Why I've lost interest in hunting shows.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Now, that funny thare.  Reminds me of that comedian on the TV.  Now whats his nameeee?

[WNYBuckHunter]

And you know that stuff has happened in real life too. I see it now, guy all decked out in scent lok on stand pooping his pants from too much chili and beer. I bet that type of guy gambles on a fart in the stand and looses cause he can't get down fast enough.  ???

Kinda funny you mention that. One of my buddies that I used to hunt with alot (not very much any more) and I used to laugh about using Scent Lok and if farts get trapped in them and then wafting you as it escapes through the collar.  ;D

[WNYBuckHunter]

That is pretty darn funny!!!  Hunting has got to be the only pastime in the world that can appreciate that type of joking around!

Nah, we do the same type of stuff on the golf course and while working on cars, etc in the shop. Well, we dont fart in each other's faces, but you know what I mean. 

[gjs4]

The early comparisons to porn were right on.....just made for entertaining a bunch of lonely guys who cant get the same stuff to happen in their yard.... makes motivation disappear and the drooling idiot consumer come out armed with ideas fo products helping them make it to the "big leagues".

[Buckfever85]

I agree with all the big time shows it is ridiculous the amount of money they put into those hunts. The every day average joe cant do that kind of stuff or he would be in debt. There is one hunting show that i rather enjoy and that is Gun it with Benny Spyes

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Yeah Gun it is pretty good. The guy doesn't fit the description of a typical hunter.

[First-light]

I started the thread and just want to post that I did watch another episode or Realtree roadtrips, Wadell hunts with his son Mason. It was a nice show, he gets the kid out there and has to pass on a real nice buck late into the evening hunt. The kid ends up taking a half rack 8 pt. I enjoyed the show, the kids are our future in hunting, get them out there!

[gjs4]

Huntingbeast.com new webshow

Whitetailsinc.com web show

Deer & deer hunting

Growing Deer

the rest are product porn

[pawle76]

I think todays "hunting" shows aren't hunting at all. Said pro hunter (thats funny in itself) arrives at a guided hunting lodge/property where the guides have done all the work. Food plots, treestands hung,blinds brushed in, they have hundreds of trail camera pics of huge bucks that they know so well they even name them. Tells the "pro" where he/she will hunt. They wake up, go to stand, wait, buck comes in, shots made, deer found and then they go on about how hard the hunt was and how much time was put in. Thank the sponsors and do it all over again somewhere else. Sorry that is not hunting. Let's see Wadell and all the other come to the catskills where we hunt. I want to see them film that. I'm tired of all the shows in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas. I know the deer are huge in places like that but why can't they film shows in the North East ? PA.,NY, even ME. Some of them do a lot of hard work for their deer like Lakosky and the Kisky's but most of them don't. The Busbice's really tick me off especially Matt. They get in their private jet and fly off to some big buck mecca every week. Makes me sick.

[nyantler]

I think todays "hunting" shows aren't hunting at all. Said pro hunter (thats funny in itself) arrives at a guided hunting lodge/property where the guides have done all the work. Food plots, treestands hung,blinds brushed in, they have hundreds of trail camera pics of huge bucks that they know so well they even name them. Tells the "pro" where he/she will hunt. They wake up, go to stand, wait, buck comes in, shots made, deer found and then they go on about how hard the hunt was and how much time was put in. Thank the sponsors and do it all over again somewhere else. Sorry that is not hunting. Let's see Wadell and all the other come to the catskills where we hunt. I want to see them film that. I'm tired of all the shows in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas. I know the deer are huge in places like that but why can't they film shows in the North East ? PA.,NY, even ME. Some of them do a lot of hard work for their deer like Lakosky and the Kisky's but most of them don't. The Busbice's really tick me off especially Matt. They get in their private jet and fly off to some big buck mecca every week. Makes me sick.

I feel the same way.. let them come to the "Dacks" and see what kind of hunters they really are...some of the local guys here in NY have way better hunting footage that is real stuff...

[WNYBuckHunter]

Most of the shows arent geared toward hard core hunters, its mass marketing of hunting gear, thats all. That said, how many of you guys wouldnt do what those guys do for a living? If the opportunity presented itself to me, I know for a fact I would do it in a heartbeat.

[bubba]

I do not think I could sell myself out like that. I prefer making an honest living. All that tine away from home, pretty girls around. They are not hunters, they are sitters. They sit where they are told, shoot what they are told and say product names when told. Kind of like hunting prostitutes. If they had to actually put in time to scout find a good place set up and do the work, they would not be successful for sure. Canned hunts through and through

[biggamefish]

I think it would leave a bad taste in my mouth that is for sure. I bet they make some pretty good money though and if you never lost track of your roots you could have some major land with your own way to hunt and not be like those tv shows. Plus you never know maybe start your own show and show people how it really is out there. Not just climb in a big fenced in area and shoot big bucks all day.

