The Sportsman Magazine
Producer Spotlight
Brian Doty XOA TV

Q: Who was your hunting/fishing mentor?

My dad, Tommy Doty, had me out hunting and fishing at a very young age. Our fishing trips started just a few miles from our house at a farmer’s stock tank. I would eat a Mrs. Bairds bear claw and drink my carton of milk as the sun started up through the trees. It seams I never made it to the waters edge until dad caught his first fish. I would join him with sticky fingers and a chocolate mustache holding a snoopy pole trying to mirror his ever move. I was four when dad took me on my first deer hunt. It was opening weekend, the first Saturday of November in Erath Co. Texas. Dad held my hand as he led the way through the dark to a plywood box blind over looking a wheat field. As light came on this cool crisp morning he started pointing out dark objects in the field. We had four whitetail does within 100 yards of us. As he told me the path they normally traveled you could hear gun shots in the distance of other hunters taking their first deer of the season. After several questions and one being “are you going to shoot one”, dad told me to cover my ears as he settled his cross hairs on a mature doe. Other first hunts quickly followed with my dad like coon hunting with dogs down the Brazos River, and predator hunting which is still a favorite today! Murry Burnham is another hunting mentor. Dad always used Burnham Brothers calls so I knew who Murry was before I knew my kindergarten teacher. Murry is a great guy with lots of knowledge to share. If everything stays to schedule you will see him predator hunting with me on a show this season.

Q: How did you get started in the hunting/Fishing Industry?

 Hunting has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started working at a local bow shop my last year of High School. I learned a lot of stuff working there, and meet a lot of guys that shared my same interest. I took a few guys out on a guided predator hunt and before you knew it I was guiding predator hunts on the side. I also started working with a few ranches booking hunts and guiding. I always had a cheap camcorder and videoed the hunts. Nothing professional just having fun. After an exotic hunt in the hill country of Texas I started looking for places to edit videos. With a very very limited budget I found a place called U Edit Video. They charge you by the hour to use their equipment to edit your footage. After I was done the coolest thing about the video was some text in the opening and the slow motion replay of my bow kill. But hey, that got me started in the filming and editing side of things. This went on through college, literally, and off and on through the years. It was not until about three years ago when I reached a place in my life to take my passion to the next level. I started doing predator hunting seminars at hunting and outdoor expos. I produced my first DVD Xtreme Predator Calling “Preparing for the Hunt”, which went hand in hand with my seminars. Everything started going so fast; with in a few months I started endorsing a couple of hunting products. My first seminar tour I did with some names most all of you will know, David Blanton, Michael Waddell, Roger Ragglin, and Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo. I started getting some help and pointers from some well respected names in the hunting industry. Before I knew it I reached and passed my first goal, which was to produce a hunting video and have it in Cabela’s. Everything was going the direction I wanted it to go and figured it was time to act on every hunters dream, contact The Sportsman Channel and negotiate a contract!

Q: What is the biggest mishap that has happened while filming an episode?

Forget your camera man!? No just kidding. I have had several camera guys’ film for me that have never been on a night time predator hunt, which is legal here in Texas. They all had two things in common, one it was their first time, and two they would forget to push that little red record button. I guess if you have never had a coyote locked on your position, running straight at you in the dark of night, with it all ending in less than a minute, you could forget to push a button. Luckily I have never had any really big mishaps, just the normal things like not having the same shot, forgetting the extra camera battery, or not having enough tape with us in the field.

Q: What was your most memorable hunt?

