How it all began.
Wolf Creek Productions, Inc. began producing the “American Birdhunter®” television series in 1998, and it was the first bird hunting show to air on Outdoor Channel. The original host was Dave “The General” Gruber. Despite having no prior television experience, Dave shared his love of hunting and vast knowledge of game birds with the audience. His devotion to his bird dogs became the cornerstone of the show, and he became one of the more popular hosts on Outdoor Channel. The General beamed with pride when the show won it’s first national awards for broadcast excellence in the early 2000’s, including a Golden Moose award and a coveted Teddy Roosevelt award.
Dave passed away unexpectedly just before Christmas, 2005.
One of the many friends Dave made through “American Birdhunter®” was the legendary Tom Knapp. Tom was an unparalleled talent with a shotgun and rose to fame as one of his generation’s top exhibition shooters.
After the tragic loss of Dave Gruber in late 2005, Tom graciously agreed to take over the reins as host of the show. His keen wit and love of his labs, Abby and Sophie, helped take the popularity of the series to a new level. The series continued it’s successful run, winning multiple awards during Tom’s run as host. Due to severe illness, Tom passed away in 2013 at the age of 62.
Before his passing, Tom was a sponsored celebrity shooter for CZ-USA and he developed a relationship with David Miller. David would then reach out to Wolf Creek Productions to discuss the possibility of the two companies working together and continuing the bird hunting television series.
Wolf Creek then recruited the hosts of another bird hunting series they had produced for Outdoor Channel called “The Wingshooter.” Bruce Horrell and Randy Lack hosted “American Birdhunter®” for Seasons 16 and 17, joined by David Miller. The show was then re-branded as “GunDog TV, Presented by CZ-USA” and remained that for 7 seasons.
Now, we have returned back to our roots and the “American Birdhunter®” has completed it’s 18th season on it’s original home, Outdoor Channel.
Season 18 is also available to stream on My Outdoor TV .
We are currently in production for Season 19, which will air on Outdoor Channel Spring 2024.
