Brodie Swisher Wins Calling Contest

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CALLING TITLE RETURNS TO PARIS
(SWISHER WINS NRA CONTESTS)
by Steve McCadams
www.stevemccadams.com

Brodie Swisher logged a lot of hours practicing his calling routine. It all paid off this spring when he entered the National Rifle Association’s Great American Hunter’s Game Calling Challenge held in Reno, NV.

This contest is a little different from most. Participants are required to call seven different species and for even the veteran outdoorsmen it’s a challenge.

Swisher, who lives in Springville, has been pals with fellow sportsman John Paul Moody for several years and they spent a lot of time together in the outdoors. They also partnered their time and efforts to form Harvest Outdoor Ministries, an organization that gets kids and other “new comers” involved in the sport of hunting.

Last year, Moody won the title in the amateur “hunter division” at the NRA convention and this year, Swisher kept the title right here in Henry County.

“I was quite honored to win the contest and keep the title here at home,” said Swisher, who works at Youth Villages here in Paris. “A lot of people can call this or that animal but it takes a lot of practice to master seven separate critters.”

“At times I just about drove my wife out with all the calling in the house,” grinned Swisher. “But she was all smiles when I won the money and title.”

Swisher returned home with some $6,000 in cash and prizes. And, he and Moody called together in the team division and won fourth place, picking up a check for $1,500.

Contest rules require participants to call ducks, geese, turkey, barred owl, elk, white tail deer, and coyotes or predators.

“Seeing an animal respond to the sound of a call in the wild is really something and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” said Swisher, when asked how he got started. “My dad used to take me small game hunting when I was 7 or 8 years old.”

What are his favorite calls? For goose calling he relied on a Tim Grounds while using Mike McLemore’s Mallard Magnet duck call. He has his own bugling elk call designed out of a plastic ball bat and gallon juice bottle. And, he used a McLemore diaphragm for calling turkeys.

He credits his pal Moody for bringing him to Henry County and introducing him to the great deer hunting here. They met while attending Mid-Continent Bible College in Mayfield, KY and the Moody’s invited him to stay with them for a couple of years while going to college.

During that time he participated in some young sportsmen’s deer hunts. A few years later he would move from his home in Cordova to Henry County where the call of the wild and his quest to help young people lured him.

“We try to reach out to those kids who, for one reason or the other, have had a tough time in life. We help them get back on track and placed in a home and atmosphere that’s more enjoyable. Sometimes we use an outdoor twist to get the kids to open up. It’s a way to reach them and establish fellowship that has been absent in their lives,” continued Swisher.

With the title of amateur champion now under this belt, he can no longer compete in that division but must move up to the pro division in the NRA contest.

“I plan to keep competing and enter both the pro and team division next year. Meanwhile, I hope to continue working with the Harvest Outdoor Ministries and pursue a career in outdoor writing,” said Swisher, when asked about his future plans.

He and Moody have created a guide service that specializes in a variety of hunts ranging from coyote in the off-season to deer, turkey, and duck. The hunts promote a family atmosphere.

Added to it all, he and Moody are TWRA certified hunter safety instructors. Each year they teach classes here in Henry County to help the hunters of tomorrow get started on the right foot today.

Introducing someone to the great outdoors seems to be what Swisher is all about and he has found a way to reach a lot of folks and make a good first impression. Through his unselfish talents and dedication he is reaching a lot of people that otherwise might never have an interest or opportunity.

His good deeds have come back to him in many ways. Winning the NRA Great American Hunter’s Game Calling Challenge is just one of them.

For more information on Harvest Outdoor Ministries call him at 593-1004 or e-mail brohunts@aol.com .

Steve McCadams
is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area and host of The Outdoor Channel's television series IN-PURSUIT.

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