Jim Shockey, 2018 Weatherby Award Winner

03 July 2018, 18:17

BaxterB

quote:
Originally posted by shootaway:
He could be a good guy and all but the whole Jim Shockey thing is too commercialized for me.One thing that makes hunting attractive is that it is not a sport like the NHL or NFL with millions of screaming fans.It is a private, serene and natural experience.

Take the time to listen to the podcast. There is a definite difference between him one on one and the Shockey TV persona/machine. And since we apparently have to have (the market speaking, not me) TV hunting, he’s at least not Pigman...

03 July 2018, 23:24

Hutty

Congrats to Mr. Shockey. He is a fantastic ambassador for the hunting industry. He shows are thoughtful, well done, and professional.

He involves him self in the culture and people of the country he is in, and does not do grip and grin.

He pays his own way and does not asks for favors and discounts. If my humble estimation if more hunters conducted themselves in the manner of Mr. Shockey hunters we would be better off.

03 July 2018, 23:41

bcap

I think he speaks well for us all as hunters. Even after all the hunts you see he has done you can still see the enjoyment as he hunts. Yes he pushes product as that is his job but he is one of the few real hunters you see on tv. Class act in my book as well as his family.

04 July 2018, 03:43

Use Enough Gun

Congratulations Mr. Shockey!

04 July 2018, 04:09

boarkiller

Awards in hunting are silly, childish and foolish

16 July 2018, 21:23

Eland Slayer

A huge congratulations to Jim! In my opinion....there is no other person with a public platform to support hunting/conservation, that does a better job than he does.

17 July 2018, 05:20

boarkiller

I agree but can he live without all
those ridiculous awards?
Gee, does he get the fact that he could become a joke? ( or already becoming one )

17 July 2018, 13:08

jens poulsen

The award may be well deserved...but to me J'S wants to sell the HE man in side him driven by a strong ego. His selfperception dictate the important of how the worlds sees him. He is a cowboy alright...

18 July 2018, 06:23

AK145

quote:
Originally posted by H T:
He is the real deal, and a genuinely nice guy to boot. Couldn’t go to a more deserving person, and one who promotes our industry and ethic as well.

Great news.

100% well said and totally agree.

23 July 2018, 06:58

cable68

One big thing I’ve noticed about him is his sense of childlike wonder and simple excitement when he gets up to his downed animal. No real jumping around and silly celebrations.

23 July 2018, 09:36

Saeed

quote:
Originally posted by boarkiller:
Awards in hunting are silly, childish and foolish

Precisely!

23 July 2018, 17:38

larryshores

quote:
Originally posted by jens poulsen:
The award may be well deserved...but to me J'S wants to sell the HE man in side him driven by a strong ego. His selfperception dictate the important of how the worlds sees him. He is a cowboy alright...

If I understand correctly, one has to apply to get the award. If my understanding is correct, I can only conclude that the award is either about ego or is good for his business. I do not profess to know which.

Personally, I have a hard time believing the awards of this type are good for the sport. If such an award is going to be given, JS seems like someone who reflects a positive image. I can think of worse.

23 July 2018, 19:44

Lhook7

quote:
Originally posted by larryshores:
quote:
Originally posted by jens poulsen:
The award may be well deserved...but to me J'S wants to sell the HE man in side him driven by a strong ego. His selfperception dictate the important of how the worlds sees him. He is a cowboy alright...

If I understand correctly, one has to apply to get the award. If my understanding is correct, I can only conclude that the award is either about ego or is good for his business. I do not profess to know which.

Personally, I have a hard time believing the awards of this type are good for the sport. If such an award is going to be given, JS seems like someone who reflects a positive image. I can think of worse.

Well said.

24 July 2018, 03:43

dogcat

quote:
Originally posted by boarkiller:
Awards in hunting are silly, childish and foolish

Agree....

How can someone be the "best"?

