The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The 7th annual Big Sandy American Legion American Legion Coyote Derby is approaching. Early registration is now open for the derby, which will take place January 5-7. The event was initially intended as a fundraiser for the Legion, but was so successful, it rapidly enabled them to take on other local service opportunities. The entry fee is $40. Competitors can enter to compete in teams, which can include up to four people. The competition is divided into 2 categories: calling and open classes, with prizes awarded for both classes as well as for largest and smallest dogs for the largest and smallest coyotes submitted. The legion will also be holding a raffle and a Calcutta for locals to purchase teams in an effort to win the pot.

Lindsay Boyce, who serves as secretary for the Legion, explained: “We started it as a fundraiser for the Legion to be able to purchase new uniforms and new guns. We do military honors for funerals in town for veterans that have passed. It's been such a huge success that the second year, we started a scholarship fund out of the money that we raised. The scholarship goes back to Big Sandy High School students.”

The event has been popular since its inception, drawing an average of 120 competitors every year from all over the state. “It's just been consistently 100 plus. A lot of times, it depends on the weather. Last year, it probably would have been a bigger turnout, but we had freezing rain on Friday, the day of check-in. The roads from Great Falls were closed, so we lost a few teams due to that. By the time the roads opened, the teams couldn't make it to Big Sandy in time for check-in.” The event draws competition from all over the state of Montana, including a team from Bozeman, which has participated for several years running.

“Prizes are broken down into an open class, which is kind of a free-for-all. The teams can hunt on snowmobiles or rangers.” Teams in the free class can hunt by whatever means they would like on local ranchers’ properties. “First place typically pays out about $1500.” There are also payouts for second and third place winners. In addition to the free-for-all, there is a calling division, in which hunters use calls to draw in and shoot coyotes.

Saturday and Sunday have check-ins, where teams have their coyotes weighed in. This also creates the opportunity for competitors to win the largest and smallest dog awards. “When they check in, we weigh every dog, because at the end of the weekend, if two teams bring in the same number of coyotes, then the tiebreaker is based on the total weight of the dogs. So each dog is weighed individually as they come in and get checked in. Big dog is basically just the biggest dog and is based on the biggest weight. The same for the smallest dog. It's the smallest weight that's brought in.” Awards for largest and smallest coyote are $500 and $250 respectively.

At the end of the weekend, competitors will have the option of selling their coyote pelts to furriers. “We usually have two to three fur buyers that come in from around the state. Participants can sell to them or they can keep their coyotes. It's up to them. Every year, a few of them donate their coyotes back to the Legion.” This adds to the total amount raised by the Legion.