Why do more people not film their hunts?

[pavan]

I don't even like to take pictures of what I shoot.  On Canadian canoe trips, i take no pictures, that is up to someone else.  For myself, taking videos and pictures is a distraction, so it does not come up.  Besides nothing ruins a picture quicker than having me in it.

[Orion]

This was my response three years ago when this thread was started.  I still feel the same.   

I take camp pictures, and landscape pictures, pictures of plants and critters, even hero pictures of the critter after it's dead, but not video of me killing critters.  Killing an animal is a very personal experience, and not something I feel comfortable filming or "sharing."

[Hummer3T]

film or hunt, self film is very hard like many have stated.  Also to put together good footage to make a hunt video that flows is a lot of time and effort.

[goingoldskool]

Maybe I'm weird but I always felt hunting was a very personal thing. Especially the kill. For me it would take that away.

Exactly how I feel about it..... not that I mind watching other's videos,  but I don't want to see me on screen. The memory of the shot is all mine.....

[GCook]

I've tried.  I take the camera it almost never works out.  I had one that worked out on a pig at Big Oak.  The experience was phenomenal being there.  The video, not so much.  Like the deer I shot yesterday it was all I wanted to turn draw, grunt to stop her and thread the arrow through the limbs.  I wouldn't have had time to adjust a camera.
And honestly most home style videos just aren't something I find appealing.   Occasionally someone does a good job.  I'm not that guy.

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[huskyarcher]

I really enjoy filming. It can be very annoying at times, but I just about enjoy getting the footage and shot on film as much as actually hunting. I'm not any good at it, but filming is enjoyable for me. Also, I'm 26. People my age just dont get why we do what we do, I try to shed a litte light on that. Showing the laughs, the prep, the work and the passion behind it is part of the reason I carry the extra weight in with a smile. I feel (speaking to myself only here dont think I'm calling out others) almost selfish to not show others how much fun hunting is. Not everyone had the upbringing I did, ate up with hunting opportunities, for viewers like that, I hope to maybe give a spark.

We need more hunters, bad. Our numbers are falling fast. I'm hoping that maybe somebody somewhere has tried a trad bow or bowhunting due to seeing the fun that can be had.

Maybe I'm delusional, maybe not. Either way I'll have 3 cameras in the tree with me every time I go.

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[Trenton G.]

I love taking pictures and video of cool things that I see in the woods, whether it's deer, wolves, sunsets, etc. I got a better camera this year for Christmas so I'm hoping to get some better video this coming season.
When I was younger I was filmed while hunting in Wisconsin. It was really interesting seeing all the behind the scenes stuff that goes into making quality hunting videos. The only problem that I had was when the deer showed up I never waited for the camera. I think they got about half a second of footage of it before I pulled the trigger. 

[David McLendon]

Pain in the azz, passing on better shot opportunities because they don't film well, turning the hunt into something contrived for film purposes and taking away the focus from why I hunt.
  I'll remember it the way it was, and I can tell it, and re-tell it, I grew up with that in the age before video and photo-documentation and instant gratification.

[Gdpolk]

I don't know about others but for me:
1) I like to hunt, not film.
2) I don't have filming equipment and don't care to buy it or learn how to use it
3) I don't want to miss shots because I'm trying to film
4) I don't want and often cannot share space for a friend to hunt directly with me to be a camera man and even if I could I wouldn't want to because I like the quiet and to get away when I hunt.

[Bisch]

The answer to your question is:

Because it's a PITA to film and hunt by yourself!!!!!!

Bisch

[Tooner]

I am just curious as to why more people do not film their hunts..?

For the same reason I don't film myself making love.  It's beautiful, but personal.  Besides, it rarely looks as good as it feels.

[Bowguy67]

As stated earlier you'll for sure lose some opportunities yourself. Asking another fellow to film you seems silly. I'd not want to be a watcher/filmed unless it was in mentoring a beginner. That (mentoring) imo would take precedence over the videoing so I'd still not do so.  I'll be honest I'm one who almost never watches hunt videos. They're boring to me. Hunting is about a lot more than just a shot. That's not normally portrayed in a video. Either it's a marketing scam when done professionally or a "look at me" thing very often. No offense to fellows that do it or like em, that's just my take on it.