This award is for collectors that have every animal measured by and for SCI (at a cost for each measurement). Show me one of the recent members with less than 200 species taken and 80% in the "record book" of SCI. I would be a bit more impressed if every animal was verified free range and made the B&C standards or Rowland and Ward standards.

After reading the history of SCI and seeing how the "trophy" system came to pass, I regret that I have been a member.

I read the history of Roy Weatherby and the Weatherby award.... It was designed to sell rifles, especially his rifles.... It morphed in a contest nowadays.

I support Jim and appreciate what he does but there are other "winners" that are collectors and not hunters.

24 July 2018, 04:22

Bwana1

quote:
Originally posted by larryshores:
quote:
Originally posted by jens poulsen:
The award may be well deserved...but to me J'S wants to sell the HE man in side him driven by a strong ego. His selfperception dictate the important of how the worlds sees him. He is a cowboy alright...

If I understand correctly, one has to apply to get the award. If my understanding is correct, I can only conclude that the award is either about ego or is good for his business. I do not profess to know which.

Personally, I have a hard time believing the awards of this type are good for the sport. If such an award is going to be given, JS seems like someone who reflects a positive image. I can think of worse.

Well, sort of. If one wants to be considered, you should attend dinners, give to the Foundation, etc. Then you might receive an application, which you list animals taken, what conservation efforts you have supported. It’s quite an involved process. You really have to earn the award.

24 July 2018, 04:57

AnotherAZWriter

quote:
Originally posted by Bwana1:
quote:
Originally posted by larryshores:
quote:
Originally posted by jens poulsen:
The award may be well deserved...but to me J'S wants to sell the HE man in side him driven by a strong ego. His selfperception dictate the important of how the worlds sees him. He is a cowboy alright...

If I understand correctly, one has to apply to get the award. If my understanding is correct, I can only conclude that the award is either about ego or is good for his business. I do not profess to know which.

Personally, I have a hard time believing the awards of this type are good for the sport. If such an award is going to be given, JS seems like someone who reflects a positive image. I can think of worse.

Well, sort of. If one wants to be considered, you should attend dinners, give to the Foundation, etc. Then you might receive an application, which you list animals taken, what conservation efforts you have supported. It’s quite an involved process. You really have to earn the award.

And it used to be you had to donate a significant amount of money to conservation efforts; that requirement was dropped a while ago. Sure, you had to be wealthy (or at least be affluent) to win, but at least it wasn't about the body count.

24 July 2018, 05:00

nhoro

quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Awards aside...Jim's a friend and a damn good ambassador for our hunting heritage IMO!

15+ years ago Jim and I tried to put together a "partnership" in the hunt consulting biz...I learned quickly he was an astute business man. It didn't work out in the end, but I always respected him for his blatant honesty. Jim never lies, or BS's anyone!

He's tough on cameramen, and tough on guides too (I've seen that first hand) but that's because he always wants to be the best, and represent the best for himself and the sport.

We originally booked Jim on his first two African safaris ever, and again in 2008 we booked him into Zambia, and then into Botswana for his first elephant with his muzzleloader. I was with Jim on that hunt, we both took nice bulls, shared a tent together for 12 days (no funny biz of course) and talked a lot about hunting, the industry, tv, etc. He encouraged me numerous times back then to get my own tv show, but I was more into the hunting than anything else I suppose?

One thing about Jim...he always paid his way, period! He never asked for "deals" or discounts, just the best hunt, with the best people possible. We no longer do biz together, but we all move on at some point to bigger / better things I reckon.

I vividly remember asking him about his end goal in camp one night....he stated clearly he wants to go down as the greatest hunter to ever live! I'm not sure how one really classifies that, but for sure....there will never be another one like him!

He dreamed of winning the Weatherby, so to him I do in fact say....congratulations!!!

Very well said. I have nothing but respect for Jim and what he's accomplished in his life. Congratulations to him on this well-deserved award.

