The Becks White Horse Hotel's second annual kids hunting competition is being held on March 24 and 25.
The competition was the brainchild of three schoolboys - brothers Luke (13) and Fynn (11) Duncan, and Harry Smith (11) - who hatched a plan on the school bus last year.
The trio even got the bus to stop on the way past the hotel in Becks to seek support from the publicans. The boys love hunting, as did all the children in the area, and they wanted to have their own competition, Paulette Duncan said.
It was easy to source sponsorship. About 40 children entered and some 100 people attending the prizegiving.
The idea was not to make any money from the competition, but they ended up with about $250, which they gave to the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter.
The helicopter later made a surprise visit to Omakau, and the crew gave a talk about its work, which was "just amazing", Mrs Duncan said.
Organising the competition had been a "cool process" for the three boys to work through.
They did the ringing around, made the speeches on the day and also the "thank you's" afterwards.
She expected entry numbers could be even higher this year, after all of last year's participants said they were keen to come back.
While Luke was now a pupil at John McGlashan College in Dunedin, he was returning home for the weekend. Fynn and Harry both attend Omakau School.
Entries close on March 19 and registration costs $5 per person, or 15 per team (a maximum of three people).
There are three main categories - team with the heaviest combo bag, individual with the heaviest combo bag and team/individual with the heaviest bag of 15 rabbits.
Combo bags must include a rabbit, hare, possum, magpie and a gutted nanny goat.
Entrants must be 15 or under and licensed adult supervision is required. They had kept away from big animals, like deer and pigs, that required "big guns".
Organisers were not strict about who did the shooting - it was all about being involved and having a weekend for children, Mrs Duncan said.
The local Deerstalkers Association was also keen to be involved. Entertainment at the weigh-in, which will be held at 1pm on the Sunday at the hotel car park, will include archery, target shooting, a sack-carrying race, the "funniest" story and bouncy castles.