Last Updated on Friday, 6 July 2012 07:44 Written by Liz Friday, 6 July 2012 07:44

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It all began in 1998, with an idea between a couple of friends, Jack Peterson and Dale Caldwell, to put together a hunting video. That idea turned into a commitment, which then turned into a video and TV production company – Bridger Trail Video.

The Television Show

In 2000 and 2001, Jack and Dale started acquiring footage for a typical hunting video. Soon they had enough footage gathered that their idea for a video morphed into the idea of putting together an entire television show dedicated to hunting. However, at that time, only a limited number of networks carried that sort of outdoor programming, and the partners struggled to find air time. But in January of 2003, Bridger Trail Video landed a spot on the Sportsman’s Channel – one of the first few shows on that new channel. “The Best of The West” ran on Sportsman’s for a year, then started moving around the dial – they moved after just a year to The Man’s Channel, since that channel had a broader audience base on both Dish Network and Direct TV. After only a year or so on The Man’s Channel, they aired on networks such as VS., The Men’s Channel, and the Pursuit Channel, before finding their current home on The Outdoor Channel. Since their debut in 2003, “The Best of the West” has produced over 180 episodes, and is still going strong. According to Nielsen ratings from 2010, “The Best of the West” reached 4.7 million households last year alone.

The Products

The long range equipment featured on “The Best of the West” came about as a result of viewers’ response to the television show. The feedback that the producers were getting was primarily related to the long range shooting that was highlighted on the show, as theirs was the first television show to feature shots beyond 500 yards. There was an overwhelming interest from viewers in the kind of equipment it took to make those shots. So they developed a video called “How To Shoot Beyond Belief” (which has sold tens of thousands of copies since its introduction). And the company determined they needed to start producing both optics and rifles to meet the demand created from the television show and the video. Best of the West has recently teamed up with Cooper Firearms of Montana to manufacture and build the best high-quality precision shooting systems in the industry. And Huskemaw scopes are the highest quality, most user-friendly optics system in the outdoor industry that includes bullet drop and a windage-enabled reticle and turret system.

Today the long-range hunting equipment market is still rapidly growing – Best of the West has produced and sold products in the United States, Canada and numerous other countries around the world. And yet, Best of the West’s vision statement has not changed – we strive to produce and market cutting edge products and technology that allows hunters and shooters to expand their level of competency in long range shooting.