The Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association will again showcase the bountiful whitetail deer hunting available in the Black Belt’s 23-county footprint with the 12th year of its Big Buck Photo Contest.

The contest, which takes place online and began in late October, will run through Feb. 16, 2024, and is sponsored by the Central Alabama Farmers Cooperative in Selma. Photos of bucks harvested during archery and firearms season are eligible.

“It’s clear that Alabama’s Black Belt is considered one of America’s best places to bag a trophy buck and, more importantly, provide a sustainable food source for your family or for donation to the ADCNR (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) ‘Hunters Feeding the Hunger’ program,” said Black Belt Adventures Director Pam Swanner. “Our Big Buck Photo Contest helps acknowledge the bountiful deer hunting opportunities throughout the Black Belt while also celebrating the fact that hunters of all ages experience unforgettable outdoor adventures throughout deer season.”

Here are rules and guidelines for the contest:

To enter, hunters must upload, through the Black Belt Adventures website, a photo of a buck harvested from within the 23-county Black Belt region. The buck must be harvested during 2023-2024 whitetail deer season. The contest winner is selected exclusively through online voting.

Voting will be conducted on the same page where entries are submitted.

Visitors to the contest webpage may vote once per day, per entry, per IP address. In the case of any dispute, the decision by Black Belt Adventures is final. Photo contest winners from the previous two years are not eligible for entry.

Black Belt Adventures reserves the right to approve or disapprove of the photo submitted. Cause for disqualification of photo can include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The photo content presents the subject in an unethical or disrespectful composition.
• The photo content is perceived to cast a negative perception of hunters and their contribution to the management of wildlife.
• A voting violation imposes an unfair advantage to others.

This photo, showing Bentley Blanton’s first rack buck harvested on family land in south Montgomery County, was submitted in last year’s Big Buck Photo Contest. (contributed)

The contestant who receives the most online votes will receive two game cameras valued at approximately $350, courtesy of Central Alabama Farmers Cooperative.

The 2023-2024 deer season ends Feb. 10, 2024, but voting will continue through midnight on Feb. 16, 2024, to allow additional voting time for photos submitted after the final weekend of hunting season.

Black Belt Adventures reminds all sportsmen and sportswomen to purchase a hunting license online through ADCNR before heading afield. Successful hunters are also reminded to report their harvested deer through Game Check.

“It’s always incredibly gratifying that so many photos we receive every year showcase families hunting together,” Swanner said. “These cherished family memories last a lifetime, and those photos definitely celebrate hunting season. That’s a goal we set every year for the Big Buck Photo Contest.”

The Black Belt comprises the following 23 counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.