What is the Definition of Hunting?

As a Camera Man; do I get to say I’ve been Python hunting? I’ve been with The Green Way Outdoors team for a bit over a year now, and have been on countless hunts and excursions. Hunts that range all the way from simple Turkey hunts in northern Michigan to Crawfish excursions in deep Louisiana. Lately I’ve been looking back on all those trips and wondering if when I go on these hunts, is it correct for me to say that I’ve hunted Black Bears, Pythons, Alligators, and so many other species?

Merriam-Webster’s definition of hunting is “: the act of one that hunts – specifically : the pursuit of game”. By definition, I would say YES! I can say I’ve hunted all these animals. Even though I am not normally the one with the gun or the fishing pole. I am the one with camera. I am in pursuit of the animal just as much anyone who is holding the tool used to hunt the animal. The tool I use is just different than the ones Kyle or Jeff use. If you set aside all the other benefits of hunting and what it does for our ecosystem, from a production and documentarian standpoint, without me or AJ “shooting” that animal with our cameras the hunt would be completely pointless. If I’m not completely immersed in the moment and I miss the the animal coming into frame we wouldn’t be able to make an episode. When we’re on these hunts I have one opportunity to full advantage of capturing Kyle line up his shot and taking the animal. If I’m not on my A-game and I miss something that happened it could potentially mean we have to scrap the entire episode. Every episode we have one shot and one opportunity (figuratively and literally) to make sure everything goes as well as possible. And if something goes wrong in the slightest on my end, and making sure that animal is in frame while we’re hunting we simply can’t make an episode. The same goes for any other hunter. Depending on the species being hunted; someone who is hunting also has very minimal chances to succeed in their hunt. Add in the fact that the animal also needs to be filmed as perfect as possible, and the hunt becomes significantly more difficult.

My point to all this is that as a camera man I’m not the one that takes the animal, but I am in pursuit of the animal. As stated before, by definition that would mean I have been bear hunting. I have been Python hunting. I have been Alligator hunting. It’s entirely fair for me to say that I’ve done all those things. If AJ and I weren’t there to document the hunt there wouldn’t be a TV show at all.