A Renfrew man who created a modest cable television production as a Butler High student has seen the idea grow into a national show.

Mark Hoffer created "Pennsylvania Back Country," which originally appeared July 2001 on Armstrong Cable Channel 69. It's now on the Sportsman's Channel at least three times a week, with the chance for two additional airings.

Besides creating the show, the 23-year-old also is its cameraman, producer, director and editor. He has more than 10 years of video production training and owns a small business, Hoffer's Video Productions.

"The show's original purpose was to become an entertaining way for viewers to learn more about the outdoors,"Hoffer said. "And we haven't strayed from that."

The show is recorded on location throughout Western Pennsylvania, but as the show continues to gain sponsorships, there are plans to extend recording to all parts of the state.

With host Tom Brown, 56, of Valencia, and co-host Ralph Scherder, 27, of Herman, Hoffer takes pride in the show's many unique aspects.

"We're a Pennsylvania-only show, even though we air nationally,"Hoffer said. "That really sets us apart."

The show offers tips from outdoors people who explain the finer points of their skills so viewers can be more successful. There is plenty to offer, and that is part of the reason the show remains fresh and exciting, Scherder said.

"It's really the human interest side of the outdoors,"he said. "It's very real in the sense that we don't know what's going to happen when we go out, but we make it work."

"It's not just a 'me and Joe went fishing' type of show,"Brown said. "We try to present something that even people in the state might not have thought of before. We really showcase a lot of the unique talents the people here in Pennsylvania have to offer."

Another aspect of "Pennsylvania Back Country" is how it differs from show to show. Unlike some shows that are all fishing or all hunting, it offers a little bit of everything to viewers. Aside from hunting, fishing and trapping, viewers can expect to see segments on such topics as cooking, skinning, gutting and proper handling.

Because the show offers tips from a variety of people, it's never the same show twice, Hoffer said.

Coming up in the next few weeks, Brown will be showing viewers how to make a fly and some other basics in fly fishing. Scherder will be going pheasant hunting in the snow with guest Anthony Chiappini, an avid outdoorsman who has appeared on the show before with his everyday hunting tips.

"He's just a regular outdoorsman with a story to tell,"Hoffer said. "Through talking to him after being on the show before, we found out he does a lot of pheasant hunting, and he offered to take us out sometime."

It's those kinds of features that makes the show so unique, Hoffer said.

"Just when you think you've seen it all, you haven't,"he said.

They say by concentrating on one state, rather than jumping from location to location like other shows do, they can show off Pennsylvania's wildlife.

Both Brown and Scherder offer their unique talents.

Brown hosted a TVshow in Montana called "Laurel Outdoors" for three years. The show did similar things as "Pennsylvania Back Country," but wasn't as in-depth and didn't have the same human interest angle.

He also worked as a guide for an outfitter in Montana.

Scherder is an avid writer, and contributes a weekly article to the show's Web site. He also regularly contributes to magazines such as Field &Stream. He has won awards for his short stories, and is the author of "The Taxidermist's Son."

Brown had met Hoffer's father while both were teaching at Butler Intermediate High School. Hoffer was a student at the time, and the two were brought together because of their common interest in the outdoors.

Hoffer had also been in contact with Scherder through e-mail for a period of time while Hoffer was on break from college. When he found out the show would be picked up by The Sportsman's Channel, he again contacted Scherder and invited him to join the show.

In addition to expanding the show's locations, there also are plans to expand the show's Web site — www.pabackcountry.com —, and make it more like a community, and more interactive for viewers, Scherder said.

The show also can be seen on www.MyOutdoorTV.com.

<B>WHAT: </B>Pennsylvania Back Country television program<B>WHEN: </B>airs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 8 a.m. Thursdays and 12:30 p.m. Fridays, with optional airings at 1:30 a.m. Tuesdays and 4:30 p.m. Sundays.<B>WHERE: </B>Armstrong Channel 459<B>WEB: </B>www.pabackcountry.comShow can be seen at www.myoutdoortv.com