2021 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Final Four Interviews

[Jerry Moll]

The 2021 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Final Four Interviews; By Amy Thomas

Spring is a perfect time to see what youthful hounds have made it to the Final Four of the PKC Pup Shoot Out. Sixty-four hounds and handlers headed to Batesville, Mississippi to participate in this event co-sponsored by PKC and Purina to see who would be emerging as the winner of a new truck. Now as we prepare for this last cast tonight, we are going to find out a little more about the competitor before they head back out to the woods to see who will be the big winner. It should be an interesting night with one token female bringing lady luck with her, two that their sires and handlers have previously won a truck, and another who is known as “One Mile Style”. There is no doubt that they will all keep us entertained tonight!

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Buck Creek Showtime Style
Owned by Zuspan/Justice
Handled by Kenneth Zuspan

It was a dog deal gone bad that brought Kenny Zuspan and Clarence ‘Buck’ Justice together as partners. They both a bad experience with a dog trainer and in posting about their common experience, Kenny reached out to Buck and the two of them starting talking and working with each other on different hounds. Now one of those coon dogs has these two in tonight’s Final Four waiting to see if they can win a new truck!

It is four year old Style off a Johnny B Good and Rush Creek Lou that has really brought a winning streak for Kenny. Kenny has not been into Walkers very long and he recalled his history with the sport prior to getting Style, “I started coon hunting when I was six year old with my cousin Brian Smith and RT Stewart. I was in my first hunt when I was fourteen years old. I hunted Blueticks until I starting hunting PKC and got into Walker dogs. Then I got Style. Getting him into the Top 27 at the PKC World to me has been my biggest achievement so far.”

Kenny knew about Style well before he and Buck came to own him. Kenny talked about how he learned about him, “We bought Style off of Micah Marcum when he was around twenty months old. The reason that I wanted him was because I was watching Micah go Facebook Live each night with him and I had a feeling Style was going to be the right kind hound. What I like about Style is his drive and accuracy.”

Style has made things interesting for Kenny and Buck. Kenny talked about what they have achieved together to this point, “We have made many Final Fours. We finish a lot in second and third places at Pro Hunts and big Pro Classics. We also place second in the side-by-side hunt that PKC had. Style made Top 27 of PKC World and he won two PKC State Championships.

This is not Kenny’s first time to the Truck Hunt. He has hunted in this event the last three years, but never won an early round until now. Not only did he win that first cast, but he would also go on to win his late round to earn him and Style a spot in tonight’s Final Four.

For their first round, Style and Kenny drew out against Stylish Hellbitch handled by Randy Minter, Heather Island Big Time Betty handled by Colton Perryman, and Big Hollow Bandit handled by Andrew Steele. They won this first cast with a nice score of 400 plus. Kenny described how things went for them, “It started out with the two females treeing a coon about 400 yards in front of us. They got recut and restruck before Style ever opened up. Style finally struck at .65 miles away. He treed and had a coon, but we got leashed locked for about 25 minutes as we walked to where we could hear the other dogs. I recut him. The B female treed, but she took a minus. Style treed 400 yards from her with another coon. After that, we walked to the B female who treed again and she had a coon. Then Betty was finally heard and she was treed deep. As soon as we started to her, Style got treed with his third coon and I treed him before we headed into her. That was a wrap on the first round.”

To finally get an early cast win at this event was a great moment for Kenny and little did he know that things were going to be far from over as he headed into the late round. This time, Style and Kenny headed to the woods with Wild Irish Rebel handled by Rich Allen, Hope’s Ace handled by Mark Maginn, and Hope Maxed out handled by Joshua Lowe. Their score of 75 plus would put them into tonight’s Final Four. Kenny shared how that late round went for them, “Style opened up and treed at 400 yards for 75 and 100 points. When Ace covered him, Style left and took minus. Ace’s tree was a den. Ace was recut and fell treed with Rebel, but that tree was a slick. Style was treed away at one mile at this point. When we finally got to the top of hill to hear, I was able to tree him. We walked to him and he was plused up. On the way to him, Ace and Rebel fell treed again. When we were almost to their tree with about two minutes left in the hunt, Hope fell treed. If she had a coon, she beat me. This whole while Style was treed. Fortunately for me, Hope was on a den tree. That was the longest eight minute shine time ever!”

Once Kenny broke the seal on cast wins at the truck hunt, he just kept rolling along with them. Style’s performance last night has now put him and Kenny into the Final Four. Kenny talked about how he feels being here tonight, “I am very blessed. Style goes deep and I am sure that with the dogs that are in, we are going to be doing lots of walking to look at coons. I have no doubt that we will be walking a mile to Style tonight, all my friends call him One Mile Style. Jeff Stallard has hunted with him before and loves him.”

