Trophy Deer

The Ohio Trophy Pursuit Deer Hunting Contest is open to hunters who legally harvest a Whitetail Deer in Ohio during the 2026-27 season. Teams must register and pay the entry fee by September 26, 2026, and follow all state hunting laws. Hunters may only enter the contest as a member of one team per season. Deer must be hunted fairly, without high fences or professional guides. Each team can submit one deer per person, with required photos and measurements. Top teams must have their antlers scored by an official Buckmaster’s scorer prior to the banquet and all score sheets must be given to an OTP official prior to the banquet. All hunters must bring their antlers to the OTP Hunting camp for awards. All deer that fall in the top 15 teams that are brought to McFadden Pharmacy on February 20th for official scoring will have their scoring fees paid for by OTP.  All Hunters must sign all agreements and adhere to contest rules for eligibility.

Hunting Camp will be held at the Jordan Barn 4320 Buchanan Rd, Waverly OH 45690 on March 13, 2027. Dinner and drinks will be provided for all contestants present.   The top 15 teams will need to have their antlers officially scored prior to the banquet. When your deer has already been officially scored by Buckmaster’s a copy of the official signed score sheet must be presented to an OTP official prior to the 5:00PM deadline.   NEW!!!!! ONLY ONE HUNTER MUST ATTEND HUNTING CAMP AND BE PRESENT BY TIME OF AWARDS CEREMONY.  BOTH SETS OF ANTLERS MUST BE PRESENT at beginning of the banquet. If at least one hunter and both sets of antlers are not at Hunting camp, hunters will forfeit their eligibility in the contest.  The top 15 teams will be notified in advance soon after the close of the Ohio deer season February 7, 2027. The dinner will begin at 5:30PM. Additional people are eligible to come to the banquet and other festivities for a fee of $30 but are not eligible for door prizes but arrangements must be made in advance. Any additional persons coming to banquet must notify Ohio Trophy Pursuit before March 1st.  There will be other raffles that are open to anyone attending the banquet for a small fee.

New this season at Hunting Camp:  Crossheirs ministry will be setting up archery course for hunters to come shoot during the day as well as corn hole and other games.     

1st Place $1500. Guaranteed Minimum with at least 10 teams participating. Additional places will be subject to the number of teams. In 2026 cash prizes were awarded to top 5 places along with merchandise for entire top 10.  There were also 19 weeks with two drawings winners each Saturday winning trail cameras, feed, mineral, scents, hats, etc. At Hunting Camp there will be raffles for larger items that OTP acquires through sponsors.  We have already secured a Bear Legit Maxx compound bow,Barnett crossbow, and both Hunt Arsenal and Latitude items form Latitude.   The weekly drawings on Saturdays for the entirety of the Ohio deer hunting season are videoed and displayed on OTP Facebook page. Those prizes must be picked up at McFadden Pharmacy during their normal business hours up until the banquet.  Any prizes not claimed by the day of the banquet with be forfeited.

1. Must be a Whitetail Deer killed by Legal means in state of Ohio during 2026-27 Deer Hunting season. All applicable laws for the harvest of whitetail deer in Ohio must be strictly followed.
   • Each hunter is responsible for obtaining and paying for his/her own Ohio license, permit, and/or game tag to hunt in the in the state of Ohio
   • Team Entry Fee must be paid, the Team Name must assigned, and the agreement must be signed and received by Ohio Trophy Pursuit prior to Sept 26th, 2026, at midnight.
2. Deer must be killed in a manner of fair chase. No high fence hunts or guided hunts by a professional guide are permitted.
3. Any person who is a Professional Hunter is ineligible for the Contest. For the purposes of this Contest, a Professional Hunter is defined as a person who receives any income from the act of hunting whitetail deer in Ohio or any other state.
4. Only one hunter per team may be under the age of 18. If under the age of 18, they must have a signed affidavit from a parent or guardian allowing them to participate in the contest.
5. Hunters are eligible to enroll in only one team.
6. Hunters must not have committed a wildlife violation in the past 5 years or have multiple violation on your record for illegally taking of an animal in Ohio or any other state.  If you have been convicted of violations but not related to taking of an animal these may be excused depending on circumstance.   Please reach out to OTP prior to signing up.  Ohio Trophy Pursuit as all authority to make eligibility decisions on this matter.
7. Each Hunter will be given a copy of the contest terms and a scoring sheet for preliminary measurement of the deer antlers.
8. Owners and employees and spouses of Ohio Trophy Pursuit are not eligible to participate in the contest.
9. The Hunter gives permission to Ohio Trophy Pursuit for any video or picture used or submitted for the purposes of the Contest to be used for purposes of promotion or advertisement for Ohio Trophy Pursuit and the contest. Ohio Trophy Pursuit agrees that they will not use the video or pictures for any other purpose for financial gain without permission from the hunter.
10. Each hunter or legal guardian must sign and date an agreement stating that they agree to the terms of the contest. If any of the terms are not followed and Ohio Trophy Pursuit becomes aware, the Hunter will be removed from the contest with no refund.
11. Ohio Trophy Pursuit shall have exclusive authority to interpret and enforce the terms of the Agreement. Ohio Trophy Pursuit reserves the right to amend and/or modify this Participation Agreement. It is the sole responsibility of each registered hunter to read and understand the Participation Agreement and the Complete Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement to Hold Harmless and Assumption of Risk (“Waiver”). The Participation Agreement and the Waiver, as well as all updates and changes thereto, shall be available at Ohio Trophy Pursuit.

1. Each team will submit one deer harvested in Ohio per person following all Ohio Laws for the competition. Deer must be scored according to the Buckmaster scoring system, a picture taken of the entire deer with cape and antlers attached, as well as a picture with at least the shoulder mount area and hunter visible. Also, a picture showing a copy of a completed Buckmaster’s score sheet.
2. It must be submitted within 24 hours of harvest. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Harvest” shall be defined as the actual time of physical recovery of the deer shot by participant. If a deer is unable to be physically recovered by 11:59 p.m. on the day it was shot, participants are required to notify Ohio Trophy Pursuit by 12:00 p.m. (noon) the following day. Once the participant has notified Ohio Trophy Pursuit, the participant has 48 hours to recover, score and submit the deer for it to be accepted. Any deer submitted after the 48 hours have elapsed will not be accepted or considered for official scoring.

1. At least the top 15 teams, by submitted scores, must have both sets of Antlers intact with no breaks or fixes and both antlers still securely attached to the skull plate for final judging by a panel of Buckmaster’s scorers. Any broken unattached antlers that have been repaired will be disqualified from the competition. NEW, ONLY ONE TEAM MEMBER MUST BE PRESENT BUT BOTH respective antlers must be present at the dinner and awards ceremony, or they forfeit their winnings and will be dropped from the results of the contest. The antlers will be officially scored by a Panel of official Buckmaster Scorers that will give the antlers their official final score used for the results of the contest—period!
2. Each Hunter agrees to have their set of antlers entered in the Buckmaster’s official score books. All Fees associated with the registration will be covered by the contest if scoring is done at OTP designated time allowed. Toby Hughes is scheduled to be at McFadden Pharmacy on Saturday February 20, 2027 for scoring.