1. Registration and Scoring  – Registration in the contest is free.  Registration can be completed online at by clicking here or by downloading the forms and mailing the completed forms to the official address of the contest.  Registration forms can also be found in each issue of Maximum Outdoors.  In order to have a valid registration, entries must be scored by a taxidermist or scorer approved by Maximum Outdoors.  Animals entered into the contest must be harvested and scored in the current contest year.  Entries that place in the top five will be verified according to the Records of Exotics scoring guidelines, including an official Records of Exotics score. To have your taxidermist be considered as an official scorer for the contest, please email marbach@coaoutfitters.com.   High resolution digital photos of the animal must also accompany the entry.  Photos need to be well posed with the shooter and animal.  Photos that are poor in quality and taste will not be accepted and entry into the contest will be denied.  Contest staff will make the final decisions as to the acceptability of the photos. Photographs provided for the contest become the official property of the Texas Exotic Challenge and may be used for promotional purposes. By signing the submission form and submitting photos for registration in this contest, you expressly agree to Maximum Outdoor’s future use and publication of the photographs for its commercial purposes. You further agree to and hereby waive any and all ownership rights in said photographs and agree to relinquish any and all personal and economic rights to the photographs. 
    

2. Awards:  Only one award per hunter.  To be eligible for an award, one must be registered with the contest during the current contest year.  To claim an award, the recipient must be present at the yearly awards banquet held each Spring and must bring with them the antlers/horns and/or mount of the harvested game.  In the event that the recipient cannot be present, the award will pass to the individual who placed runner up, or down the line as far as necessary until an able and present recipient is selected. In the event there is a tie for the winner of any of the divisions, the entrant with the earliest registration date will be the winner.

   1. Best Axis by Rifle – Remington 700BDL, any standard caliber of choice, Leupold Rifleman 3-9X scope, Leupold bases and rings

   2. Best Axis by Bow – BowTech Vital Impact package including sights, quiver, peep sight, rest and silencers. Gold tip carbon arrows and cobra release.

   3. Thousands of dollars in outdoor gear, feeders, blinds, gift cards, and hunts will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of each category.
       

3. Contest Entry Divisions:  There are 3 divisions under which an animal can be entered.  These are (1) Rifle  (2) Archery (3) Youth.  Due to the fact that some animals are hunted less frequently, not all divisions may apply to certain animals. Crossbows do not qualify for the archery division unless used by a person with a documented disability.  For the purpose of this contest, handgun entries will be counted in the rifle division.  The Youth Division entries are for youth 16 years of age or younger on the day of the harvest.  Except for the Overall Best Axis category, animals cannot be placed in multiple divisions.  All youth entries will be put in the Youth Division only.
    

4. Winner Categories and Prizes

Overall Best Axis Buck  (Grand Prize)
The highest scoring axis buck from all divisions will win the grand prize for the contest.

Best Axis Buck – Rifle  (Prizes for Division Best, 2^nd, and 3^rd Place)

Best Axis Buck – Bow (Prizes for Division Best, 2^nd, and 3^rd Place)

Best Axis Buck – Youth (Prizes for Division Best, 2^nd, and 3^rd Place)

Axis buck Honorable Mentions:  (Prizes for all categories, 1^st place only)

Widest Spread – Maximum number of inches between the inside of each main beam.

“Mr. Heavy” - the scorer will combine three typical circumference measurements on each main beam, then total all six measurements to arrive at a score.

“Mr. Unusual” -  this is for an axis buck that has an impressive, abnormal antler presentation..

Best Buck – Women Hunter

Best Buck – Youngest Hunter

“Mr. Tiny”  - this is a mature buck is a threat to the gene pool and needs to  go.

“Heaviest Doe” a doe is defined as an antlerless deer with female sexual organs.  Weight of doe is after the entrails and internal organs have been removed.

Ranch Legacy Award - This is for the ranch that has the most contest registrations from the youth category

 

Super Exotics Designation - This is for the ranch that has the most winners in the contest

For the following animals, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prizes apply.  NO divisions for the following categories.  Best animal scored wins, regardless of method or age of hunter.  All other rules still apply. 

Best Blackbuck	Best Sika	Best Fallow	Best Mouflan
Best Texas Dall	Best Corsican	Best Black Hawaiian	Best Aoudad

A panel of contest staff will select all winners and their decisions are final.

Exclusions: Antlers in velvet are allowed, but will receive a 3% gross score deduction to offset any size advantage over hard horned entries.  If game harvested are within a game proof fence, such pasture must be at least 400 acres.  Game shot at night or with use of spotlight are not eligible. No game that have been tagged or purchased at an auction or other venue are eligible for the contest.  No game with evidence of ear tags are eligible.  No game that have been bottle-fed, raised by human handling, or are part of a breeder program are eligible.  No game taken in violation of TP&W rules and regulations or Texas state gaming laws are eligible. 

General Provisions

1. Dates of Contest – The Texas Exotic Challenge is a yearly contest that begins and ends January 1^st of each year.  An awards banquet is held each Spring honoring the winners of the previous contest year.
    

2. The Texas Exotic Challenge entrant accepts full responsibility for reading, understanding, and following these Rules, and acknowledges that failure to comply with and/or meet same is grounds for disqualification from the contest for any particular year. Persons who enter other persons in the Texas Exotic Challenge are responsible for informing those persons of these Rules.
    

3. Any animal entered in this Contest is subject to an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the harvesting of the animal, including requiring the entrant to submit to a polygraph examination, if necessary.  Refusal to submit to a polygraph examination shall serve as automatic disqualification from the contest. 
    

4. All bucks must have the hide attached to the skull when presented to the authorized scorer.  Any bare horns scored shall not be considered for entry. Special provisions are possible by contacting Maximum Outdoors prior to entry. Each exception will be judged on an individual basis and any decision reached by the contest staff are final.  
    

5. Upon submitting a deer for measuring and consideration as a prospective winner in the Contest, all data regarding the name, address, etc. of the person who harvested the animal must be the true and accurate name, full address, etc. of the actual hunter, as well as an accurate and true identification of the specific county and ranch from which the animal was harvested. [At the request of the hunter, TEC will not reveal the name of the ranch and/or landowner from which the trophy was harvested, except to and at the request of a State of Texas Game Warden, who will he informed about hunter's request that the name of the ranch/land owner not be made public, if at all possible].
    

6. If an animal qualifies for more than one award category, the entrant may choose which category he wants his deer entered in; the entrant may change his category during the contest; or an entrant may enter more than one animal, but is eligible for only one award. An entrant may make written requests which must be received at no later than December 31^st   of the current contest year.   It is the responsibility of the hunter to keep on top of the placing of his or her animal on the leaderboard.
    

7. Any tax obligation incurred as a result of any prize awarded herein will be the responsibility of the recipient of the prize.
    

8. Any winner of a youth division may be asked to provide proof of age, including but not limited to a valid birth certificate.  Refusal to do so is automatic disqualification from the contest.
    

9. All game harvested and entered into the Texas Exotic Challenge must have been harvested within the boundaries of the State of Texas.
    

10. In any category in which an award is a firearm of any type and in which a minor (anyone under the age of 18 years old on the precise date that the award is to be presented) is the recipient, the minor will be awarded a substitute award (no firearm of any type) of equal value.

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