Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have either heard of or watched one of the best hunting shows on television produced by Zing Outdoor Adventures. I recently was able to catch-up with my good friend Jason Matzinger, who is the CEO of Zing Outdoor Adventures and host of Into High Country. We discussed the ride he has had to building one of the best hunting shows on television.
For a little background, Jason is a born and raised Montana dude! Jason was fortunate to have been brought up in an outdoor centric household. Jason would frequently go on hunting trips with his father, Tim (who can be seen on some episodes of Into High Country) and his father’s good friend George Dieruf (George and his family have owned and operated The Powder Horn Sporting Goods Store in Bozeman since 1946). Jason captured his first hunt on film with his friend Ryan in Montana on an elk. It was on this hunt that sparked Jason’s interest in capturing hunts on film. As Jason got older, he became a professional guide for elk, deer and antelope. It wasn’t long after that Jason realized the significance of capturing hunts on film to share with family and friends.
Jason’s preferred weapon of choice is the bow, more specifically his Prime Centroid bow! In his own words, “I just love the thrill”! His current archery setup is centered around his Prime Centroid bow. He has dressed up the Centroid with a Trophy Taker rest, AXT stabilizer, quiver and sight. With this setup he enjoys hunting elk the most. The thrill and skill of calling in a bull into bow range and hearing the bugle of elk gets his blood pumping!
Jason has taken a lot of respectable and coveted big game animals thus far on his journey. He stated that the toughest hunt he has been on was a Mountain Goat hunt with his good friend John Edwards of Schnee’s in British Columbia. It was the longest, mentally and physically challenging hunt either had done. It is difficult enough for two hunters trying to get one goat, but imagine trying to get two goats on the same trip!
“Sheep hunting is something that old retired goat hunters do”! – unknown
Fast forward to date, Jason’s latest premium hunting television show, Into High Country displays his free range hunting adventures throughout the west.
The name “Into High Country” was inspired the crisp, clean mental picture it paints in your mind when you read it or say it aloud. Jason felt that this type of outdoor show was missing from television. And that there was nobody out there truly capturing the essence of Western Hunting in the backcountry.
One of the great aspects of Into High Country is that Jason and crew stop to film the beautiful scenery that surrounds them during their adventures. The hunts are free range and “real”! There are no “TV personalities” or fake situations, this is just hunting in its dramatic fashion.
To backup the image of the show that Jason and team have created they have partnered with some of the best outdoor brands in the industry. With the likes of the partners such as Sitka Gear, Schnees, G5 Prime, Vortex, AXT, Trophy Taker, Montana Decoy, Montana Canvas to name a few!
The long-term vision of Into High Country is to be the most watched outdoor show, have it on more channels than just hunting channels with the HD quality of the Planet Earth Series done by Discovery Channel! How is that for an outdoor show?!
This season’s line-up will have some great episodes like Muleys in Montana, Jason and his dad put down two great Whitetails in Saskatoon. One episode will be of Jason and one of his cameramen Barrett discussing their scariest experiences, including some footage of bears charging them!
I like to ask what are some of the essential gear that hunters like to have with them on every trip, besides their weapon. I think I stumped Jason on this one, as I limit the selection to only five items… He quickly regrouped as stated his five things were his Sitka Gear, Mystery Ranch Longbow Pack, headlamp, Gerber knife 7 saw combo and his Schnee’s boots.
I asked Jason to provide a few interesting things about himself that most people don’t know. He responded without hesitation, “I believe in Karma, honesty is the best policy and I live and practice these everyday”! He really enjoys receiving feedback from the viewer, seeing their faces and shaking their hands.
He added a tip to all newbie Western Hunters, in that you should use good optics, instead of boot leather! Jason loves to glass for animals as it saves energy, you can really study the animal and allows you to put together a good game plan on sneaking in on that animal. Jason once sat and glassed a black bear for two days, before going in and getting that bear.
Here is the teaser trailer to this season’s Into High Country
Into High Country Season 2 Opener from Jason Matzinger on Vimeo.
Keep your eyes peeled and set those DVRs to record every episode of Into High Country! Pursuit Channel – Saturdays 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays 1:30 a.m. (EST) Wild TV – Fridays 10:00 a.m., Fridays 4:00 p.m., Mondays 3:30 a.m. (EST) You can also follow along with Jason and team on these Social Media outlets: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IntoHighCountry Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonMatzinger http://www.zingoutdoors.com http://www.intohighcountry.com
