One question I get asked fairly often is, “How do ya’ll film out of a tree?”
And the answer is, “By climbing up into the tree!” I couldn’t resist. Sorry.
Seriously, I assume when hearing this question that the person is really wanting to know how the footage is recorded so smoothly without a lot of shaking. Well, in the picture above you can see the serious apparatus that it takes to hold up a twenty pound camera. The system is comprised of a “base” that ratchets around the tree so tightly that it chokes the oxygen out of the squirrels higher up. Then, the “two-piece arm” is fitted into the base. Attached to the end of the arm is a five pound plus self-leveling tripod head and on the tripod head is the actual camera.
TOTAL WEIGHT – 40 POUNDS!
THAT must be why I get a funny look from the cameraman when I mention hiking two miles into hunt a certain stand in Montana!
As you can see, Realtree Outdoor Producer Dan Johnson has to learn just the right height to attach the base so the viewfinder fits his style of filming. Different cameramen have their own preference as to which side of the tree to set the base on to make it easier on them.
It takes teamwork between hunter and cameraman to get this deal set up in the predawn darkness. Typically, the cameraman climbs into his stand (above the hunter) with the base in his backpack, secures his safety harness, ratchets the base on the tree, lowers a rope where the hunter ties on the arm and tripod head. The cameraman pulls up the arm, attaches it to the base, lowers the rope again where the hunter now ties on the camera and it is attached to the tripod head.
All this takes roughly 5-10 minutes depending on the experience of the cameraman and the “straightness” of the tree.
It is always a good idea for the hunter to step out from underneath the camera stand while all this is going on. I don’t care to be hit top of the head with another flashlight, wrench, etc.!
What gets really interesting is when you’re hunting out of a thick barked tree and during the hunt, the base loses its grip and suddenly loosens! Then it’s a Chinese fire drill with “all hands on deck” trying to re-secure the whole rig! Life sure gets a lot easier when you can leave the base and the arm in the tree for the afternoon or next morning’s hunt!
We’ve even left the whole rig up in the tree when we knew without a doubt we were going to hunt that tree either that afternoon or the next morning . . . but don’t tell Bill!
We do pray it doesn’t rain.
Food Plots and Memories
6 Comments Published by David Blanton on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 7:54 AM.
My three sons, Harman, 18, Alex, 16 and Lucas, 11, have all shared some of their favorite hunting moments with me, many times while being accompanied by the Realtree cameras, since they’ve all developed a yearning to hunt.
One of the main things I’ve learned over the years is there are very few things when it comes to hunting that are absolute constants, but the one thing that comes as close as any is the action and entertainment provided by well-planted food plots.
I love the feeling of sneaking into a lush, green plot with either of my boys during the mid-afternoon knowing that if the wind stays true we are going to see deer before dark! And I have to say, unanimously, all of my boys have requested leaving the hardwood ridge stand or the creek bottom and heading to the food plot for the afternoon hunt.
Why? It’s simple, they want to see deer and turkeys and whatever other game decides to show itself. They want to be entertained! And I think that has played a crucial role in them maintaining their excitement level about hunting.
For those of us who have naturally progressed as hunters and who understand that to kill a big, mature whitetail you probably want to intercept him as he makes he way to the food plot, that’s great! But never forget that for today’s youth hunters, it’s all about keeping their excitement level high!
To get even more out of this concept, I now plant two different types of food plots for the fall/winter hunting season. First, around the beginning of August, I plant a few select, small areas with a mixture of beans, peas and sorghum that hopefully, with some rain, will be nice and green when the Georgia bowseason opens mid-September, thus really drawing in a lot of deer. I plant these plots because Harman and Alex are older and they have interest in bowhunting and they know we will “be in the chips” if we hunt these food sources with a good wind.
To make these plots even more effective, I have learned over the years to not go in and do a lot of pre-season scouting to see what’s coming in late in the evenings. This just educates the deer and in a place like Georgia, it doesn’t take much!
What does work very well is the strategic placement of trail cameras around the beans and peas and going in every several days during the middle of the day to remove the memory card/stick and replacing it with another card/stick so the actual camera is never removed.
As the bowseason progresses and the beans and peas are being hammered, the brown top sorghum heads are really growing and while the deer don’t pay these much attention early on, as they begin to ripen during late October/early November the deer will destroy these in quick order as the weather cools.
Then, around the middle to late September, we will go in and plant our larger plots (up to 4 acres) in a blend of oats, rye, chicory and clover to provide the deer herd with nutrition during the winter months but most importantly, to hunt over them starting late in October and going through to the end of our season in January.
