"Big Nuts" and the Birth of an Obsession

The Rough Run Show started out as an idea that took some convincing.  We were not sure a show about a bunch of bear hunters would be very interesting and we certainly had no idea how one hunts bears.  So local bear hunting expert Jeff Davis invited us out to West Virginia to take a look.  Wow.

Why did we choose the Rough Run boys to film?  Big Nuts!   

The production crew arrived in Fort Seybert tired and worn out from a cross-country flight and the four hour drive from the airport but Jeff insisted, "Let's go tonight."  In the off season, the hunters are allowed to train their dogs and tree bear, only to release them when done.  It's a nice way of keeping the dogs sharp and it also gives the guys an idea of what bears are around and what they are doing.  Typically, the boys hunt in the evening, because the temperature is better for the dogs to run at night, to avoid overheating.  

"Big Nuts" on Squiggy's trail camera (above).

The first night we arrived, Jeff pulled us into his white pick-up truck and off we went.  Rough Run Boy Mark "Squiggy" Swigunski had a line on what seemed to be a big bear.  Squiggy had a trail camera set-up near the corn field behind his house and had caught site of a big black bear venturing by on the way to eat every night.  This corn field is where Jeff took us.  

On this night, a couple of jaded Los Angeles desk jockeys saw their first dog box, they heard dogs "blowing up" for the first time, saw hounds being dropped onto a track, they watched the Garmin's & walkies being used like a musical instruments, and they got to see a black bear sitting in a tree.  All within minutes.  "This is not typical," said Jeff referencing the speed of the treeing and how close it was to the road.  Plus, the bear was perched a mere 10 feet in the tree!  The production team was convinced.  

"Big Nuts" looking down from the tree (above, below right)

 Jeff was very proud of his dogs and gloated that he was able to have a bear treed for us so quickly.  He assured us, it does not happen that easy very often.  When we reached the tree, the bear was enormous, 300-350 lbs.  Being our first bear, it looked huge.  Jeff did agree that it was very large, but also noticed it was a male.  Since the bear was only 10 feet up in a tree, it was very easy to see, yet since it was dark, it was hard to film.  Armed with only our cell phones (please excuse the poor quality images), we started filming and snapping pictures furiously.  What we noticed was the bear was turned butt-end toward us.  And let's just say, you could tell it was a male!  

Our resident taxidermist John Mentus shouts out, "Look at the nuts on him.  We'll call him Big Nuts."  The name stuck.

That night was significant because it cemented for us our desire to come to Ft. Seybert and shoot Rough Run.  It was also the night Jeff Davis began his obsession with tracking down Big Nuts.  This formed the basis for our episode entitled "The Whale" (premieres Sunday at www.roughrun.com).  

Thanks, Big Nuts

Hurricane Rebecca

The Rough Run production team needed to find our shooters.  In hunting, we all now who the "shooter" is, but in film production, the "shooter" is the camera person, the videographer.  Without a good shooter, you are wasting your time.  Luckily, we found Rebecca Carpenter.

Rebecca up on the mountain.

Scheduling the first shoot during the September early bear season posed many logistical issues.  The terrain is treacherous enough just to walk around-in let alone carry delicate equipment and try to capture usable video and clear sound.  One of the main issues was going to be finding a camera person that could handle the incredibly difficult Rough Run terrain, while maintaining a professional shot on the cast.  Like us, Rebecca is from Los Angeles, but unlike us, she is an avid hiker and outdoors-person.  A veteran of numerous reality shows, we knew we had someone who could 'get the shots'.  The question was would she be able to keep up with the pace, the hours, and the mountain.

Shooting her favorite subjects

When production arrived in Ft. Seybert and we told the boys about Rebecca, the laughter began.  Jeff Davis spoke for the group when he said, "a girl?".  "You're gonna regret bringing her here", "She's gonna be crying within a few hours", "She might get hurt".  Rebecca just smiled and prepped her cameras.

 All doubts evaporated that first morning on the mountain.  What the guys found was a dedicated, physically fit, professional who literally ran circles around the hunters.  Literally.  Get the camera angle from the front, run around behind, get the shot from behind, run back up the hill, get the shot as the guys come up the hill.  Her camera assistant, T.A. Rhodes always had to stay on her blind side (out of the camera shot), so he felt the pain of Hurricane Rebecca and nearly collapsed trying to keep up with her.

Rebecca up a tree

The best example of Rebecca in action is visible in the upcoming episode "Mingo Goes Down" (January 26, www.roughrun.com).  In one of the tensest moments of the series, Jeff is struggling down the hill with a full load in his arms.  Not only is Rebecca shooting this difficult moment (difficult physically & emotionally), she is walking backwards doing it, running down the hill to get a different angle, running back up to get close-ups, it is amazing work.

Keeping up with Rebecca Carpenter, turned out to be an adventure in itself.  When it was all said and done, Rebecca not only "got the shot" but received the highest respect of the Rough Run Boys.  "Bring her back," was the common phrase.  In a place where respect is earned, not given, Rebecca turned a bunch of skeptical hunters into her biggest fans.  She can also "shoot" with the best of 'em.