[GCook]

I have a Sony Handycam bought just for that but it seems too many times I've took it and nothing to video.  Leave it at  camp and bam, dead animals.

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[Bowwild]

One of the more interesting threads lately.  I've read all the responses. So many are very deep and profound.

This will be my 50th year big game hunting with archery equipment. The hunt is very special to me and has changed over the years and I find it changing again as I receive more and more Medicare Insurance offers these days. 

I tried to video tape my son killing his 2nd deer in Missouri when he was 14 back in 1994. Those were the days when the consumer video set up involved a two piece VCR, pretty good sized camera, and cables. It took me several minutes to set the whole thing up once in the tree. I did get him on very poor video killing that deer, it was more for me than him. I wanted to see if I could do it.  However, that film was recorded over by mistake and is lost.

Fast forward to the past couple of years and I'm fiddling around again but just with an iPhone. It isn't important to me but when I think of it I have a clamp that will hold the phone, aimed where I suspect a shot might happen. I actually turn the video on during prime time moments. I've "captured" a few deer walking (deer that I don't want to shoot), but I haven't captured a shot on the phone.  I'm not doing this for others per se, although if I get it done I'll show my son and brother.

I might find that I don't like reliving the shot in that way? Most of the visuals are emblazoned in my brain anyway.

To answer the posters original question. I'm not intent on filming because it isn't important enough to me.  My favorite visuals posted on this forum are of the places people hunt; the trails, the stands, mountains, etc. I'd rather see a photo of a beautiful forested valley and imagine what lives there rather than focus on the animal. 

I can offer this however, I missed an Impala in South Africa a few years ago. My friend/PH tried to provide solace by suggesting the beast "ducked" my recurve-launched arrow. I knew that it didn't. I simply shot high.

He had a camera going so we looked at the recording....alas, I was right and he was wrong. He said, "Wow, you just missed by an inch." I replied, "No, I missed the kill shot by about 6" inches. I failed to pick a spot. The lament of sightless archers since the invention of our equipment.

[Sam McMichael]

I am another one who agrees that  the kill is a personal event, that I just don't prefer to share. Also, I don't care much for the photography end of things. I don't like to take pictures or to be in them, partly because I have never owned a good camera. However, I do really enjoy the pictures that others post.


At our camp, we have a young teenage guy who has been trying very hard to video himself making the kill. In the last couple of seasons he has gut shot two deer that were not recovered (rifle shooter). Some of the people thought I was out of line when I suggested that he should concentrate more on hunting than movie making.

[Herdbull]

I have brought video cameras and have filmed many solo hunts. If you view any of the fully edited productions I've produced or helped produce like "Primal Dreams" , "Essential Encounters" or "Chasing Solitude", you will see a vast commitment to the habitat and wildlife. When a lot of people talk of filming a hunt, the vast majority of the time they are referring to the kill. If you ever get a chance to see our stuff, you will see that yes the kill is part of it, but is often deemphasized. It is very tough to please everyone, so I usually do what I've done for over 20 years, bring the camera and film what I can. Share when I can. Not nearly enough credit goes to the editors.  Mike

[GCook]

I understand the "personal" consideration.  It is a very intense moment for me.  The ones who claim to show about the experience and such is nice I guess.  It is nice to see new landscapes and stuff I'll never get to hunt and what not.   But the average guy on YouTube isn't producing and editing and using high dollar equipment. 
Idk.  Even most of the well produced hunting shows have gone pale for me.

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[Bisch]

The main benefit I see with videoing a hunt is to be able to verify shot placement. What we "see" is not always what actually happened, and being able to verify beyond a doubt really can be a help in decision making after the shot.

That being said, I tried it for a while, and it's too much of a PITA for me to deal with when trying to do it by yourself.

Bisch

[Bowwild]

Herdbull,
If the only videos new or prospective hunters could view were yours, I'd be even more optimistic about the future of hunting and these kids. I am already very optimistic by the way.

[YosemiteSam]

I am just curious as to why more people do not film their hunts..?

For the same reason I don't film myself making love.  It's beautiful, but personal.  Besides, it rarely looks as good as it feels.

My thoughts exactly!