The problems of videography complexity has come up previously. The more things you have to do to get video, the more complex the gear, the more there will be a problem. Such was the hunt last night.

My regular scope is being upgraded and so I had been using a borrowed Pulsar Apex XD50 and last night I was using my Photon XT. I had hunted with it several times, but had not shot anything with it. I had charged the UNV MDVR, checked the charge, and installed it on the rifle. I did not do a system check once installed and that was my downfall.

Hog came in, sensed something wasn't right after sniffing in 4 directions (security check), and then headed back out in a different direction. I was trying to get the MDVR running when he took off. He's trotting and explicatives were flowing from my mouth as I had to change windows, open the new window, and get the rifle up, still trying to get the MDVR to come on.

I shot the hog after he stopped to do another security check...about 50 yards from where he checked 4 directions.

He went down and shuffled for a bit and then got his hind legs up and started driving away, his front legs not working. Another shot to the neck ended all activity.

So what went wrong on the recording. I fiddled with the wires and everything else, checking connections and such. Turns out I had a repeat problem that I thought I had addressed. The MDVR has a neat little "lock" sliding switch that will not allow the unit to come on if in LOCK position. If you aren't careful, you can lock it by accident. So I put a piece of duct tape over it to keep it from moving after this happened early last year. Well apparently the tape had slid a bit, the switch had been moved just a bit, and the lock had been engaged.

It is amazing what can go wrong. I have forgotten my SD card, had a cable not be plugged in, had the LOCK engage inadvertently, had the battery compartment on the scope come open (stops the recording and use of scope, LOL), dead battery in MDVR, etc.

MOST of these problems can be addressed successfully by doing due diligence to make sure everything is properly set up before you start hunting and rechecked when you get into the stand. Sometimes, however, things just go wrong.

Photon XT Digital Sight
Colt AR15 Monolithic 5.56
SSA loaded Barnes TSX 70 gr. ammo
95 yards
200 lbs.

AT LEAST YOU POPPED THE HOG

You learned a valuable lesson, hunting with any other gun besides the MTGP will result in your equipment revolting

Glad you popped the porker!

Ain't Technology Wonderful? Well, yes it is but the main activity was to nail the hog, which you accomplished.

Such is the journey. I had the same problem the other night. Well, same in that my recorder failed. We seem to visit the inability to get recordings often. If it isn't one thing, it's something else.

In my case I had charged the battery before leaving the house. I checked it for operation on my weapon before I headed out to hunt. Everything was good to go. I checked it once I was set up...all is well... When the hogs appeared I started and stopped the recording a couple of times trying to get the hog I wanted lined up right. The recorder was making its normal sounds. Nothing to alert me of an issue.

The shot takes place and I stop the recording after a period of time. I round up the hog and head back. Once settled I take the recorder and pouch out to view the happenings. I discover the old SD card issue wherein the recorder gets pushed in a bit too hard and it releases the card. Or so I thought...not sure now. Turns out that my recorder is completely dead...won't come on at all. So, I don't know if the SD card popping out happened before or after the shot, but it hadn't indicated that...and I have no idea when or how the recorder died. Such is the life I guess...but we do seem to revisit this more often than we would prefer.

BTW, on the lock button...I glued mine so it couldn't switch to lock.

Here is my hog from the other night...200 pounds..

Yeah, dfw, I was thinking of you as I was going through my issues. Nice hog.

Congrats on another successful hunt.. I also use the Barnes TSX 70 grain and it works very well on pigs.

Sorry to hear about the recording troubles. To eliminate the risk of accidentally hitting that lock button I would suggest using the custom molle MDVR pouch instead of the standard cheaper leather pouch. I would also suggest mounting the MDVR on your stock vs a rail to eliminate any recoil issues. The custom molle MDVR pouch is designed to eliminated the SD card issue and the lock/unlock issue by providing a little extra space where needed around the MDVR. The molle pouch also gives you a nice spot to mount the trigger switch, stow any extra cable, and gives the MDVR more protection from dust and moisture. I was out last night and it was drizzling pretty much the entire night. The molle pouch got wet, but the MDVR was still dry. It's a pretty slick setup. Here are a couple pics:


I also use bow tape to secure the video cable to the buffer tape. Bow tape is thin, so it won't mess with your charging handle like horse wrap will. It's not a close up, but you can see how I have it mounted here:

Every piece of gear has its issues. You learn to deal with them. The custom case is nice, especially in regard to the moisture aspect. Very good!

Nice shooting guys! Lots of DEAD Hogs!

The pouch looks nice....prolly need to try one. I've never mounted my recorder anywhere but the stock. I think a lot of the issues are just the nature of the beast. Any product that helps or anything we can grow from and learn helps.