Steve Rinella.......

[Lawdwaz]

I'm going against the grain here as I'm not a huge fan of SR but do enjoy his shows.  I was watching the tail end of one tonight where he was hunting black bear in AK and passed on a dandy bear at the end of his hunt.  He said just enjoyed watching that bear enough and didn't need to kill it.  No, he hadn't lost his "killer instinct" but something about that bear left him satisfied with the end result. (or something to that effect, LOL)

I had the show on DVR and after listening to his closing remarks, I hit the rewind button and jotted down his words.  I like him just a little more, now..........

"Hunting brings about all these snap decisions we have to end up reliving over and over again in our minds.  There are shots we didn't take but should have and shots we shouldn't have taken but did.  In the end, I suppose the latter are a lot easier to deal live with than the former. The hunting life is never short on complexity, there's always something to keep you up at night.  By looking at animals I suppose, we end up looking pretty closely at ourselves." Steve Rinella

[kpkot]

I have his book I think I loaned it to my brother,  but I'll have to let you borrow. I thought it was a nice read.  Went through his hunting upbringings in Michigan and his life. I like him because his show is more relatable than most in my opinion. 

[airedale]

4 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

He said just enjoyed watching that bear enough and didn't need to kill it.  No, he hadn't lost his "killer instinct" but something about that bear left him satisfied with the end result. (or something to that effect, LOL)

Rinella has one of the few hunting shows I will watch on occasion and it is one of the better ones I think. I have found myself becoming somewhat soft of late when it comes to making kills, something to do about getting old I think.  I feel the same way many times not taking the shot and letting the animal walk, the satisfaction putting myself into a pretty sure position of making the kill by calling, stalking or picking the right stand is good enough some days.  

Al

[DanielT]

I do enjoy SR show especially his cooking methods....
I can't watch most of the other shows...
That being said ... .for the first time this year...I have let many mature does with fawns pass ....and feed around me and I enjoyed those hunts as much as harvest ....and I just enjoy the WOODS much more than ever
Did you ever watch a black squirrel hide a nut....?
Have you seen a bobcat catch a squirrel?
Have you seen blue Jay's attacking an owl?
I could go on....
Most people havent?
Be one with the woods and appreciate the treasures given to us.....


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[Zag]

I'm watching meat eaters as we speak. I enjoy his outlook/ perspective on thing's.

[philoshop]

I have no idea who this guy is, and I don't really care. I know that sometimes I won't even shoot at a stupid squirrel, however.

Filling the freezer is nice, but I just don't have that desire to kill like I did just a few years ago. I haven't turned into some sort of wuss. A guy trying to break into my house will be killed with his feet outside the front door. No ambiguity there.

[grampy]

After hunting a number of years, I began to learn more from the animals I 'didn't' shoot, than the ones I did.

And more about myself as well.

Not sure who Steve Rinella is, as I don't watch much hunting shows anymore. But I respect his decision to not shoot.

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by grampy

[Dinsdale]

For me I guess its how the message is delivered.

Recent fishing trip had a couple folks in camp getting pretty preachy on how they used to hunt but just couldn't kill anymore blah blah blah.....then I poked the cage some just to irk them a bit. I'm good at that.

But they had no problem catching fish to chunk for bait for "the big one".

I don't believe that "evolution of a hunter" bull crap either. Some days I can trophy hunt, stack a few for Leopard baits, and let one go cause it didn't feel right. I don't need to gain a higher understanding to be one with nature gods.

[moog5050]

SR just seems like a very down to earth decent guy to me.  I like his shows.  Maybe it was too late to want to deal with recovering, cleaning and transporting that bear.  I know I have passed a few animals for that reason, especially Sunday afternoon hunts.  Lol

[Lawdwaz]

37 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

 Maybe it was too late to want to deal with recovering, cleaning and transporting that bear. 

No, I don't believe that was his reason.  It was (I'd like to think he wasn't BS'ing) the reason I stated. 

[Hunter007]

I would bet a lot of  guys that hunt alone far away from the road especially if it is  late in the day will not pull on the trigger on a animal unless its really exceptional because there is always tomorrow and why bust your ass or potentially break your neck dealing  with  a mediocre animal  that you have to drag out in the dark by yourself. 

If you Been hunting for many years you probably not going to bother . 

But I get what S R is saying .

 

[ATbuckhunter]

I like him and his show. What made me laugh was when he and his crew got trichnosis because he didnt properly cook a bear he shot in alaska. I remmeber him saying a year or two prior that only idots get trichinosis from undercooked bear. Karma at its finest I guess. 

[cas]

His pod casts are enjoyable if you're looking for something to listen to. Mostly about stuff I will never do, but I enjoy it none the less. 

[Lawdwaz]

2 hours ago, cas said:

His pod casts are enjoyable if you're looking for something to listen to. Mostly about stuff I will never do, but I enjoy it none the less. 

Kind of like me watching NASCAR. 

[Robhuntandfish]

I knew he was my kinda guy when he and another guy were packing/canoeing out a moose and stopped to catch some trout in the stream for lunch. He and his buddy had a quick surf and turf over a campfire.  

Edited November 29, 2018 by Robhuntandfish

[landtracdeerhunter]

Yep, been there, done that several times with deer. Last big buck was within 30 yards; all I did is watch him.

