Let's say you had the choice....
 

Ok, speaking hypothetically here for a minute......Let's say you were offered an opportunity to be on a TV hunting show. BUT, there's a catch.....You would be a cameraman ONLY, and NEVER have the opportunity to be the shooter. I know, but again, this is hypothetical. Do you tell them to kiss off, or do you go for it, knowing you will never get to shoot....?

Personally, I don't know really. I'm thinking I would rather have the opportunity to shoot, and if that means passing up a chance at being a tv "star" if only in a photographic sense, I'm not doing it.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I would hate to turn what I like to do into work or a have to do job. I will say no.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

If I could still hunt, just not on camera. Heck yea!

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I don't think I could give up having a bow in my hands while I am on stand. But I might try videoing myself this season.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I've thought of doing that myself.....Maybe we could somehow film each other this fall??? Just a thought...

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

i would just to see 160 class animals gets me excitied also remember micheal waddel started out as a cameraman

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Yeah but I get to shoot first!!!

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Sure, just don't MISS.....:D:D :D:D

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Yeah, but read the post....in this hypo...you know outright that you will never get to.

No way for me. I could give a crap about shooting film.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

yea i was thinking of it as a one or two year thing like that then i would get to hunt

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I think I would, a day in the woods is a day in the woods

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

two sided

if its for a big shot hunter working for HS or realtree or mossy oak that travels the country and hunts different places and animals then heck yes. especially if you still got some time off to hunt on your own. it would be an amazing experience where you could make connections and good friends.

other side of that is heck no, if i dont get any time to hunt on my own, then thats just too big of a part of my life to give up.

but rememeber guys, michael waddell started off not even dreaming of being IN FRONT of the camera. he started off in the position you described, by giving up his gun and settling for a camera. after many years he slowly got one or two hunts here and there and now his own tv show and one of the most well known hunters in the nation.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

That would be a tough call, but for me i think its almost as exciting to be behind the camera as it is to be shooting the bow. When you concentrate on doing a perfect job runnin the camera its almost like an art, something that i certainly take pride in doing.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I would definitely. I just love the outdoors and if thats what it took to get me in the woods everyday I would say yes. I would almost garuntee you would get chances to hunt still. You may not be on film, but just meeting other people that hunt would be enough to get me to do it.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I love being a camera man, especially on turkey footage. It's a tougher job being a camera man and very enjoyable. It's an art form and an accomplishment. It's a different way of hunting and every animal I have filmed being shot is an animal I could have shot myself. It's an amazing feeling when you get it all to come together. The camera guy is more important than the shooter in all aspects of the game. The shooter can miss, hit, screw up whatever but if the camera doesn't get it, it's no good. LOL

It's awesome and you might miss out on a opportunity you might not otherwise ever have.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

If I have MY way.....I'm going to try and get a bird, early, in KS, next Spring......and get behind the camera for a day or two.

I'll report back....but the prospect of catching a shot on film PERFECTLY sounds VERY appealing.

It's NOT allabout the "Kill", for me.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Hmmm.... I need to know only one thing. How much money are we talking about? ;)

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Sure, I could do that.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I guess if hunting video was going to pay my bills then i could do it. Even though i would film most of the time, im sure there would be some chances to get out and hunt on my own in some of the great spots across the country. If i was going to do it for fun with no pay, then i dont think i would, time hunting is too hard to come by already.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

i would do it and hunt on the side out of the camera . I think like others have said it could open other doors of opportunity . i would enjoy the whole outdoor experience






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RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Sure, Why not..Maybe get your foot in the door for a later hunt down the road.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Interesting.....

I've heard many stories of people who make a hobby a job, then grow to hate it. I know a few guides (or former guides) who loved the sport and pursued a career in it. After 5-10 years of guiding/videoing/etc, they grew to hate their job (probably similiar to how a lot of us don't LOVE coming to work everyday). Now they hardly even hunt anymore.

So, if becoming a camera man would eventually make me not enjoy hunting, I wouldn't take the job. But yeah, at first, it sound awesome...sign me up.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Sounds like a avenue that might take you to bigger and better things. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I'd go for it! It'll bea great day in the woods...

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Negative.

Not so much for the fact that it would turn something I enjoy into a job, but more so for the fact that I enjoy the killing aspect of our sport. Granted, I love seeing animals when I'm out, but I'm out there to kill and fill the freezer, not to watch.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Depends. If it was my dad or my best friend doing the shooting, then sure. I would have just as much fun being a part of it as being the shooter. If it were people I didn't know, then no way.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Heck yes I would do it in a heart beat!

#1 if it's for a TV show they are paying market rate. so you guys worryied you will be able to buy that beer at the airport on the way home.

#2 if you do a good job or make the connections you will get a chance at advancement.

#3 filming someones excitement in a hunt would be awesome. That picture is why I have no reservations giving my spot up to a novice.

#4 Think of the opportunity in the hotel hot tub with a proffessional set up.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

If I'm not mistaken,this is how Michael Waddel got started.


If I could take the winters off from my regular job,I'm in.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but this would be the equivalent of filming an adult movie that has 15 smoking hot women in it,and all you can do is watch.........[8D]

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Is that all you would do...or would you lie about it?

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I dont know about anyone else, but Im a hunter not a camera man. To give up something that most of us are very passionate about to sit there and watch someone else do it, I dont think so.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I agree with ya'll that in a realistic setting, cameraman would have, eventually, the opportunity to morph onto shooter. And that being the case, I would jump on it faster than a jack rabbit on a date....

BUT, let's say it would NEVER end up that way....Hypothetically speaking. Would you still do it? Not me, no sir. Call me barbaric, but I enjoy killing them too much to only get to film them.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I don't think I could mix hunting and a job. When hunting becomes work, it's no longer the same to me. And there is no way I could film. I haven't got enough kills under my belt to think about giving up the hunting part yet.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

It depends on the woods. If it is one of the ones I can hunt then it may be kinda hard to do, knowing my luck the big boy would walk by that day! But if it was one of there woods and they asked me or I won some kinda of contest I would do it in a heart beat. It would be awesome to be in a blind or tree with some of the people all day just to see if they are good people or they are as dumb as some of them look on TV. I would love to sit in a blind with Lee and Tiff or the Drury team. I would also like to sit in with team Fitzgerald. If one of them folks called me up and said would you like to comeand film me hunting a 250" buck I would be there in a heart beat. I may not ever have a chance to see a 250" buck from above, so any opportunity is a good one!

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

I dont have any interest at this time in getting involved with any filming or being filmed in the industry, But.. I did promise a friend on this site that is buying a camera for filming hunts that I will film him shooting his first deer with his bow this upcoming season......... I think it will be a BLAST for him and for him to have it all on film will be awesome, just thinking he will be able to show the film to his kids and grandkids someday.

RE: Let's say you had the choice....
 

Depending on the pay, I would do it. However, it would also depend on the hunter/shooter.