How is greatness measured? In the world of hunting, either the number of animals taken or perhaps the size of animals usually measures it. Some might add the variety of animals someone has been able to hunt successfully.
However, if greatness is also measured by humility, a deep passion for faith, family, and career along with longevity in a male-dominated industry, then we are talking about only one person in the outdoor industry. That is Vicki Cianciarulo.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Vicki Cianciarulo for some time now, and of the many accomplishments she has, and believe me there are many, the thing that stands out about Vicki is her love for her family and her genuine sincere kindness towards all people. As a mutual friend once said, “Vicki is good. She is just good.”
Before you turn the page and think I am just blowing a trumpet, hang on a bit more, and you will see what I mean.
In the 1990’s, well before Outdoor TV and social media fame, Vicki was hauling bait to bear stands, skinning and packing caribou across the tundra, and helping her husband, Ralph, build an award-winning business that has flourished for more than three decades. And she has enjoyed every minute of it.
Vicki and Ralph were the first couple in the outdoor video and later television arena. Starting in the early 1990’s with instructional VHS tapes, graduating to DVD’s and eventually television, Vicki broke the “couple barrier” in outdoor television. She didn’t just break the barrier, she set the bar for all other female hunters to follow. No one has done it better or with more humility, class, or genuineness as Vicki Cianciarulo.
Having spent time with her and Ralph on many occasions, I assure you that how you see her on their award-winning “Archers Choice” or “The Choice” television shows is exactly how she is all the time – fun-loving, witty, sincere, and real. Vicki is as real as it gets, and that comes across on the screen and resonates with her millions of fans.
Here is one simple testament to their humility. Ralph and Vicki both refuse to enter any of their trophies in the Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett record books. When questioned about this, she explains, “We believe we have an advantage over other hunters because we get to hunt for a living.” But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t taken her share of trophies. On the contrary, I could make a good argument that if she entered her animals, her trophies would rival any female hunter who has ever hunted across the globe. From Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, all over Canada and across the USA, giant trophies have fallen to bow and gun. In short, Vicki is an excellent hunter and outdoorswoman.
Some of her most impressive trophies include several brown bears, most of the caribou species, giant moose, and Muskox. She says her most famous trophy is a 203 5/8” free-range whitetail she took in Colorado while her husband Ralph filmed the hunt. In my opinion, her New Zealand Red Stag is mind numbing! Of course, she didn’t get it scored either.
If you ask Vicki what her favorite animal is to hunt, she will debate between bears and moose. She is adamant that she loves the wilderness hunts the most. “Being out in God’s creation away from the noise of everyday life are some of the most memorable hunts,” according to Vicki. Whether it is in the Yukon after moose, New Zealand for red stag, or Canada hunting black bears, Vicki gets it done wherever she has the opportunity to hunt. On one trip to the Yukon, Vicki took a giant bull moose with her Hoyt bow at 5 feet. Yes, you read that correctly, 5 feet!
In talking with Vicki about her hunting experience, one of the most fascinating things I learned was that she began hunting in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2004, a full 17 years later, that she took her first animal with a firearm. All of her previous animals were taken with her Hoyt bow. To top it off, her first animal with a rifle was a Dall sheep ram! On that epic hunt, she and Ralph both took mature rams only minutes apart.
To recognize her accomplishments as an archer, long-time bow sponsor Hoyt introduced the first female signature bow, affectionately known as the “Vicki Cianciarulo signature VICXON.” Since the bow is designed for female archers, this is one of the things she highlights as an accomplishment she is most proud of. “When I started hunting, everything was designed for men – clothes, bows, guns. Everything was designed for men, and women had to adapt. Today, more and more companies are designing things for female hunters.” Vicki has had a significant role in many of those designs, from the Hoyt bows to SHE Outdoors women’s clothing, and even boots designed for women.
If clothing or equipment has benefited women in the outdoors, on many of those occasions, it is because Vicki Cianciarulo has played a part in either developing or designing for other female hunters.
Ralph and Vicki are in their 23rd year on the Outdoor Channel, one of the longest running programs in outdoor television history. Through these years, we have watched as she grew as a hunter and as an ambassador for living the outdoor lifestyle.
When asked about her success Vicki fidgets because she doesn’t like to talk about herself. She prefers to push the accolades to others. But when pressed she says, “I have been blessed to be married to my best friend and to get to hunt for a living. God has given us wonderful opportunities to travel the world and do what we love and to share that with millions of fans.” That’s about as much as you will get out of her. But I pressed a bit more and asked if she considers herself a role model for other female hunters. “If I am considered a role model,” Vicki pauses, uneasy with the question, “I hope it is more in how I love my family and how I treat people more than the hunter I am.” Without hesitation, I agree that Vicki is a role model, not just for women in the outdoors, but for us all.
Vicki Cianciarulo was the right person at the right place in the right time. Every couple on outdoor television, or anywhere else in the outdoor space, owe her and Ralph a debt of gratitude for tearing down the barriers and setting the bar for the rest to follow.
Could someone else have done this? Maybe. But you would be hard pressed to find one who could do it so well and carry themselves with as much grace and humility as Vicki Cianciarulo.
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