Here I'm flanked by Jeff Millar, left, and Larry D. Jones.

Participation in a video hunt for TV can create unbelievable pressure. First, your hunting game plan has to be rock solid -- close to perfect. Playing the wind, picking the right stand location for hunter and cameraman, choosing proper entry and exit points to the stand, completing the last excruciating yards of a stalk, setting up for a calling sequence and ambush -- all of bowhunting's unique challenges are complicated by the presence of a video hunting companion.

Of course, it helps if the cameraman is also a hunter. Hunters who shoot video tend to anticipate the action, follow the requisite steps of staying scent free, understand the need to vacate a hot area and improvise locations because of a wind switch, move at only appropriate times, help spot game, and understand and capture all nuances and subtleties of the hunt drama.

With a good plan, a good hunting area, and a good cameraman in place, the heavy yoke of pressure rests squarely on the shoulders of the hunter. Of course, a good cameraman will be at his side to capture the moments of truth and glory -- along with every goof and glitch, which usually are reviewed for the entertainment of campmates that same evening.

Some hunters deplore the presence of a cameraman, the added pressure to perform flawlessly on camera, and the opportunities that unavoidably get blown on occasion as a result of the cameraman's presence. It's all part of the game. I certainly don't fault any hunter who winces at the thought of traipsing around the field with a cameraman in tow -- especially when the hunter has drawn a coveted limited-entry tag.

Some hunters, however, enjoy the presence of the cameraman and brim with confidence at the opportunity and privilege to share, educate, and entertain fellow bowhunters via TV. While I haven't had the chance to hunt with all of Bowhunter's expert staff, Larry D. Jones comes to mind as a guy who loves the camera, and he is comfortable on both sides of the lens. I think if Jones pulled a rare sheep tag, he would request -- maybe demand -- that a camera be present to document the action. He doesn't shy from the additional challenge of the camera. He embraces it.

AS WE WERE SITTING IN A TREE in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, last fall, Larry captured my harvest of an antlerless whitetail on the first morning of our hunt. (In Buffalo County, you must tag an antlerless deer before you can legally tag a buck.) We were hunting with Dave Fredrickson's Outfitting. Also along on that hunt were Advertising Sales Manager Jeff Millar and his cameraman, Bob Theim. To take that antlerless deer at a mere 12 yards, I used my sweet-shooting Hoyt GameMaster recurve.

Later that evening, after reviewing field footage, Larry noticed I was getting my Hoyt XTEC compound ready, while Jeff Millar was prepping his Martin Cougar. "Where's your recurve?" Larry asked. When I told him I had more confidence in taking a shot on camera at one of Buffalo County's famed bruiser bucks with a compound, he encouraged me to bring the recurve out one more day, and I agreed.

Continued -- click on page link below.