TORRINGTON – The 33rd annual 2Shot Goose Hunt took place Dec. 10 and 11, where hunters Brady Koerwitz and Chad Craig won first place with guide Jason Randolph and landowner Harpstreith Farms.
Nearly 400 people came to support the 2Shot Goose Hunt for the banquet and auction Saturday night, including Governor Mark Gordon and First Lady Jennie Gordon and other state officials.
While attendees enjoyed dinner and art, they also meandered around the room, taking in all the art and items available in the silent auction. Each artist who had their art featured also participated in Friday night’s Quick Draw event, where they each produced a piece on the spot to be sold that same night.
Along with Governor and First Lady Gordon, other notable attendees included Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier, New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Executive Director Bob Budd, Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik and Wyoming Supreme Court Justices Lynne Boomgaarden and Keith Kautz.
On the second Saturday of each December, approximately 40 teams of two hunters and one guide go out to hunt geese in the self-proclaimed “premier hunting event” of Goshen County. Local landowners volunteer their land for the hunt. Each hunter has two shots to bag the biggest geese they can in an allotted amount of time. The team with the most geese (or heaviest in the case of a tie) wins.
As volunteers tallied the results of the hunt, Mike McNamee of McNamee Auctions led the live auction. Items donated for the auction ranged from art by local artist Kelsea Vaughan, a signed copy of Box’s new book, several fishing and hunting trips and a custom-made gun by Weatherby and a tour of the Weatherby facility sold to Governor Gordon before he donated it back to be resold.
Money raised from the live auction and silent auction go to education programs on hunting safety as well as conservation efforts in Goshen County. The 2Shot Goose Hunt also sponsors three scholarships for students at Eastern Wyoming College every year.
“Hunter Safety education is a priority for the 2Shot. Several surrounding counties have received funds from the event to support Hunter Safety courses for Wyoming youth,” the event’s website reads.
Governor Gordon spoke to all those in attendance before the auction.
“It is remarkable what this community does,” he said. “The fact that you have the support in this community and they can do so much for the state of Wyoming makes me proud.”
Event board president Christin Covello is grateful for the governor’s continued support of the 2Shot Goose Hunt, as well as the support of those who travel from different parts of the country every year to take part.
“That’s what makes this such a great community event,” she said. “We have others from outside the community that are committed to coming to support us.”
The 2Shot Goose Hunt began in 1987 as an initiative by Goshen Economic Development to bring hunters and other visitors to Goshen County by showcasing the opportunities and people. The current governor and all living former governors attended the event. The first few hunts and banquets were held together with the Ducks Unlimited Banquet before the turn out for each event became so large it became necessary to separate them.
