In less than two weeks, about a thousand outdoorsmen/women will set out to prove that they should be given one of the 11 open slots to accompany the top three competitors from 2011 for the first thirteen-episode season of the Total Outdoorsman Challenge. All they have to do is pass a pretty simple skills course, then go and prove that a little ole camera light in their face doesn’t bother them. Make it through and they’re off to Dogwood Canyon for a chance to be the centerpiece of a reality show on the Outdoor Channel this Fall. Five shots with a bow at 25 yards, five with an air rifle at 20, and five casts at 50 feet is all the skills testing they will face. They will be able to warm-up with the same equipment they will compete with. It’s pretty simple, and I see no real reason to go into great detail how to practice for the skills.

Most of the competitors will have spent their life casting and shooting; it’ll be second nature. But that casting call…with the cameras…and the pretty ladies asking questions…and the thought of a bunch of TV folks sitting around judging their “presence”. Yeah, that’s the part that will make most of the possibles become the rejected.

If you’re one of those thousand, and you really want to prep for the casting call, spend some time in front of a camera. Get someone to throw a bunch of questions at you, and find all those glitches that will keep you from being voted onto the island. Stuttering, stammering, and blurting “uh” every second word isn’t the way to prove you can form a coherent sentence.

There will be some tech questions, some personal, and a few that will give you a chance to show your ability to sound reasonably intelligent. (Think “how do you take in preserving our outdoor heritage’, instead of “Queequeg; nature or nurture?”) Even if you have no idea the right answer to a question, be able to B.S. your way through the interview. (Si Robertson, Duck Dynasty, is great example for this school of thought, Jack.)

Show a sense of humor, or a no-nonsense drill sergeant swagger, or the humble country boy…whatever. Just be able to be who you are, and be able to do it on camera.

Check-out this clip for the 2011 Total Outdoorsman Challenge TV Show beginning November 30 through December 24 on the Outdoor Channel! Times are as follows (times subject to change):

Wow…just wow. My minimal writing skills could never do justice for the conclusion to the 2011 Total Outdoorsman Challenge finals. And while I won’t give away how this six-month journey culminated right here, I’d suggest you pick-up the November issue of Field & Stream in mid-October and you may just be lucky enough to learn who won. Regardless, I will highly suggest you do not miss the show later this year. There’s something to this one that may not happen again for long time.

I’ve worked in competitive outdoor events for long enough to know when one of them is special. While the TOC always has that “it” factor, none of the previous seven come close to Dogwood 2011.

Those that live the outdoor sports lifestyle understand it’s far more than a kill or catch. Those that participate in the finals of the TOC understand it’s far more than a title or a check. It’s a code that adheres to doing more than what is required. It’s taking care of those around you before yourself. It’s who you are and how you conduct your business when no one else can see you, or know what truly lies in your heart.

With a National title and a big check on the line, all 16 who made the journey to the Canyon, exemplified a higher standard that all of us who consider ourselves outdoorsmen/women will be more than proud of. The open information sharing, the encouragement to fellow competitors, the heartfelt emotion that each of you demonstrated toward one another was very genuine. There’s enough sportsmanship on film to make a weeklong instructional course, much less a four-segment TV show.

It comes down to the final skill, of the final pairing, of the final discipline. To get the full drama, you do need to watch from start to finish. Otherwise it will be cheapened to a 5-minute peep show that we are forced-fed daily.

After the final stroke of the paddle, there was a moment that will stay with me long after my time of organizing these things is over. The gentleman who wins the title is sitting in his kayak staring back at the gentleman who lost the same title in heartbreaking fashion. On the winner’s face is an expression of authentic concern for a friend lying face down in water, physically spent and likely emotionally broken. But at a time where there should be pain, his buddy’s face emerges from the mud and water, with nothing but joy for his friend.

Pure selflessness…this stuff doesn’t come staged or canned; it only comes when it’s real. And I got to see it from a heartbeat away.

Thanks, to all 16 competitors, my job was a pleasure.

The Outdoor Channel has announced the time slots for the show. Beginning November 30 until December 24, times are as follows:

Wednesday’s, 5PM EST
Friday’s, 11:30PM EST
Saturday’s, 10:30AM EST

Mark your calendar now, this is something special to see.

All 16 of the Final’s competitors believe that Archery will be one of their stronger disciplines. Most of the guys shoot 3D tournaments all spring and summer, and there are a couple of pretty big-time titles among them. All of them bow hunt and practice year-round.

Not only are all of the competitors strong, the course is a beast. It has to be to get any scoring separation. Target angles, odd distances, shooting through cover…they will see it all in just six targets.

Scenario: Shooting one of the three shots from the ground blind portion of the TOC Archery discipline; it’s a bedded deer at 39 yards with cover in front of the target. The cover is a tree over the deer, but in front of it and slightly to the left. The limbs hang over, but you can see the target completely.

You know that the tree is right at 20 yards, but the limbs angle back toward the deer. It’s difficult to tell what yardage the limbs are, and you have no rangefinder. And they are only in play for the 2-4-6 point larger target—not the high-risk 10 point target.

Quiz: Going back to The Total Outdoorsman Manual, and Eddie Nickens’s tips; with the limbs possibly causing a deflection, and no rangefinder, how can you tell if you can pull off the shot to the larger 2-4-6 target?

Swag: A Field & Stream prize pack