helicopters

[Boot Up]

I have loved your show. I am very dissapointed to see you guys using helicopters. Not so much for the video, but the last couple of episodes I see you guys chasing game down from the sky. You are even chasing herds of elk into a full run. Bad taste and bad ethics. I am very dissapointed.

 

[Big Fin]

All comments appreciated.

Helicopters were used to gain the aerial footage we have used this year. No "chasing game down from the sky," as you put it. All of that was taken from far away using the same chopper and cameras that filmed "Planet Earth" on NatGeo.

The helicopter followed me around for the day as I walked and hiked. They filmed from a far distance. A lot of what you see is game that spooked while hiking, which was then filmed by the chopper up above.

The lens on that helicopter is huge. What you think is the helicopter "chasing game down from the sky" is the camera guys (two of them who were running the camera) zooming it in at far distances from the helicopter. The zooming in may give you the appearance of the helicopter swooping down, but it is an 18" lens zooming in from up to a half mile away.

Some game may have been spooked from the helicopter noise above. I can assure you that none of the animals were "chased." If you can tell me where we were "chasing herds of elk into a full run," I would gladly look at it and provide you the situation that was filmed.

We always strive to provide good taste and proper field behavior. I think this aerial footage stays within that. Sorry if that disappoints you.

 

[sweetnectar]

I think it is exciting to watch. Not all of us can afford a helicopter in our hunt but I'm glad OYOA paid the money to get the extreme footage that helps make the show great. And like Big Fin noted above it sounds like it was used in good taste.

 

[idnative1948]

Okay Boot Scoot.... One post, and it has to start by stirring the pot. I just don't see what you are trying to gain from this. Did you ever think of contacting Randy personally for clarification? What is the name of your forum or guide service?

 

[Randy49er]

Boots up, Randy is a Great sportsman. He would feel the same as you do if the situation were reversed. If you ever get the chance to meet him you will understand, he truly is one of the good guys.

 

[wingman1]

Shizz happens.......... right BF?

 

[Big Fin]

Shizz happens.......... right BF?

So they say.

 

[Lawnboy]

I just walked out my back door and spooked 2 whitetails that were making their way around the corner of my house. If Wingman would of caught that on video from above or the ground for that matter would I of been guilty of harassing wildlife? How about him for videoing the deer fleeing?...... I doubt it. Perception versus reality.

 

[Lawnboy]

You are even chasing herds of elk into a full run..

Ever been winded by a herd of elk. They usually don't sit tight for too long. Usually find them in the next county before they look back.

 

[highmountian]

Sorry randy, it takes all types of poeple to make the world go round!!! I thought it looked pretty cool from my point of view!

 

[Boot Up]

BigFin, I am very pleased to hear that the footage was shot with a big lense. I will review the episodes to let you know exactly what I am reffering to. I really had the immpression that the chopper was right on top of em. If i got that impression, so did a lot of other viewers. I only posted this as a heads up, even though the language was strong and accusitory. For that I appologize. Helicopters and running wild game are never a good combo since it is too easy to misinterpret the situation from the arm chair. I do think you guys have a great show. You do not need the helicopter footage. I personally think it takes away from the quality of the DYI ethos. That is only my personal opinion though and I also realize that you are in a tight business and need to be competitive. Good luck with that fine balance.

IDnative1948, easy guy. I hunt solo with my backpack and I am adamantly opposed to commercial guiding on public lands. I have been offered to hunt on private land for 180 class mule deer this fall and I turned it down in order to hunt deep in the back country, solo on public land. I posted this because I care. otherwise I would just say f-it and never watch the show again. I never implied that Randy was responsible for the footage. He is the star, not the producer. Well maybe he is the producer, I dont know.

 

[elk_hunter]

BU, though you might not agree with choppers or any other aircraft to access hunting areas, many of us do agree with those methods. To each his own.

I suggest you first brush up on who Randy is, the OYOA show, this little hole in the wall and whatever else you're interested in. Then, perhaps you might consider asking intelligent questions instead of jumping into accusations.

 

[DreaminofMT6X6s]

Hahahahahah....he says our boy Big Fin was chasing elk with a chopper...hahahaha...hehehehe....I just pee'd myself. Ahhhhh...he just doesn't understand who Randy Newberg is. Geeeezz, pick up a Bugle magazine buddy.

