2011 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Play By Play

[Jerry Moll]

By Jerry Moll

For many years, the PKC Pup Shootout in Lula, MS has been one of the premier coonhound events in the nation. When the
game is competition coon hunting, PKC Super Stakes Pups are the name of the game! Although some members still like hunting
a mature hound, others see a seasoned dog as both predictable and boring. To many, cultivating the abilities of these
untamed pups is really where it’s at. The 64 pups earning a “Pup Ticket” to the Isle of Capri Casino this March had already
been put to the test and have been proven winners. They and their handlers had many miles and many cast wins under their
belts well before the Pup Shootout letter of invitation arrived at their doorstep from the PKC office.

Where did this year’s final four competitors come from? Who was the sire and dam? Who was the breeder and who did
the training and hunting? How much winning had they done before heading to Northwestern Mississippi? Let’s take an in depth
look at the four pups, the owners and the handlers competing in the final matchup for the truck and the title of 2011
PKC Pup Shootout Champion as they appeared on the final scorecard.
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SCH Valley Creek Loud is owned by Darius Kohl of Raymond, Nebraska and handled by sixteen year old Chace McCaskill of Elmore City, Oklahoma. Up until the Pup Shootout, Loud had won $9,666. Loud’s date of birth is November 7, 2007. She was
bred by Jason Kerley. Her sire was Perkins Creek Stylish Deal from Stylish Zip Code on top and a Rat Attack female on the
bottom. Deal has sired 43 pups that have won $14,791. Loud’s dam was Kerley’s Hard Knockin Knock, sired by Lacey’s Stylish
Preacher and Little River Snow on the bottom. Knock has produced 19 pups that have won $11,750. Loud had previously
been owned by Redgy & Wynell Ramsey, Kevin Pruemer, Dennis Porter and Jason Kerley.

Chace and Loud drew cast one in the early round on Friday. The cast consisted of Dee Vaughn with Legend; Glynn Horne with Snap and Jeff Ricklefs with Blaze. The judge of the cast was Scottie George and the guide was Rusty Brown. It was a close cast with Loud edging out both Snap and Legend by just 50 points, finishing with 250+.

In the late round, Chace and Loud drew Jonathan Goldman for the judge and David Gregg for the guide. The competition
was Steven Smith with Lilly; John Fultz with Claxton and Robert Burns with Money. It was a low scoring cast with all
hounds finishing below zero except Loud with 150+.
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CH Tricolor No Sunshine is owned by Larry (Duke) Proulx, Tom Gilbert, and Jason Eddins of Jewett City, Connecticut. She is handled by Larry Proulx of Jewett City, Connecticut. Up until the Pup Shootout, Shine had won $1,492. Shine’s date of birth
is February 27, 2009. She was bred by Larry Proulx. Her sire is PCH Tequila Sunrise from Rat Attack and Stylish Silk. Sunrise
has sired 1,450 pups that have won $403,310. Shine’s dam was PCH Tricolor Stylish Nowheres, sired by Fletcher’s Stylish Jake
and Backwater Pearl on the bottom. Nowheres has produced 24 pups that have won $78,310. Shine had previously been
owned by Tom Gilbert and Larry Proulx.

Duke and Shine drew cast eight in the early round on Friday consisting of Nathan Trout with Spike; Sumner Cullom with
Sideways; and Danny Cobb with Cain. The judge of the cast was James Love and the guide was Monte Noland. When the
cast finished, Shine was on top with a very impressive 575+.