There is no doubt that tonight is going to have hounds going the distance to make this an action packed night. However, before it gets down to business, Kenny wanted to take a moment to express his words of thanks, “I want to mention my partner Clarence ‘Buck’ Justice. He does a lot at his house with Style while I am working. I drop Style off and Buck exercises him, swims him, and hunts him when I am unable. I want to thank Micah Marcum for selling me the dog. Micah also continues to hunt him. He took Style for 30 days this winter and really tuned him up. I also want to mention Cody Sheets. Cody does a lot of pleasure hunting with me, but he will also take Style to the hunts for me when I cannot go. He helped us earn a truck ticket.”

It was a bad deal that brought Kenny and Buck together on coon dogs. However, it has been nothing but a good deal for the two of them since joining up. Now they are looking at having Style be one of the four left standing out of the 64 dogs that showed up this weekend to try to still be here tonight. Will they be walking away after this last cast with a new truck? Well, we are about to find out! Good luck on your Final Four round!

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Skuna River Fatality
Owned by Wilson/Beebout
Hanlded by Matt Beebout

Skuna River Fatality is the only female heading out to the woods tonight. This female has brought a lot of pride to Matt Beebout her co-owner and handler. Fatality was raised up and then trained by him from a weanling pup and now he is about to see if his girl can get the truck won for him and his partner Daniel Wilson.

Matt has been coon hunting for well over twenty years now. He started out with his dad packing him on his back and in his teens he ventured into competition hunting. Over the years, Matt has found himself and his coon hounds in the Top Sixteen of the State and in the Final Four of the State Hunt, but if he and Fatality win the truck tonight, it will be his biggest win so far.

Skuna River Fatality is a four year old out of Backwater Homer and Skuna River Faith. Matt discussed her background history, “My partner Daniel Wilson made the cross. He owns Faith and I hunted Faith for him. He gave me Fatality as a pup and we partnered up on her. I raised her in the house. She started early. When I would let her out, she would end up going and getting treed. After a while, I penned her up and started taking her and that is how she started going. She has been a really good dog to me. What I like about her is her accuracy and independence. Her biggest accomplishments besides making it into tonight’s Final Four is doubling up at the Super Stakes this past fall. It was Eric Emery who hunted her and won this truck ticket with her last May. I came down here and have gotten lucky so far.”
This is only Matt’s second time to one of the PKC Truck Hunts. He talked about his last experience, “I went to Lula, Mississippi once with another dog. It was a good hunt, but we were just in a lot of water.”
Things would be better for Matt on this trip. His early round would find him in hunting that was much better than his last time at this event. He talked about this, “Chuck Henson was our guide and he has some of the best hunting around!”
On their first action packed cast of the night, Fatality and Matt would find themselves in the company of Crocus Creek’s Colt 45 handled by Steven Chapman, Big Time Dolly handled by Matthew Sprinkle, and Northern Edge handled by Dylan Simpson. They would have a nice score of 450 plus to win that first cast. Matt talked about how that round went, “We scored on five coons. Fatal treed three of them. It was a great cast with a good judge.”

With their first cast win in their pocket, Fatality and Matt were still in the game for the late round. This time they found themselves heading back to the woods with The Ringtail Limp handled by Tracy Thompson, Pack a Punch handled by Connor Morris, and Heather Island Big Time Sleazy handled by Benjamin Harrell. It was not near as exciting as their first round, but their 125 circle points would edge them into the Final Four tonight. Matt described how that cast went, “The late round was tough. We hunted state land on the lake. Fatality made a den tree and then stayed out of trouble for the rest of the night. That was it. I enjoyed the people on my casts and we had good judges for both rounds who were as fair as it gets. ”

When asked how he felt about making it to the Final Four tonight, Matt replied, “I feel good and am just going to give it my best shot and see what happens. This a pretty tough Final Four and it will be interesting. I am hoping that she just gets off to herself like she usually does and has hear coons. We just have to catch the right breaks.

Before heading out tonight, Matt wanted to share some words of gratitude to those who have helped him get to this spot, “I would like to thank my partner Daniel Wilson for making this cross and all he does. I want to thank Eric Emery for earing this ticket with her. I want to thank Keith Luse for driving me around to all these hunts, I could not do it without him. Lastly, I want to thank my cousin Gage Beebout for walking along and pleasure hunting with me at home.”

