{"id":265744,"date":"2025-05-31T18:38:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T18:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alabama\/young-demopolis-hunter-wins-big-gobbler-photo-contest\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T18:38:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T18:38:26","slug":"young-demopolis-hunter-wins-big-gobbler-photo-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744","title":{"rendered":"Young Demopolis hunter wins Big Gobbler Photo Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Mason McLaughlin and his grandfather, Wallace Walker, watched the gobbler and a group of hens strut into the field and then return to nearby woods.<\/p>\n<p>It was the same gobbler they had seen the night before on a scouting trip while turkey hunting on family land in Lowndesboro in Lowndes County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhenever the gobbler went back in to the woods, I was devastated,\u201d Mason said. \u201cI literally started crying because I was so sad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McLaughlin, an 11-year-old who recently finished the sixth grade at Demopolis Middle School, was hunting with his grandfather in hopes of harvesting his first turkey.<\/p>\n<p>Walker and McLaughlin kept working, despite cold and rainy conditions, and eventually lured the gobbler back into the field and within range of McLaughlin\u2019s .410 shotgun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhenever he came into my range, I said this to myself: \u2018If I miss this shot, I\u2019m going to jump off a bridge,\u2019\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cI didn\u2019t miss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A photo from that hunt, commemorating the first gobbler McLaughlin ever harvested, was entered into the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alabamablackbeltadventures.org\/\">Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association<\/a>\u2019s 13th annual Big Gobbler Photo Contest, and it received the most votes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div class=\"zox-post-ad-wrap\"><span class=\"zox-ad-label\">Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the winner of the 2025 ALBBAA Big Gobbler Photo Contest, McLaughlin receives an Otis Elite Gun Care Kit (for shotguns, rifles and pistols), a Dead Ringer shotgun sight, a Knight and Hale Owl Call and a Willow Sage slate turkey call. The prize package carries a total value of $275.<\/p>\n<p>Walker said winning the contest adds to the special nature of sharing the hunt with Mason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe excitement was unreal, just to watch the excitement from him and taking this bird,\u201d Walker said. \u201cHe sat there and was patient and let it all happen the way it did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ALBBAA Director Pam Swanner noted the hunt that produced the winning photo provided a family memory that will last a lifetime, and said that\u2019s precisely what the 13th annual Big Gobbler Photo Contest is designed to celebrate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to know that this hunt created such an incredible family memory that Mason and Wallace will cherish forever,\u201d Swanner said. \u201cEvery year, our Big Gobbler Photo Contest attracts entries that showcase a young hunter harvesting that first gobbler. To know such a photo impressed voters and won this year\u2019s contest is especially gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ALBBAA\u2019s 2025 Big Gobbler Photo Contest launched in March and ran throughout Alabama\u2019s wild turkey season. The contest drew dozens of entries after contestants uploaded a photo from the 2025 season to the ALBBAA website, and the winner was selected exclusively through online voting that ended May 15.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlabama\u2019s Black Belt offers some of the very best opportunities for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities,\u201d Swanner said, \u201cand we are honored to play a role in helping more people understand all of the amazing outdoor recreational opportunities available to visitors and locals alike.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div class=\"zox-post-ad-wrap\"><span class=\"zox-ad-label\">Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Black Belt includes 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.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mason McLaughlin and his grandfather, Wallace Walker, watched the gobbler and a group of hens strut into the field and then return to nearby woods. It was the same gobbler they had seen the night before on a scouting trip while turkey hunting on family land in Lowndesboro in Lowndes County. \u201cWhenever the gobbler went [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11763],"tags":[95117,1022,95118,50592,20527,81026,95119,3344,3522,1601,10829,4961],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-265744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alabama","tag-alabama-black-belt-adventures-association","tag-big","tag-big-gobbler-photo-contest","tag-black-belt","tag-contest","tag-demopolis","tag-gobbler","tag-hunter","tag-hunting","tag-photo","tag-wins","tag-young"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Young Demopolis hunter wins Big Gobbler Photo Contest - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young Demopolis hunter wins Big Gobbler Photo Contest - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mason McLaughlin and his grandfather, Wallace Walker, watched the gobbler and a group of hens strut into the field and then return to nearby woods. It was the same gobbler they had seen the night before on a scouting trip while turkey hunting on family land in Lowndesboro in Lowndes County. \u201cWhenever the gobbler went [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-31T18:38:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-Big-Gobbler-winner-e1748572254552.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"455\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Young Demopolis hunter wins Big Gobbler Photo Contest\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-31T18:38:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\"},\"wordCount\":525,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-Big-Gobbler-winner-e1748572254552.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association\",\"Big\",\"Big Gobbler Photo Contest\",\"Black Belt\",\"Contest\",\"Demopolis\",\"Gobbler\",\"Hunter\",\"Hunting\",\"Photo\",\"Wins\",\"Young..\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alabama\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=265744\",\"name\":\"Young Demopolis hunter wins Big Gobbler Photo Contest - 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