[xm21]

I used to love to watch hunting shows on tv but don't watch them much anymore.Too much emphasis on the size or numbers of critters killed,too much emphasis on the actual arrow or bullet strike.Too many times I watched an arrow strike a deer in the butt or gut and when the nimrod goes up to claim his animal there is an arrow sticking out of the heart lung area where it magically traveled from the original spot the critter was hit.I was flipping through the channels the other night and on VS there was a deer flopping around after the shot and I wondered what a non hunter who was channel surfing and came across this would think.


One last thing is the whispering as the hunter "sneaks" up on the game with the camera crew in tow.I really think that these shows are detrimental to the future of hunting and provide fodder for the anti's out there.

[gatorjames85]

I'm with you, mainstream big game hunting has gotten way too commercial. Not to say that this is the case with everyone or even most hunters; but some places are almost like cattle operations. Also, does anyone think Tred Barta is a goofball? My dad thinks he is some kind of master hunter, but I have a hard time understanding how he even has a hunting show.

[blackops]

I will admit I watch the hunting channel quite a bit. I will be the first one to agree that some of them are bogus. I like how the guys put out bait, sit in a stand 30yds away, shoot a buck, and say "man that was a tough hunt." What a joke. Put 90 percent of those guys on public land and they're a joke. Some of the shows are quality though.

[bswiv]

Can't watch them.................for a number of reasons.

Pet peeve is that they put almost ZERO emphasis on the end use of the meat. All about the KILL and the TROPHY. That's all fine and good but in my world a BIG part of hunting happens later when we share what we've been fortunate enough to harvest with a group of friends.

In some ways that sharing is a connection with what happens in traditional societies. It's part of our human heratage.

[chas08]

Can't watch them.................for a number of reasons.
I agree, I think they provide the anti's with more ammunition than they do the true hunter with entertainment. I also detest the word "Harvest" used in conjunction with the taking of game. In my minds eye you "harvest" wheat, you "kill" game. Also the quality of the shows has degraded so much over the years. It seems any dummy with a video camera can have a hunting show. Whatever happened to the quality that went into shows like "The American Sportsman" with Kurt Gowdy or "The Lone Star Sportsman" with Jim Thomas?

[kanook]

I'm going to kill a deer with my assault weapon
or
I'm going to harvest a deer with my sporting rifle (just rifle sounds best)

[MCgunner]

Well, I'm a fan of the new show on Outdoor Channel, "Duck Commander". I love those guys, good ol' Louisiana redneck duckaholics. I identify with those guys except that I just can't get my old butt out of bed EVERY morning during duck season like that. If I had those guys relying on me to wake up, I could, but I'm usually hunting alone. They're great, though, and that bayou hunting looks fantastic. I'm used to hunting salt marsh, not so much wooded swamp. We don't have many green heads down here.

I watched it last night. They had guests from Pennsylvania, won some contest to hunt with the crew and drove 1000 miles to do it. They're shooting birds left and right and the guy says they've already beat the best day they've ever done in Pennsylvania, 5 birds for the blind, not sure how many people in the blind. Phil Robertson looks at him and says, "Now I understand why you drove a thousand miles to hunt ducks." ROFL I gotta say, Phil was telling the guy how to call and I didn't agree with his technique, but there's more'n one way to skin the cat I reckon and who am I to tell the Duck Commander, the guy that builds my favorite line of duck calls, how to call? LOL I do know my way works, though, and it's how I was taught. I've not won any call contests, but I have called a lot of birds.

I don't really get into the deer from the tree stand with the bow thing. I mean, it's kinda like bass fishin', seen one, you've seen 'em all. It's better to be there than to watch it. I haven't gotten burned out on the duck commander, though. :D I love those guys. :D They remind me of me, but with beards.

In fact, I guess I like the wing shooting shows on TV best. That probably reflects my bias as to what kind of hunting I prefer the most. I mean, I'd probably get into deer and such more, but it's stand hunting down here by necessity. Ducks is more action, more strategy, more fun.

[Art Eatman]

SFAIK, all that whispering is most likely voice-over in the studio as they edit the film from the field.

Some of the shows I've seen were pretty good, although I no longer watch with enough frequency to know which ones are and which ones are not. The levels of film-making competency and of knowledge of hunting certainly vary all over the place, ranging from stoopid to pretty good.

