Moody Wins Calling Title

I recently received the official results for the World Predator Calling Competition held Aug. 23 to 24 in Overland Park, Kan., as part of the World Predator & Hunting Expo.

The calling competition attracted 27 contestants competing for a total purse of $4,800 and the prestige of being named all-around world predator calling champion. Callers competed in the Distress Division and the Howling/Vocalization Division. The top five callers from combined scores then competed for the Overall World Championship.

A panel of five judges who could not see the callers marked scores for each contestant as they performed on a stage. In the Distress Division, callers were asked to produce a coaxer sound, a fawn distress and a cottontail distress.

Seth Skinner of Texas won $1,100 and first place, while Jon Paul Moody of Tennessee captured second and $700. Ernie Wilson of Pennsylvania was awarded third place.

In the Howling/Vocalization Division, 24 competitors were asked to produce a lone coyote howl, a challenge howl and an excited pups howl sound. J.D. Piatt of Ohio won the $1,000 first prize, while Jeremy Gugelmeyer of Texas took home $600 for second. Brent Saxton of Ohio accepted the third-place trophy.

Based on their scores in the Distress and Howling/Vocalization divisions, Moody, Wilson, Gugelmeyer, Piatt and Garvin Young of Utah advanced to the All-Around Championship. Each was required to produce two distress sounds, two vocalizations and a caller’s choice sound.

In a tension-filled room, Moody edged Wilson by four points to win the title and $1,500.

“We’ve received rave reviews on the calling competition,” Expo promoter Brent Rueb said. “We’re glad we had a smaller number of competitors this year. Next year it will increase. People are already looking forward to next year’s competition.”