Since the trio had only owned M- 17 for approximately five years, Wilfong thinks h is real genetic prowess is still to come.

"We weren’t the only guys who liked his product. And the story’s not out on him yet. It’s like that on any of them bulls. It takes a lot for any bull to be promoted and show up. His daughters and granddaughters, and sons and grandsons, that’s where M-17's legacy is going to be left. The grandsons, not just the sons of M-17, have been real good for me," described Wilfong.

Besides the obvious M-17 sons like Pudd, Microchip and Purple Haze, recently Hurst’s 143 Moosek nuckle began turning heads. 143 made a splash last year as a 3-year-old while keeping up with the 4-year-olds.

Hurst talked about the rising star. "Vernon Guidry and I were partners on him. He was out of one of Vernon’s cows. I bought Vernon out of him his 3-year-old year and took him to some of the 4-year-old events. He was really, really good—they’ve been 90 on him," shared Hurst.

Mooseknuckle will continue promoting M-17's production ability during his push toward the ABBI Finals in Vegas. Recently, the spotted youngster placed fourth at the ABBI Classic event in Weatherford, posting an 88.25 marking and winning nearly $2,400. Clearly Hurst has a strategy for qualifying the young bucker for the ABBI Classic Finals. His first ABBI out of the year jousted him into a top 30 ranking.

According to Lindley's son Toby, there are several full flushmates by M-17 out of MS 41, the dam to Cowboy Crash that we can watch for. J.W. Hart purchased one of them named Cold Hard Cash, and three others are currently out on cows after being bucked. Each of these bulls were right in the gate and demonstrated some pretty electric locomotion.

M-17 grandsons have also started making big appearances, many out of Wilfong’s 2000 model M-17 daughters. Boyd-Floyd’s Head Creep, a son out of one of these cows, won over $11,000 last year as an ABBI futurity contender and finished the season in sixth place overall. Gilbert and Julie Carrillo’s 2006 ABBI Wild Card Champion, Cowboy Payday, is out of another one of these daughters.

When it comes to the value of M-17 daughters, Hurst couldn’t agree more with Wilfong. "I haven’t sold one of them yet. They are definitely producers," said Hurst.

M-17’s semen has always been offered at a reasonable price. With so many professed qualities it’s interesting that he’s not considered as a potential Daddy more often.

"Well, there definitely is a limited amount of semen from him now. I hadn't upped the price mainly because the economy has been so bad. Down the road, however, it will probably cost you more as there gets to be less of it," said Hurst.

At one point, M-17 was considered one of the top five producing sires alongside Skat Kat and Houdini. He is still considered among the top 10 by many insiders.

Wilfong is quick to add, "As far as I’m concerned, M-17 calves are good property. M-17 is my favorite breeding bull in the whole world. I don’t even like the AI deal and I’m figuring on breeding to him some more. I’ve got some flushes out of him that are full brothers to Pudd and I am more than tickled to death with them."

If your breeding program is lacking kick or if your "meat" could use some "heat", you might consider this recently departed Daddy. If you do try him, hold onto your hat and make sure you’re ready for the fire his genetics bring.

Wilfong closed with some good advice about dealing with M- 17's heated-up offspring.

"Those M-17 sons are a little bit on the fractious order if you’ve been around them. They have a little different mental makeup to them. You’ve got to sure school on them. If you’re patient, it’ll be worth it when they come around, though. And when they do come around, it’ll be like the flip of a lightswitch. Everything you need will be right there," promised Wilfong.