 

[Big Fin]

BU - Thanks for your comments. Yeah, they were a little accusatory for a first post, but what I took from that was exactly what you said - that others may have the same impression. If so, that would be helpful to know. So far, no one has had anything but positive comments on the production value this aerial footage has provided.

It is always helpful to see perspectives that I might not have when I am so immersed in the project. No, I am not the editor, but as producer I do have final say in what ends up in a final episode.

We have hours of footage from that helicopter. Here is how it came together.

The production company we use hired that helicopter group to come to Montana for a week. The idea was to split the cost over five other shows that production company produces. OYOA was not part of that group of shows participating in that event.

You have to hire the helicopter group by the week. For that, you get five days. Well, the other shows got all their shots done in the first four days. Rather than letting the last day go to waste, the production company called and asked if I could be on location the next morning, at no cost to OYOA. For sure.

That is how a show of our size got this aerial footage. No way I could have afforded that with my small production budgets. I learned more about high level production in that one day than I have in the previous three years of the project.

We lucked out. The light was great, the conditions were perfect, and there was a lot of game around in the morning and evening. We saw no elk that day, so that is why I was asking what clip you referred to about the elk at full run.

As a heads, you will see us use a helicopter for access in a different episode that will air later this season. It is a small piece of BLM ground completely surrounded by private land. The private land is either outfitted or does not allow access across their land to that public ground. The only option is by air. We flew a chopper in to that parcel and hunted by foot, after waiting the required time between flying and hunting. We are not the only group who had accessed that parcel in the same way. There were three groups who had used aircraft to access that parcel in the time we were there.

That chopper is a transport chopper with no cameras. The only footage you will see from that chopper is me holding a small POV camera on our way in.

Welcome to the site. Look foward to your participation.

 

[NChunter]

Everyone on this forum knows that Boot Up is wrong in his accusations. But one point can be gleaned from his posts. What do viewers who don't know Randy think when they see the helicopter footage? I personally don't care what other people think. But the show is how Randy earns a living and we all want to see it succeed. Maybe a segment on a show about how they filmed it would be a good idea. I would find it interesting and entertaining. I think the helicopter footage is great.

 

[Boot Up]

Well the saying goes assumptions only make an ass out of me and you, well mostly me on this one. Im sorry my post upset everyone, and I do realize I was in the wrong with the way I presented my feelings.

Thanks for the clarification Randy, and thanks for having an open mind to my argument. Your character shows through in the way you handled this and it is exemplary. I learned a lot from you on this one. I will tone it down in the future.

I am an opinionated SOB and my sharp tongue has been known to start a rucuss when I get fired up about issues such as this. For better or worse.

I still like the show better without helicopters.

Is there any legal action towards the land owners that have monopolized the BLM land you are reffering to? That seems wrong to me.

 

[Boot Up]

OK I found the footage I was reffering to. It is during the New Mexico rifle hunt with Randy's nephew. I was mistaken it is actually pronghorns and mule deer running full bore together during the add for the Colorado DOW. Is that for real? Mule deer and Pronghorns running together?

 

[Lawnboy]

Is there any legal action towards the land owners that have monopolized the BLM land you are reffering to? That seems wrong to me.

I don't think it's monopolizing. It is just how the private and public happens to be. There are many instances were some blm is stuck in the middle of private. If you can't gain legal access to cross their land to the parcel then you can legally access it from the air. You would want to make all the necessary phone calls to make sure but in the instance Randys referring too it was. I'm not sure how this would make it any less an OYO hunt than backpacking in, using horses, Atv's or any other method.

 

[sweetnectar]

Ya I would guess it is hard to blame the landowner that has BLM land locked in the middle of the land he purchased when you look at how that land became BLM. Some of the guys on here my know the history of how most BLM lands became what they are.
I always wondered if it had to do with failed homesteads that no one could afford to purchase, or less productive land that no one claimed durring the homestead periods...

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

i liked the arial footage,looked nice,,,im sure fin would have done it from a distance,,,wouldnt want to run the game out where he was hiking around at.