Oh, I almost forgot!
And this one may hurt in the wallet with the costs of fuel skyrocketing, DO NOT SKIMP WHEN IT COMES TO FERTILIZER! There have been enough studies done that showed deer will absolutely walk through half of a plot left unfertilized to graze on the fertilized portion!
Have multiple stand/blinds located around the food plots to accommodate different wind directions and here is a little tip we learned from hunting on the Milk River, if possible, have someone drive a vehicle into the plot at dark to run the deer out so you and your kids can leave the stand without being detected. Do not have the driver turn the vehicle off or turn the lights off. Vehicles do not spook deer, especially after dark. They will return shortly after the truck is gone.
But try walking out of the plot no matter how dark it gets and you’ll hear the too familiar sound of deer blowing their head off! Now that educates deer! I hope you and yours have as much fun hunting food plots as I’m planning on having this year!
Now if we can only get the rain!
One of the main things I’ve learned over the years is there are very few things when it comes to hunting that are absolute constants, but the one thing that comes as close as any is the action and entertainment provided by well-planted food plots.
I love the feeling of sneaking into a lush, green plot with either of my boys during the mid-afternoon knowing that if the wind stays true we are going to see deer before dark! And I have to say, unanimously, all of my boys have requested leaving the hardwood ridge stand or the creek bottom and heading to the food plot for the afternoon hunt.
Why? It’s simple, they want to see deer and turkeys and whatever other game decides to show itself. They want to be entertained! And I think that has played a crucial role in them maintaining their excitement level about hunting.
For those of us who have naturally progressed as hunters and who understand that to kill a big, mature whitetail you probably want to intercept him as he makes he way to the food plot, that’s great! But never forget that for today’s youth hunters, it’s all about keeping their excitement level high!
To get even more out of this concept, I now plant two different types of food plots for the fall/winter hunting season. First, around the beginning of August, I plant a few select, small areas with a mixture of beans, peas and sorghum that hopefully, with some rain, will be nice and green when the Georgia bowseason opens mid-September, thus really drawing in a lot of deer. I plant these plots because Harman and Alex are older and they have interest in bowhunting and they know we will “be in the chips” if we hunt these food sources with a good wind.
To make these plots even more effective, I have learned over the years to not go in and do a lot of pre-season scouting to see what’s coming in late in the evenings. This just educates the deer and in a place like Georgia, it doesn’t take much!
What does work very well is the strategic placement of trail cameras around the beans and peas and going in every several days during the middle of the day to remove the memory card/stick and replacing it with another card/stick so the actual camera is never removed.
As the bowseason progresses and the beans and peas are being hammered, the brown top sorghum heads are really growing and while the deer don’t pay these much attention early on, as they begin to ripen during late October/early November the deer will destroy these in quick order as the weather cools.
Then, around the middle to late September, we will go in and plant our larger plots (up to 4 acres) in a blend of oats, rye, chicory and clover to provide the deer herd with nutrition during the winter months but most importantly, to hunt over them starting late in October and going through to the end of our season in January.
Oh, I almost forgot!
And this one may hurt in the wallet with the costs of fuel skyrocketing, DO NOT SKIMP WHEN IT COMES TO FERTILIZER! There have been enough studies done that showed deer will absolutely walk through half of a plot left unfertilized to graze on the fertilized portion!
Have multiple stand/blinds located around the food plots to accommodate different wind directions and here is a little tip we learned from hunting on the Milk River, if possible, have someone drive a vehicle into the plot at dark to run the deer out so you and your kids can leave the stand without being detected. Do not have the driver turn the vehicle off or turn the lights off. Vehicles do not spook deer, especially after dark. They will return shortly after the truck is gone.
But try walking out of the plot no matter how dark it gets and you’ll hear the too familiar sound of deer blowing their head off! Now that educates deer! I hope you and yours have as much fun hunting food plots as I’m planning on having this year!
Now if we can only get the rain!
Well, things are about to get kicked off for the fall, and like every year, our camera crew is preparing hard for the upcoming season. We are finalizing the travel schedule and determining which camera is going where.
For the past two days, several of our freelance guys have been in the office going over camera equipment and learning how each editor wants their show to be filmed. At first glance, you may think running a camera is just about hitting the record button, but there is so much more to it than that.
Our guys spend a tremendous amount of time learning their equipment so they can make sure they get everything correct when the big moment comes. They watch a ton of outdoor TV to see how specific shows are filmed and they also look at more mainstream shows to see if they can pick up any tips or ideas.