JEB Katy, TX

Already I was beginning to fall into the African way of thinking: That if
you properly respect what you are after, and shoot it cleanly and on
the animal's terrain, if you imprison in your mind all the wonder of the
day from sky to smell to breeze to flowers—then you have not merely
killed an animal. You have lent immortality to a beast you have killed
because you loved him and wanted him forever so that you could always
recapture the day - Robert Ruark

DSC Life Member
NRA Life Member

24 July 2018, 11:56

Upton O. Good

I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Shockey and his wife separately at a hunting show a few years back. His wife spoke candidly about the challenges they have faced, their love of family and her husbands drive to be better at whatever he was pursuing.

As for hunting shows, the best series I’ve ever seen was one that featured Jim’s father and his father in law. Believe it that the term “trophy” was hotly debated on camera with one of the older gentlemen wanting to take/shoot/kill/harvest a small fork horn for the freezer and Jim adamantly arguing patience for the big white tails he knew to be in the area. THAT series of shows was the best ever produced aside from the old American Sportsman, of course.

Congrats to Mr. Shockey AND his family. Well done, indeed.

24 July 2018, 20:26

dogcat

quote:
Originally posted by nhoro:
quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Awards aside...Jim's a friend and a damn good ambassador for our hunting heritage IMO!

15+ years ago Jim and I tried to put together a "partnership" in the hunt consulting biz...I learned quickly he was an astute business man. It didn't work out in the end, but I always respected him for his blatant honesty. Jim never lies, or BS's anyone!

He's tough on cameramen, and tough on guides too (I've seen that first hand) but that's because he always wants to be the best, and represent the best for himself and the sport.

We originally booked Jim on his first two African safaris ever, and again in 2008 we booked him into Zambia, and then into Botswana for his first elephant with his muzzleloader. I was with Jim on that hunt, we both took nice bulls, shared a tent together for 12 days (no funny biz of course) and talked a lot about hunting, the industry, tv, etc. He encouraged me numerous times back then to get my own tv show, but I was more into the hunting than anything else I suppose?

One thing about Jim...he always paid his way, period! He never asked for "deals" or discounts, just the best hunt, with the best people possible. We no longer do biz together, but we all move on at some point to bigger / better things I reckon.

I vividly remember asking him about his end goal in camp one night....he stated clearly he wants to go down as the greatest hunter to ever live! I'm not sure how one really classifies that, but for sure....there will never be another one like him!

He dreamed of winning the Weatherby, so to him I do in fact say....congratulations!!!

Very well said. I have nothing but respect for Jim and what he's accomplished in his life. Congratulations to him on this well-deserved award.

Fully agree and believe JS to fully deserving. He has a done a great job of championing our cause in a very positive way. Of all the Weatherby "winners" I respect him the most. I have read the bio's on nearly everyone of them and have the book about them all as well as reading about Elgin Gates and the early "winners".

In the end, we cannot declare any one of them as the "greatest" as the standard is not clear. This is much like saying Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Sam Snead are/were the greatest golfers ever. The debate is endless and fun discussion but no concrete decision is landed.

Anyway - congrats to Shockey, he is deserving of the recognition this brings.

25 July 2018, 00:24

drongo

Congratulations to Jim Shockey!

I enjoy his shows and record them so that I can fast forward through the commercials. Unlike the all too typical Ol' Boy shows with Bubba talking to the camera explaining the obvious and high fiving with a whoop and a holler at every kill shot, Shockey exemplifies the hunter as traveler, historian, student of culture, and conservationist. He does not apologize for hunting but praises it's pivotal importance to conserving wild habitat and creatures. He seeks old, past breeding age animals and thereby contributes to herd vitality while providing an economic incentive to conserve the resource. He is appropriately respectful of the animal whose life he has taken and the cultural rituals of the people he hunts with. I think he is a great ambassador for hunters and richly deserving of the Weatherby Award (much more so than the wealthy fat cats who essentially bought it in years past with excessive consumption and self glorification!).