Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/801177
"representative animal," one big enough to appeal to the audience while satisfying the featured outfitter's hopes for attracting new customers. Our sponsors, not surprisingly, are hoping we'll demonstrate what their products will do, and that's been an easy, enjoyable part of each production. What rifleman wouldn't want to test-drive new rifles, scopes, binoculars, packs, and clothing? Who wouldn't enjoy shooting the latest cartridges, field-test the newest bullets? We're expected to get our game, and considering the constraints under which we must work, we have been surprisingly successful. We don't want to shoot little ones, but with just three to five days to hunt and film—and the challenge of getting camera, hunter, and quarry in the same frame with enough light to record the event—we can't risk waiting for Mr. Big, either. So we go filming more than hunting. Certainly the hunting part is enjoyable, but when you have to keep TV production foremost in mind, the magic goes out of the hunt. It's no longer you, the game, the discovery of the eternal mysteries of Nature and your role within it. It's you and Thor and the camera and worrying that you'll shoot too soon or the battery will die or the camera will be on the wrong animal or . . . But I've noticed that I keep doing it, so it can't be as bad as my whining might suggest. Actually, I enjoy trying to tell the sport hunter's story with an emphasis on conservation and responsible, fair-chase hunting. We try to include useful tips on gear and hunting tactics, interesting tidbits about geology and habitats, and useful observations on natural history. One fringe benefit is especially nice. Since I started hunting for TV, I've noticed I never miss. At least not in the finished episode that airs six months later. n Editor's Note: Ron Spomer has written for Sporting Classics since 1984 and hosted or guest-hosted six TV shows over the past decade, including Winchester Legends, Whitetail Revolution, and Winchester World of Whitetail. You can watch his gun reviews, optics reviews, and hunting videos on Carbon TV and YouTube. Find out more at RonSpomerOutdoors.com. 79 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S