[pawle76]

Most of the shows arent geared toward hard core hunters, its mass marketing of hunting gear, thats all. That said, how many of you guys wouldnt do what those guys do for a living? If the opportunity presented itself to me, I know for a fact I would do it in a heartbeat.

Oh I would love doing that for a living. But I think if I were lucky enough to have my own show I would gear it towards hunting in other states besides the big ones for whitetail. NY and that general are. I would also focus more on what the "average" hunter does. No guided hunts. All DIY hunts, public and or private land. Maybe also focus more on the tradition of hunting camps. You know the friends, family, food, story telling and so on. Talk about passing on the tradition to the younger generation. I would think there would be a huge market for that type of show. Tred Barta kind of touched on some of that stuff and there were guys like Joe DeFalco but for the most part shows today are like watching an infomercial.

[pawle76]

I do not think I could sell myself out like that. I prefer making an honest living. All that tine away from home, pretty girls around. They are not hunters, they are sitters. They sit where they are told, shoot what they are told and say product names when told. Kind of like hunting prostitutes. If they had to actually put in time to scout find a good place set up and do the work, they would not be successful for sure. Canned hunts through and through

You're right. You know what kills me ? The woman hunters who go out there wearing so much makeup. I could almost smell their perfume through the TV !

[Doc]

I think it would be an excellent way of turning something I enjoy into drudgery. Listen to Jim Shocky(sp?) on his program, "The Professionals". He definitely conveys the idea that he considers it all to be a lot of work and grief with heavy pressures to perform. Not at all what most people picture it. I'm not sure whether that is all just some added drama to add to the show or whether that is the real way that it is. However, I can see where hunting for a weekly deadline could put some horrendous pressure on an activity that we mostly enjoy for recreation. Think about it ...... hunting with deadlines.

As far as hawking products, I don't see any problems with that. That is the part that pays the bills, and a lot of personalities in other areas of entertainment industry have no problem doing it. On the other hand, publicly saying something about a product that I don't believe might pose some ethical dilemma ...... not sure.

[nyantler]

Oh I would love doing that for a living. But I think if I were lucky enough to have my own show I would gear it towards hunting in other states besides the big ones for whitetail. NY and that general are. I would also focus more on what the "average" hunter does. No guided hunts. All DIY hunts, public and or private land. Maybe also focus more on the tradition of hunting camps. You know the friends, family, food, story telling and so on. Talk about passing on the tradition to the younger generation. I would think there would be a huge market for that type of show. Tred Barta kind of touched on some of that stuff and there were guys like Joe DeFalco but for the most part shows today are like watching an infomercial.

I did do it for a living for a while and let me tell you it's all about money... anything to get the sponsor... I sold out many a time for product I really didn't even care for just to get the dollars so I could continue to produce the show. Makes me kinda sick when I look back at it... I never did canned hunts or compromised on good show content... but as you see I no longer do a show either... hard to film 26 weeks of shows without money... but it increasingly became harder to prostitute myself just to create a hunting show. The truth is you probably won't have a show for long if you aren't selling out to your sponsors.

[Doc]

Oh I would love doing that for a living. But I think if I were lucky enough to have my own show I would gear it towards hunting in other states besides the big ones for whitetail. NY and that general are. I would also focus more on what the "average" hunter does. No guided hunts. All DIY hunts, public and or private land. Maybe also focus more on the tradition of hunting camps. You know the friends, family, food, story telling and so on. Talk about passing on the tradition to the younger generation. I would think there would be a huge market for that type of show. Tred Barta kind of touched on some of that stuff and there were guys like Joe DeFalco but for the most part shows today are like watching an infomercial.

I agree, the content of the kind of show you are describing would be a lot more entertaining (for as long as it lasted .... lol). However, try to make a living off of a show with that kind of content. Produce 1 hunt per week. Can you harvest a deer per week for one entire TV season? Can you do it on public land? Can you do it without having it all pre-arranged for you by a guide?

