MANITOWANING—The Assiginack Arena in Manitowaning was a bustling hive of activity this past Sunday as hunters and would be hunters joined the curious at the Manitoulin Deer Show to check out the latest in hunting gear, listen to workshops on deer habitat, health and tactics or just gaze in amazement at the majestic racks of antlers on display.
There was something for just about everyone. The Wilderness Challenge spearheaded by Mike Sprack and a hardy herd of volunteers formed part of the day’s events. The challenge saw kids walking planks and competing in archery, spear throwing and BB target shooting, as well as identifying animal furs and more. Winners in the age 10-plus category were Chris Hebert, who came in first and Chris White, who placed second. In the age nine and under category, Hunter Sprack came first and Taylor Sprack came in second.
“The lecture series had the venue packed,” noted organizer Jackie White, “people loved hearing Mike Phillips talk about trapping, the Northern Boys Outfitters on bear hunting and Texas MacDonald on black powder hunting.”
The Wild Game Cook off was also a huge success, bringing in double the entries of last year. “I am confident it was because of the generous donation of the camo freezer by Adam Smith of Jake’s Home Centres,” said Ms. White. The winner of the camo freezer was Scott McDougall of Gore Bay.
Prizes galore were going out the door Game Camera contest winner Daniel Marquis took home $100.
“For deer mounts, hunters did not disappoint,” said Ms. White. “Our goal was to get over 100 mounts to tie with 2016 numbers and we did just that. Funnily enough the firearm for the deer mounts was won by Garret Gauthier and the firearm for the door prize was also won by Garret.” It was definitely Mr. Gauthier’s lucky day.
“I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention that this could not have happened if it wasn’t for the Deer Show committee who has been meeting since last year,” said Ms. White. “The committee was comprised of Lee Hayden, Steve Wood, Mike Sprack, Peter Craig and Ron Cooper. They planned for months and were there in full force at the show spearheading different events during the day. Also it could not happen with the countless volunteers that helped run the wilderness challenge, the vendors that came, the sponsors and of course the wonderful attendees that showed their support for the 4th Annual Manitoulin Deer Show. We are already tweaking and thinking of ways to change it up for next year.”
