Opening night at the Lone Star 5000

Iola, TX - Texas is the Lone Star State. The star of Texas symbolizes the independence for which the state has always been known. In fact, Texas was once declared a nation unto itself and its vast and varied landscape offers everything one could imagine in terms of hunting territory. The PKC Lone Star 5000, held in east Texas, midway between Huntsville and Bryan/College Station carries on the Lone Star State tradition in grand style. The area offers some of the best coon hunting to be found in the state and the event is the only hunt in the nation that guarantees a $100 cast win.

Iola, home of the 5000 is a quaint Texas crossroads hamlet offering little more than a cafe, a school, and the firehouse where the hunt is staged. But if wide-open spaces are your bag, you'll love Iola. I've often said that Texas is an attitude and the feeling one gets when making the drive through the Texas ranch country to Iola is that of freedom personified. It's a great place to be on weekend in January as the hunters at the Lone Star will readily attest. Here's the way they finished on Thursday night, the first round of Lone Star 5000 competition:

Thursday, January 8, 2004
Pup Derby
$500 Added Purse
55 entries
Split Winners

4th - Nowhere
Split Winners
Larry Proulx, owner/handler
$378.13

4th - Stick
Jeff Travis, owner/handler
$378.13

4th - Sniper
L and M, Et Al, owners
Ricky Cullins, handler
$378.13

4th - Kobe
Elmer Jenkins, owner/handler
$378.13

Thursday, January 8, 2004
Open Event
$1000 Added Purse
111 entries
Split Winners

4th - Ann
Dismukes or Brockenbush, owners
Ray Dismukes, handler
$540.00

4th - Burt
Cecil Stanley, owner/handler
$540.00

4th - Jack
Harold Jones, owner
Brian Dodd, handler
$540.00

4th - Cindy
Roger Dale Carnegie, owner
Terry Cason, handler
$540.00

The weather forecast for the Iola area over the next two days is as follows:

Friday: Plentiful sunshine. High around 60F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph.
Friday night: Generally clear. Low 34F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny skies. High near 55F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday night: Mostly clear. Low 32F. Winds light and variable.

With daytime highs near 60 and overnight lows in the 30's, the hunting should be very good throughout the next two days in Iola.

We'll continue to post the Lone Star 5000 winners over the weekend.

PKC - Hunting in the Lone Star State is where YOU need to be!