I went to South Dakota for a pronghorn antelope hunt with my bow this past September. Everyone told me I was risking a show trying to get a pronghorn with my bow. Once they found out I was also doing this in 3 ½ days and spot and stalking, they thought I was crazy. I love a challenge and want to earn every trophy I take. Cody from C & D Outfitters picks us up at the air port and we discuss our strategy on the way to the lodge. The antelope are rutting so our plan was to get with in 150 yards, slowly stand a young pronghorn buck decoy up and use a challenge bugle to get the dominate buck to close the distance. Young bucks are always pestering the dominate buck trying to get to his does. This plan will work, but everything will have to be just right. They have great eye sight and good smell. So this means we have to do lots of belly crawling, play the wind, look and sound good enough to pull him off his does, guess the yardage because there is not even a bush around to range, compensate for any cross wind, and then get great footage for you all to see. We have our work cut out for us. After we unpack I get my bow out and shoot at some targets close to the lodge. This was my first time to hunt in South Dakota, and I was not thinking about the wind blowing as hard as it was. This was just one more thing that could change the outcome of my hunt. As we are driving to an area we will be hunting the first evening, Cody is pointing to pronghorn I can’t even see. It took me like all day to adjust my eyes to the little dots he was calling pronghorn. Once we stopped the truck and got out the little dots ran over the next hill. That’s when I joined everyone else and started having doubts. We walked and belly crawled from sun up to sun down. Had a close call with a good buck on the second day, which we learned a few things from. Passed on a small buck that was in range the third day. Then we spotted a trophy buck around lunch bedded down with five does. They were in a low area with the wind at their back. If we came in from behind they would smell us, so we had to go head on and just belly crawl real slow (did I mention SD has lots of cactus under the prairie grass?). We would crawl for a wile and then glass. I noticed the bucks head keep falling down, he was napping. After we got to about the 175 yard mark I felt we were pushing our luck. The Desert Shadow camo was working great but they can still see movement. Cody and my camera man were to my right and behind me about 30 yards. We slowly stood the decoys up on my go. We were fighting the wind to keep them still, but he had not noticed us yet. As I was getting an arrow knocked behind the decoy I looked out and he was on his way at a good pace. My heart started pounding in my throat and the adrenalin was pumping. I was sitting on my right leg, holding the decoy still with my left, hunched over Knocked and loaded. Everything went instinctively, I drew hunched over low behind the decoy, raised up slow as he was focused on the other decoy, went through the pins, 10, 20, 30, 40, held high adjusted for the wind and let it fly. I watched as he ran back down the hill about 70 yards and piled up. That was a very rewarding hunt. Cody called and said he is in the top 10 for SD, which makes it even sweeter!

Q: Tell us your favorite hunting/fishing joke.

A carload of hunters, looking for a place to hunt, pulled into a farmer's yard. The driver went up to the farmhouse to ask permission to hunt on his land. The old farmer said, "Sure you can hunt, but would you do me a favor? That old mule over there is 20 years old and sick with cancer, but I don't have the heart to kill her. Would you do it for me?
The hunter said, "Sure" and headed for the car. Walking back, however, he decided to pull a trick on his hunting buddies. He got into the car and when they asked if the farmer said it was OK, he said, "No, we can't hunt here, but I'm going to teach that old cuss a lesson." With that, he rolled down his window, stuck his gun out and blasted the mule. As he exclaimed, "There, that will teach him!" A second shot rang out from the passenger side and one of his hunting buddies shouted, "I got the cow!”

Q: How do you spend your time when you’re not hunting or fishing?

I’m either doing seminars at an outdoor/hunting expo, doing appearances & promotional events, or hosting one of my six Xtreme Predator Calling Contest across the state. It’s a year round never ending cycle. In my free time I will be with my wonderful wife Misty and my favorite hunting buddy Hunter! Hunter is one heck of a little baseball player, so Misty and I are very involved with that. My family travels with me every chance they get and we just enjoy all our time together.

Q: What were the worst conditions you ever hunted under? How did it affect the outcome of the trip?

 I guess one would be the pronghorn trip, just because of the physical condition. As I said earlier I love a challenge, and I’m very competitive. My camera guy was pretty exhausted after the hunt, and really didn’t like crawling through cactus. It did not affect us in any negative way; it just made me more grateful for what I accomplished. Another would be battling the cold in Canada hunting whitetail. Cold conditions are hard on anyone, and camera batteries.

Q: What are people always surprised to hear about you?

Well I guess friends and people I know around town are surprised with the success I have had in the hunting industry. There is a ton of guys just like me that have attempted to produce a video or TV show and feel short for various reasons. Its tuff, you just have to stay focused on were your going and deal with all the ups and downs along the way. I do have to say I could not do this if it wasn’t for the help and support of my wonderful wife Misty!

Q: What is your biggest accomplishment/what are you most proud of?

I’m proud to have God and my Family first in my life. I’m proud to be an American and thank the soldiers every day for what they do. I’m proud to be a Texan, love the Lone Star State. I’m proud of my roots and stand strong on what I believe. My biggest accomplishment is my family, achieving my goals, and keeping focus on the direction I’m headed!

Q: What is your favorite hunting spot? Why?

I haven’t been to a place I didn’t love to hunt. I have seen lots of beautiful country, meet lots of great people, and tasted lots of good food. But at least once a year I like to hunt around the areas I did as a kid. Stop in the same old gas stations get a root-bear and some peanuts, or a big red and some pork rines, and go down memory lane. You don’t know were your going if you don’t know were you’ve been. Hunt hard, Hunt safe, & always Hunt the Xtreme!