Filming your own hunts?

[Dukslayr]

So filming my own hunts (and hunts with buddies when someone has tagged out) algae long been something I’ve wanted to do. This past weekend my best friend and I spent 5 days at my farm. I shot my #1 hit list buck the first morning so I ended up spending the majority of the rest of our time hunting along side him. I have several new tower blinds up this year that makes hunting a couple of guys fun and comfy.

As my son gets older and ready to hunt I’ll definitely want to start capturing those memories. What I wouldn’t give to have video of the hundred of hours I spent in the field with my dad growing up. That being said, I took the plunge and pulled the trigger on a decent filming setup to start trying my hand at it. I’m curious how many folks on here film their own hunts (or hunts in general)? I’ll be filming in both box blinds and treestands and bought both the tripod and tree arm setups. Anyone have any key learnings or tips/tricks they’ve learned along the way (beyond “make sure the batteries are charged and you have spare memory cards”...I’m sure I’ll screw that up straight away). I don’t see many folks talking about it on here so thought I would check.

 

[swat1018]

I have a pretty rough set up. I have a stabilizer mount on my bow I can put a camera on. Also, keep cheap tripods in all my blinds. I just have a small Sony Handicam. If anyone remembers the video of my drop-tine buck from a couple years ago, it was bad. That was the stabilizer mount inside a blind. That's when I got tripods for the blinds, better quality. I just film to show the guys back at the camp the deer I see and pass, mainly.

 

[Bill]

I always have my little Sony camera with me and out on every hunt. No tripod and I don’t try and film a deer I’m going to shoot.

Two things I’ve learned. Don’t zoom in and out. Just find a setting where you are on the deer and keep it there.

And don’t even think about filming a deer you want to shoot.

I’m with Swat, I film to show what I don’t shoot to the neighbors..

 

[Dukslayr]

Well, I definitely plan to film what I’m shooting...which clearly must be a terrible idea. I’m going to practice during doe season this year.

 

[Bill]

And good luck. I always had the cam with me when my son was young. I found I spent so much time calming him down and coaching that the camera was an afterthought. But take it for after shots and tracks.

 

[Bill]

Another thought along the same lines. Don’t even touch the camera until you have had sufficient time to read the deer and know he is a pass for you. Maybe some guys can do it.. camera has burnt me twice! And once was last week

 

[Dukslayr]

Another thought along the same lines. Don’t even touch the camera until you have had sufficient time to read the deer and know he is a pass for you. Maybe some guys can do it.. camera has burnt me twice! And once was last week

It’s a guarantee that I’ll screw up some deer. I’m hoping that my buddies and I can take turn filming for each other too, particularly when someone tags out.

 

[yoderjac]

So filming my own hunts (and hunts with buddies when someone has tagged out) algae long been something I’ve wanted to do. This past weekend my best friend and I spent 5 days at my farm. I shot my #1 hit list buck the first morning so I ended up spending the majority of the rest of our time hunting along side him. I have several new tower blinds up this year that makes hunting a couple of guys fun and comfy.

As my son gets older and ready to hunt I’ll definitely want to start capturing those memories. What I wouldn’t give to have video of the hundred of hours I spent in the field with my dad growing up. That being said, I took the plunge and pulled the trigger on a decent filming setup to start trying my hand at it. I’m curious how many folks on here film their own hunts (or hunts in general)? I’ll be filming in both box blinds and treestands and bought both the tripod and tree arm setups. Anyone have any key learnings or tips/tricks they’ve learned along the way (beyond “make sure the batteries are charged and you have spare memory cards”...I’m sure I’ll screw that up straight away). I don’t see many folks talking about it on here so thought I would check.

I've don't quite a bit of filming hunts. Some were for the challenge of doing it and others for education. Filming a gun hunt from a box blind is by far the easiest self hunt. For that, I like the idea of using two cameras. One camera is set to a wide angle view. You just turn it on when game appears and let it run. With today's remotes, it can be set up outside your blind if you like. The second camera is the one I use to pan and zoom. A smooth (SLIK) head it important for panning. After the hunt you can use video editing software to make a single movie. You can cut between the two cameras. You will undoubtedly goof up the manually operated camera if you are trying to self video. That is not a problem with this setup. When you get shaky or over pan or whatever with one camera, you simply cut to the other in the final video.