In the late round, Duke and Shine drew Kevin Roberson for the judge and Morris Hardie for the guide. The competition was Ronnie Bone with Dreams; Robert Stivers with Jiggs and Billy Johnson with Kati. Both Dreams and Kati were scratched by the hour rule after a time-out call and Shine beat out Jiggs with 175+.
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SCH Wipeout Zeg is owned by Walter Moore of Whatley, Alabama. He is handled by seventeen year old Dustin Weed of Prairie, Mississippi. Up until the Pup Shootout, Zeg had won $6,292. Zeg’s date of birth is November 01, 2007. He was bred by Tommy McQueen. His sire was PCH Wipeout Willie from Wipeout Zack and Tree Talken Annie. Willie has sired 377 pups that have won $82,791. Zeg’s dam was SCH McQueen’s Wipeout Mandy, sired by Wipeout Case and McQueen’s Hardwood Mandy on the bottom. Wipeout Mandy has produced 18 pups that have won $6,505. Zeg had previously been owned by Derrick Kuroda, Mark Sullivan and Tommy McQueen.

Dustin and Zeg drew cast five in the early round on Friday consisting of Tony Clevinger with Spot; Kevin Spinks with Shotgun and Jeff Stallard with Buck Creek Loud. The judge of the cast was Brad Durham and the guide was Scott Hentz. Zeg bested the competition by a good margin and finished with 400+.

In the late round, Dustin and Zeg drew Brad Durham for the judge and Zach Smith for the guide. The competition was Nathan Weaver with Spock, Austin Sigmon with Red and Robert Beggs with Kate. Zeg came out on top with 275+.
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SCH Spruill’s No Way Out is owned by William Spruill of Moyock, North Carolina. He is handled by Keith Husband of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Up until the Pup Shootout, Out had won $5,316. Out’s date of birth is November 13, 2008. He was bred by Steve Jones. His sire was PCH Boogar Hollow Mojo from Stylish Hammer and Smoky Mountain J Lo. Mojo has sired 760 pups that have won $31,552. Out’s dam was Bear Creek Maggie, sired by Homer’s Hank and Hardwood Hannah on the bottom. Maggie has produced 18 pups that have won $5,474. Out had previously been owned by Tyler Husband, Randy Moore and Steve Jones.

Keith and Out drew cast seven in the early round on Friday consisting of Nathan Fields with Tapp; Mike Walters with Jug and Woody Wright with Chief. The judge of the cast was Steven Miller and the guide was Jabbs Maddox. Everyone in the cast finished with minus except Out. He kept his head above water with 75+.

In the late round, Keith and Out drew Steven Miller for the judge and Wesley Willard for the guide. The competition was Jackie Coomer with Bonnie; Ronald Burney with Juice and Michael Chambers with Jazzy Q. Out tied Jazzy with 150+, but won on the tie breaker.
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The scene for the final cast was now set, and for the four handlers, butterflies and anxious anticipation filled the air. Friday
night’s thunder, lightning and rain had moved on out droppingthe temperature down to 44°. Variable, strong, gusty winds
hung around just enough to make hearing the dogs a little challenging. The dependable veteran Wesley Willard would be
guiding the cast north of the Isle of Capri at the Duck Lake Club, well inside the levee. The main judge was Kevin
Roberson and his back-up was Brad Durham. The panel members going to the woods were: David Dial; Jonathan Goldman;
and Jackie Newton. After a few instructions from judge Roberson, I said a short prayer thanking the good Lord for our
awesome sport, and we led the hounds into the woods.

The handlers were instructed to collar and cast at about 6:45 PM CST. The minute expired without a bark, but shortly after Dustin put Zeg on paper for 100. Out was struck soon after for 75 and we started tightening up to stay within judging distance. Chace struck Loud for 50 and within a short period treed her for 100 followed by Keith treeing Out for 75. As the cast moved up a little more, Zeg was treed for 50 and Duke struck Shine for a quarter with a line and treed for 100 after this tree is dead. Upon arrival at the tree it was determined that Out was not there, he received 75-. Shine was there, deleted on both ends, and was handled along with Loud and Zeg.

The tree was shined and Ricky Ricardo was spotted quickly, plussed up Loud 150+ and Zeg 150+. Keith re-treed Out for 100
deeper in the country thereby leash-locking Loud, Shine and Zeg. Not long after handling Out, a den hole was discovered in
his tree. After lots of squalling and beating on the tree with a limb, his 175 points were circled up and the four hounds were
led away. At the one minute mark, all four hounds were collared and cast into the dark.