See, I don't think these guys prefer to hunt the way they do. I really don't think they have any choice. It's a business to make a living. They have operating expenses and sponsor expectations. They also have a responsibility to perform ..... every week for "X" number of weeks. Let's face it, it's the sponsors that keep food on the plate. It's not the most ideal situation, and the quality of the resulting shows stinks, but when you think about the practicalities of putting on such a show, you can see where it all comes from.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Oh I would love doing that for a living. But I think if I were lucky enough to have my own show I would gear it towards hunting in other states besides the big ones for whitetail. NY and that general are. I would also focus more on what the "average" hunter does. No guided hunts. All DIY hunts, public and or private land. Maybe also focus more on the tradition of hunting camps. You know the friends, family, food, story telling and so on. Talk about passing on the tradition to the younger generation. I would think there would be a huge market for that type of show. Tred Barta kind of touched on some of that stuff and there were guys like Joe DeFalco but for the most part shows today are like watching an infomercial.

Im right with you on that. Problem is, those shows are mostly show biz, and the sponsors pay the bills to keep them on the air. You either gain popularity or fall by the way side like many of the shows do. Take a peek at Deer City USA, they used to do a ton of informative stuff on there, and maybe 1 hunt or kill per show, but not anymore. Sponsors got ahold of it and now its almost like any of the other shows, and its getting worse. They dont go 10 seconds without product placement. The one that I think is a really good combo is that Get in the Game show. Some good info on tactics and setups mixed with some different types of hunts, guided and unguided.

Doc is right, these guys cant hunt like most of us, they have to get kills in for the show, and have to produce X number of shows per season. Only way to do that is to go on guided hunts in different states.

No matter the downsides to it, hunting and the outdoors industry would be better than sitting in front of a computer all day.

[burmjohn]

I still watch them though for some reason Anyways, one of my fav's is not a show on TV its on the web, check it out. - > http://www.growingdeer.tv/

[Doc]

I still watch a few too. Probably not as many as I used to, and maybe I don't enjoy them to the same extent as I used to. But I can honestly say that I do watch a few. I've been known to sit down and watch Jim Shocky when ever I catch his program. And I know I will catch heck for this, but I never missed a Tred Barta hunt back when he was still mobil. That was probably because he was so different from the cookie-cutter programs that represent all the other hunting programming.

[nyantler]

Shocky and Barta are both class acts... One of my favorite Shocky videos.. is the one about the closest shot.. where he and his camera guy have a contest to see who can get the closest shot on some huge bucks... in one scene the camera guy is buried in snow for 4 hours in a prone position most of the time with deer all around him... he finally kills a huge buck I believe at about 8 yards... the kicker was that he had a clear shot in open territory for a long time before that, but waited until the buck got as close as he dared let it...

[wdswtr]

HUnting shows to me are like rubber neckers are to car crashes. I get a kick out of all the bs and have turned the shows into a learning lesson for the kids. We play a little game of would you take that shot or why the shot was a bad one or bad choice. It might be wierd but the most aggrevating things to me are the whispering in the stands when that big racked buck is 20 yards out and the shooter keeps looking at the camera man saying you got him on film yet. How the hell can these deer not hear all this comotion is beyond me. Then the big celebration in the stands and the high fives and fist pumping shit and bragging they just bagged a monster yet they truly dont know the shot placement yet and you see the deer in the background running like hell. I love the perfect shot celebration when after rewinding you see a gut shot. I wathced one the other night and this guy seemed like an average hunter and was funny. He claimed he was a meat hunter and always shot the first buck that crossd his path. Never bagged a monster and his show buddies bet him he couldnt hold out for a monster buck. Man this guy struggled let me tell you he had to wait 3 days before he got his monster lol. I am sure glad I have a DVR fast forwarding through commercials is the best invention for television ever.

[Doc]

What has been amazing me lately on some of these shows is the terrible penetration that some of these guys are getting. I seem to recall that almost all the other programs of the past featured a lot of "pass-throughs". That's good. But on many of the shows that I have seen recently, it sure looked like they were only getting around 7 or 8 inches. Awful lot of arrow sticking out the near side. They always seem to get their deer, but frankly I would be real nervous with that little penetration and their sure wouldn't be a whole lot of celebrations until I actually had that critter laying at my feet.

Anybody else noticing that?

[sits in trees]

i gave up on hunting shows a couple years back, too much phonyness, all set up and they treat us the viewer like we are stupid....then comes the big sell.

oh and i got so sick of hearing the down south southern draaaaawllll ya awlllll thing too. show some hunts from NY where you really have to work for an 8 pt without bait, without fences, not on some deer farm but real NY hunting where every single show dont end with the killing of a 14 point 250 class buck....

oh and that little blond chick on that show the crush with the big dorky guy with the funny voice makes me sick, way too cutsie. well i guess you can all tell i luv my hunting shows huh??