Forgot all the hat and gun mount camera setups. The reality is that they simply don't have the stability for a nice video.

The most challenging is self-filming a bowhunt. I could not handle the risk of wounding a deer by making a mistake by focusing on camera work. So, here was my approach. You can use a two camera setup if you like with a remote. Again one camera is at a wide angle. The second camera is in the tree with a tree arm. If I see the deer at a long distance, and I fell confident, I'll operate the camera. Otherwise, I'll point that camera at the most likely shooting lane, zoom it in and let it alone. So, once the deer is close enough to my range, I'll predict where I will take the shot and point the camera. At that point, I quit all camera work and focus on nothing but shooting the deer. Either the camera captures it or it doesn't. I would guess I would probably try to self-video 10 bowhunts for each one that ended with a good video.

One feature I like in a camera for archery hunting is high speed video. One that films at 60 fps instead of 30 fps is cool. You can do a much better job of tracking the arrow flight. You can see how much the deer drops between the time you release the arrow (that is obvious in the audio track) and when the arrow arrives at the deer.

I have not been videoing hunts in recent years unless I'm taking a kid, so I can't recommend the latest equipment.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tree Spud]

Never understood the need to film a hunt unless you are obsessed with you rather than the deer.

When I go out to hunt, I am trying to leave technology behind, very hard to do. What i see, feel, and experience in the stand can never be captured in video ... it's mine and I cherish it.

 

[Baker]

I've been doing video of wildlife , deer and hunting for years. Several tips. Buy good equipment. I use a Canon XA 30. Get a good tripod. I use a manfretto with fluid head. Nothing compromises good opportunity worse than shaky video. Long distance video is uninteresting . Skip it. You need to be close. I like to focus on the wildlife more than the hunter especially avoiding hyperventilating gee I smoked him stuff. Just me. A cavalier mic is a nice addition where you can narrate in real time. Helps capture the moment better vs. later narration.

Learn to edit. In the end the editing is critical to a good outcome. I find a 10-15 minute video requires maybe an hour of video and as much as an hour of editing to make something you will really like. Learn to post on youtube. I made DVD's for years that wrapped up an entire season . Now I have a youtube channel and post more video in real time and can extend it to a year round endeavor . Adds one more element making hunting and habitat mgt. more interesting.

Hunting video also creates a great opportunity to be creative starting with before the hunt till the very end. Can be challenging piecing it all together. But video is the ultimate catch and release hunting. It can change every aspect of how you approach the hunt.

 

[Bill]

Never understood the need to film a hunt unless you are obsessed with you rather than the deer.

When I go out to hunt, I am trying to leave technology behind, very hard to do. What i see, feel, and experience in the stand can never be captured in video ... it's mine and I cherish it.

I agree but take one for the stuff you see that you’re not going to shoot. I filmed a crazy chipmunk today. I’ve seen chipmunks since a was kid but this thing sat under me and barked for an hour. Think he didn’t like me and wasn’t afraid to stand his ground...

 

[Bill]

But video is the ultimate catch and release hunting. It can change every aspect of how you approach the hunt.

I know that has become true at our place..

 

[Dukslayr]

I've don't quite a bit of filming hunts. Some were for the challenge of doing it and others for education. Filming a gun hunt from a box blind is by far the easiest self hunt. For that, I like the idea of using two cameras. One camera is set to a wide angle view. You just turn it on when game appears and let it run. With today's remotes, it can be set up outside your blind if you like. The second camera is the one I use to pan and zoom. A smooth (SLIK) head it important for panning. After the hunt you can use video editing software to make a single movie. You can cut between the two cameras. You will undoubtedly goof up the manually operated camera if you are trying to self video. That is not a problem with this setup. When you get shaky or over pan or whatever with one camera, you simply cut to the other in the final video.

Forgot all the hat and gun mount camera setups. The reality is that they simply don't have the stability for a nice video.

The most challenging is self-filming a bowhunt. I could not handle the risk of wounding a deer by making a mistake by focusing on camera work. So, here was my approach. You can use a two camera setup if you like with a remote. Again one camera is at a wide angle. The second camera is in the tree with a tree arm. If I see the deer at a long distance, and I fell confident, I'll operate the camera. Otherwise, I'll point that camera at the most likely shooting lane, zoom it in and let it alone. So, once the deer is close enough to my range, I'll predict where I will take the shot and point the camera. At that point, I quit all camera work and focus on nothing but shooting the deer. Either the camera captures it or it doesn't. I would guess I would probably try to self-video 10 bowhunts for each one that ended with a good video.