After the minute grace period expired with no barks, Zeg opened and Dustin put him down for 100. Loud was struck following
him for 75 and Shine goes in for 50. After a short period Chace treed Loud for 100 followed by Shine for 75. Keith struck Out for a quarter with a line and treed him for 50. At this point Zeg was still trailing, so the five minute tree clock was ticking. Before the five expired, Dustin put Zeg on paper for a quarter and all four dogs were handled at the tree. Prior to shining, Out’s 25 strike points were deleted. Another den hole was found and after several attempts to get something looking out, the tree was circled. We had used 40 minutes of hunting time at this point.

The four hounds were led for one minute, collared and recast. After a quiet minute, Zeg was struck for 100. There was not much happening with his track and none of the other three hounds seemed to be interested in helping. Kevin was working the six off and on, off and on, then it eventually got him and Zeg minused 100-. The dogs were gone a good long while with nothing, when someone suggested they may hear a dog or dogs in deeper. Finally Loud was struck for 100, Out for 75, Zeg for 50 and Shine for 25. The dogs were splitting up and the cast was doing its best to average the difference and keep everything within hearing distance.

While we were straining to hear, Keith put the brakes on, treeing Out for 100. We started walking that direction and eventually Chace treed Loud for a quarter behind Out. After a good long walk two dogs were handled, but the wrong ones again. Minus Loud 25- and handle Out and Shine. We started searching the tree and it’s another den. Circle up Out’s 175 and delete Shine’s quarter strike with about 42 minutes left to hunt. While walking the minute, Zeg was treed deep for 100 and Shine and Out were released in that direction.

After the one minute, Out and Shine were struck for a quarter with a line. Out was minused 25- strike, wrong dog. Upon arrival at Zeg’s tree, both he and Shine were handled; minus Shine’s quarter strike, wrong dog. It is yet another den tree, circled up Zeg and led him and Shine a minute to be recast.

Keith struck and treed Out deep in the country and everyone knew this tree may be the end of it. We started that way stopping
every once in awhile to listen. After the tree closed, Duke struck Shine for a quarter with a line and treed her for 100. Before we can reach Out’s tree, the hunt expired and we delete Loud’s 100 strike points. No action was required on Zeg as he was not on the card at this point.

Upon arrival to the tree, Out and Shine were both handled, deleted Shine on strike and tree. In an act of sportsmanship, Duke stepped up and found a hard to see coon for Keith and Out moving himself and Shine from third down to fourth place. Everyone rushed to Chace’s side for congratulations and well wishes. Soon he and Dustin were off to round up their hounds.

We all had about a mile and a half walk back to the truck and had plenty of time to talk and reminisce about the events of
the evening. Dustin caught up with Zeg fairly quickly, but Loud could be heard treeing in yonder. A caravan of trucks headed
back toward the Isle of Capri, but Keith and I waited around for Chace and Loud to get back. Chace said she had another coon
up a bush!

The PKC Staff would like to thank the Isle of Capri Casino, Purina and all of judges, guides and panel members who made
this year’s Pup Shootout a huge success. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who hit the road trying for that much sought after
“Pup Ticket.” Congratulations to each and everyone qualifying this past year especially to the Final Four finishers. Here are
the final scores and their order of finish:

1st Place with 125+
Earning a brand new Dodge Pick Up
SCH Valley Creek Loud
Darius Kohl-O
Chace McCaskill-H (age 16)

2nd Place with 50+
Earning $2,000
SCH Wipeout Zeg
Walter W. Moore-O
Dustin L. Weed-H (age 17)

3rd Place with 25+
Earning $1,000
SCH Spruill's No Way Out
William H. Spruill-O
Keith Husband-H

4th Place with 25-
CH Tricolor No Sunshine
Earning $500
Proulx/Gilbert/Eddins-O
Larry Proulx-H