Coyote derby helps area ranches, community

The Fifth Annual Big Sandy American Legion Coyote Derby held last weekend in Big Sandy brought in just fewer than 100 coyote hunters, raised $8,000 for the local organization's charitable efforts and helped with predator control for area livestock producers.

The local post's Secretary/Treasurer Lindsay Boyce, who served in the U.S. Navy and ranches on the south side of the Bear Paw Mountains with husband Stephen Boyce, said the turnout of hunters was about average but the coyote take was above average.

"This is the most coyotes that have been killed in a year," Boyce said. "The weather cooperated for guys a lot more, but it also seems for a couple of the teams, the areas they hunted were really overpopulated with coyotes."

Even around the Boyces' ranch the numbers are high.

"It used to be when we go out feeding we'd see one or two coyotes and it's nothing here lately to see five or six of them and all in one big bunch," she said.

The participants could hunt in teams with up to four members, and they had 98 entrants in 28 teams, which gave them a few more entrants than the last derby when they had terrible weather, but it was about average over the five years, Boyce said.

"That's the hard part," she added. "There's so much planning involved and you just hope the weather is going to cooperate."

The competition itself is broken into Calling and Open classes, which means, Boyce said, that in the Calling Class "coyotes must be killed by calling them in. Cannot use shotguns, snowmobiles, ATVs or anything to hunt them down," and the Open Class has no restrictions.

These designations operate on an honor system, she added.

The Big Sandy American Legion post raised $8,000, Boyce said, from entry fees, side pots on fox and porcupine, and the Calucutta, all of which paid 75% to pot and 25% to the Legion. She said they also raised money from a gun raffle and had sponsors for door prizes.

The team that won the open class donated their 24 coyotes to the organizers and those brought in an additional $250 after selling them to the fur buyer, she added.

Coyote fur prices were down this year, Boyce said, in the past they've brought in $60 to $100 each, even selling the hides on the carcass.

Boyce said the hunters aren't restricted to any area for hunting, but the teams primarily hunted in Chouteau, Hill and Blaine counties - though a couple teams from Winifred hunted that area a bit and another team hunted down around Square Butte.

"They have to check in on Saturday and Sunday, so you can only go so far and hunt and still make it back in on time," she said. "... We kind of did it that way, hoping they'd stay in the area."

he annual coyote derby is organized by Big Sandy American Legion members as a way to raise money for the once-dwindling post, said member Clete Ophus, who co-organized the event and served in both the U.S. Army and Air National Guards.

Members of the American Legion in Big Sandy, a predominantly farm and ranch community, were getting older and fewer in number until some of the younger veterans got together and got involved, Ophus said, to keep the post going and help the community, but they needed to raise money, too.

"So we thought this was a great way to help out the ranchers, because that's what most of us are now that we're out of the military and we came back to work on our family ranches," Ophus said, adding that the coyotes can be detrimental to ranches during calving season, but he's also noticed on his ranch only one mile north of Big Sandy that they've hit the game bird population hard, too.

"When you start seeing them moving in groups you know there's a lot of them," he said. "... So we figured this was a good opportunity to take care of the coyotes a little bit, back them off, and have a fundraiser to build money for things."

Boyce said that their post members found out through the state American Legion that two veterans lost homes in the Denton fire and one lost a business, so $2,500 will be disbursed among them to help them rebuild.

This is the organization's only fundraiser for the year, but they make the money go as far as possible in the community and, Ophus said, they also used it to rejuvenate the Big Sandy American Legion, buying new uniforms and rifles for funeral processions.

"It's cool to see the money (come in) and have good representation at local military processions in good uniforms and nicely functioning firearms," he said.

One of his favorite community donations is through their annual scholarships. They work with a local history teacher and come up with military or government oriented topics for essays, then members use the essays and interviews with the students to pick the recipients. The youth also ask questions of the veterans so they get an opportunity to do some outreach for the military, he added.

They've also donated to the local FFA, and those student members helped with the derby this year especially at the nightly feeds and the final banquet. Organizers also announce at the banquet where the money raised is going and who it's helped in the past, Ophus said.

"When we started the coyote derby back in 2017, that was the goal, to help other veterans and then to give back to the community," Boyce said.

"It's neat just to see (the funds raised) stay local," Ophus said, adding that he appreciates that the American Legion is revitalized in Big Sandy, as well.

"It's kind of neat to come back and be able to meet up with people who've gone through the same thing," he said.

First Night Results - 87 coyotes turned in

Calling Class

• 1st place - Team 17 with 9 coyotes

• 2nd place - Team 23 with 8 coyotes

• 3rd place - Team 25 with 6 coyotes

• Teams 12, 16, and 24 all had 5 coyotes each

Open Class

• 1st Place - Team 18 with 14 coyotes

• 2nd place - Team 13 with 9

• 3rd and 4th place - Teams 21 and 14 with 2 coyotes each.

Final Results of the 5th Annual Big Sandy American Legion Coyote Derby

Calling Class

• 1st Place with 26 coyotes - Brandon Stahl, Chad Drugge, Merle Young, and Todd Alisch.

• 2nd Place with 20 coyotes - Ned Miller, Ben Miller, Chad Wiberg, and Zach Starcher.

• 3rd Place with 12 coyotes - Scott Skoyen, Taylor Klein, Jason Haider, and Chris Carpenter.

Open Class

• 1st Place with 24 coyotes went to Bruce Gasvoda, Shane Silvan, Matt Feuerhelm, and Russ Allderdice.

• 2nd Place with 23 coyotes was Nathan Brooks, Tom Zweep, and Darren Brahnson.

• 3rd Place with 20 coyotes went to Cooper Jenkins, Cortlan Bickford, Glenny Phillips and Winston Henke.