Skuna River Fatality is the only female in tonight’s Final Four and she may bring lady luck with her to this last and most important cast. She has been a good one from the start for Matt and Daniel and now she just may be a good one at the end if she has the highest score on the card to earn her owners the new truck! We wish you the best of luck!

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WCH Money in the Bank
Owned by Cable/Danner
Handled by Kevin Cable Jr.

This is a proud moment for Kevin Cable. Not only is he in the Final Four again with a chance to win another truck in his lifetime, but he is doing it with a pup off of Big Money, who won him that first one. That seems to be the theme for some of our competitors tonight. Kevin won his first truck in 2015 with the sire of the pup that has brought him back to this spot.

Kevin has been coon hunting since he was just a little kid with his grandpa Carl Hall and Uncle James Tirey. His uncle would also be the person to connect Kevin with his partner Larry Danner. Larry has been a wonderful partner to Kevin and the two of them have watched their investment in “Money” pups grow over the years. Now they are hoping to be able to claim a double truck win with a father/son duo.

The Money pup that has Kevin and Larry in the spotlight tonight is three year old WCH Money in the Bank. Bank is off of Big Money and Tramp owned by Marc McWhorter. Kevin and Larry were looking for a Money pup to hunt in the Super Stakes and that was when they bought Bank from Bradley Kelly. Since owning Bank, he has earned around $97, 000, won $10,000 at the Carollton Pro Classic, and won the PKC World! He has definitely been a good return for their investment.

Kevin talked about what it is about Bank that he has liked, “He is not fancy. He just trees coons and stays out of trouble. Bank seems to find a way to win.”

Kevin headed down to the Pup Shoot Out knowing that the weather prior had kept him and Bank laid up more so than usual, but luckily he had his own little strategy to keep Bank in shape. He shared, “Bank played in the barn with my wife’s Bluetick Pumba’s Pig while we had all the snow on the ground.”

Whatever the strategy used, Bank was ready to roll when he and Kevin showed up in Batesville, Mississippi for this Pup Shoot Out. The two of them drew out in their first round with Hardlucks Loudmouth Big Lee and Chris Harley, Trip’s Big Rig handled by David Fleming, and Hard Knock Whiskey handled by Hannah Loudermilk. Money won the cast with 150 plus. Kevin shared how that round went for them, “On the early round, I treed Bank at 1.26 miles. When we got to him, he had a coon. I got leash locked there and stayed that way for 40 some minutes. With 16 minutes left in the hunt, I finally got to cut him back loose. Big Lee withdrew. Knock was struck for 100 points, I got Bank struck in for 75 points, and Big Rig was struck in for 50 points. Knock went back to the tree and mine blew out of the country and then it was all over.”

Money and Kevin returned to the grounds with their first win and waited to see who they would draw out with for the late round. They would find themselves joined by B’s Mister Cracker handled by Kris Bruckert, Bad to the Bone Champ handled by Aaron Wolken, and Heather Island Hott Nu Cowboy handled by Michael Ward. They would win the last round of the night with 175 plus and see themselves in the Final Four tonight. Kevin described how that round went, “In the late round, I struck Bank for 75 points and treed him for 100 points on a den right out of the truck. When we turned back loose, I did not hear him for a long time. Michaels’ dog treed a coon and the Black and Tan treed a coon. Then they started taking strike minus when the six caught them. Bank opened again and I struck him in for 75 points. He treed a coon and we won.”

Now Kevin and Bank are in the Final Four and looking at establishing a father/son win at this event. This will be Kevin’s third time in the finals of this event, when asked how he feels about this, he shared, “It is another day in paradise. I am hoping that Bank keeps it all together and does what he has been doing. I just want him to tree a coon and stay out of trouble. I think the dogs in tonight will all be by themselves” then he jokingly added, “though Casey’s dog might cover…those Image pups do that.”

This is going to be one of Bank’s last big hunts before he gets opened up for stud. Once he hunts in the Nationals, Kevin and Larry will be seeing if Bank can be their next big reproducer.

For now though, Kevin will see if Bank can carry on Big Money’s winning history with this event. Before heading out, Kevin did want to take a moment to express gratitude to those who have been there for him, “I want to thank Larry for being a great partner and all his support. I want to thank my wife for always being there for me and letting her Pumba’s Pig keep Bank in shape – Hakuna Matata. I also want to thank Johnny Wadkins with Coon Hunter Supply for keeping me in all my gear.”

Half of our competitors tonight are previous truck winners and they both are hunting a pup tonight off their hounds that won. Kevin is hoping that he will be able to relive that moment he had with Big Money with Money in the Bank tonight. It will be exciting to see if they will be able to pull it off! Good luck tonight!

