DENVER – With sad hearts, Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG) learns of the passing of Jim Scoutten, co-host of the Shooting USA television program on Outdoor Channel and one of the most iconic voices in the shooting sports industry. Scoutten was 77 years old.
Scoutten was a vital figure at OSG, with his TV series and resilient voice for Second-Amendment rights.
“Jim leaves a strong legacy as a tireless defender of shooting, firearms, and our Second-Amendment rights,” said Mitch Petrie, Vice President of Programming for Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks. “His voice was unique and powerful; we will honor Jim by continuing the endless fight to defend the Constitution and support his family and team as they forge a new future for Shooting USA.”
A Franklin, Tenn. resident, Scoutten’s firm but gentle voice and familiar smile were eagerly welcomed into the homes of America’s shooting enthusiasts for three decades, an invitation that made him the most watched firearms reporter in industry history thanks to his knowledge of firearms, his passion for the shooting sports, and journalistic integrity that marked his long career.
A mainstream news reporter at the beginning of that career, Scoutten worked initially as a reporter for All News Radio. Upon graduation from broadcasting school, he began his career with television news stints happening in several cities across the US, where Scoutten would hold down spots as a reporter, anchor, producer, and news director.
In the early 1990s, Scoutten became a Special Interest Reporter and covered such topics as motorsports, switching to shooting sports when the opportunity arose. That led to a role as producer of the American Shooter television show in 1993, a show that Scoutten produced and hosted for the better part of a decade as he worked in a field and covered a topic that he was passionate about as a firearms industry enthusiast and staunch defender of the Second Amendment.
During his tenure, the American Shooter TV program became the highest-rated outdoors television program in history, garnering more than one million fans nationwide.
In recent years, Scoutten has participated in the Shooting USA program, a show he co-hosted with his eldest son, John, and the Sighting In with Shooting USA program. Both series appear on Outdoor Channel and full seasons on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
A part of thousands of shows during his legendary career, Scoutten was inducted into Garry Mason’s Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2018 after his 25th year of shooting sports broadcasting. Incidentally, his son John, a competition shooter and veteran TV host and producer in his own right, received the same honor that his father did the following year.
Last summer, he appeared on The Revolution Outdoors radio show and offered his thoughts on safeguarding schools from shootings. Instead of a quick fix sought by vote-seeking politicians, he suggested equipping staff and teachers with practical violence response training that could serve as a crucial and life-saving measure for school districts nationwide.
While the firearms industry and shooting sports world try to soak in the sad news of his passing, it’s also a great time to remember the smiling face and familiar words that Scoutten spoke into the TV cameras so often during his career:
“As always, shoot safely, shoot often, and keep ’em in the 10 ring.”