[MCgunner]

Main reason I'll watch is that the other channels, all 300 and whatever, don't interest me. If I still had just 3 channels, I'd just get rid of the TV. I channel scan a lot. I cannot recall the last time I watched one of the major network's prime time sit coms or dramas. :rolleyes:

[caribou]

I hunt for a living, and I make ends meet, and I know very well theres better hunters than I around.

Around here we say we "Catch" or "caught" an animal, as we utilize the animal and respect what we have from it, food, skins, arts/crafts materials.With proper respect, the animlas will always be there if Natures course decides.without respect, its the way of the Passenger Pidgions.....
Indeed, "killed" to Eskimo referrs to an absolute end, waste, or as in dead and of no use........Just a cultural thing.


I saw a couple of those shows, and Im glad I dont have TV.

[ArmedBear]

Hunting shows are strange, to me.

My dog got me into hunting, and not my hunting dog, either. My first dog. She showed me what a raw predatory instinct looks like in action. I wanted to know what it feels like to be a wolf.

I don't hunt for a living, but I eat what I hunt. When my dog is on a bird, and then it flushes, or when a deer appears suddenly, whenever quarry comes into view, or there's a hint that it might be there, I feel, for a brief moment, the purity of that predatory nature.

It's not "fun", it's something else, something deeper. I surfed ocean waves for many years; recently, I've kayaked river rapids a little bit. That's fun, and it does focus one's mind completely. Hunting is still different. It taps the very heart of our existence. It's not that my goal is to catch an animal; I just do, because that's what I'm made to do. I'm not sure if there's anything else like that.

On TV, all of that is lost on me. It's just a guy blasting away at an animal.

Maybe I'm not a good spectator (I'm not, really, and have always preferred to participate than to watch). But really, TV doesn't capture the experience of the hunt, to me.

For that reason, I have to think it doesn't leave a good impression on those who have never experienced a hunt in their lives.

[chas08]

Indeed, "killed" to Eskimo referrs to an absolute end, waste, or as in dead and of no use........Just a cultural thing.
An interesing insight that for some reason, I completely undestand. "Killed" Is the term I was taught by ancestors.
It's not "fun", it's something else, something deeper.
Well said AB

[MCgunner]

Jeez, AB, I think I heard Sweaty Teddy say that very same thing. ROFL! He tends to go on like that. :D

[kyjoe]

Best hunting show made is Kentucky Afield. Focus is on the hunt and the meat. http://www.youtube.com/user/KYAfield more full episodes can be found elsewhere. Being a first time hunter their show on field dressing and processing was invaluable.

[shaggy430]

Also, does anyone think Tred Barta is a goofball?

I like Tred Barta. By the way, he had a stroke and is not doing very well healthwise. I wish him the best.

[HunterBear71]

What ArmedBear said. I did catch an episode of Predator Nation that was pretty good. A 10 day backpacking trip in the Yukon. Host killed a Caribou for food and actually utilized the meat right there. Hunted the carcass and missed a broadside shot at a black wolf. Finally ended up doing a stalk on a grizzly and dropped it in its tracks with a .30-06.

[MCgunner]

There's a show now on Outdoor Channel on hunting WMAs and other public areas across the country, forgot the name of it. It's a little more interesting because they go to different states and discuss the trials and tribulations of public hunting there and all the ups and downs.

Many of us can't afford a $10,000 outfitted hunt every year, fun to see how the beautiful people live, but sort of like, well, I'll never get to do that unless I ht the lotto.

[dubbleA]

Most of the hunting shows today are just infomercials pimping a product(s). I think T/C must have given anyone and everyone with a show an Encore to use. You see logos of products in most scenes kinda like nascar.Seems you have to have the latest camo, a Encore and scentkiller gizmo's before heading into the woods.

Try watching "Monster Trohpy Whitetails" on chn 608 direct tv and you'll get the point.

[MCgunner]

Check out the Duck Commander. I LOVE this show. :D

http://www.outdoorchannel.com/Shows/duckcommander/

[kentucky bucky]

I love to see the shows where they are 300 yards away from a feeder in a fully enclosed "hunting house" and they move slow and whisper as if the deer can see through walls and has "bionic" ears. I was pleasantly surprised the other day when they had a traditional bow hunt and flintlock turkey hunt. If I live to be 90 and want to hunt, I might try a hunting house, until then I'll go into the woods after them.

