Jim Shockey (born 1957) is a Canadian

outdoor writer Outdoor literature is a literature genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different subgenres including exploration literature, adventure literature, mountain literature and nature writing. Another subgenre i ...

, a professional big game outfitter and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

and host for many hunting shows. Shockey is the former producer and host of ''Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures'' and ''Jim Shockey's Uncharted'' on

Outdoor Channel Outdoor Channel is an American pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, Western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. The network can be viewed on multiple platforms including ...

and ''Jim Shockey's The Professionals'' on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel. He is a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), serving the rank Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (HLCol) of the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group. His hunting adventures have spanned six continents and 50 countries. Shockey has been called by Outdoor Life magazine "the most accomplished big-game hunter of the modern era, having taken arguably the most free-range big game species by any living hunter." They also noted that he is "the most influential celebrity in big-game hunting."

Life history

Shockey was born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Shockey was formerly an All-American swimmer in university and later played on the National

waterpolo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

team for six years. Shockey participated in both the 1978 and 1982 world championships but did not attend the 1980 Olympics because of the international boycott against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Shockey is considered to be one of the world's foremost experts on the Ethnocentric Folk Art forms from

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

"About Jim Shockey"
and is an avid collector of

Tribal art Tribal art is the visual arts and material culture of indigenous peoples. Also known as non-Western art or ethnographic art, or, controversially, primitive art, Dutton, Denis, Tribal Art'. In Michael Kelly (editor), ''Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. ...

and artifacts from around the world. His collections have appeared several times in publications such as

Country Living ''Country Living'' is an American lifestyle and home magazine published by the Hearst Corporation since 1978. The monthly magazine focuses on food, home renovation, home decor, DIY and lifestyle. The magazine hosts four Country Living Fairs a ye ...

and Century Home. Shockey got married in the early 1980s to Louise, who was an actress, and the couple have two children. Branlin and Eva Shockey have both joined Shockey in his hunting and entertainment business.

Professional career

Shockey is a member of the Pro Staff or a brand ambassador for Leupold Optics, Stealth Cam, Nosler,

Crosman Crosman Corporation is an American designer, manufacturer and supplier of shooting sport products, with a long-standing presence in airgun design and a tradition of producing pellet and BB guns. Crosman is also a producer of many varieties of a ...

/Benjamin, Yeti Coolers, Christensen Arms, and a partner of Bowtech. In May 2016, Shockey become the co-founding partner of BookYourHunt.com, an online marketplace for hunting trips, claiming that the company’s “focus on transparency and ethical hunting” and the novel approach to connecting outfitters with hunters was “something that will benefit the hunting industry for years to come.”

Television series

Shockey hosted three TV series that appear on outdoor lifestyle TV networks Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel, ''Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures'', ''Jim Shockey's UNCHARTED'', and ''Jim Shockey's The Professionals''. His daughter, Eva Shockey, acted as co-host on ''Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures''. Between 2009 and 2015, Shockey won 15 awards at the annual

"Golden Moose" Awards and won one award at

Sportsman Channel Sportsman Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Outdoor Sportsman Group subsidiary of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel is dedicated to programming about outdoor sports, incl ...

's "Sportsman Choice" Awards of 2014. In 2016, the two networks joined forces and hosted the "Outdoor Sportsman Awards" ceremony, and in 2017 Shockey won the "Outdoor Sportsman Awards" for Best Overall TV Series. In 2018, he was bestowed two Fan Favorite awards for Uncharted: Best Big Game Hunting Series and Best Education/Entertainment Series. In 2019, Shockey was honored with an award for Best Sound Design for Hunting Adventures and Fan Favorite Best Big Game Hunting Series for Uncharted.

Awards

Shockey has received numerous accolades for his work in the outdoors. From

Safari Club International Safari Club International (SCI) is a US organization composed of hunters dedicated to protecting the freedom to hunt. SCI has more than 50,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI members agree to abide by the organization's code of ethics, whi ...

he won the Fourth Pinnacle of Achievement Award in 2008; the Zenith Award, Crowning Achievement Award, Professional Hunter Award and the C.J. McElroy Award in 2009; the World Hunting Award in 2010; and was named International Hunter of the Year and received the World Conservation & Hunting Award in 2012. In 2016, he received the Conklin Award, which recognizes the world's greatest active hunter who pursues game in the most difficult terrain and conditions while abiding by the highest standards of ethics and fair chase. In 2018, Shockey was awarded the Ovis Award, the top award of GSCO which "recognizes individuals who have had an overwhelming passion for hunting the mountains and doing so in fair chase and with total integrity." Shockey was named winner of the 2018 Weatherby Hunting and Conservation Award, bestowed upon those that have ethically taken the most varied, difficult, and largest number of species in the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shockey, Jim 1957 births Living people Canadian hunters Sportspeople from Saskatoon