Concho Valley Sportsmen Among Winners of Texas Parks & Wildlife Big Game Hunts

AUSTIN — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has selected the winners of this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts.  The winners were selected in a random drawing from 145,585 entries and the 14 lucky individuals have been notified.

Two sportsmen from the Concho Valley were among the winners; John McCraw of Sonora and Terry Werriner of Big Lake.  McCraw was selected for a Whitetail Bonanza and Werriner was drawn for a Gator Hunt.  

More than $1.3 million dollars were raised this year from Big Time Texas Hunts entries and proceeds from the drawing support wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting across the state.

“Big Time Texas Hunts continues to be an important conservation fundraiser for TPWD and we greatly appreciate the support of our Texas hunters that purchase entries each year,” said Kelly Edmiston, TPWD Public Hunting Coordinator. “If a hunter is lucky enough to win, they will experience the hunt of a lifetime.  If they don’t, they can feel good knowing the funds from their entry go directly to wildlife conservation and public access projects on public hunting lands in Texas.”

This year’s winner of the Texas Grand Slam hunting package, Kyle Kerstetter of Scottsville, Virginia, is making plans for four separate guided hunts for the state’s top four premier big game species – desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn and mule deer.

Following are the other category winners of this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts:

Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt – Donald Duncan, Victoria, TX

Nilgai Antelope Safari – Thomas Harman, Lewisville, TX

Premium Buck Hunt – Hector Garza, Laredo, TX

Exotic Safari – Trevor Baume, Fulshear, TX

Whitetail Bonanza – Charles Woodside, Kearney, NE; Gary Dupnick, La Vernia, TX; John McCraw, Sonora, TX; Jeffrey Hanselka, La Vernia, TX; Russell Wilkins, San Antonio, TX

Big Time Bird Hunt – Ronnie Miller, Farmersville, TX

Gator Hunt – Terry Warriner, Big Lake, TX

Powderhorn Cast and Blast – Michael Solis, Houston, TX

Wild Hog Adventure – George Schofhauser, Bend, OR

“We want to congratulate the winners, but also thank all the hunters who bought an entry this year,” said Janis Johnson, TPWD Marketing Specialist. “They are the ones who made the Big Time Texas Hunt’s 25th Anniversary year a success. They helped us raised $1,328,071, the highest amount in the history of the program, to support wildlife management, research and conservation efforts in Texas.”

Entries for next year’s Big Time Texas Hunts will go on sale May 15, 2022.

Big Time Texas Hunts is made possible with support from Toyota and the Texas Bighorn Society.