[jimmyraythomason]

I enjoy watching Buckmasters Classics in spite of the silliness. I also like to watch Roger Raglin because of..well..Roger Raglin. My favorite is Spirit of the Wild with Uncle Ted. I get good game cooking tips from Babe Winkelman's show. I don't watch shows where the first thing they do is dump out a bag of bait. I don't have anything against using an enclosed shooting house since I can no longer take bitter cold myself and don't like getting drenched in a downpour. All shows have sponsors but some are just infomercials and those are the ones that I avoid most.

[MCgunner]

I love to see the shows where they are 300 yards away from a feeder in a fully enclosed "hunting house" and they move slow and whisper as if the deer can see through walls and has "bionic" ears. I was pleasantly surprised the other day when they had a traditional bow hunt and flintlock turkey hunt. If I live to be 90 and want to hunt, I might try a hunting house, until then I'll go into the woods after them.

Suit yourself. Personally, I'm wanting to build an elevated box blind (what we call 'em down here), insulate it, sliding plexiglass windows, heat it with a propane heater, keep a can of bug spray in it, have a nice adjustable office chair I can lay back and snooze in. I can sit out there all night and hunt hogs or all day and hunt deer. :D Yep, that's me, lazy, don't care, do what you want. I'm not Rambo. I'll wade in the marsh at 30 degrees and chase ducks, though, love that! Deer hunting is so damned boring, I just wanna be comfortable when I do it, be able to catch up on sleep while I wait on hogs at night or catch up on my reading when deer hunting, that sort of thing. I'm going to build me that box blind before next season, get it about 8' off the ground at least.

You give ME the choice, ducks or deer, I'll be duck hunting every time! Oh, well, then there's goose hunting, the big game of shotgunners. :D I guess that's why I like "Duck Commander" so much. :D It's just something that got into my blood at an early age and I cannot shake it, this maniacal urge to hunt ducks. Maybe it's a disease. Most ANY deer hunting shows are as boring as bass fishing shows to me. I do like the stuff like Shockey does, African stuff, stuff I've not done nor ever will get to. But, I'm a sucker for wing shooting.

[MCgunner]

Oh, I also like the gun shows on Wednesday at the range, "Guns and Ammo" TV, "American Rifleman", that sort of thing. Not really hunting, though, more about the hardware. I take American Rifleman, too. Didn't like American Hunter when I took it.

[jimmyraythomason]

I'm with you MCgunner when it comes to my own hunting(no feeders though) but when it comes to living vicariously through TV nimrods I want to see Jim Shockey trudging through the Alaskan Tundra after moose or caribou or climbing a snow covered mountain for sheep and goats. I don't care how someone else harvests their game as long as it's legal but give me adventure on my TV!

[MCgunner]

Well, when I get more time and money in about 5 years (SSI), and if I ain't too stove up and out of shape, I'm going to make another trip or two to New Mexico to spot and stalk mulies. That's actually not boring. LOL! It ain't ducks and geese, though, my first love. Heck, I might run out to the panhandle and shoot some cranes, too, maybe take some pheasants. Ahh, back to reality, must go check my hog trap. LOL!

[jimmyraythomason]

Ever notice when somebody is hunting elk with a rifle(the latest greatest ubermagnum)they have to take a 250 yard shot because the bulls are too wary to come any closer but put a bow in the hunters hand and he can't draw the bow because the bull is SO close? Howcomdat?

[millertyme]

different time of year. late hunts, specifically general rifle hunts, the good bulls won't come in no matter how much you call or how good you suppose you are at it. if all they were after was meat they might be able to call in a small spike or raghorn. during bow season, at least here in AZ where it's in the earlier part of fall or late summer, you get to calling and i've seen bulls come running to pick a fight if you're any good at it.

[Offfhand]

I watch them every now and then if I'm flipping channels and happen to see one. But only then I watch for the laughs. Do those "hunters"have any idea how ridiculous they look and act?

[Matt-J2]

I learn stuff from some of those shows. Granted, it's just as often what NOT to do, but hey, that's important stuff to know as well!

