What should we hunt and film?

[Tnewberg]

Randy you know you mite know some one up north that would love to do bwca whitetail hunt bow, rifle, pistol, black powder . Bear hunting to would be cool up their in many years of going in the bwca i have seen lots of good sign and animals just a thought.

 

[Foxtrot1]

Figured I would get a head start on recommendations for next year. Not that you really need any ideas, I haven't seen a bad episode of OYOA yet. But here are some ideas for episodes I would like to see in the upcoming years in addition to the schedule you have already been using.

1. Aoudad hunt in NM. Most of us dream of shooting a bighorn, but will never get a chance because of the limited tags/draw odds. This is pretty close, but doable for alot more hunters.

2. Bird hunts out west. Maybe one episode a year? I don't think I've ever seen a public land upland hunt. These would definately appeal to more specific groups of your audience, but what hunter hasn't thought of hunting pheasants in SD? Or watching you guys chase chukars on the mountain slopes in Or. These hunts could be a fall back if you aren't able to draw enough tags for big game episodes. Even alot of big game hunters could draw ideas for "add ons" to a preplanned hunt.

3. Waterfowl. To continue the though on #2, maybe a sea duck hunt in AK to go with a black tail or bear hunt. Or ducks/geese along rivers/lakes in the west. Usually someone in camp ends up tagging out early, ideas for how to continue hunting while on a vacation would be great for guys that travel along way to hunt out west.

 

[ID_deerslayer]

A lot of good options definitely being thought up, and here is my two cents. let's see me OTC mule deer/elk hunts. Throw in some new territory such as Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah. While drawing the desired trophy units is always preferred, many people end up general season hunting since draw odds in trophy units are usually less than 5 percent. I do understand that travel costs are gonna be a determining factor, so not all NW states can be hunted. heres my breakdown:

4 Elk- 1 archery, 1 general season thats not done in MT or CO, 2 draw hunts
3 Mule deer- 1 archery, 1 general season back pack, 1 Draw
1 Whitetail/blacktail-
1 Antelope
1 Bear
1 Wolf
Alaska hunt- moose and caribou

this would be the ideal everything you wanted to draw you did and the stars were aligned for travel/ season overlaps. either way, really looking forward to another season of OYOA!

 

[bobbydean]

Didn't read all 200 plus posts.

Ibex and Oryx in New Mexico.

Long shot draws.

Ibex would be spectaular!

I have seen some impressive videos of the quality available. Apply, apply , please apply!
I have always thought your were a lucky guy! Go ahead and try for the Pecos bighorn or the desert bighorn! Your are lucky.

Good luck Big Fin!

I think you could do it!

 

[WyOpitz]

I know this is probably out of budget for a lot of hunters, but I know a lot of people who have a dream hunt (me included) of going to New Zealand for a Red Stag hunt. I have already started saving with hopes of going in 10 years. But to see someone do it on a realistic budget on public land over there would be pretty cool. I think it would inspire a lot of people to actually do it if they saw it could be done for a reasonable price and were shown ways of saving money on the trip. Thanks.

 

[Hof]

My favorites personally are archery elk and spot and stalk archery antelope. Filming a spot and stalk archery hunt in MT during the blaring august/ early september heat would be difficult but I also think it is the most challenging and rewarding way of harvesting an antelope. IMO anybody with some patience can sit in a groundblind over a water hole and get it done.

I would also love to see another wolf hunting episode or two, although I can understand if you chose to avoid that.

I would guess that a majority of your audience is from the region. I like the hunts that are in MT, WY, ID, CO, or UT because they are realistic to the average hunter so we can all relate to the situations.

Keep up the good work and congrats on your bison.

Hof

 

[blb078]

realistic to the average hunter so we can all relate to the situations.

Hof

+1 to this, I like to see hunts were it's something I can do, every other show has trophy type hunts so I'd say keep those to a minimum of 1 or 2 per year. Or maybe just the very hard to draw species like moose, ram, goat, if drawn of course. I don't care to see an elk or deer hunt in a unit that is going to take 10-15+ years to draw. OTC/general units are more interesting. Also maybe a walk in area hunt in a state like WY for deer or antelope.

