The Alaska Experiment Anyone?

[Indifferent]

Deadliest Catch is great.

These other shows are silly.

Wait.
A show prooving guns are good is silly?

Go Alaska Experiment!

Wait. What are we talking about?

Oh there is my beverage! Good Night!

 

[jon'76]

I actually really enjoyed this show. I was amazed when they shot at the bison with the single-shot .22. I first started laughing, and then I realized they were serious about attempting to take down the bison with a .22. It can be done, but only by someone with much more experience than them. I also think that they should divide the roles more. I think they would be much better off if one person stayed at the camp to tend to certain duties, one focused on building and gathering useful materials, and then one went hunting. Obviously a 2 person hunting party is best and safest, but it seems like they aren't dividing the labor intelligently and someone is always watching. IMO the perfect guns for them would be a 22" 10/22, 12ga pump, and a magazine fed bolt-action in some derivative of .30cal.

I would love to be able to do something like this at some point in my life. I actually intend to (long-term goal) buy a cabin and some land somewhere in the middle of nowhere. While my family always wants to take trips to islands and resorts; I always push for a nice camping trip somewhere. I feel at home in nature; though I don't have all the necessary skills and knowledge to survive.

 

[CBS220]

Wait.
A show prooving guns are good is silly?

Simply because a show features guns in a positive light does not make it a good show.

 

[akodo]

Seriously, did you see them hunt BISON by ICY BAY? With a .22??

4 groups, one group right on Icy bay, not sure how far the rest are from it.

3 people and 1 cricket go out looking for small game, they see a bison, and through the magic of editing, point the gun at it and then break for commercial. Return, make it clear that a 22 could never take a bison


regarding starting out with a 338 winmag, it's just like giving htem just a tent or small fish shack to live in, they are making it as tough as possible by always stepping toward realism. Sure, the 338 is redundant when you have an armed escort and a 270 would be even better for mountain goat (35 whelen for moose?) but a 338 kicks more and is more spectacular so it got chosen, and is a probably a more quintessential Alaskan gun

 

[Cosmoline]

I'm not aware of any population of bison in there. The regs show no season for them in the GMU's anywhere near there.

 

[DFW1911]

I'm not aware of any population of bison in there.

I know - I was very surprised to see it / hear them yell "Bison!"

Who knows, maybe it's been edited to add an element of excitement...like that Bear Grylls show!

Thanks,
DFW1911

 

[Cosmoline]

I wonder if they brought in someone's own bison from a meat herd.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have watched several episodes. It seems like an okay show. As I recall, only the geologist from NJ had any prior experience with a firearm. Goes to show you the type of person who becomes a geologist. (I'm one.)

I have been watching with interest. I don't know if I could make it without stores of other food. Food prospects are pretty bleak without a firearm.

The crab cages were interesting. I have no idea if they were doing things right or wasting their time.

They seem to be very aware of possible bear encounters as they killed the salmon almost immediately after catching them to minimize movement.

I don't understand why one team has a cricket 22 and another has the 338 win mag. I'd be pretty comfortable with a 30-06 in their situation.

 

[DFW1911]

The crab cages were interesting. I have no idea if they were doing things right or wasting their time.

That was a pretty ingenious trap he put together. The problem was they don't have a boat and can't get the traps down to the depths they need. I don't think they factored in little crabs, which can get in and out without too much of a problem.

When we're in SE Alaska we normally put our crab traps in about 10 fathoms of water, mainly because we have to pull it up by hand. We've had a lot of success every year catching some nice crabs...which are delicious when prepared right.

Take care,
DFW1911

 

[Eric F]

Finally, how on earth did they get lucky enough to be on the show...I'm jealous

My brother who lives in California sent me an email about a year ago with an aplication for this show. I figured they were not looking for experienced hunter/fisher/outdoors type guy since they prettymuch spam mailed it to him.

 

[trinydex]

i've been watchin' alaska experiement.

i think there are gunmen off camera to satisfy the bear requirement. i'd heard and found somewhat of a confirmation that it's highly recommended or required that you bring a bear caliber into the alaskan bush. the confirmation came in survivorman special in alaska where he mentions they made him take the big boom stick.

i think the show is really cool, i'm sure some of the stuff is staged or scripted like all other reality shows, but what's more important is the message and some of the realities that it portrays.

might be some motivation to discourage more "into the wilders" from dying. everything is harder in alaska :\

 

[akodo]

I'm not aware of any population of bison in there. The regs show no season for them in the GMU's anywhere near there.

I do know there are some serious population of 'forest bison' in Canada, so while I don't really think of Bison as Alaskan animals, apparently there are a few.

Second, there was no mention of actually hunting the bison. The two organized hunts were for moose and mountain goat, and they mentioned part of the laws governing it, such as being required to go with a guide.

I don't understand why one team has a cricket 22 and another has the 338 win mag. I'd be pretty comfortable with a 30-06 in their situation.

The only time a person has a serious centerfire rifle in their hands is when they are with a guide on a hunt. While we don't see them filling out hunting licences, I suspect that they are indeed doing just that.

I suspect they all have small game licences as well, if that is required. Maybe that is part of the reason they only have access to a .22LR, if they had a 30-06 to boot, and hand it out one day and stumbled upon a deer or caribou or whatnot, and shot it out of season, or without a licence there would be hell to pay. No 30-06, no chance of this happening.

 

[Fish828]

i never heard of this show before hearing about it in this thread and i watched all four episodes on the website and i actually enjoyed it. as far as the instructors teaching good gun safety, as some people have mentioned, we don't know what their actual instructions were. they could have been very thorough with it but chose not to use that footage because it would be less than exciting for the general public (even though we all know how important the safety aspect of using a gun is). aside from that, it really is nice to see people who have never used a gun actually appreciate (and even enjoy) guns and how useful/necessary they can be (and that not all guns are used for bad deeds).

 

[akanotken]

Think!

IMO, the correct "survival" approach would be to take aformentioned rifle, and hold up the cameramen/rescue personnel for food/means of escape.

Wes, Dude, think about what you just said. Give the guy a firearm and it's best use is for crime, not protection, food, etc.

I suspect this was said in jest, I used to do that, but I'm known as the "gun guy" in many of my circles, so I have refrained from any light minded comments regarding firearms....

just my .02

 

[Grendel]

::::::::::Quote
They gave them .22 Chipmunks for survival!
Get real!

The only way an adult can shoot one accurately is by holding it out like a pistol.

That is the stupidest gun related thing on the show so far.

More to follow I'm sure.

I also wasn't too impressed with the guides gun safety instructions to people who had never handled a gun before.

One guy got hit in the eye with his scope on the .338, and another used his as a crutch most of the show. Lucky his barrel wasn't plugged with mud when he finally got to shoot it.

rcmodel
:::::::End Quote

Strange. I'm an adult (male, 51 years 5'10" and on the wrong side of 200 pounds) and I can shoot my boy's Davy Crickett (http://www.crickett.com/ looks to me to be a cheaper version of the Chipmunk) 22LR quite easily and accurately. In fact I have often thought that it might be a very nice little rifle to take back packing if I wanted to pot some squirrels or marmots. Or poach a deer if times were tough.

Grendel