[Remedyman]

I am a bit of a stalker on this website. I have read almost every thread in the hunting section, and I will admit, I haven't been on the board long. Let me say a bit about me, so you know where this is coming from. I am not a rural person. I might live there now, but I am a suburbanite. I work in IT. I have fished almost my whole life, and I have shot guns since I was about 8. That being said, I was NEVER a hunter. This is my first year hunting. I have hunted wild pig, squirrel, rabbit, and fox successfully. I didn't hunt dear this year because I lost my job and didn't have the money for a tag. On that note, I have done my best to utilize what I kill. Sometimes not so successfully, but damn it, I try.

Now, on the subject of the shows, I enjoy them. That is where it ends. Had it not been for the shows, I might never have tried it. They kept my interest. Sometimes you learn a little, sometimes you learn something important. Sometimes you just watch some dude shoot something. But like the fishing shows, where I have never been as good as the hosts, it does help keep the desire alive. It helps fuel the fire. I know there are camera tricks to make things look better. But the point is, I am not watching a 30-60 minute show to hear the guy talk the whole time. I want to see him get something. So they have to. Some of them have to talk about things that might not interest you, like certain products, but that is how they get paid.

The part that bothers me the most about the statements above is simple. You are arguing semantics. Does it matter if I say, hunt, kill, claim, harvest, or slaughter? Truly all any of us care about is that we do our best to utilize all of the animal we acquire.

Also, I think a good thing about the shows is that thinking non-hunters (myself as one until this year) look at it and can see that it isn't about running into the woods and just shooting your gun until something falls. There is planning, there is skill, there is practice. It shows that hunters are good people, not the brainless fools that some liberals want to paint us as. Please pay attention to the point that I said THINKING non-hunters. I am excluding liberals in that statement.

But please, enjoy the shows for what they are. Entertainment. Or a chance to learn about a new product that you might not have known about. Or maybe, once in awhile, a new tactic. Or if nothing else, and you really don't hunt the way that person does, use it as a chance to see how the other side lives. And remember, the true problem with a liberal is that they can't understand how anyone could be different than them.

Celebrate our differences, it is what makes us unique.

Sorry if I was to long winded.

Brian

[Leaky Waders]

I like them too. When an interesting show is on I call my sons in the room and they watch it with me.

I am a non-recovering duckaholic, but yesterday one show was hunting elephants with double guns in 458 win magnum. It was very exciting. I've been deployed to Africa and I doubt will ever have the money to hunt any of the big 5. Still, it's nice to see how it's done. Well, one facte of how it's done.

I rarely watch the deer and turkey shows. I mean I don't turn them off, but they run in the back ground while I thumb through a magazine. Mostly ducks (did I mention that duckhunting is the best sport ever?) and upland game and then the Africa exotic stuff in that order. Also, the predator hunting is neat.

I also like youtube. I've really only discovered youtube this year...it has some awesome and really not so awesome hunting stuff.

[Art Eatman]

Remedyman, just because somebody doesn't like some particular style of hunting doesn't mean he has some sort of lock on what's right and proper. :)

To repeat, my grumpfies come from the production style. All that whispering, when it's so easy to do a voiceover during editing, for instance. So, I tend to watch with the sound off, particularly since I hate the ads for stuff I've never needed and won't ever buy. Again, though, it's comparative backgrounds: I've been doing some sort of hunting since I was a kid, and "kid" for me began almost 70 years ago. :D (What better way for a grandpa to get a kid out of the way than to hand the little grabber a .22, point to the woods and instruct, "Now, don't shoot a cow."?)

Hey, it's great scenery and the editing shows the best-looking critters...

[Remedyman]

Has anybody heard/see the show The Tailgate Adventure? They have a website also www.tailgateadventure.com which seems ok. They only have completed their first season and the only do dog hunts. I am thinking about doing work for them. I would love to hear opinions if anyone has see the show. I understand that last season was only on Dish Network but this season will be on Direct TV also.

Thanks,

Brian

[Capn Jack]

I have never done it, but I'm fascinated by the shows about turkey hunting. Not the shooting, (I'll get mine at Safeway) but the calling. Some of those callers are unbelievable...We have "Wild" turkeys wandering around town and I'm really tempted to buy a call and tease them with it.:neener:

[desidog]

The vast majority of hunting shows pimp products, and focus on "trophies." I am not a fan at all; but realize that this is a multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry, and can see the logic in saying "harvesting"...even though i like to call a spade a spade.

