I watch them because I am in front of the tv when they are on and I like to deer hunt and in turn I like to watch it.
Why do you watch hunting shows?
- Thread starter Mike Belt
- Start date
I quit watching them a while ago. Mainly for all the negative reasons listed in this thread. Partly because we cancelled a sports package and with it went the outdoor channel.
I used to watch Endless Season and Just killin time. Both originally were a couple of good ol boys (one set in VA the other in AL)hunting mountains/farms in VA and just farms in AL for deer and turkey. when they started they were about what i wanted them to be. average guys hunting places that I could see myself hunting. Unfortunately as time went on, the trips to TX, OH, and KS started popping up and the commercials got more frequent..... So needless to say when we cancelled the package i wasn't too upset.
I used to watch Endless Season and Just killin time. Both originally were a couple of good ol boys (one set in VA the other in AL)hunting mountains/farms in VA and just farms in AL for deer and turkey. when they started they were about what i wanted them to be. average guys hunting places that I could see myself hunting. Unfortunately as time went on, the trips to TX, OH, and KS started popping up and the commercials got more frequent..... So needless to say when we cancelled the package i wasn't too upset.
Harvester
Well-Known Member
I watch them because season is not open and I need a fix on seeing big bucks. Just passing time till it opens.
catman529
Well-Known Member
I prefer hunting videos and shows on YouTube. You get everything from big buck ranch informercial type shows to homemade fair chase public land hunts. I like it when a hunter admits he made a bad shot too.
Last night I watched two episodes of Bowhunt or Die. Not the best but definitely good deer hunting entertainment. They have some good footage and its not all on some high dollar outfitter.
Last night I watched two episodes of Bowhunt or Die. Not the best but definitely good deer hunting entertainment. They have some good footage and its not all on some high dollar outfitter.
hunttherut
Well-Known Member
Stricly entertainment
Tomahawk
Well-Known Member
Over the past 3 years I have hunted the same property during a particular week with many (and I mean many) of the hunting show productions. My first thought was "man, I've certainly picked the right property" but that first year didn't turn out too great for me or the others. The 2nd year, I was the only person to kill a buck (148 8 pointer) that week and was the only one that wasn't filming. None of the production crews put anything down. Last year, once again the tv crews struck out but they did get video of good bucks just not in shooting range.Mike Belt said:
Here is what I discovered with my experience around these guys. Some were complete A-holes and some were as cool as they come but all of them did just the same as me and did their homework with aerial maps and questions about the area with the land manager/guides. We all chose our own spots to actually hunt, however there were other paid hunters that did not. (Those hunters just wanted the spot picked for them.) Now it would be great to actually scout on foot but what bonehead would let hunters go walking thru the woods during season. It amazes me how many people scout during season, with the exception of just acquiring the land and needing to see it firsthand. We just used well marked aerial maps and asked about actual terrain features that surrounded the pre-hung stands. You could bring your own climber if you wanted to but the crews were handcuffed in that they needed double set ups or at least a tree that could take another stand with the pre existing stand.
One thing that we did differently was after my 5 day hunt I was back to TN hunting. They on the other hand were constantly on the phone trying to find out where the best buck movement was (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas etc...) in which they would get to hunt for free in exchange for putting property on their show. In fact most only stuck around 2-3 days before moving to the next land. If you (most of us) were able to jump around from great farm to great farm through out the mid-west then I'm sure most would have great numbers of encounters as well.
This is all free range deer. No special areas of abundant deer but certainly great numbers considering its Pike county IL. (where I hunted with them). I'm not saying there isn't an outfitter that has been watching a particular deer and tries his best to put tv crew on it but hey that's good for his business, can't blame him.
I agree with most of your other points, however just to point out, I too kill the majority of my big bucks at last light or very near to it. Of all the big bucks I've killed none of them have ever been in the early morning. Give me middle of the day and late afternoon every time. One last note, as far as commercials, it's television... it's how they get paid. No worse than watching football with a ton of commercials.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I have no interest in seeing the kill shots (the actual hunting), but I love seeing the deer.
Brisco Darlin
Well-Known Member
i don't watch them anymore. I did use to like the Dan Fitzgerald tapes back in the day.
BSK
Well-Known Member
woodsman87 said:
Thankfully, more and more I'm hearing hunters talk about how ridiculously fake these TV hunting shows are (which is true most of the time). However, what really worries me, and confirms what I've been saying for years--that the human mind is easily influenced at the subconscious level by repeated exposure to particular ideas/images--is that although hunters are finally CONCIOUSLY understanding these shows are garbage, many hunters have become obsessed with filming their own hunts. This rapidly growing desire to emulate is, in my opinion, an indication that the "message" of TV hunting shows have sunk in much deeper than many of us want to admit. Now I fully understand that some who film their hunts are simply trying to record the experience, but listening/reading many of the conversations that go one about filming hunts, and sadly looking at much of what is on YouTube and other internet websites, makes it clear that many are emulating exactly what they see on TV. This is ESPECIALLY true of the younger generation of hunters.
To me, a very disturbing trend...
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
nothing better on to watch when I do watch them. but its not to often.
woodsman87
Well-Known Member
I have only filmed one hunt that was successful as far as killing something. It was a turkey hunt for my little brother, and it is very neat. But I have only tried that one time. I have no desire to put it on you tube, or publish it. All I like to do is watch it now and then and if I have a friend over show it to them.
BSK
Well-Known Member
woodsman87 said:
I think that would be cool woodsman87. Consider deer kills/hunts are primarily a "solitary endeavor" it would be cool to show family members "what the experience was like." But any video I took would never show up on the web!
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
I used to watch them all the time, but you easily get burned out on them since they seem to be all the same. The only hunting knowledge you gain is the wrong stuff pushed on your subconscious mind by the advertisers. I used to think the ideal job would be to have a "must have" product that provided you free invites to hunt on the best properties. Not anymore. I hunted with an outfitter that also had TV hunters in camp. From what I understood, they paid like everyone else as the outfitter did not need the advertising. He sold out anyway. Sometimes they were successful and sometimes not. Often they had to piece together snippets from several hunts to make a show. Most of the show is fill in after the hunt too. That's why it looks like it takes forever to make the shot. Its done after the fact. Now if they produced a show where the buck had a camera on him 24/7 and we could watch his goings and comings, that would be a show to watch. I don't care to hear the hunters anymore. Most of what they say is B$ to sell their products.
BSK
Well-Known Member
fairchaser said:
THAT is a show I want to see!!!
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
woodsman87 said:
we do the same just started last year. I truly enjoy it and we just went back and watched all of our whitetail and turkey hunts from last year its a blast to be able to go back and relive those hunts.
Outdoor Enthusiast
Well-Known Member
Surely a researcher can afford to buy a go-pro camera and strap it to a buck in some manner. Pull some strings BSK!BSK said:
BSK
Well-Known Member
Outdoor Enthusiast said:
Knowing my luck, the first data I would get from the camera is the deer flopping over and some doofus hunter's face staring into the camera!
Just saw another reason that was worth watching just now...watching the show "bloodline" , and the guy had a nice 150 ish white antlered buck coming in fast. As the camera settled in, and the buck stopped, the "hunter" was whispering and fidgeting, instead of getting down to business, and the dandy buck blew and ran off. 
I literally LOL'd.
I literally LOL'd.Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
BSK said:
And there's another good reason why I ALWAYS wear a face mask!
BSK
Well-Known Member
HA!!!