 

[putm2sleep]

NZ or Africa. I think Africa is pretty doable - an international hunt would be cool. Love to see you behind a warthog BigFin. Take your son!
Was just sent some info on a 10 day safari ( 8 day hunt ) all inclusive for two Hunters or one hunter and one non hunter – if 2 HUNTERS, Hunting with 1 PH, sharing the included animals.
$ 900 there are a few other details but seems cheaper than a helicopter fly in drop camp elk hunt in MT>?

 

[bobbydean]

Just realized this was a 2010 post!

Still like you to hunt our exotics in New Mexico! I didn't mention Barbary, but might be a good hunt! I usually check the date; made my feel foolish!

 

[Big Sky]

First off I'm making these suggestions because these hunts are availalbe in most every Western state and to nearly any hunter that want to try them out. That, and I think it's important to remember it's not always about "big game". I love hunting big game as much as the next guy, but seriously it only takes up a fraction of the year, and I like to be out all 12 months hunting something.

Would like to see one episode of predator hunting. It could be a combination of bear hunting, coyote hunting, with a possible addition of bobcat or fox depending on where you are. Having been coyote hunting with camera crews several times you might just find a whole nuther level of challenge.

Another possibility is a show about various varmint hunting ie...jackrabbits, marmots, crows, gophers, and prairie dogs etc. Not an idividual show for each animal but one episode that has a fairly rapid pace showing hunting sequences for all of them. Meaning I can only stand to watch so many prairie dogs get shot, but if it's mixed up with the other critters it would hold my interests.

 

[hornart]

Can you put Politicians on the list, lol

 

[----]

I want to see at least half the episodes be bait fishing on private ponds with NASCAR drivers across the South, an episode chasing deer with dogs, and the rest interviewing Bill Jordan on the evolution of antler supplements.

 

[canvsbk]

Elk is always nice and antelope too but if I had to pick it would be a sheep hunt. I'll never get to do it, might as well watch somebody else.....

 

[Cheater]

Love your show, and truly look forward to every episode. I like the balance you’ve had in the past. My recommendations are:

1) Even up the Elk and Mule Deer episodes (maybe 4 each)
2) Continue with OYOA Western style Whitetail hunt (1 or 2). The majority of TV Whitetail hunts are boring, but you do it right.
3) It’s time for an OYOA Utah hunt. I know politically (SFW cough, cough), we’ve got our issues, but we still have some great hunts. You’ve got to have some Elk points to burn here?
4) I’d love to watch an Ibex hunt in NM.
5) Some sort of Sheep hunt would be great too.

 

[dalbo]

If the dream hunts (sheep, mt. goat, etc.) fall through I think an AZ, archery deer/javelina hunt in January would make a great OYOA episode.

OTC deer tags.
Archery javelina tags are easy to draw, many units have leftovers available.
Lots of public land to hunt.

 

[BB33]

Small game with people like Ole...Have fun!

 

[OriginalOscar]

1) Aoudad
2) Wolf in the Great Lakes states.
3) Youth hunts. Anything. Cool to see kids get their first animal.
4) Trapping. Great predator control and a little education might get more people interested.
5) Mtn Goats.
6) Chukars. Best upland sport there is.
7) Desert Bighorn
8) Snake River Sturgeon. Yeah fishing but they are big.
9) Moose in the lower 48. West or East
10) AZ Strip Mule Deer

If Griz get deregulated that would be amazing. Who would have ever thought it might be possible to hunt Griz in the lower 48 again.

 

[OregonTK]

I'd love to see a public land Blacktail hunt from here in Northern Oregon or up in Washington. Not one of those grassy hills hunts for 100# deer on a private ranch in southern Oregon or NoCal, but hunting big timber, rutted up, salamander neck dark antlered stud bucks in the rain, snow, wind, and fog.

 

[Big Fin]

Yeah, this is an old thread, but always good to see what people want. Comments from viewers, added to what we have as our core message and the hunts/locations/style that have attracted sponsors to our show, and the path is pretty much set for what we apply for.

Sponsors already have a lot of coverage in the whitetail world, the Midwest, Asia, Canada, and Texas hunts. They look for us to provide coverage in the areas of the average big game hunter who wants to travel to the Rockies and hunt accessible lands. Exactly the kind of hunts we excel at.

