TV Hunting Shows

NiceRack

NiceRack

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I am an avid viewer of several hunting shows on television. The best in my opinion are Eastman's, Jim Shockey and a few others.
The ones I just can't stand are the shows from Texas, the midwest and the south when guys sit in a "box on stilts" or a "tree stand" for a few hours and then claim they "HUNTED HARD ALL DAY"! If that's hunting hard all day, what do they call a day of spot and stalk hunting in the Rocky Mountains when I am putting down at least 7 miles a day at altitude where there is little flat ground?
Or am I just venting?
Paul
"Nice Rack" Taxidermy
 
I don't know about you, but sitting in a steaming hot or ice cold box box or stand from sun up till down down seems a little more brutal than being able to hike and move around.
Just my honest opinion.







48288e6577d023b6.jpg
 
I would mostly agree with you. I think that watching a tree stand hunting show is extremely boring. But it takes more patience than I have, to sit in one place and wait for the game to come to me. I prefer spot and stalk, or still hunting. I would rather be in control.

Check out the Show "The Huntley Way" on Versus. Best hunting show out there in my opinion. Never have seen a boring episode yet.
 
I like Huntley's shows because he doesn't take it too seriously. He actually has fun. He just needs some new shows because some of them are a couple of years old now. Having said that, he does have a super nice looking wife to share that Montana cabin with!!! :)

Scott
Member: RMEF, SCI, NRA, and TU
 
My favorite are the crush,higher ground, roadtrips,jim shockey,dave watson all good shows a lot of different hunts. They do sent out good messages to the viewers. On fair chase hunts also include eastmans to.
 
I like the Huntley Way as well. I recently learned that Huntley is an actor when I saw him a few small roles in movies. I wonder which came first, the acting roles or the hunting show.
 
I think that there should be a TV show for the hard-core guys. I don't even care if they kill something. Remember that Eastman's with David Long this spring. I had just as much frun watching the deer moving around and the blown stalks as I did the actual kill shot. If it was a few guys who knew what they were doing and showed how they "hunted" not just how they kill I think it would make for a better TV show.
But I took some scouts down the bighorn river in drift boats and we caught fish all day. However, most could not wait to get home and play thier video games. It's the "now" generation I guess but I would rather see some guys with their bows blow stalks all day than watch some guy who won the Eastman drawing shoot a 24" buck at 200 yards that is standing there with his nose up the does' you-know-what 1/4 mile from the ranch house.

Just my opinion
 
I watch most of them, some are lame some not. My favorites are Elk Chronicles, Best of the West, Eastmans. There is a new one out this year that is awesome "On Your Own Adventures" Just a regular guy hunting deer, elk and goats.
 
Second that TUNA "On Your Own Adventures" is a pioneer it's the only show me and my son 9yrs old can sit down and relate to !
 
Easy about bashing Texas hunting. You would have so many thorns up your ass after 5 minutes of hiking you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. We just do it a little different down here.

+1 for On Your Own Adventures.
 
Grew up in Midwest and have lived out West for 20 years. Hunted both areas a lot.

Here are my observations.

Midwest and places like Texas have lots of private land and big game hunting usually means just whitetail. Blinds and tree stands make sense when the land you hunt is no more than a few acres. You often hunt only private property. A few hunters will spot and stalk but that is not something you do for hours when have just 10 acres or so to hunt. Do not need horses. No need to camp in a tent.

Out West is different. More big game than just deer to hunt. There is a lot of public land in most units.

My observation is 95% of hunters out West seem happy to drive roads in trucks or ATVs looking for animals on the surrounding public land. I am not sure those folks road hunting in a mobile "tree stand" are much different than the Midwest hunter using a heated tree stand.

For now I have good health and can be picky how hunt. I try to avoid applying for hunts with lots of tags. I cherish days where I can glass without seeing orange vests on every ridge, not encounter "public" waterholes with empty stands or blinds "claiming" the public land for the entire season nor hear ATVs illegally zooming around me from sun up to sun down on closed roads.