We are expecting some great things this year and everyone is really excited about the schedule. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the year.
Go Dawgs!
For the past two days, several of our freelance guys have been in the office going over camera equipment and learning how each editor wants their show to be filmed. At first glance, you may think running a camera is just about hitting the record button, but there is so much more to it than that.
Our guys spend a tremendous amount of time learning their equipment so they can make sure they get everything correct when the big moment comes. They watch a ton of outdoor TV to see how specific shows are filmed and they also look at more mainstream shows to see if they can pick up any tips or ideas.
We are expecting some great things this year and everyone is really excited about the schedule. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the year.
Go Dawgs!
Let's Kick It Off....
26 Comments Published by David Blanton on Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 1:40 PM.
(AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT HUNTING SEASON)
Okay, all you sports fans! It is official, my Georgia Bulldogs will open the college football season in the USA TODAY/ Coaches Poll as the #1 ranked team in the land! How ‘bout that you Gator fans?
I even bit the bullet and finally purchased a big screen HD television complete with the HD hookup primarily for college football! I am definitely behind the times. Oh yeah! I can now watch Realtree Outdoors on ESPN 2 HD!
Now, as much as I pull for Georgia, I’m not naïve enough to believe that we can go undefeated. And it’s due to something called The Southeastern Conference!
Seriously, I’m trying to figure out if there is a device out on the market that will allow me to pick up XM Radio in the tree stand this fall so I can listen to the Georgia football games. Of course, I’ll put the ear pieces in so I won’t spook any deer.
(Unless the cameraman wants to listen and then we’ll just have to take our chances!) There are some things that get me fired up as much as a big whitetail!
The experts say that if an SEC team can make it through the regular season and conference championship with only one loss, they will be invited to play in the national championship game which probably will mean another loss for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Sorry, but that was too easy!
What about you? Do you like college football? Who is your team? What do you think about Georgia being ranked #1?
Okay, all you sports fans! It is official, my Georgia Bulldogs will open the college football season in the USA TODAY/ Coaches Poll as the #1 ranked team in the land! How ‘bout that you Gator fans?
I even bit the bullet and finally purchased a big screen HD television complete with the HD hookup primarily for college football! I am definitely behind the times. Oh yeah! I can now watch Realtree Outdoors on ESPN 2 HD!
Now, as much as I pull for Georgia, I’m not naïve enough to believe that we can go undefeated. And it’s due to something called The Southeastern Conference!
Seriously, I’m trying to figure out if there is a device out on the market that will allow me to pick up XM Radio in the tree stand this fall so I can listen to the Georgia football games. Of course, I’ll put the ear pieces in so I won’t spook any deer.
(Unless the cameraman wants to listen and then we’ll just have to take our chances!) There are some things that get me fired up as much as a big whitetail!
The experts say that if an SEC team can make it through the regular season and conference championship with only one loss, they will be invited to play in the national championship game which probably will mean another loss for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Sorry, but that was too easy!
What about you? Do you like college football? Who is your team? What do you think about Georgia being ranked #1?
Ginger, Harman, Alex, Lucas and I just recently got back from Montana and one of the best vacations we’ve ever been on. We were the guests of Northern Rockies Outfitters’ Rich Birdsell on the place I’ve hunted the past couple of years in north central Montana. We had a blast!
For almost five full days, after spending time with Rich and his family in Kalispell and riding through Glacier National Park, we chilled out in the cabins Rich’s hunters use during the hunting season. We rode four wheelers, hiked, grilled and just enjoyed having the entire family together without phones, computers, televisions, etc.
Well, the top of this ranch has always intrigued me from far below as I’ve sat in a tree stand thinking, “One day I’d like to hike to the top of that mountain.” Never in my wildest dream did I think that all five of us could or would make that trek together.
The top of mountain is 6,984 feet above sea level and we started out at roughly 4,000 feet. The hike took us about three hours each way through some of the prettiest country I’ve ever seen. And you wouldn’t believe the amount elk sign from seasons past.
Once at the top, we set up the camera and took a photo that will always remind me of this special moment together. Not only the scenery but knowing that all of us accomplished this feat. Encouraging Ginger and Lucas to not give up. Wow. This year when I go back to whitetail hunt, I can look up at that bald mountain top, above the treeline, and know exactly what it is like up there!
I look forward to sharing with you more pics from the Blanton Montana Adventure in the future.
