The Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association (ALBBAA) has opened submissions for its 14th annual Big Buck Photo Contest, highlighting what the group calls one of the nation’s premier destinations for trophy whitetail deer.
“We love having the photos shared with us every year in the Big Buck Photo Contest,” said ALBBAA director Pam Swanner. “The contest showcases what we all know to be true, that Alabama’s Black Belt remains one of the best places in America to bag a trophy buck. We encourage every hunter who harvests a buck in the Black Belt to enter our contest.”
The online-voting contest is open now and runs through Feb. 13, 2026, giving hunters from across the region the chance to showcase their best harvests from the 23-county Black Belt. This year’s winner will receive a $100 gift card and a copy of Black Belt Bounty, a coffee-table book featuring photography, essays and stories highlighting the region’s hunting and fishing heritage.
The contest is open to any buck taken legally in the Black Belt during the 2025–26 deer season, which extends from late October for bow season through February for gun season, including special youth hunting dates. All entries must be submitted via the ALBBAA website. Voting rules allow one vote per day, per entry, per IP address. Winners from the previous two years are not eligible.
ALBBAA notes that it will audit votes before certifying a winner and reserves the right to reject photos that depict unethical content or cast hunting in a negative light.
“Alabama hunters enjoy bountiful outdoors recreational opportunities in the Black Belt, and deer hunting remains one of the reasons so many people visit this region during the season,” Swanner said. “The Big Buck Photo Contest is designed to showcase the abundance of wildlife found throughout all the Black Belt’s 23 counties while celebrating the heritage and traditions of hunting in our region for generations.”
Hunters are reminded to purchase a valid license through the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and to report all harvested deer through Game Check. The Black Belt includes Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox counties.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
