On my Iowa hunt I had to make a decision and it was the toughest thing I had ever done. We went to film both my hunt and my good friend Steve Olson's. One of the shows that I have a sponsorship with just bought air time on the Sportsman channel for quarter 1 and 2. We knew they were planning on using our footage for one of the episodes so I talked the outfitter into buying advertising with them as well since if we shot deer he would get a show dedicated to his outfitting business. On opening night right as we ran out of camera light but still had a lot of legal shooting time left one of the bucks we were after Rip Van Winkle stepped out at 60 yards. He stayed broadside from 60 to 100 yards for almost 30 minutes. Even though I wanted to shoot him I could not and never took off the saftey because we couldnt film it. There was more to it than just shooting a buck, I felt like if I shot that buck off camera I would blow an opportunity for my company, let down my friends that put the show together and most important blow it for the outfitter that I talked into spending $ on advertising. Passing that buck was the toughest thing I have ever done while hunting. The next couple of days were pretty stressful
I can not imagine having to do that. I am sure as I start vodeoing hunts the situation will come up at some point...just hope I can hold off like you!
Man I know the feeling. I spent several years filming waterfowl hunts. It's a lot different than just pure hunting. Can't shoot birds out of frame. Great shoot but no audio. The list goes on and on. At that point I lived to hunt birds. after doing it I got completely burned out to the point I could care less if I ever shot another goose. Thankfully I got back into deer hunting. No cameras or paying clients. Just hunting for me. If I shoot a deer great. If not there is always tomorow. I give guys a ton of credit that can do this and stay with it. Keep doin what you all do because I love watching hunting tv.
Like I said in the phone, I highly doubt I could have passed on a buck that big just because of camera light. You definitely have more self control than I do!