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Flat Run Osage Orange
Owned by Stallard/Stallard/Marshall
Handled by Casey Stallard

This is not the first time that Casey Stallard has found himself heading out in the Final Four of the truck hunt. Not only has this young man had the previous experience of getting to this point on Saturday night, but he is also the other one of the two of our finalists tonight to have already won a truck at this event. In 2017, Casey and Image found themselves in the front seat of the new truck. Now Casey is going to find out if he and Image’s pup can pull this off again.

The Stallards are well known for their PKC successes and not only has Casey been in the Final Four of this event, but his father Jeff and brother Cody have also. Casey was the one to break the curse of not being able to get a truck won though. Now he finds himself with another chance at this big prize and it is with Flat Run Osage Orange. When asked what he calls this hound, Casey replied, “I call him a lot of things at different times, but in the hunts I call him O.”

O is three years old and off of Image and a female named Pride out of Aker’s Little Joe. Casey talked about how he came to own him, “I got him when he was around 10 months old from an older gentleman. The main reason that I wanted him was that he was out of Image. However, when I got him, I did not like him to start.”

Luckily that would eventually turn around some. Casey talked about this, “He started coming around to my way after about three to four months of hunting him. There were a lot of stressful nights. What I did like about him is that he has a good mouth and he has a lot of heart. If you cut three of his legs off, he would still go as hard. He moves around good and hunts crazy like the rest of them that we hunt.”

Casey has not had O at many events. He talked about what O has been able to accomplish so far, “We ran him and got a truck ticket for this. Then Dad got him in a Pro Classic around the house. I have been busy, so mainly O has just been pleasure hunted.”

Even though he has not been pushed on the competition front as much as other dogs that Casey has owned, that did not stop O from coming to Batesville, Mississippi and putting on a good show so far this weekend.
O and Casey headed out to the woods early with Goof Bawls handled by Richard Wade, Redneck Shack Attack handled by Cheyenne Cummings, and Heather Island Side Chic handled by Dustin Weed. Casey and O would emerge as the first round winners with their score of 300 plus. Casey described how that cast went for them, “On the early round, I struck O for 100 points under the minute, but he shut up and we got minused. Then I got him struck for 100 points and he had a coon. Goof struck and treed and he had a coon. Weed’s dog and the other dog got treed, but they had a den. When we got cut loose, I got O struck and treed for 100 and 100 and he had a coon. At the end of the hunt, he was treed way in there again.”

Their early round performance earned Casey and O a spot in the late round. For their last cast of the night, Casey and O would be joined by Skoal’s Live Wire handled by Daniel Spurlock, Heather Island Six Pack handled by Tameico Johnson, and Wipeout 4 Sum handled by Josh Watson. O’s score of 275 plus put Casey in another Final Four of a truck hunt. Casey recalled how that cast went, “On the late round, I struck O for 75 points. The other three dogs treed and were on a den. O was 800 yards behind them treed and it was den too. We recut and I struck O for 50 points and treed him 100 yards left-handed. He had a coon there. Then the Wire dog treed for 25 and 100 points, but had a slick. Mine was a good piece behind him the other way and he was treed again. We went to handle him and he had a coon. I got lucky.”
Now Casey has a shot to also bring home a father/son truck win. Just two years after Kevin and Big Money won a truck, Casey and Image did too. This will definitely be an interesting Final Four with these two handlers having a lot at stake. Casey shared how he feels going into it, “I have only been in this twice and will feel better when it is over. I would rather have Image here instead. I would feel better, maybe not a whole lot. Hopefully O pulls off a win somehow.”

Casey is very appreciative to all those who have helped him and O be able to get to this point and he shared his gratitude, “I want to thank my dad. He does all the work behind the scenes. He hunts him and I just show up to follow behind him. I want to thank my brother Cody for being the breeder. If not for him, O would not be here. I want to thank our partner Rick Marshall. I could not do any of this without him. He also hunts O a bunch. I also want to thank Adam McGuire for all the help that he gave me to get O on the right path. I am just the dummy who walks around with the dog at these things and gets lucky.”

Anyone who knows Casey is aware that it is not just “dumb luck” that earns him the wins when he shows up to an event. Casey comes from a long line of accomplished PKC hunters and he has definitely paid attention to what it takes to win in a hound and as its handler. Now he is about to see if he and O can pull off a major achievement by winning another truck as part of a father/son duo. He is lucky because he has a great back up handler and supporter in general with him in his father Jeff, who has offered to hunt the first part of the round for him and the last hour for Kevin Cable if they need him. If nothing else, tonight will be fun! Good luck Casey and O!