Jason and Ted Huntsman
Posted By
Chad Lathrop
at
8/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
Jason Huntsman and his father Ted are always thinking whitetails. From shed hunting to planting food plots, deer hunting is a way of life for the Huntsman family. At 35, Jason has been bowhunting whitetails for the past 25 years and has been blessed to have put some good deer on the wall. He believes in quality deer management but also believes in quality "deer" time with his family.
His love of whitetails led him to a career in the outdoor television industry after graduating with a Bachelors degree in Communications from Bethany College in 1997. He began his career as a freelance cameraman filming for Bill Jordan's Realtree Outdoors, which by the way is where he met Bill Winke. Twelve years later, after working for Buckmasters, Bass Pro Shops and seven years as a producer and editor for Jack Brittingham's Briar
Lakes Productions, Jason will now be producing and co-hosting the Midwest Whitetail - Ohio show alongside his good friend Damon Detling. He also continues to work as a freelance video editor in the outdoor industry.
Jason lives in southeast Ohio with his fiance Kippi and their two children, 7 year old Kennedy and 16 month old Easton. He is a member of the Church of Christ and a Pro Staff member for Outdoorsmen For Christ.
Ted Huntsman brings over 50 years of deer hunting experience to Midwest Whitetail - Ohio. He's taken some outstanding bucks throughout those years and loves to pass along any tips or tricks he has to up-and-coming hunters. Ted simply knows how to hunt big deer successfully. He works hard each year to tag a big buck but he doesn't let antlers and inches get in the way of what's really important.
Whitetail hunting offers him an opportunity to spend quality time with his family and friend
s while enjoying God's creation. He'd much rather see his grandchildren take a buck than arrow one himself. He spends many cold mornings and long afternoons each fall in the blind with his sons and grandchildren, waiting for an old buck to appear and passing along the heritage to the future of our sport. Ted, Jason and the entire Huntsman family will be working hard to bring you some exciting and memorable hunts this fall. Ted is a member of the Church of Christ and is retired from the telephone company. He resides in Barnesville, OH with his wife Jackie and son Chadd.
Jason & Ted's 2010 Hit List
"Sheddy"
Sheddy still sits at the top of the hit list this year. Dad and I have hunted this buck hard for the last two years but have been unable to put a tag on him. Last year, Sheddy was a regular at the trail camera until he changed his pattern a week before the season and disappeared. We are confident that he made it through the winter and are going to continue hunting for him until we know for sure that he's no longer around. This picture was taken was taken last season.
"Electric Fence Buck"
I made a mistake by pulling the trigger on this buck last year as a 3-year-old. Fortunately, I missed when the bullet glanced off a strand of the electric fence. At 2 years, this buck was a regular on the property. The only sighting at 3 was the "miss" incident during muzzleloader season. He hasn't been seen yet this year but I'm confident he'll make an appearance on the Frigid Forage food plot sooner or later.
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Jason's 2009 Hit List
Jason and his father Ted will be hunting the same farms in Ohio and have always shared the same hit list. Here a few of the bucks they'll be after this year - check back, we are adding to the list.
The following words are Jason's.
"SHEDDY": Sheddy is at the top of the hit for Dad and myself. Based on sightings from other people, we knew he was in the area but just couldn't catch a glmpse of him nearly all of last season. On January 1, 2009 we finally took a gamble and moved in close to where we thought he was bedding. Dad set up a trail camera and that night we got over 100 pictures of the big guy. Adequate trees were limited so we set up a blind in some old fallen pine trees and it seemed to be the perfect location. Every night for 4 more days, Sheddy was on time and posing for pictures. After 5 days of waiting for the wind to cooperate, we were ready to hunt the big guy. Dad checked the camera before the hunt and to our disbelief, Sheddy had shed his antlers. We looked for a few hours and found his sheds in his bedding area about 300 yards from the blind. They grossed scored 170 inches. Although we haven't confirmed it, there have been sightings of a big buck in the same area this summer, so we think Sheddy made it through the winter. Hopefully, he'll retire to one of our walls.
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On August 26th of this year "Sheddy" showed up at one of Dad's trail camera sites. Here are the new pictures that we got of "Sheddy". By the looks of him this year, he's put on at least 10-13 inches in tine length and more points. He could go bigger but I believe at a minimum he's 180. I'm definitely pumped! Staying faithful to his name, he shed his velvet on Wednesday night. We have pics before and after. The pictures were taken at the exact same spot as the previous photos in January.
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"OLD GRAY FACE": Although his age is not known, we're guessing this buck to be getting up there in the years. Dad and I both encountered him last year but neither of us was able to put an arrow in him. Other than the rut, he was completely nocturnal to our knowledge and traveled some very odd and non-typical patterns. He avoided all of our trail cameras and never entered a food plot when other bigger bodied deer were around the area. His unusual travel patterns, along with his feeble appearance, graying facial hair and submissive demeanor leads us to believe that he is heading downhill. After picking up his sheds, Dad and I realized that the old guy will not score high, but neither of us care. To take this old smart buck that has evaded so many hunters over the years in an extremely pressured area would be an accomplishment that would far exceed any score or antler size.
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"THE BIG 8": Although Dad won't concentrate much on this deer, I will - along with a good friend of mine. We spotted this buck in 2007, which is the year the video was taken. Guessing him at 4 years old at the time, he was a very visual deer that offered multiple sightings, yet we were unable to get an arrow in him. In 2008, the sightings decreased but he was still there. Again, we had no shot opportunities. Now, as a 6 year old buck, we have yet to see him this summer but our hopes are still high that he will appear on trail cameras or in bow range before season's end.
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"MOVIE STAR": Last year, as a 3 year old 10 point, Movie Star seemed to show up in front of the video camera no matter what stand we were hunting. He also put on a show and posed as if it was scripted. We've had one brief sighting of him this summer as a 4 year old and he's really developed into a great buck. We estimate his score in the mid 150's. Still a main frame 10, we both would love to put a tag on him. He was a dominant acting and very aggressive buck last season, often running off larger racked deer. Hopefully this year he will be as visible as he was in 2008.
