Season 2 - MT bighorn sheep

So I re-watched my favorite OYOA episode today. It's the one with Vaughn Everly and his Missouri River Breaks ram. As I was watching it, I was struck by just how different that episode, and this entire show, is from the average hunting show out there. I don't know Mr. Everly, but I feel like I know him after watching the show. I love that episode and how it makes a guy feel like he's along on the hunt of a lifetime. My favorite thing about that particular episode, however, is how the show depicts the pure motivations of a hunter. As Mr. Everly nears the end of his hunt, the viewer can sense the almost profound sadness that overcomes Vaughn. His body language is completely opposite from the premeditated, phony, touchdown dances that you see on other shows. Mr. Everly almost regrettably raises his rifle and ends his hunt with a single shot into that fine ram he named Flare. And as he and Randy walk up on it, he expresses his sadness that his hunt is over. He's standing over a no-doubt-about-it B&C ram, for heaven's sake, and his comment is something like, "I'm sad this hunt is over. I'm gonna miss it." I love that scene, and I'm so glad it was captured. Only a true hunter would understand that sentiment.

Guys who are out only for antlers or horns or B&C scores wouldn't get it. "You just killed a monster ram," they would say. True, but he didn't come to put his name in a record book. He came to hunt magnificent rams.

Non-hunters wouldn't get it either. "You can go back and see those rams anytime," they would say. True, but he would no longer be hunting.

Mr. Everly and the OYOA crew capture that feeling perfectly. If I ever draw that elusive MT bighorn sheep tag, I hope I can honor the opportunity in that same fashion.

Matthew Young

I'm in agreement - the only way I found OYOA was by a chance viewing of that episode at a friends house. That is an excellent "classic" episode. I hope we see a lot more of that quality in the future.

ginkgo72 said:

I hope we see a lot more of that quality in the future.

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I am sure we will. In many respects the show keeps getting better and better. That particular episode had a unique quality that I enjoyed, but it would be very challenging to duplicate. How often are you going to get a crack at Missouri River Breaks rams, especially alongside a thoughtful hunter who had been applying for over 40 years?

That is a great episode....

Ditto all the above.

Top 10 or maybe 5 outdoor episodes I've ever seen....and I remember Curt Gowdy!!

Thank you for the post... You've certainly captured the reason why I enjoy OYOA!

rmyoung1 said:

So I re-watched my favorite OYOA episode today. It's the one with Vaughn Everly and his Missouri River Breaks ram. As I was watching it, I was struck by just how different that episode, and this entire show, is from the average hunting show out there. I don't know Mr. Everly, but I feel like I know him after watching the show. I love that episode and how it makes a guy feel like he's along on the hunt of a lifetime. My favorite thing about that particular episode, however, is how the show depicts the pure motivations of a hunter. As Mr. Everly nears the end of his hunt, the viewer can sense the almost profound sadness that overcomes Vaughn. His body language is completely opposite from the premeditated, phony, touchdown dances that you see on other shows. Mr. Everly almost regrettably raises his rifle and ends his hunt with a single shot into that fine ram he named Flare. And as he and Randy walk up on it, he expresses his sadness that his hunt is over. He's standing over a no-doubt-about-it B&C ram, for heaven's sake, and his comment is something like, "I'm sad this hunt is over. I'm gonna miss it." I love that scene, and I'm so glad it was captured. Only a true hunter would understand that sentiment.

Guys who are out only for antlers or horns or B&C scores wouldn't get it. "You just killed a monster ram," they would say. True, but he didn't come to put his name in a record book. He came to hunt magnificent rams.

Non-hunters wouldn't get it either. "You can go back and see those rams anytime," they would say. True, but he would no longer be hunting.

Mr. Everly and the OYOA crew capture that feeling perfectly. If I ever draw that elusive MT bighorn sheep tag, I hope I can honor the opportunity in that same fashion.

Matthew Young

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Just saw that this thread has resurfaced with some recent comments. Thanks for expressing your appreciation of our message and style. We were very lucky to get to film this one. And even more lucky to have the tag holder be a guy who would say what you mentioned and I underlined in your quote.

Vaughn and I have been friends for 20 years. He wanted to have it filmed, whereas most would reject the idea. I agreed, hesitantly. He is a remarkable hunter who has a garage full of big MT elk and mule deer, but if you met him, you would think he was a guy who would shoot the first thing that would fill his freezer. He views hunting in exactly the way you saw in this episode. At every level, hunting is about so much more than just antlers, horns, and scores and Vaughn certainly exemplifies that notion.

It is very fortunate that I had a friend like Vaughn who actually hounded us to film him. At first I declined. Then, when he found "Tank," he called and asked what our filming schedule was like. I told him we had a four day window, but getting a filming permit would be a challenge. He told me he had walked away from "Tank" that day and was coming back to shoot him later in the week. I again tried to talk him out of it, but when he assured me he was shooting a 200" ram, I agreed to do all I could to put the pieces in place.

The BLM permit officer did everything possible to get our permit approved in a two-day period. A very kind Hunt Talker helped with that process. The production company did not have a camera guy slotted for that time, but Loren, one of my original camera guys jumped in. He knew how amazing that opportunity was and he took time from his real job to get it on film.

And Vaughn has some great help in the field. Breaks Runner was there. And, Gary, Captain Bob, Zach, Les, and a couple others. All were scouring the cliffs and coulees for "Tank." When Gary saw a bunch of birds circling down in a bottom, I told them I had to go and look, as I could not afford to spend four days filming for a ram that was no longer there. I climbed down, thinking I would find a gut pile from a deer or elk, not what I found.

When I climbed out of the cut, Breaks Runner was waiting for me. I showed him the pics and he was sick, as was I. I signaled Loren to come over and get Vaughn mic'd up and on camera, as there was no way you can recreate the agony he would feel when he looked at the pics. What you saw in the episode is Vaughn's true reaction

All of that is truly an alignment of the planets. Probably will never happen again and to have cameras there and rolling is just flat out lucky.

As some stated, it is not like the tag is easy to get, so the chance of us filming another one is about zero. Until I draw next year.

If I draw, I hope to give it the same effort Vaughn did and appreciate it for the opportunity that it represents, not necessarily pursuit of a record. Don't get me wrong, if Big Hank stands there, he would get shot. Yet, hunting rams in MT is such an amazing conservation story and the Breaks is such an amazing place, it is hard to do it justice with a 30-minute TV episode. So when I do draw, it will be a two or three episode hunt, to give it all the special attention it deserves.

Good news is that in the next few months, these episodes are going to be online in their full length - for free. And, you will be able to download them to your computer/phone/tablet, for a small fee, allowing you to watch them anywhere anytime.

Hopefully some guys will be interested in that option, 'cause it's not cheap to get set up for such technology.

Randy, thanks for the behind-the-scenes look at how the episode came together. And a big thank you to all who chipped in to make that show a reality. It was a special opportunity, and you guys produced a truly special episode.