TV Hunting Shows
- Thread starter N80
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Flatheadyoungin
Veteran Member
welcome to the 21st century!
i'm not a hunter.....nothing against it......i like to eat meat......just didn't grow up around it.....
every now and again, i like to see all the high tech toys they use
i'm not a hunter.....nothing against it......i like to eat meat......just didn't grow up around it.....
every now and again, i like to see all the high tech toys they use
Last edited:
frank_f15
Super Member, Rest in Peace
I have cable and ther are a few hunting show on but very hard to find and at hrs. that are not good for me. would watch them as i was hunter for most of my life but i guess it is like everything else, if offend a person don;t watch it. i have seen medical programs and police progms that iam sure offend many watchers. what are your thoughts on the subject?
reb
Veteran Member
Hunting has always been an important part of my life, but I find TV hunting and fishing programs boring.
mnbowhunter1960
Silver Member
THEY ARE A GREAT PLACE TO SEE NEW INOVATING PRODUCTS AND A PROVEN FORCE IN DRIVING NEW SALES FOR RETAIL OUTLETS,IF IT'S ON TV THEY ASK FOR IT. MH
OP
N80
Super Member
I've got mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, it is fascinating to watch someone bag a deer and I often find myself watching these shows when nothing else is on.
On the other hand, there is a lot I don't like. To make things clear, I do hunt and I don't see anything wrong about the shows in a moral or ethical sense. But here is a short list of the things that bother me:
1) They always make it look too easy. That could just mean I'm a terrible hunter and I'm just jealous, or it could mean that it really is too easy. So often you see the hunter and cameraman chatting, moving around, etc etc. Well, the deer around here don't play that sort of game. Far too wary for that. Which makes me suspect that they are shooting deer in highly managed 'ranch' type situations. I've got no problems with that type of hunting and I'd even do it if I had the chance. But in reality, its not much different from shooting cows. Lots of fun. Big, big deer, but not sure there is much hunting skill involved. My dad calls it deer shooting, not deer hunting.
2) Some of the 'hosts' just seem like idiots to me. They're probably far better hunters than me but they just seem sort of doofy, especially after a kill. Lots of macho talk, little victory dances, etc etc. In my 35+ years of deer hunting we were always excited about a successful hunt but it seemed like it was in a fairly reverent sort of way.....think Emmit Smith after a touchdown....as compared to Terrel Owens. Guess I'm just getting old.
3) Some of the tactics just seem disgusting to me. Once saw them shoot a bear with its head in a huge food (garbage) trough. When the shot hit it, it flipped over into the slop. In my book that is bear shooting. Not bear hunting. Lots of examples like that, especially on the lower end shows. Usually just some redneck with a gun and another redneck with a camera. I always felt like there needed to be some 'sporting' aspect to hunting. When non-hunter see this it gives the rest of us a bad name and a bad rep. I think watching people shoot herd deer under a feeder also makes the general public think that hunting is as easy as a video game.
4) They're morbid. And I'm guilty. Watching a bullet or arrow hit a large game animal is fascinating...at least at first. Its the same curiosity that you get when you go by a terrible car accident. Then once you see it over and over, it just gets to be like watching the slo-mo of Joe Theisman's leg breaking. Why am I watching this...over and over. No good reason. I've killed a lot of deer in my time, but the physical killing is my least favorite part and the part that I respect but don't really want to dwell on. With these shows it is often THE reason to watch. I'm not sure that sort of curiosity or desire to watch is the best quality of a good hunter.
5) All the hype about 'stuff'. That's a characterisitic of any American hobby. Its all about the gadgets, gear, toys, ATVs etc etc. Again, nothing wrong with that. But the older I get then more I find myself in old work cloths, a cushion to sit on and a good basic rifle. No ATV, no tree stand, no scents, no scent blocking cloths, no rangefinders, etc etc. Seems a lot easier to enjoy when you don't get too caught up in what you need to buy next in order to be successful. I think for most people who hunt in places like I do, it is far more important to just be in the woods and learning how to hunt than feeling like they can't be a good hunter without all the stuff.
That's all.
On the other hand, there is a lot I don't like. To make things clear, I do hunt and I don't see anything wrong about the shows in a moral or ethical sense. But here is a short list of the things that bother me:
1) They always make it look too easy. That could just mean I'm a terrible hunter and I'm just jealous, or it could mean that it really is too easy. So often you see the hunter and cameraman chatting, moving around, etc etc. Well, the deer around here don't play that sort of game. Far too wary for that. Which makes me suspect that they are shooting deer in highly managed 'ranch' type situations. I've got no problems with that type of hunting and I'd even do it if I had the chance. But in reality, its not much different from shooting cows. Lots of fun. Big, big deer, but not sure there is much hunting skill involved. My dad calls it deer shooting, not deer hunting.
2) Some of the 'hosts' just seem like idiots to me. They're probably far better hunters than me but they just seem sort of doofy, especially after a kill. Lots of macho talk, little victory dances, etc etc. In my 35+ years of deer hunting we were always excited about a successful hunt but it seemed like it was in a fairly reverent sort of way.....think Emmit Smith after a touchdown....as compared to Terrel Owens. Guess I'm just getting old.
3) Some of the tactics just seem disgusting to me. Once saw them shoot a bear with its head in a huge food (garbage) trough. When the shot hit it, it flipped over into the slop. In my book that is bear shooting. Not bear hunting. Lots of examples like that, especially on the lower end shows. Usually just some redneck with a gun and another redneck with a camera. I always felt like there needed to be some 'sporting' aspect to hunting. When non-hunter see this it gives the rest of us a bad name and a bad rep. I think watching people shoot herd deer under a feeder also makes the general public think that hunting is as easy as a video game.
