Last weekend at the cabin I plugged in one of Jim Shockey’s bear hunting DVD’s filmed in his Vancouver Island territory-
Pacific Rim Guide Outfitters. The DVD featured good sized bruins being harvested on Vancouver Island (only a ferry ride away from my home) Island bears are genetically larger than mainland bears and as Jim Shockey explains in the DVD " Monster Black Bears" that Van Isle bears are called cave bears and have been isolated from the mainland bears for thousands of years. The DVD features 11 hunts and there are mostly rifle hunts but there was one bow hunt. The bears seen on this video are truley big bears but the thing that bothered me is that no specific measurements of nose to tail length or skull size. A few times Jim arbitrarily throws out a number saying this bear squares 7’2" with no measuring tape. All in all a good entertaining film but it would be more valuable in my opinion if there were even some time spent on hunting tactics, gear choices, calibers, equipment, and specific size measurements especially since the DVD boast "Monster Bears". That is why I give this film 3/5 stars. Dont get me wrong I am a Jim Shockey fan and I like his relaxed layed back approach. He talks very natural to the camera and is intertaining with a dry sense of humour. Why does’nt he wear camo? I guess he has done well hunting in tight 80’s rocker jeans so why change what works.
If you would like a bear hunting DVD that has more specific information on hunting bears, tactics, field care, and equipment check out:
The Black Bear Hunting Encyclopedia
.