Editor’s Note: Jim Shockey has two TV shows on the Outdoor Channel - “Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures” that has been running for 13 years, and his new show “Uncharted.” Also, he’s been an outfitter in Canada, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and British Columbia for 25 years.
Eva Shockey is an employee of the Jim Shockey TV shows. Too, Eva may be the person you don’t see in many of Jim Shockey’s TV shows, because she’s behind the camera filming her dad. She crawls through the mud, she climbs the mountains, and she carries the equipment. Often, she directs her dad while she’s shooting the TV shows that her brother Branlin produces. But Eva Shockey isn’t behind the camera very much, since usually, her dad is filming her. She and her dad have become a powerful dynamic duo in the outdoor television business. When they go to trade shows and autograph signings, Eva often gets more attention than Jim, which makes her dad very proud. Eva isn’t just another pretty female on an outdoor TV show. She’s a hard-working professional who is as comfortable behind the camera as she is in front of the camera. Being with her dad makes her work really fun for her.
There's an old saying that’s very applicable to Eva’s present and future, “Even an eagle will throw its chick out of the nest, when it’s time for the chick to fly.” This past season Jim Shockey has encouraged Eva to have a cameraman to film her as she hunts on her own. With this new responsibility, Eva is not only the host, but she’s also the director. This means she must make sure her cameraman gets all the footage that her brother Branlin will need to produce the show. She also has to find the animals, locate a place to shoot from, whether it’s with a rifle or bow, and has to know when she can and can’t take the shot to make sure the cameraman can see her and the animal before she squeezes the trigger or releases the arrow. Eva has a very bright future in the outdoor industry.
When Mossy Oak talked with Jim Shockey and asked the question that a number of people have been asking, “Jim, when are you going to help Eva get her own TV show?” Jim smiled and gave an answer we weren’t expecting. “I've been very fortunate to be able to follow my dreams, live the life I've always wanted to live and do the things I've always wanted to do. I'm giving that same opportunity to Eva. With a TV show, you have many demands on your time to hunt, fish and travel all over the world and also to work with your sponsors and the people who watch your TV show. Eva is very family-oriented. She’s getting married this spring. Now, she’ll have to plan her future according to what she and her husband’s plans are for their family. If Eva comes to me and says, ‘Dad, I want my own TV show.’ Of course, I’ll do everything I can do to help her. But if Eva comes to me and says, ‘Dad, we want to start our family. I want to have time to raise my children and build my family,’ then I’ll be just as excited, if not more excited, than if she wants a TV show. Just as I've been able to determine what I want to do with my life and how I spend my time, I want Eva to have that same freedom to do and be what she wants to do and be. Her life is really up to her. I’ll support her in whatever she wants to do and whenever and however she wants do it.”
On this YouTube video link, Eva tells you where she’s at, and what she sees in her future. We hope you’ve enjoyed looking behind the scenes of two Mossy Oak pros - Jim and Eva Shockey and see how they exemplify Mossy Oak’s emphasis on family ties.
Day 4: Eva Shockey Explains Why Someone Like Her Got into Hunting
