Hey Jason!

Sorry to hear the news on the bugling contest. If it makes you feel any better, until 2 years ago, there was a streak of6 consecutive years that the person who won the professional division at the RMEF world championships didn't make the finals the following year...

You have to always remember that this is a contest that is subjective to human ears. Especially at the smaller contests, the judges all have different ideas of what an elk sounds like. One judge might not have gotten any sleep the night before and can't concentrate. By the time they get to caller #4, they have forgot what caller #1 even sounded like, making it impossible to make a qualified comparison between the two. I have never been in a contest where I could honestly say I agree 100% with who the judges pick for the top 5. Imagine at the world championship when there are literally 75+ callers that the judges have to listen to, for 2 minutes each. They can't possibly compare the first guy to the last guy. You just have to remember it is a subjective contest, and anybody has a chance. Once you make it into the top 5, it gets a little better, as it is somewhat easier to compare all 5 callers against each other. But once again, it is subjective. Experience makes a big difference. I'm not really sure why, but I know several guys who can call great who went to the RMEF contest for their first time and finished near the bottom. Within 3-4 years, these guys have won the men's division of the world championships. It's not that they improved drastically, they just tune in on what the judges are looking for, etc. Don't give up! I know exactly how you feel. You feel robbed, you practiced a ton, and some guy who doesn't sound very good to you made it into the finals. Next time, someone else will be sitting on the sidelines, and you can bet that they will think they should have beat you.

It's not like an archery shoot, where if you're on, you win. If you practice and shoot your best, you have a great chance of winning. With bugling, you can do it the way that you think is just perfect, everyone will come up and tell you that you have it in the bag, and your heart will sink when they don't read your name on the top 5 list. All you can do is shake it off, practice some more, and go to the next one. Walt Ramage (Primos) didn't make the finals in 2004. He won the professional division in 2005. I believe that 6 out of 7 years dating back to 1997, the guy who won the professional division didn't make the finals the next year. In fact, from 1997 to 2002, no one won the professional division more than once, and there has never been a caller win the professional division back-to-back. That should shed a little light on just how subjective it really is! The key is to be consistant. Pick up on the little things that the guys who are consistantly in the top 5 are doing. It'll come to you in time.

Fell free to give me a call any time, I'd gladly help out with any info I might have. E-mail me at [email protected], and I'll give you my number. Don't be discouraged. Are you going to the ISB shoot this weekend? They usually have a calling contest up there on Friday night.

By the way, do you know who the top 5 in the pro division were?

Take care,
Corey