Recently, I've been buckled down working on my master's thesis..so I've had some Vs. hunting shows in the background. Most strike me as sales pitches....like Hank Parker and C'mere Deer? Such marketing crap. The deer has to be there to find the stuff and eat it.

anyone think Tred Barta is a goofball?
Tred is a very charismatic guy, and I think the best of the show-hosts, on that level. Also, he challenges himself; unlike some "hunters" on TV. That said, I think the majority of the shots he takes are unethical, and send a bad message to animal lovers.

Personally, I disagree with the "trophy" hunting mentality of SCI and the Dallas Safari club or that ilk. I eat what i kill; and if i can use the antlers in a chandelier or wall sconce, or just a bleached skull as decoration, i think that more of the animal is used and celebrated...unlike having a taxidermist on speed-dial, and no chest-freezer.

I take my game-meat preparation seriously, be it smoker, bbq, pan or oven, and the only show I've seen to even give a nod to the eating aspect is Babe Winkleman's something-or-other...I don't like the show, or the simplistic recipes presented by an uncultured non-chef, but i admire the nod to that element of hunting.

Personally, I take my cooking very seriously, and would love to see a show on Preparation & Cooking of Game Meat. (Heck, if you know a producer, PM me, as an under-worked architect, I'd be glad to host it.) I justify most of my hunting with the meat it provides...I can have a dinner party for 20 friends with a free deer out of the field; whereas the same party with store-bought beef would set me back a couple hundred bucks...even my non-hunting friends enjoy the close proximity to the life of the animal on their plate. It is a perspective-leveling experience for people who get all their meat wrapped up in plastic at a grocery store.

This leads my stream-of-consciousness Good-Long-Post to the absurd (i believe) haloing of the Whitetail deer on the hunting shows. I just don't get it. In southern CT, they are on the lawn, cause car accidents, and eat the other half's flowers...I'd much rather shoot and eat a pig; but they haven't gotten to us yet.

Ok. end stream. Desi out.

[wyohome]

I like the Jim Zumbo shows. He is a great guy and does a little cooking. I also enjoy Eastman's productions.

[gatorjames85]

I think the majority of the shots he takes are unethical

This is one of my biggest beefs with his show, although I do think it is also ridiculous to try to walk up to a caribou with your bow on your head (to look like antlers). That being said, I heard he had a stroke and I wish him a speedy recovery.

[Sav .250]

Watched a hunting show recently with Hank Parker and his boys. Don`t recall
if it was his show or he was just on it but either way after he/they were done "hunting" I thought," man what a joke." If any of you guys might have seem it you know exactly what I mean. I`ll leave it at that.

[Gunsafe]

I used to record most hunting shows so I could watch them Saturday morning before I started my day. Now, most of the time I feel nauseated by just having them running in the background. These idiots (there are exceptions) make way too much money and show little to no appreciation for the game itself. I'm offended when I see some putz sitting in a ground blind take a gutshot with a bow from 10 yards. How is that good for anyone? I know bad shots happen, but you're producing a television show! Use quality footage! Or better yet, practice more with your peddled goods!

And as far as industry buzzwords? I feel that "harvest" is just a politically correct approach to make certain people who are out of touch with reality feel a little better about what has transpired. It urks me to see the KDWP booklets talk about the number of deer 'harvested'. They were shot somehow and killed. I'm not sure how else to put it! But, what gets me is hearing people yell out "Oh baby! I smoked him!". Why? It's like these shows have brainwashed people into thinking it's some kind of game.

Sigh...

[qajaq59]

Put 90 percent of those guys on public land and they're a joke. Oh man, I'd loved to watch that. They couldn't nail a mosquito if it bit them. Hunting on public land is a totally different hunt and takes a lot more talent.

[MCgunner]

Well, I'm happy, Duck Commander comes on at 7 today. :D Deer hunting bores me.

[qajaq59]

Sorry, double.

[coolcloo1019]

Just now I'm sitting here watching a hunting show. The guy was bow hunting. He literally shot the deer in the hind quarter. You could clearly see the arrow and the deer was running without moving his rear leg. And mysteriously the guy walks up on the deer dead as a door nail. Riiiiight.