Filming my hunts has been the single most enjoyable thing this past season.  If you have never filmed your hunts and plan to try it at some point in the future then you may be in for a rude awakening. It is not as easy as it looks!  Everything most happen just right for the video to come out like you plan.My filming days first started about two years ago. I had just finished a fantastic evening hunt and when I got back to the clubhouse I, like everyone does, began to tell my story about the great hunt I just experienced. Well, after telling the people at the clubhouse that I had just seen eleven deer in my hunt I quickly realized that they didn?t believe a word I said! So, I went out and purchased a cheap DV tape camera to start filming my hunts so I could have some proof in my pudding the next time they asked about my hunt.  In time I was able to verify my statements by providing footage that couldn?t be denied!

 

That was how I initially got started filming hunts, but after filming my hunts for some time now, my motives for filming are different.  I love to look back on my hunts and re-live the moments that I sit so long in the stand to witness.  Soon after the film of my first hunt I learned how difficult it was going to be to video my hunts.There are many different things that must happen to get the perfect hunt on film. I used to free-hand my videos. This consisted of filming the deer or turkey then putting the camera down to pick up my gun to make a shot all in a period of time where the animal can run off.  As you can imagine this process doesn?t always work because the animals are constantly moving around so this makes it difficult to film them and then shoot them

lol!  After many frustrating hunts like this I purchased a camera mount to attach to my stands. This new technique proved to have its own share of problems as well. The camera mount clamps down to the side of a tree stand, but if a deer happens to walk by on the other side of the stand you have to unclamp to mount and flip it to the other side.  Imagine trying to do this while the deer is watching you or listening for any sounds of danger.  One wrong move and your hunt could be over.  I figured the best way to film my hunts is to ask a buddy to tag along and take turns filming each other?s hunts.  That way one guy focuses on the hunt and one guy on filming it. Another pain in the butt is editing the video after you capture it in the woods.  Ultimately, I spend more time editing my clips then trying to capture them during the hunt.  It may not look like I spend a lot of time editing my videos but there?s a lot in the process.  I upload the video, watch all the clips, and cut out the parts I don?t want to use. Then I put the clips together adding transitions, music, and text along the way. Once the video is finalized I then upload it to YouTube.

 

All in all its worth all the time and trouble I put in the videos. We get the satisfaction of looking back on our hunts, and entertaining the people who choose to watch the videos.  If you?ve got some neat hunting spots and are thinking about videoing a hunt, I encourage you to give it a shot?you just never know what you might get on film out in the wild!

 

 

Derek