One feature I like in a camera for archery hunting is high speed video. One that films at 60 fps instead of 30 fps is cool. You can do a much better job of tracking the arrow flight. You can see how much the deer drops between the time you release the arrow (that is obvious in the audio track) and when the arrow arrives at the deer.

I have not been videoing hunts in recent years unless I'm taking a kid, so I can't recommend the latest equipment.

Thanks,

Jack

Thanks Jack. One of my buddies is in the television industry and actually set me up with a list of everything I’d need to get the job done well (including a good fund head). I only have one camera right now but if u get into it I may do as you suggest and setup a second. The camera I got isn’t quite commercial quality, but it shoots in 4K and should be great for looking at hits post shot. I may end up only filming gun hunts and hunts when there are two people if it’s too cumbersome to film while bow hunting.

 

[Dukslayr]

Never understood the need to film a hunt unless you are obsessed with you rather than the deer.

When I go out to hunt, I am trying to leave technology behind, very hard to do. What i see, feel, and experience in the stand can never be captured in video ... it's mine and I cherish it.

No doubt we all have varying opinions here...which is just fine. I don’t leave technology at home. I couldn’t care less about seeing or hearing myself, but rather documenting hunts and memories. Unfortunately it’s easy for my memory to let me down...having videos that my kids and I can watch together though, will pair nicely with my crummy memory. I can recount the story one way and then we can watch the video and see what really happened. Haha

 

[yoderjac]

Never understood the need to film a hunt unless you are obsessed with you rather than the deer.

When I go out to hunt, I am trying to leave technology behind, very hard to do. What i see, feel, and experience in the stand can never be captured in video ... it's mine and I cherish it.

Interesting. I'm a little camera shy and have not appeared on camera in any of my videos. Here are several non-self-obsessed reasons:

1) Kids - When I'm filming the hunt of a kid, I'm as much focused on capturing the kid and their reaction to wildlife than I am the wildlife itself. Some of these kids have parents with no hunting heritage. It allows them to share the experience with their family and friends.

2) Education - I've found no better tool for Shoot-Don't-Shoot in the classroom than clips from my bowhunting videos. New hunters see the game approach and get a feel for when to draw and when to wait. They see all this from the perspective of the stand. For the many deer I don't shoot, I can pause the video at any point, pass out laser pointers to a few kids, and ask "Would you take this shot and if so, where would you aim"?

3) Challenge - It can be very challenging to film a hunt. y

4) Recovery - I've had several archery hunts that I was self-filming where the recoveries have been difficult. I've said to myself, "I know the arrow did atthis and the deer did that...Therefore....". After reviewing the video, I found I was wrong. What I thought I saw wasn't what happened. This one was not a recovery issue, but it is a very interesting story about how convinced we can be about what we see and be wrong.

I was self-filming a bowhunt at Quantico years ago. I was in a climber in the middle of the afternoon on a nice sunny day but I was under a hardwood canopy. I watched a nice fat doe work her way in eating acorns. It took her 20 minutes to get into range. I had a nice broadside shot at 20 yards and took it. The arrow flew over her back. She jumped and ran 10 yards and stopped. She looked around for a few minutes and then went back to eating acorns. I looked at my sight and it had been bumped when I pulled it up with my haul line. I reset it to 20 yards and nocked another arrow carefully. After a bit she presented another 20 yard shot and I took it. This time I was dead on and she took off on a bee sting run. I heard her crash and after a few minutes she left out a death bawl. I could not see her but I knew where she was so I climbed down and walked over.

I was shocked at what I found. There was a spike with 6" inch spikes on the ground. I figured somepone else had shot it and it had died near my doe. I started back trailing the blood trail and sure enough, it was the deer I shot. I had filmed the hunt in HD. So, after I got home, I played the footage on a large HD TV. There was only one point in 20 minutes of video where the deer turned in such a way that the light hit the spikes and you could see them.

That taught me to always save one buck tag for accidents. Fortunately I had one available.

Thanks,

Jack