2009 Campbell Outdoor Challenge - Circuit

Team American Bowhunters Outdoor Adventures is participating in the Campbell Outdoor Challenge again this year. See our progress below!

The Campbell Outdoor Challenge features hunting and cameraman teams, matching their skills in the sport of filming hunts. The action captured is produced as a team, and then professionally edited for television and millions of viewers nationwide.

The objective of the Challenge is to produce good quality hunting footage. Eleven teams are competing in this year's event, under the same conditions and at the same time. The teams are awarded points for excellent camera work and quality of game.

Cold, wet, weather opened the 2009 Campbell Outdoor Challenge Hog Hunt in South Carolina. Kurt and I (Laura) from Team American Bowhunters Outdoor Adventures had hoped to leave that cold weather behind us in NY.

The second evening just around dusk two small boars came in over the ridge, followed by two large boars. One was a shooter so I got the camera on him and Kurt went to take a shot... but the boar did not give him a chance... the wind direction changed and the boars picked up on us and took off running. "We only had 30 seconds on tape," I said. "She didn't give me a good shot," replied Kurt. We both agreed it was best Kurt didn't shoot.

On the third and last full day, frost had covered the ground and there was a sting in the air that penetrated down to the bone. It was an hour or so before dusk when the action started. "Look, it's the same small boars that were in last night," exclaimed Kurt, "the big one will be in soon." He was right, and within minutes you could hear her coming in, a grunt and then the hooves crushing the ground. She moved to a good spot, the camera was rolling, the hunter was ready and snap the arrow was off and hit. The boar ran and all the others followed. "Oh my God, that was great, right on... I love hunting... that was amazing," Kurt exclaimed. The tremor in his voice and the shaking of his body showed the adrenalin pumping. "Great shot," I exclaimed, congratulating Kurt, with my hands also shaking. We went looking for the arrow and Kurt found it not far from where the hog was shot. "It was a pass through shot, the arrow has blood on it but looks like it may have been back a little. Best to wait and go in later using dogs to track the blood trail," said Kurt.

That night we took the dogs out but no luck for us—they found a hog but it wasn't ours.

The next morning came too early. We got up knowing that we had till noon to recover our hog or no points and no meat to take home... The daylight brought hope and Kurt and I searched for two and half hours following any lead we had. Exhausted and tired Kurt said, "Let's call it a day and pack up."

As we drove down the road not talking, a large chestnut brown bird flew out in front of them, "What was that!" I exclaimed. "A turkey vulture," Kurt replied. We looked at each other and knew the vulture was a good sign. Kurt pulled the truck over and we jumped out and split up in search for a downed hog. After a few minutes I heard Kurt yell, "I found it," the excitement apparent in his voice. "Thank God," I said, making a bee-line towards him but slowing when he said, "It's not ours," his voice dropping off. Kurt turned the animal over, "The shot is in a different place and there is a black spot on his belly, this is Team North's and South's hog," Kurt said, again the excitement draining from his body. We called Tom, member of the Team North and South and left a message about the hog and left markers so he could be found.

The discovery of the Team North and South's hog gave new hope and we resumed our search for our hog. Kurt told me to keep the creek on my left and road on my right. I walked between the road and the creek and Kurt took the truck to the end of the road and did the same. We were to meet somewhere in the middle. While entering the woods Kurt heard the crows, he decided to follow their calls. He walked in about 80 yards and startled some hogs that were bedding down. They got up and ran off and he noticed that they were the same hogs that came in the other night. He looked for the one he shot and was disappointed he didn't see her. Just then he heard a crack off to his left and saw her looking at him from about 20 yards away. She turned to go slow and unsteady; he could see she was weakened from being hit. Kurt approached her with caution not knowing what his next move would be but he sure as hell was not going to lose her again. As he got closer she grinded her teeth and gave him a growl. He reached over and grabbed onto two saplings just in case he had to swing himself up and possibly kick her in the head. She stood her ground they locked eyes. Was she going to charge? Was there a way to get her down? He remembered in his pocket he had a small knife, he could stab her in the heart. He had heard of hunters doing that. So when the opportunity presented itself and the hog turned away he jumped on her and stabbed her in the heart. He was so shocked at his action that he backed away quickly and tripped on a root falling backwards into the mud. Now they looked at each other face to face, Kurt got the knife ready just in case she decided to attack. She stood her ground as long as she could until exhaustion and death came over her and she fell to the ground. "Oh my God, Ahhhhhh!" Kurt yelled in triumph, overjoyed with finally finding this huge hog.