 

[Rattler]

13 hours ago, philoshop said:

I have no idea who this guy is, and I don't really care. I know that sometimes I won't even shoot at a stupid squirrel, however.

Filling the freezer is nice, but I just don't have that desire to kill like I did just a few years ago. I haven't turned into some sort of wuss. A guy trying to break into my house will be killed with his feet outside the front door. No ambiguity there.

Philo, you should really check him out.  Get his book, "Meat Eater".  One of the best ever written about how a young boy experiences hunting and eating wild game as a lifestyle.  He really relates hunting to every day sustenance, and does it in a way that makes people understand the normalcy and allure of it.  I enjoyed reading it and keep it on the shelf for others to read when they wonder why I love to hunt and fish.

I think you can find a lot of his writing on Google and YouTube if you want to get the gist of his style.  I think you would enjoy his stories.  

 

[Fletch]

11 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I like him and his show. What made me laugh was when he and his crew got trichnosis because he didnt properly cook a bear he shot in alaska. I remmeber him saying a year or two prior that only idots get trichinosis from undercooked bear. Karma at its finest I guess. 

What makes him cool about that though is in later shows he does not hide the fact that he was a dumb ass lol!

 

I enjoy his shows and books and he would be someone I would enjoy to hunt with or share a beer or coffee.

[ATbuckhunter]

2 minutes ago, Fletch said:

What makes him cool about that though is in later shows he does not hide the fact that he was a dumb ass lol!

 

I enjoy his shows and books and he would be someone I would enjoy to hunt with or share a beer or coffee.

Very true, good point. Shows that it can happen to anyone if you're not careful. Seems like a really good guy though

[The_Real_TCIII]

His book about the American Bison is excellent too

[Five Seasons]

steve has a few books, his most recent is on order for me but sold out. If you have any kind of commute I'd recommend downloading his podcasts. They touch on a lot of subjects and they debate a lot of the morals and ethics behind hunting. Steve is very much about the hunt and the food, more so then the trophy, but doesn't deny that trophy hunting is part of it.

The way he talks about game prep really has me interested in trying some more things like the ribs, heart and liver that I have not tried in the past. 

Anyhow, dl the podcast, it's free and comes out every few weeks. It's sort of like an audio version of this forum with guys just talking about hunting. 

newest book (i'm going to actually try to eat these squirrels i keep shooting off my bird feeder). 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399590072/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Belo

[CapDistPatriot]

13 hours ago, moog5050 said:

SR just seems like a very down to earth decent guy to me.  I like his shows.  Maybe it was too late to want to deal with recovering, cleaning and transporting that bear.  I know I have passed a few animals for that reason, especially Sunday afternoon hunts.  Lol

Same thing happened to me on Thanksgiving moog. it was 12 degrees with constant 30mph winds. Left stand after two hours and passing a nice medium sized doe because it was so freaking cold I knew it would be an absolutely terrible experience dressing anything I shoot for transport. My parking area where we do this is a clearing just outside our woods where there is no cover and the winds come right in off the mountains. I walked out to my car and out in the field were two mature does grazing, wind to my face so they did not know I was there. I was able to put my pack down and lase them, exactly 101 yds. I watched them for a bit, let off a couple grunts, and then a third even larger deer walked out, about 75 yds behind them I glassed it and boom headgear! He sauntered up to the does and I got a better look at what he was wearing and SOB the biggest spike I have ever seen. Body was that of a 3 1/2 yr old deer, spikes had to be like 18 inches high. Then I thought about how much fun it would be to gut that animal by myself when the real feel temp was appx -25 and dark was coming very soon, and I passed.

I still dream of that scene and will be kicking myself for years I know, but it was one of those cool experiences you will remember forever.

[Nomad]

37 minutes ago, Rattler said:

Philo, you should really check him out.  Get his book, "Meat Eater".  One of the best ever written about how a young boy experiences hunting and eating wild game as a lifestyle.  He really relates hunting to every day sustenance, and does it in a way that makes people understand the normalcy and allure of it.  I enjoyed reading it and keep it on the shelf for others to read when they wonder why I love to hunt and fish.

I think you can find a lot of his writing on Google and YouTube if you want to get the gist of his style.  I think you would enjoy his stories.  

 

I too had no idea who he is , don’t watch hunting shows or read any hunting mags . After your post I will check out the book, though .

[The_Real_TCIII]

13 hours ago, moog5050 said:

SR just seems like a very down to earth decent guy to me.  I like his shows.  Maybe it was too late to want to deal with recovering, cleaning and transporting that bear.  I know I have passed a few animals for that reason, especially Sunday afternoon hunts.  Lol

Ive had a lot of hunts where I pack a climber and go waaaaayyyy back and think no way am I shooting a doe or small buck back here! Smash cut to five hours later and Im dragging a small deer out of the woods lol. I cant help myself

[Rattler]

15 minutes ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

I too had no idea who he is , don’t watch hunting shows or read any hunting mags . After your post I will check out the book, though .

He's got a great chapter in the "Meat Eater" book about falling in love when he first met his wife to be and moving to Brooklyn, NY because she worked in the city.  It's funny because he was advertising he was a hunter to all of his neighbors with antlers on the walls, inside and out, and wearing camo on the street.  Great way to show you ain't feeling guilty about your healthy lifestyle.