The winners of the 2022 Big Time Texas Hunts drawing have been announced by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
There were 14 winners chosen by a random drawing out of 154,551 entries, according to a TPWD press release.
Entries had to be purchased, and over $1,408,000 was raised by this year’s drawing. Proceeds will be used to support public hunting, habitat management, and wildlife research in Texas, the press release shares.
The Big Time Texas Hunts drawing is broken into different categories. The Texas Grand Slam winner was Stephen Lambden from Point Comfort.
The Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt winner was Jared Poole from Hankamer, the Nilgai Antelope Safari winner was Chadwick Michael Goodman from Del Valle, and the winner of the Premium Buck Hunt was Marion Harvey Rhodes from Lufkin.
Weston Walker from Liberty won the Big Time Bird Hunt, Samuel Johnson from McKinney won the Gator Hunt, Roy Rendon from Joshua won the Wild Hog Adventure, and Brandon Killough from Winters won the Powderhorn Cast and Blast.
The winner of the Exotic Safari category, Wesley Howard, is from Colusa, California. There were multiple winners of the Whitetail Bonanza, including Daniel Chavez from Harlingen, Stephen Lara from San Antonio, Kasey Mock from Stephenville, Paul Hicks from Fort Worth, and Michael Loper from Sandia.
TPWD Marketing Manager Janis Johnson shared in the press release that this year’s drawing raised more than any other year.
“We want to congratulate the winners, but also thank all the hunters who bought an entry this year. They are the ones who made the Big Time Texas Hunt’s 26th year a success. They helped us raise $1,408,510, the highest amount in the history of the program, to support wildlife management, research, and conservation efforts in Texas,” Johnson said.
Winners of the drawing get to experience guided hunting expeditions.
Kelly Edmiston, the TPWD public hunting coordinator, shared that this drawing is a significant fundraising effort for the agency.
“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,” Edmiston said in the press release. “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.”
Hunters will be able to enter the 2023 Big Time Texas Hunts starting on May 15, 2023. The Texas Bighorn Society and Toyota support the drawing.
Winners of the Texas Grand Slam get to experience four different hunting trips, according to the TPWD website. These big game hunts feature desert mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and desert bighorn sheep.
Only a few people can hunt bighorn sheep in Texas each year, including winners of the Grand Slam, the website shares. There are only a few permits issued for these animals per year.