Some local hunters have turned their passion for whitetail deer and turkey into a television program that will begin airing on Fox Sports South next month.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 3, “Pass’n it On Outdoors” will feature 26 weeks of hunting action that will reach 12.5 million households in the South, according to David Hinceman, executive producer for the program.
Robert Collins, Hinceman’s best friend and hunting partner, will serve as field producer, along with Joe Finney, who works full-time at the YMCA of Rowan County and is a state-champion goose caller.
Kevin Dancy, editor of North Carolina Bowhunters Association magazine, will handle editing and producing, as well. Hunters include Garrett Barger, a sergeant with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and Matt Benfield, an avid bow hunter from China Grove, as well as several other local residents.
“One of my goals is to show what North Carolina has to offer in terms of hunting,” said Hinceman, who also works at Freightliner full-time as a welder. “I don’t see a reason why we can’t be the best hunting show in North Carolina in the coming years. We are going to get better and more creative with our editing. And that is a reachable goal in a couple of years.”
The name for the program was derived from the fact that Hinceman and his hunting companions wanted to focus on passing along their love of hunting to others, especially children, as well as to showcase how much they get back from the sport from those they hunt with as well as the experiences that they have with nature.
“We’re passionate about taking kids hunting,” said Hinceman. “We have a group of kids we work with a lot. We’re passing along a tradition. But a lot gets passed on to us as well from the memories we have. And all those memories will be passed on to the next person.”
Those memories include taking disabled hunters on assisted hunts and hunting with children for deer and turkey, as well as wild hogs, alligators and even fishing with bows and arrows. The first season of the program was shot primarily in 2010 in Rowan and Stanly counties in North Carolina, as well as hunts in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Florida and Canadian provinces.
Some of the junior hunters involved with the program include Tate Barger, McKenzie Collins, Colby Collins, Taylor Starnes, Adyson Talbert, Bailey Williams, Cody Moss, Kyndal Dancy and Jordan Johnson.
“It’s just going to get better and better,” said Hinceman. “It’s very rewarding to take a hunt and create a 30-minute story.”
Videographers for the program include Kenny Davis, Jason Shell, and Joe and Scott Starnes.
Glenn Hudson is a freelance fishing writer based in Salisbury. Contact him at littletuna67@aol.com.