Western Extreme host: Enjoy hunting experience

  • Published
  • By Catherin McNally
  • Hilltop Times staff
HILL AFB, Utah --  The inside of Club Hill's ballroom was a sea of camo -- both hunting and military -- as hunting enthusiasts eagerly awaited the appearance of Jim Burnworth of "Western Extreme," Keith Mark of "MacMillan River Adventures" and Ray Bunney of "Adventures Abroad."

The symposium held Feb. 25 began with Burnworth, Mark and Bunney all sharing stories about their hunting experiences in North America and Africa. Ranging from a hippo hunt to a closeSClBencounter with a bull moose, the stories were far from tame. You might even call them extreme.

The trio's experience wasn't limited to hunting, as the audience soon found out. Burnworth and Bunney were also able to lend their skills to conservation efforts in Africa.

"This is an extraordinary story," Burnworth said as he described the video of him and Bunney stalking a white rhino in Africa.

The two sharpshooters were able to assist conservationists by darting a rhino bull that had been losing weight so that it could receive a medical check-up.

"It just gave us a really good excuse to chase this thing around with a dart on the end of an arrow," Bunney said.

Though many people might think of hunting as a sport or way to put food on the table, Burnworth stated that he believes hunters are also beneficial as conservationists.

"I feel like the greatest conservationists in the world are hunters," he said.

Burnworth and Bunney were also able to assist and provide food to African villages by shooting a hippo and crocodile that had made homes in the villages' waterways.

Not all the encounters occurred abroad. North American forests can still prove dangerous, as Mark demonstrated with his story about a lovesick bull moose who got a little too close.

Mark described how he and his team, including his cameraman, Josh, and another man working to call the moose, set up the perfect shot and how quickly things turned sour.

"I'm just ready to give it to him, right?" Mark said. "And Josh says, 'Don't shoot.' Now here I am 15 yards from a Volkswagen bus ... I'm wondering what's going on."

"They're crazy big!" Burnworth interjected into Mark's hunting account. "Eighteen hundred pounds, eleven feet from the top of the antler to the ground ... You stand by these things and you wonder why God allowed you to have a tag. They're just magnificent!"

The audience soon realized why the cameraman hesitated as they watched the bull suddenly charge him. Mark's sharpshooting and a lot of luck were the only thing standing between the cameraman and disaster.

"(Mark) somehow saved his life with an arrow," Burnworth said in describing the action on screen.

After a few more stories, including clips of a rather interesting elk dung spitting contest between Burnworth, Bunney and a guest on the show, the trio opened up the floor for some questions and answers.

Before ending the symposium, Burnworth, Mark and Bunney also gave away several prizes, including hunting paraphernalia, binoculars and knives, plus three grand prizes including a coupon for free taxidermy, a Savage rifle, and a Bowtech Sentinel bow.

As Burnworth wrapped up the story session, he offered these words of encouragement to hunters of all kinds: "(Even) if you're doing it with a slingshot -- and it's legal and ethical -- do it and love it and enjoy it."