Few will disagree that one of the most rewarding parts of hunting is making the kill. Since most of us have better odds at a roulette table from an effort/success standpoint, we tend to cherish these moments and relive them over and over again in our minds and in stories told to friends. With time, however, these memories will fade, yet they can be be preserved forever through filming our own hunts.

I’ve gotten quite a few emails, phone calls, and private messages lately from hunters interested in filming their own (or other’s) hunts. This hobby is becoming increasingly popular these days. I’m by no means an expert in this subject because it’s a constant learning process, but I can provide some helpful information from my own successes and mistakes. In this first section of a 2 part article series, I’ll explain some of the important equipment purchases and considerations to make when filming hunts.

First of all, I cannot overstate the extreme level of difficulty involved in in filming one’s own hunts. It requires an amount of patience I don’t have (I’d rather just hunt), but if you’re persistent and want to give it a shot, you’ll be well rewarded in time. The most important factors to consider are your budget, objectives, and level of commitment.
 

Equipment

You have to start things off right. Garbage in equals garbage out. Do you plan on simply plugging up your camcorder to a TV and watching raw footage as it was recorded? If so, you’re in luck because your costs will be marginal. Do you want to edit your footage for compilation onto DVD? If this is the case, get ready, because your costs can easily get out of hand. Only you can answer this question, but you need to consider it carefully because everything else is contingent upon this initial question: What do you want to do with the footage?
 

Image Stabilizers

BayouBucks.com forum member "Droptine1973" made this impressive camera arm in his shop for around $100. It has leveling capabilities and 360 degree maneuverability.

Why is this piece of equipment listed first? Because it’s the most overlooked yet important piece of equipment you can own. Hand-held filming is totally unacceptable, and shaky footage is the most annoying thing in the world to watch. If filming from a tree, some sort of “camera arm” is a must. This priceless piece of equipment can range from $40 upwards of $1,250. Bayou Bucks films on the latter one, but some savvy members of the Bayou Bucks Forum have machined their own camera arms that rival ours for less than $100. What these arms do is ratchet strap to a tree with the camera sitting on top, offering nearly 360 degrees of maneuverability from a stable platform. Since most camcorders these days come with some sort of built in image stabilization system, this used in conjunction with a camera arm will yield incredibly smooth footage.