It had been awhile since Kurt had dropped me off so I wasn't surprised when I thought I heard him call. I started heading up to the road and met up with him.

Now dragging this monster out was not easy and we were quick to tire. Twenty minutes was all we had and we could see the window of opportunity closing quickly. "Run to the truck, get Team North and South, they are recovering their boar at the end of the road and call in and let Campbell's know we have our boar." Kurt commanded. I ran as fast as I could and drove the truck way too fast down the road, just missing a head-on collision with Tom and Kelley of Team North and South. They were headed down to help us. I called Campbell's and let them know we found the boar and Tom and Big Kelley, (Team North and South) went and helped Kurt drag it out.

What a victory on so many levels... teams helping teams, perseverance paying off, and of course coming in 2nd place at the Campbell's Outdoor Hog Challenge. What a great way to kick of the 2009 Campbell's Outdoor Challenge!

A chilly April 22nd kicked off the 2009 Campbell Outdoor Turkey Challenge in Tell City, Indiana. Fifteen teams of cameramen and hunters set up in the woods to film turkey hunts.

Kurt and I from Team American Bowhunters were designated two adjoining farms: Smiths and Zeaglegooger. We sat in the valley the first morning on the edge of a field. We were in our blind, Kurt calling and filming and me shooting. I was very excited since I had never shot a bird before.

It wasn't long after sunrise that Kurt called in three jakes. We could see their heads popping up over the grass as they strolled down the field. When they had reached about 50 yards or so Kurt popped up the Jake Intimidator, which helped to quicken their pace. As they approached the decoys I signaled to Kurt which one I was going to take. I pulled back... well, should I say, I tried to pull back... for some reason my bow was not going back. I pulled harder... no luck, the bird turned. Kurt looked over at me. "What are you doing? SHOOT!", he exclaimed. "It won't go back," I said we both knew that if I didn't get the bow back soon I would miss my shot. I took a deep breath and pulled from my toes up... it worked, and the arrow was ready. "I am shooting the other bird," I told Kurt. Aiming at the bird giving us a nice broadside shot, I released and within two seconds the bird was hit and going down... thank God. It was about 14 lbs or so and Kurt got good footage... that put us in the running on day one.

The next two days were agonizing, with Kurt calling and no birds responding... they stayed off in the distance... it was unfortunate, but we had our bird, which placed us in fifth for the Turkey Challenge. Overall with the Boar points we are presently in third place.

It was our second year hunting in South Dakota with Crooked Creek Outfitters and we drew Bobby again as our guide. Last year he brought us luck as we won the 2008 Antelope Challenge. His guidance and dependability were reassuring and we were going to need that this year, because antelope numbers were down. We drew a parcel of land up near the North Dakota border and when we went to check it out no antelope were around. Bobby said that a lot had died or migrated south because of the hard winter.

We set up on a water hole in between two hills but our visibility was not the best. We had one view off to the south/west; the other views were blocked by the hills. We sat and waited.

You can get pretty bored not seeing any antelope for days and looking just in one direction. On day 3, with the hot sun beating down on us, Kurt took to a handheld video game and I amused myself learning all the buttons on the camera. Then they came up on us pretty fast, rounding the hill from the north and stopped with a start. There was a buck and six does. The blind startled them and they backed off and never came into the water. We hoped they would be back, but they didn't come back that day.

It was the last day. We were tired, hot and discouraged... we were just finishing up some promo takes when Kurt ticked me off. Who the hell knows what he said, it didn't matter - 3 days in a hot blind with no animals would make anyone testy. "Hey, toss me the toilet paper," Kurt said, "I need to go outside for a bit." "Sure," I said and threw it hard and fast right at his head. He caught it and went outside. He returned shovel in hand and before he could get organized they were right in front of us a buck and three does. "My release! Where's my release?" Kurt asked. "Damn it! It's outside, I left it there when I went to the bathroom," Kurt exclaimed. "Where is my extra release?" he asked. At the bottom of the backpack, he realized. "Give me yours" he said. What? "It is not going to fit you!" I exclaimed. "Give it! Hurry!" Kurt fit that release onto his hand and got ready to shoot. I had the camera on them then off they went up behind us. "Get the camera off the tripod," Kurt said, "we may have to get them out the back window." I hate taking the camera off the tripod, since it can make for some shaky footage. Off it came and then back they came, I was spinning in circles. "Get it back on," he said. That was not happening - the does were starting to get suspicious and I had two looking straight at me. "I can't without making noise and getting caught," I said. "Okay I'm going for it, are you on it?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. Kurt fired away as the buck was turning to go. He hit him at 50 yards; he ran a bit and fell down. I was shaking and he was yelling with joy. "Did you get it?" he asked me. "You know I couldn't tell. I was trying to stay on it so I clicked the display button off and I couldn't see if the record was on," I said anxiously. "What!" he yelled and threw his hat to the floor. "Give me the camera." My anxiety mounted thinking maybe I didn't get it... but it was a great relief when he viewed the footage and saw we got it. It was a tough hunt but we held on and came in fifth.