4) They're morbid. And I'm guilty. Watching a bullet or arrow hit a large game animal is fascinating...at least at first. Its the same curiosity that you get when you go by a terrible car accident. Then once you see it over and over, it just gets to be like watching the slo-mo of Joe Theisman's leg breaking. Why am I watching this...over and over. No good reason. I've killed a lot of deer in my time, but the physical killing is my least favorite part and the part that I respect but don't really want to dwell on. With these shows it is often THE reason to watch. I'm not sure that sort of curiosity or desire to watch is the best quality of a good hunter.
5) All the hype about 'stuff'. That's a characterisitic of any American hobby. Its all about the gadgets, gear, toys, ATVs etc etc. Again, nothing wrong with that. But the older I get then more I find myself in old work cloths, a cushion to sit on and a good basic rifle. No ATV, no tree stand, no scents, no scent blocking cloths, no rangefinders, etc etc. Seems a lot easier to enjoy when you don't get too caught up in what you need to buy next in order to be successful. I think for most people who hunt in places like I do, it is far more important to just be in the woods and learning how to hunt than feeling like they can't be a good hunter without all the stuff.
That's all.
czechsonofagun
Elite Member
I don't watch hunting shows, but remember reading a book about making a documentary on deer, bear, mountain goat, groase, geese etc. in Slovakia. They spent a lot of time scouting and shooting the film - but on the end the movie was cut to be more viewable. Watching somebody sitting on a tree stand for 6 hours is not too much of an amusing movie.
Just my thoughts to your point 1)
Also, I never hunted in my country, but they - means Europeans - make much bigger deal out of the killing. For instance for the deer, they stick an evergreen twig in the bullet hole and same twig with some blood (which they call color) goes on the hunters hat etc.
Pushed hunts for pheasants and rabbits always end up honoring the game - like the picture.
The American way, when you just hang the deer over spare tire of the truck, or place it on the hood is the other extreme
Other pictures are from boar hunting - same thing, on the end of the day, there is a parade and honor paid to pigs.
Just my thoughts to your point 1)
Also, I never hunted in my country, but they - means Europeans - make much bigger deal out of the killing. For instance for the deer, they stick an evergreen twig in the bullet hole and same twig with some blood (which they call color) goes on the hunters hat etc.
Pushed hunts for pheasants and rabbits always end up honoring the game - like the picture.
The American way, when you just hang the deer over spare tire of the truck, or place it on the hood is the other extreme
Other pictures are from boar hunting - same thing, on the end of the day, there is a parade and honor paid to pigs.
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circlelake
Bronze Member
Most only talk about the biggest buck and they hunt on game farms with fences. I don't watch them any more.
OP
N80
Super Member
Yep, that's another issue. I think a lot of hunters, especially young ones, who hunt in normal places might get the impression that the small (by comparison) bucks that they see and have the opportunity to kill are somehow not good enough because every one of them isn't a B&C record grown on a game farm (just like a cow).
I personally think if you want to kill a spike and it makes you happy, then kill it and be happy and proud.
Of course I also think some of the deer management theories convince some folks that they have to pass up everything but the big bucks. I know that deer management can work on some places but in many if not most places where land is owned in fairly small parcels (or is public) and hunted by lots of different folks, deer management is virtually useless. If you think passing up that 2 year old 8 pointer might give you a chance at him next year when he's bigger, then you're dreaming because as soon as he crosses onto the property next door someone else is going to shoot him. And a lot of these shows strongly promote management practices that are likely to work only on highly controlled 'ranch' situations.
But don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against waiting for that big once a season or once in a lifetime buck. I'm kind of at that point myself, not because I'm a 'trophy' hunter or into management, but just because I'm happy if I only kill one a year, or even none if I've had a good time hunting.
Prokop, I really like the ritual I see in your pictures. Honoring the game is a good concept and I'm pretty sure that this was once very common among some American Indian tribes. I think that the feeling of success after a kill should be tinged with at least a little sorrow. I think that is what some of the ritual is about, I suspect. Respect for the animal.
Of course what type of respect is due to a farm raised deer? About the same as a cow.
Where I grew up it is common when someone gets their first deer to paint their face with the deer's blood. It was done to me and I did it to my son. I don't know where the tradition comes from, but it is an old one. Probably came from the Indians.
Redbug
Veteran Member
Hi George,
I don't watch much of those hunting shows at all. And I hunt a lot. They show a lot of idiot overweight men running around acting like it's a football game with the testosterone/egos flowing. That's not what the sport is about! In my mind, hunting is more of an individual thing amongst friends and a private issue. But, the TV's purpose is to sell products thru advertising. Most of those big deer killed on the shows are like what CircleLake said, and not "real world". It is like comparing the bass pros in competition on these lakes to friends just goin' fishing. I don't have the patience to watch them anymore.
The hunting magazines are the same stories hashed up over and over...only with different players. Nothing but what bullet is best for what rhino...and how to kill that big buck, or a story or two about the bears, rattlesnakes and bees teaming up and killing hordes of innocent people. I don't mess with the hunting magazines, either.
I don't watch much of those hunting shows at all. And I hunt a lot. They show a lot of idiot overweight men running around acting like it's a football game with the testosterone/egos flowing. That's not what the sport is about! In my mind, hunting is more of an individual thing amongst friends and a private issue. But, the TV's purpose is to sell products thru advertising. Most of those big deer killed on the shows are like what CircleLake said, and not "real world". It is like comparing the bass pros in competition on these lakes to friends just goin' fishing. I don't have the patience to watch them anymore.
The hunting magazines are the same stories hashed up over and over...only with different players. Nothing but what bullet is best for what rhino...and how to kill that big buck, or a story or two about the bears, rattlesnakes and bees teaming up and killing hordes of innocent people. I don't mess with the hunting magazines, either.