No it wasn't first come first served. If I had had to many folks show up I would have had to rank and select. We have had 93 pass. Not all of them can make all 4 hunts. So, it has worked out where we have the right number of hunters for the job without having to "pick & choose".
jcoffee, I sent you a PM about the reason. I don't want to post it here for obvious reasons.