BIG BONE BBQ-MT

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#3441

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1494

peak 1507 · rated over 11 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-07-06

latest 2017-06-16

Best ToY finish

#998

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 11 contests

Avg finish

top 58%

overall standings

Best overall

669.6916 / 720

Master · Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off

Perfect 180s

Current form

642.02 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 628.03 (+13.99)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.8800

Chicken · Miles City Cowtown Cookoff

Consistency

±21.73

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 160.46 · weakest Pork (155.31)

Road miles

1,284

mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 103 mi

Schedule strength

27%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)

Master avg

628.03 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 7 of 11 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 11 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

669.6916 career-best overall

93.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 669.6916 at Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off — 93.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-06-17

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Camp House BBQ has finished one call ahead of BIG BONE BBQ-MT 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

11–0 behind in the head-to-head

MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.1 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.15 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 18% of the time against 36%.

Pork avg 155.31
Pork Ribs avg 160.46
2 calls in 11 entries

A strong matchup

11–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKIN JERKS in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

10 of 11 shared pork ribs entries lost

MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ ahead 91% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ has out-cooked them in 10 of 11 shared pork ribs entries.

A July team

Top 46% average finish in July

Something about July: average finish in the top 46% across 3 contests, versus top 58% the rest of the year.

3 July contests
top 58% the rest of the year

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Montana BBQ cook-off every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 7th

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

121 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

G AND L BBQ

#3433 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1512

0–4 in 4 shared contests (0% to BIG BONE BBQ-MT)

These two have cooked 4 of the same contests — G AND L BBQ ahead 4–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 40 contests
last seen 2022-01-14

⚔ Head-to-head

3 Master Basters

#3454 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2023-06-23

⚔ Head-to-head

SPANKY & THE MEAT MAFIA

#3438 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1513

No shared contest yet.

Level with BIG BONE BBQ-MT on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2017-07-28

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG MOOK'S BBQ

#3448 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2015-05-29

⚔ Head-to-head

Meat Militia

#3447 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1494

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2025-06-06

⚔ Head-to-head

Serious Hog

#3455 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 21 contests, alongside a 24% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2024-06-07

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN JERKS	11	11	0	100%	⚔ compare
MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
JO-BAWB'S BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
12 BAR BLUES CUE	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
Up In Smoke BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
Grate Expectations	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Checkered Flag BBQ	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
Beer Belly BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Camp House BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	11	3	2	174.8800	145.6684	156.40	top 59%
Pork Ribs	11	4	1	168.0000	143.9544	160.46	top 50%
Pork	11	2	0	170.3316	141.0972	155.31	top 65%
Brisket	11	3	0	170.8456	141.6912	155.86	top 59%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	0	top 82%
Medium (20–39)	10	0	top 56%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Montana BBQ cook-off	4	7	0	top 49%	2016-06-25
Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair	2	17	0	top 73%	2015-08-11

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.9 yrs 2013-07-06 → 2017-06-16

Busiest season 2015 3 contests

Contests a season 2.2 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MT 11 of 11 contests

Contests visited 7 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 11 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 160.46 · weakest Pork (155.31)

Walk rate 64% a top-10 call in 7 of 11 contests

Overall top-10 rate 27% 3 of 11 contests

Master average 628.03 out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 131 116–150 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,284 11 mapped stops · furthest 103 mi

Schedule strength 1536 average field rating faced — tougher than 27% of rated contests

Power rating 1494 peak 1507 · #3441 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Jul 6 First tracked contest Montana BBQ Cook-Off
Jul 6 First call Montana BBQ Cook-Off
Jul 6 First overall top-10 Montana BBQ Cook-Off
Jul 6 Peak power rating (1507) Montana BBQ Cook-Off
2016
Jun 17 First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.6916 Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off
Jun 17 Career-best overall score669.6916 Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off
Jun 25 10th tracked contest Montana BBQ cook-off
2017
Jun 16 Career-best single call (Chicken)174.8800 Miles City Cowtown Cookoff
Jun 16 Most recent contest Miles City Cowtown Cookoff

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7.4	Montana BBQ Cook-Off	2013-07-06
+6.9	Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off	2016-06-17
+5	Montana BBQ Cook-Off	2014-07-05
+1.5	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff	2017-06-16

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.1	Cowtown Cook-off	2014-06-13
-7	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair	2015-08-11
-3.2	Montana BBQ Cook-Off	2015-07-03
-2.7	Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off	2015-06-19
-2.6	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair	2014-08-12

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	1	0	100%	top 54%	91.3%	91.3%
2016	2	1	50%	top 49%	93%	90.7%
2015	3	0	67%	top 70%	87.9%	87%
2014	3	1	67%	top 63%	89%	86.1%
2013	2	1	50%	top 47%	85.2%	83.7%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-06-16	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff Miles City, MT	14 / 26 (657.1200)	2 (174.8800)	8 (167.4400)	17 (159.4056)	20 (155.3944)
2016-06-25	Montana BBQ cook-off Absarokee, MT	17 / 29 (635.8972)	24 (154.8344)	14 (168.0000)	21 (150.8344)	13 (162.2284)
2016-06-17	Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off Miles City, MT	10 / 26 (669.6916)	2 (172.0000)	19 (157.0972)	8 (170.3316)	9 (170.2628)
2015-08-11	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair Billings, MT	20 / 25 (620.4920)	21 (154.2056)	9 (166.2744)	21 (157.2116)	24 (142.8004)
2015-07-03	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	19 / 29 (626.8916)	23 (149.1772)	17 (157.7372)	14 (161.7028)	14 (158.2744)
2015-06-19	Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off Miles City, MT	17 / 26 (632.5256)	20 (151.9772)	12 (165.1656)	7 (166.8456)	21 (148.5372)
2014-08-12	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair Billings, MT	17 / 26 (601.5428)	22 (150.2400)	21 (143.9544)	19 (150.2512)	12 (157.0972)
2014-07-05	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	10 / 25 (640.4796)	23 (145.6684)	8 (166.8572)	17 (157.1084)	5 (170.8456)
2014-06-13	Cowtown Cook-off Miles City, MT	14 / 17 (618.6748)	5 (163.9656)	12 (158.2744)	17 (148.5032)	15 (147.9316)
2013-08-14	Montana State BBQ Championships at Montana Fair Billings, MT	16 / 26 (591.8856)	13 (157.7144)	16 (151.3828)	22 (141.0972)	19 (141.6912)
2013-07-06	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	7 / 22 (613.1426)	13 (145.7142)	2 (162.8572)	13 (145.1426)	8 (159.4286)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2014 ↗	Master	#998 (313 pts)	#1125 (293 pts)	#1035 (323 pts)	#1250 (253 pts)	#891 (383 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1117 (248 pts)	#1271 (218 pts)	#920 (343 pts)	#1446 (173 pts)	#1233 (223 pts)