The H.A.R.TTM Hunt Experience

The H.A.R.TTM Hunt experience is similar to full harvest hunting in every way except the final shot does not consist of a projectile (bullet/arrow) and in the end, the animal and hunter go their separate ways. From the initial planning to the final shot  everything is the same, adrenaline included.

  • Planning
  • Gear preparation
  • Travel
  • Scouting
  • Stand sitting, Glassing,Stalking
  • Finding the animal
  • Getting into position
  • Making the shot

It's a regular hunt. The gear is virtually the same except for we're gonna use blanks, the H.A.R.T™ string on a bow, or a muzzleloader with no bullet. The final shot is just the sound of a successful hunt coming to an end. The hunt is no easier or harder, it’s just after the shot the hunt is over.

Capture Your Adventure

On your rifle you’ll have a scope with a camera that will record the hunt. If you have a bow, you’ll have a camera mounted on the bow somewhere which will record the hunt. When you take the final shot you will see it through the camera. The video will record where your crosshairs or red dot were at the time of release or at the time of pulling the trigger. After examining the video you will be able to tell if you made a well placed shot on the animal or not.

wild hog as seen through a scope

In the end, it’s  all about the hunt. The shot is the release  from the whole experience. From the beginning to the end, a H.A.R.T™ Hunt is the same. If you're on a whitetail hunt and it’s a tree stand hunt you're going to sit in a tree stand and wait for that buck to come by or the animal that you wanted to harvest,  Then you're going to make the decision to pull the trigger or wait for a bigger one.

  1. Turn on the camera
  2. Pull the trigger and...
  3. Record the moment.

We offer several trophy options:

  • Picture to paintings on canvas
  • Artist print similar to your animal
  • Original paintings
  • Reclaimed mounts
  • Replica mounts
  • Replica antlers

You're going to be able to have that memory captured and preserved with a beautiful trophy.

Trophy options

If You’re a Beginner

The first step for all hunters including H.A.R.T hunters is to take a hunter safety class if you are unfamiliar with hunting. Once you complete the hunter safety class and pass you'll be on par if you ever want to do a full harvest hunt.

Next, get familiar with your weapon and learn how to safely carry and operate it before heading out on your hunt.

  • Shoot arrows at targets so you can get familiar with the bow.
  • Hit the range with your rifle or muzzleloader and get familiar with your equipment.
  • Learn how to safely carry, load and unload your weapon.

After building familiarity with the equipment the next step could be learning the different types of hunting. 

  • Tree stand hunting
  • Spot and stalk with a guide

If you’re unfamiliar with hunting then the H.A.R.T™ Hunt experience can help you learn the skills and processes needed for that successful hunt. Hiring a guide or going to a preserve is a great way to gain priceless knowledge in a short amount of time and enhance your skills as a hunter before you set out on your own.

Even with a H.A.R.T™ Hunt, tags should be purchased during regular hunting seasons. Purchasing your tag ensures your status as a legal hunter and helps support conservation and the continuation of this great sport.. H.A.R.T™ hunting is a new concept and the hope is a season of its own will become reality. But until then we will abide by the  current hunting regulations for the areas we are hunting.

The Gear

tactacam video scope mounted on a rifle

There are many options available to capture your H.A.R.T™ Shot as well as numerous gear offerings to complete your H.A.R.T™ hunting kit.  Head to our sister site bighartadventures.com to find gear and also explore the world of H.A.R.T™ Hunting.

The equipment specific to H.A.R.T™ Hunting is similar to full harvest hunting and with a few additional items the hunt for your next trophy can begin.

Weapons

All weapons that can be deployed with the H.A.R.T™ method are standard to full harvest hunting. You can choose between rifle, handgun, muzzleloader, and archery.  Which you choose is up to you as the range that must be closed between you and the animal are very similar with each.

Rifles and handguns in most any caliber can be used. A scope or iron sights can be used as the sighting method.  These will fire blanks as your release method within a range of 30 to 100 yards depending on camera and sight setup.  Most standard calibers such as .308, 30-06, .223, .45, and 44 mag can be readily found in rifles and handguns as well as blank ammunition. Those would be good options for dual purpose H.A.R.T™/full harvest weapons.

Muzzle loaders will use a small blackpowder charge with a wad to hold in place as the release method. The bow will be a reduced draw weight bow within the range of 25 to 40 lbs and used with a H.A.R.T™ String either purchased or crafted by the user as it is a fairly simple piece of equipment. It is designed to catch the bowstring upon releases and create the noise needed for the release of the hunt.

Cameras 

Any camera that can be mounted to the above weapons will work to record the final shot but only a few can record the exact spot “hit” during the shot. The Tactacam family of cameras does this very well and is available with a variety of mounts for various weapons.  These can be mounted on a scope using their FTS attachment and thus are able to record the location of the crosshairs at the time of firing. They also have a red dot mode for use with the bow or shotgun/muzzleloader and thus record shot placement in that manner.  ATN is another company that makes a scope that can capture the crosshairs at the moment of release. These would be strictly for rifles and are a bit heavier and more expensive than other options. GoPro, ShotKam, Sony, and various phone attachments are other options that can be used if one does not care to see exactly where the crosshairs/red dot were at the time of release. Remember it is all about the hunt and it is left up to the hunter to determine how to remember his or her hunt.

A weapon of choice, camera of choice, and blanks/H.A.R.T™ String is all that is needed in addition to regular hunting gear for you to start enjoying the hunt through H.A.R.T™. Landowners may find it helpful to have a H.A.R.T™ weapon setup available for rent due to the fact that a good portion of H.A.R.T™ hunters may be new to the sport. They may be more comfortable with renting the equipment to see if they like the sport before purchasing their own setup.  A good recommendation for this would be a single shot .223 with a scope and Tactacam FTS system. This is an affordable and safe option for weapon/camera setup with blanks readily available at most times. As equipment and technology changes we will continue to update and review these options. To follow along you can go to www.bighartadventures.com, register as a host or hunter on H.A.R.T™ Hunts.com to receive updates, or subscribe to the Big H.A.R.T™ Adventures YouTube channel and we will keep you up to date on new products and technologies.

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