” sport to sell to a city boy audience. We (coonhunters) obviously don’t need to try to sell coonhunting to the Kardashians or the Trumps. I’ve got a feeling they’re not our market.

[Harold Brock]

Iam just a poor boy , I know I'll never win back what I've spent , and I'm fine with that ! I love coonhunting. I can go alone and enjoy it , or go to a $30 open or go to the bigger hunts either way I enjoy myself , and thanks to the big money guys , when I get a good young dog doing good I can try recuperating my lost money , I'm a older feller , but I'm looking forward to the new stuff hopefully the legacy hunts are like garmin has been to coonhunting over the old beep box !! Change can be good , acceptance is what's hard .

[Wesley Drennan]

there are a lot of hunts of all sizes but there are no local week night hunts much and a big hunt somewhere every weekend when I say the poor boys I mean the man that works for a living that can't take off and go to these big hunts all the time and can't stay out all night hunting there are so many handlers that do nothing but hunt and I understand they put in there time do the work and they win it just makes it hard to compete with them especially if hunt these old culls that I follow but I will keep plugging away at it but we all know things will never be like they used to be and those that didn't hunt back in the late 90s when u pull up to a 25 dollar week night hunt and have thirty dogs at it u will never understand it is a dying sport all the old timers r gone and kids these days are to lazy to walk behind a dog

[Coy Sullivan]

There may be to many hunts!! But it isn’t all PKC’s fault. You’ve got to call an schedule hunts for PKC to allow it. There not the ones scheduling all the hunts!! As far as it being the way it use to be pulling up to a local $25 hunt having 20-30 dogs hunting it’ll never happen again. To many of the (old timers) have quit an most don’t care to go compete an argue over $72 cw. Most had rather save there money for a hunt they can actually win a good amount at.
An as far as the paid handlers having an advantage of having a better dog, that’s bs!! I work 5-6 days a week an still hunt, same as anyone can do to keep there dogs in shape an ready for a hunt!! I may be wrong I don’t keep up with it but look like the pup division had a full entry every night or close to it. As far as the open dogs it’s never been about them anyway. That’s why there wasn’t many there.

[Dylan Hovey]

The World Hunt loses its prestige when you can go collect 54,000 in a weekend at other hunts!

[Billy Carter]

The pups did have a full entry. But, from my understanding it was combined 1,2, and that crazy 3 year old group. So, if that case not very many.

[Travis Jewell]

I wish they had more bigger hunts in the south eastern all of them are mostly in Illinois or Indiana that’s hard to travel to when you have to work