Jim Shockey has come a long way in his career and has worn many hats in addition to his trademark black cowboy hat. Jim has been an outfitter for several different big game animals for many years, including black bear, whitetail, all the big game animals of the Yukon, and more. All during that time, he was methodically hunting for himself in addition to helping his clients.

He began early in his career specializing by almost exclusively using a muzzleloader. Later, he had to get away from that somewhat, because it is impossible to hunt with a muzzleloader in many countries. This is due to several reasons, not the least of which is the matter of getting powder shipped in for it. He certainly limited himself through the years by using this method, but there is no doubt that he worked diligently at it.

Jim began his TV career by producing high-quality videos and moved on to the most popular outdoor television program of recent times. To hunt with a muzzleloader while being followed by a cameraman added many limitations to Jim’s mountain hunting. Once again, he worked at it, and his success proves that.

As for the Grand Slam, Jim completed his first one (#983) way back in 2001. Since it was completed with a muzzleloader, he holds the distinction of being listed as Muzzleloader Slam #2. Jim has a total of 12 North American rams to his credit, and on New Year’s Day 2017, he completed his second Grand Slam (with a traditional rifle, not a muzzleloader).

As for the Capra World Slam, that came next for Jim in 2008. He completed his Ovis World Slam in 2010 to get to Triple Slam #139. And obviously he did not stop there. He went on to a Capra Super 20 in 2010 and an Ovis Super 20 in 2014. It is a bit ironic that he completed his Ovis Super 30 and Capra Super 30 within five days of each other in October 2015.

Mixed in with all that Ovis and Capra hunting are Muzzleloader Ovis and Capra World Slams. Jim is up to 34 on the Ovis list and 33 on the Capra. He has 51 total rams and 50 different Capras, so there are several multiples on his mountain hunting list.

We could go on and on about Jim Shockey. We would like to point out one more time that he achieved all of his mountain hunting accomplishments while outfitting, producing spectacular outdoor TV programs and videos, and had a cameraman in tow for the majority of his hunts. Considering all of this, and so much more, we are proud to honor Jim as the 2018 recipient of the OVIS.