Apr 15, 2016

THE BEST WAY TO FILM A TURKEY HUNT?

Turkey hunting is hard enough. Trying to get it on video sometimes seems impossible. Even if you convinced a buddy to join you in the woods and tote a camera instead of a gun, there are still logistics that take extreme planning to get the kill shot on camera.

It takes a very skilled cameraman to record a turkey hunt. But what about the average Joe? The guy who just wants something to post to YouTube and show his buddies down at the archery shop? Action type cameras like a GoPro seems like the best choice at first. But short battery life and remote control operation are pitfalls often discovered it’s when used on a turkey hunt.

Danny Farris, definitely not an average Joe but producer of BowhunterTV on Sportsman Channel recently filmed a hunt using one of his trail cameras.

“Having a game camera that shoots HD video can be really cool for several reasons, said Farris via Instagram. But this is one of the biggest reasons I love having one.”

In fact, the quality is so high, you might see the clip on TV this coming year. The hunt was captured on his Browning trail cam that was set up on a tripod and placed it in some brush a few feet from his MISS PURR-FECT™ decoy setup.

“A lot of people try to [film a hunt] with various kinds of action cams, but they all require you to operate the camera with either a remote control or an app on your phone,” said Farris. “If you're anything like me, you struggle getting the app to work correctly or just get so spun up when something comes in that you forget to turn the dang camera on all together!”

Who wants to reach for their phone or a remote when a weary gobbler is approaching? No one. A trail camera allows you to just put the camera out there and forget about it. If a turkey comes in, the camera captures it without you having to do a thing.

“With the right camera, the video quality is fantastic,” Farris said.

With some basic and free video editing tools, you can even zoom in on areas of the video and add various effects, such as slow motion or reverse play of the kill shot.

Farris stresses to remember to turn on the audio:

“My ground blind was off to the left, and you can hear the arrow slam home.”

Below is a clip from the video so you can see the quality. It’s a great way to record a hunt so you can replay it in your mind as well as on video over and over again.