alafarmnews

Stephen Hall – Trophy Rock
photo contest winner

By Grace Smith

“The bucks stop here…and stay.” – Trophy Rock

Stephen Hall of Odenville may believe this slogan more than any other Trophy Rock user this year. Steven was selected as the company’s photography contest winner this year after he snapped some pictures of a “monster buck” licking the naturally occurring trace mineral block.

Stephen Hall, of Odenville, attributes the harvesting of this 8-point buck to Trophy Rock

Deer found the Trophy Rock within 72 hours of it being put out, including this 8-point buck.

“I learned about it at the deer expo and I wasn’t sure if I was getting into another gimmick,” Hall said. “They claimed [the deer] would find it within 72 hours.”

Hall was initially skeptical about the product so he set up his digital cameral with heat and motion sensors over the rock to record the deer’s reaction to it. Much to his surprise, the pictures not only showed the deer coming to the mineral rock within the guaranteed amount of time, but also an 8-point trophy buck staring right into the camera.

He submitted his picture into Trophy Rock’s photography contest and he won the competition. As his reward, Scott Smith, a representative from Trophy Rock, said Hall will receive an all inclusive whitetail hunting trip to Ohio on property that has been managed by Trophy Rock for four years. Smith also said the deer on this property have an average class size of 150.

“Stephen’s going to have a possible shot at a really nice deer,” Smith said.

A camera crew will be on hand to film the hunt and Smith said the footage will be used for one of their television shows. Should Hall kill a deer, Trophy Rock will handle the taxidermy fee and the shipment of the buck back to Alabama.

If winning this once-in-a-lifetime trip wasn’t enough for Hall, he was also able to shoot the “monster buck” that helped him win the competition the opening day of last year’s hunting season. Since the product is naturally occurring and not man-made, hunters are permitted to hunt over the rock. Hall said the buck was within 100 yards of the product when he shot it.

Needless to say, Hall’s luck with Trophy Rock has made him an advocate for the product and after his initial success with it, he was happy to find that the product was sold at his local Co-op, St. Clair Farmers Cooperative in Ashville.

“I went on the Trophy Rock website to the store locator and was tickled to death to see that almost all the Co-ops carry it,” Hall said.

Chris Duke, manager of the Ashville store, recalled the first time Hall bought the trace mineral block in his store.

“When Steve first came in he couldn’t find [Trophy Rock] anywhere,” Duke said. “Once he saw that we had them, he’s been buying them here ever since… It seems to be working and the hunters keep coming back to buy it.”

Duke also said he likes to keep the product available to customers year-round since it provides deer with nutrients and minerals.

Smith said these minerals and nutrients aid deer in antler development and herd health, so it is a good idea to put the rock out in March so hunters can fully reap the benefits of the product.

After Hall shot his prize-winning picture, he took it to Duke to show him the massive St. Clair county deer. “I got excited and I guess its bragging rights, but I wanted Chris to see it,” Hall said.

Duke kept the photograph and hung it in the store so customers could see Hall’s success with the product.

Trophy Rock is one good reason Hall keeps coming back to his local Co-op, but that’s not the only thing that keeps drawing him back in.

“The hospitality you get here is the reason I come back,” he said. “I appreciate their one-on-one service.”

Grace Smith is an AFC management services trainee.