We have represented to sponsors that each year, we will try to have five elk hunts, possibly six, and never less than four. Elk hunts are always a big hit for our show and our viewers.

After that, we are looking for at least one antelope (though if left to me, we would have five or six) and two mule deer. Usually one western whitetail and one bear. The filler hunts then come from some lottery-type odds for moose, goat, sheep, or something like the bison tag we had this year.

Locations are almost always going to be the Rockies, or other states where their is a lot of interest in non-residents traveling to hunt. That usually puts Washington, California, and Oregon further down the list, though two of my dream hunts are Columbia Blacktails and Roosevelt Elk.

We try to have as many "easier to draw" tags as we can. MT deer and elk is virtually over the counter for NRs. OTC elk in Colorado will almost always be on the docket. Alaska bear, though now a draw for NRs, was undersubscribed last year. The NV archery mule deer is always the easiest tag to get in NV, with there being leftovers in the unit we hunted last year. Wyoming antelope is a draw, but the units we apply for usually can be had with one or two points and we always put in for a second and third choice in units that have leftover tags. Kansas whitetail is 100% draw, with leftover tags in the area we have hunted them. We are doing a left-over Coues whitetail in AZ this year, unless some miracle tag is drawn and defers that hunt for a year.

Want to make it to Utah, but the tags have yet to come our way. Idaho has seen us there once, but it is still in the edit room, due to how the footage turned out. That will probably make a YouTube channel original. Would love to come there and archery hunt mule deer, soon. Have yet to draw and elk, antelope, sheep, or moose tag there. In 17 years of applying in ID, I have drawn two deer tags, both of which were slam dunk draws. Need a some luck to come my way.

I do think it adds some intrigue to apply for some of the glory tags. Don't draw them very often, but when we do, it adds to the storyline that people can draw these kind of hunts if they apply. To let them know that you don't need an outfitter.

The other thing we like to show are the overlooked hunts. AZ elk being the most obvious. Same with archery antelope hunts and the Kansas whitetails. So many people think those are out of reach.

You will not see any muzzleloader hunts. Nothing against muzzy hunts, just not part of who is paying the bills for the show. I own a muzzy, but we commit to our sponsors that we will do only rifle hunts (75-80%) and archery hunts (20-25%).

You won't see much bird hunting, as that is not part of our gig, even though I do a lot of it. Our sponsor already have a lot of coverage in that area. And, bird hunts have almost as low of ratings as fishing. Personally, I don't watch bird hunts, even though I love to hunt birds. Ratings show that many of the other hunters feel the same way.

Predator hunting is fun. Something I will be doing a lot of in the next month, as I crank up my wolf hunting days. But, they are not watched very heavily, so we might do one here or there, but will not make it a big part of our story.

We will continue with western big game hunts that have a cool conservation story, both in terms of the animal and the location. We will have a mix of draw tags and over-the-counter or easier to draw hunts. We will always try to add a mix of family and friends, feeling that reflects how many viewers travel in a group to hunt the Rockies.

For the upcoming season, we already have a bunch of hunts on the board.

MT deer
MT elk
CO OTC elk
AK bear (already drew the tag)
AZ elk (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
WY elk (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
WY antelope (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
AZ Coues deer (assuming there are left overs, as there have been the last ten years)

With that many hunts already "on the board," the remainder of our apps are going to be points only, or long shot lottery-type odds. Those long shots will be all species in NM, UT, NV, and deer/elk/antelope in Idaho. Sheep in every state that will let me apply, other than Wyoming. Moose, goat, and sheep in Montana. Moose in the Northeast states of VT, NH, ME. Points for deer in Iowa and Wyoming. Points only in Colorado, for elk and antelope. And a few others I have probably forgotten.

Also, the states that have their drawings earlier in the application season end up being more common on our show. I can't do "points only" in the early deadline states, then hope to have a windfall in the later drawing states. That could put us in a situation where we don't have enough tags to film a season. So, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico end up on our list more often than some of the others.

Hope that explains some of the process that goes into selection of hunts.

 

[ginkgo72]

Thanks Randy - it will be good read and follow the 2013 hunts. Best of luck.