We headed out on October 30th for the Campbell's 2009 Whitetail Challenge. Whitetail hunting in Illinois for us is a dream come true. This is our second year hunting our dream for the big guys. Last year we didn't have much luck, but we're hoping this year we shoot a big one.

Sitting on the first day is so exciting - not too much pressure and we are psyched to see a nice 120-class buck come by. The second day we see two small bucks. That night on our way in we decide to check our game cam that we had set up on the other side of our property, and after taking it back to camp and viewing it we see some nice bucks: 120/125, 130, 150-class. So the next day we pack up and move over to that spot. And before we know it here comes that 120/125-class buck with the split g2 that we had seen on game cam, he came out of nowhere and we were left watching him walk away. Sitting quietly, watching and waiting, Kurt picked up on some movement in the back corner of the woods that bordered the cornfield; with the help of his binoculars he sees a buck. That's when I accidently drop a water bottle out of the tree; it lands on a rock and makes a huge sound. Since I had made so much noise we decided it would be a good time to move to that back corner and set up for the next 2 days.

It is about midday when two does walking parallel to the river come toward us. The large doe goes around us just out of range and then back again but no shot. She starts feeding when something alerts her and her head pops up. And here he comes - he is beautiful and he has one thing on his mind: her. He goes right for her and she takes off, the chase is on. Back and forth they go for about 45 minutes right under our tree stands. Even though the buck is nice, and we would have shot it if we were back home, he isn't nice enough to take; he's only a 120/125. It is close to sunset when he chases her 20 yards from us, a nice broadside shot. Kurt takes this opportunity and shoots the doe. She goes down and the buck isn't sure what happened. He runs toward her then decides to back away. A few minutes later he returns walking 20 yards in front of us; we are not sure if we should take him or not, he is so close to the minimum. We still have one more day so we take a chance and hope tomorrow will bring a 150-class buck. We get down and recover our doe. She is a nice size doe and we have good footage, which puts us in a good spot for the challenge.

That next morning two teams harvest a buck each and we see two small bucks but no 150. Our doe put us in third place for the Whitetail Challenge, and overall for the whole circuit we came in fourth place.

What an incredible challenge we had at the Campbell’s 2009 Bowfishing Tournament. It took place in Kentucky on Kentucky Lake and two dams Kentucky and Barkley.  The first night Kurt and Nolan were on fire they were hitting everything they were shooting at.  Kurt got the biggest common carp of the tournament weighing 36 lbs and Nolan got the biggest big head carp weighing in at 48lbs. The excitement was uncontrollable. The camera was rolling constantly it was non-stop action.  At the end of the first night, after the weigh in, we placed first!

The second night brought big disappointment when we couldn’t find a common carp. But we were able to get two nice size buffalos with good footage.

The third and last night was crazy, since we hadn’t gotten a common the night before we were not sure where we were going to find one.  After meeting a local fisherman at the bait store he told us of a place an hour and half away that definitely had commons.  We took the long trip and reached a place that looked promising.  We fished for fifteen minutes and shot two commons and decided it was time to go back to a favorite spot where we had recently had great success with big fish.  There we fished for a while and after not seeing much we decided to try a nearby island that we had never fished before.  So with two hours left of the night we circled the island and shot five more commons, which gave us enough fish and weight to put us in the running.

So as we waited for the total results Kurt and I were a little uneasy, not sure if we would even place… As Jeremy announced the winners we thought we heard wrong when he announced, American BowHunters in third, Hurray! All the hard work paid off…First place was Muzzy, Second place was AMS Bow Fishing and American Bow Hunters prostaff for AMS came in a big Third Place! What an awesome experience!