Wilson Reynolds | Primal Instinct

Great Weekend at the Louisville RV, Boat, and Outdoor Show

Ok, so this is not Wilson, Scott, April, Lonnie, or Dave today. I’m one of the cogs in the machine of Primal Instinct tv, but today I’m hijacking the blog:)

Last weekend, Wilson appeared at the Louisville RV, Boat, and Outdoor Show on behalf of Primal Instinct to promote the show and teach a few turkey, duck, and goose calling seminars. Since the rest of the crew was unable to join him for the weekend, I went along to man the booth when he was out and just help with things in general.

It was a big show with a great attendance. This has primarily been an RV and boat show in the past, but they have been building the outdoor portion of the show over the past couple of years, so there really was something for everyone. It was fantastic to get to meet and talk to people who watch the show and hear their feedback. However, I was surprised by what turned out to be the best part of the show, for me anyway, and I think also for Wilson. It was the kids. There were lots of kids in attendance and they really could not care less that Wilson is on TV, but they were fascinated with those cool calls spread throughout the booth, and you should have seen their faces when he would show them the sounds he could make with them. It usually started with one child asking questions. Anytime a child asked, Wilson would blow the calls, and anytime he blew them, we ended up with a booth full of kids and adults alike. It was a game for the kids to guess what animal the call was for by the sound it made. I loved that two different little boys guessed the elk bugle to be an elephant!

Several of the kids were hunters themselves. They had already started in the sport with their Dad (or sometimes their Dad and Mom). Most of the time when you asked the kids what they like to hunt, the response was deer or turkey, however, we talked to one six year old who responded that he wanted to hunt bear and caribou! Let me tell you, he was quite knowledgable for his age. The kids were just astonishing. One of the best things was seeing that they got out and did something with their parents or other family members.

We have a video of Wilson teaching duck calling techniques posted on our Facebook page if you would like to see it. Although it is impressive, I have to say that his lesson with the kids topped it, but unfortunately, I was not prepared with the video camera at that time:( However, we do have some stills that we took in our photo booth of Wilson with many of the kids (which you can see at the end of this post). We made prints on the spot for Wilson to sign that the kids could take home with him.

All in all, it was a good weekend, and I think that Wilson might have an effect on at least one young life, hopefully more. I can’t get it out of my head when one little boy learned that he had just heard a world champion duck caller his response was, “You’re really standing right here?”. Priceless.

February 2, 2012 | Categories: Experience {Wilson} | Tags: and Outdoor Show, Boat, duck calling, Louisville RV, Primal Instinct TV, Wilson Reynolds | Leave a comment

New Patterns, New Partnership

Having been an outdoorsmen for nearly 60 years, I long ago realized the importance of blending into nature and the value of good camouflage. I remember back when my old friend, Jim Crumley designed Trebark, the first high tech camo pattern, and worked with the original folks of Apparition utilizing their Skyline pattern for our “popup blinds” out in Nebraska, and later with Realtree, in the development of their original advantage wetlands pattern and more recently have been a strong advocate of Mossy Oak’s patterns. If you look back throughout the 2011 season of Primal Instinct TV, you will see I was always wearing Mossy Oak treestand, which in my opinion is the only pattern developed by the major companies that blends well in both the Eastern and Western US.

I have found through years of experience in the field, both as a wildlife photographer and avid outdoorsmen, that most patterns that successfully function in the eastern hardwood forests tend to not work well in the cottonwood bottoms, canyonlands, quakes, and sage grasses of the American West. It has always been a struggle to find a pattern that worked well for me everywhere.

I have been wearing Mossy Oak patterns exclusively for over 15 years and thought I would never again wear any other pattern…..but, I just recently had the pleasure of meeting Greg Love from Kryptek and after getting to know the products, the pattern, the quality of construction, and the high tech fabrics, I have decided to abandon my exclusive use of Mossy Oak for their Mountain pattern.

Kryptek has truly impressed me with their ability to create military grade tactical apparel for the hunting industry that is function, durable, dependable, and at a great price that is unmatched for the quality of the product. Myself and the entire Primal Instinct team will be utilizing their products as we go afield to film our 2012 season.

November 3, 2011 | Categories: Experience {Wilson} | Tags: Bear Pictures, bow and arrow, bow kill, Camo, Camo Patterns, Hunting, hunting blogs, Hunting Outfitters, Jim Crumley, Kryptek, Kryptek Outdoor Group, Military Grade Camo, Military Grade Tactical Apparel, Mossy Oak, New Camo Patterns, Online Hunting Shows, Photography, Primal Instinct, primal instinct hunting, Realtree, Trebark, Videography, Wilson Reynolds | Leave a comment

Spring Bear Hunt

The Primal Instinct crew finished up the 2010-2011 hunting season in northwest Manitoba with an excellent hunt with Duck Mountain Outfitters. As the 2011 spring black bear season was closing in, excitement was building with just four days left to hunt. Unfortunately, two of those days the forecast called for heavy rain so we knew we were in for an adventure. Despite the rain, as bears aren’t nearly as active in inclement weather, we still saw quite a few. Once the rain cleared, the bears were on the move and we were seeing an average of ten to fifteen bears a night!

Duck Mountain Outfitters supplied excellent food, lodging, and company and the hunting was second to none. Truly, a full service organization. We woke up to a wonderful breakfast and returned to camp to find a delicious dinner laid out on the table. Tom at Duck Mountain Outfitters ran an first-rate operation and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a trophy black bear. Check out their site for more information.

We ended up having a number of close encounters and killing a total of four nice bears. Make sure you catch the episode when it airs on Versus starting this fall!

July 6, 2011 | Categories: Determination {Lonnie} | Tags: 24p cinimatic filming, Bear, Bear Pictures, black bears, bow and arrow, bowteck, Hunting, hunting blogs, Hunting Outfitters, Hunting Passion, Hunting shows, Hunting TV, Hunting Videos, Jib Crane, Manitoba bear hunting, Online Hunting Shows, Outfitters, Primal Instinct, Primal Instinct TV, Primal instinct tv show, scott sciarra, spring bear hunting, spring bears, spring black bears, Trophy Bear Hunting, Trophy Black Bear, Videography, Wilson Reynolds | 1 Comment

Spring Season Just Around the Corner

The Primal Instinct crew is gearing up with 2011 Spring Turkey Season. It is our plan to film at least two “Grand Slams”, one with a bow and the other with a shotgun. We have a full itinerary to start out in Florida for the osceola in mid-March, then swing up to South Carolina and back home to Maryland for the eastern. We will take a quick jolt to Texas for the rio and finally shoot back up north to Nebraska for the merriam.

We hope to capture on film two complete ‘grand slams‘ this season, along with additional kills form our other team members and guests.

Unlike most Turkey episodes, we intend to have numerous kills and close encounters filmed in a stunning 24p cinematic look. Be sure to stay tuned to learn more about the skills and success of this adventure.