Today, if I need to hire an outfitter or pay a trespass fee to get some elbow room on a hunt to have a good experience then I will rather than do it myself which is a more rewarding hunt for me. Putting meat in the freezer does not define if the hunt was worthwhile as long as had some quiet times on the hunt.

At some point, God willing, I am going to be very old and the only hunt I go on may involve a tree stand over a bean field in Missouri or glassing for elk from a road in Montana with a guide at the wheel. I will be smiling from ear to ear, I'm sure.

My 2 cents.
 
I watch quit a few. Shockey and the Bowhunter crew are my favorites. I'm a big fan of reading the story and then watching the show. Bowhunter does a great job of putting you in the hunt. Primos puts out a couple of good elk shows per year. Michael Waddel does a nice mix of entertaining as well as some serious hunting. Two sleeper shows:
Ton Nelson Dead down wind. I always seem to learn something from Tom.
Relentless Pursuits. Pure entertainment and some pretty unbelievable bowshots.
Gotta love the Nuge but the shows are getting a little predictable.
I only get out west every couple years, the shows bring me back and keep me motivated till next time.
HD
 
I like most of the hunting shows. However some of the white tail shows just dont do it for me. however i wont go bash how they hunt them. I personlay think the guys that do the bashing don't get out of utah much. the areas where ive seen white tail deer are thick in cover, have no hills to look over and are near lots of houses. you simply cant set up one of stinky's guns and blast em from a mile away.

4a7d1f93337c7fd7.jpg

Archery is a year round commitment!!
 
I like most of the shows, however if I find one I don't like, I turn the channel. I am sure others enjoy it, but it might not be my "cup of tea".
 
I like the eastmans shows when Cameron and/or Nate Simmons are on them. There is no doubt those guys get after it. Like most, you can have your high fence, turkey hunting, back east hunting shows because they just don't do it for me. I'm not knocking the way they do it, it just isn't the first thing I like to watch. Probably because I don't get that way to hunt much. I'm sure the eastern guys are thinking the same thing about the western hunts. :)

Anyway I have to give a huge plug for "On Your Own Adventures". He's got something going there. He does everything on his own, no guides, no private land all public land hunting. He even shows you what it takes to make that hunt happen. A show for the average joe that's for sure.

IB
 
I like On Your Own Adventures because of how he does it and he shows the good with the bad, Eastman's is quality and Shockey and Wadell can be funny as hell and put on a good show. I would like Tiffany & Lee better if they took a few average joes and let them hunt a bit. Taking rich country music stars that can hunt anywhere isn't always necessary when they're at a place where they can make a difference in some guys life. They are nice people though. The Primo's guys do a great job too and their hunt where they took the two guys that won the hunt this year was really great. Those guys were hard working and could have never afforded a hunt like they had.
 
1 more for On Your Own Adventures, I also like to watch Christensen Outdoors it has some good quality hunts on it.
A new one that I seen the other night was Lethal Addiction with the Mossback crew, don't know if I like that one yet I will have to watch it a couple more times to see what it's all about I just caught the tailend of it.
 
I do like a lot of shows out there too, however, I will put a spin on it and say that the shows I do like are because of the quality of the people that do them, they may not always kill the biggest animal, but off the television, they are some of the best people you would ever care to meet and wouldn't mind supporting their shows...just another way to look at it for me.......
 
I like Porn shows...

But ONYOA is a close second :)

-Moosie

Don't hate da playa Hate da Game !!
 
Like slam said in his first post. I hunted whitetails last november in Missouri. Its not as easy as it seems. It was so cold in the mornings and during the day, sittin in the trees where theres no sun, its maybe 20 degrees and i was either sitting in a metal tree stand up in the air with the ice cold breeze cutting through my artic sheild gear or on the ground where my feet froze. Its definately not like mule deer hunting, but its not easy in any sence. I gained a lot more respect for white tail hunters after that and i really really want to do it again.


-Cass
 
I'm another fan of OYOA. I really enjoy that show. You know he isnt always going to tag an animal and even at that they arent always huge.

Hopefully the guy is as good as his show. Haven't met him yet.

Although its rich mans play I enjoy Expedition Safari, between him and Shockey they cover the world.

When it comes down to it the backyard guys that get after it are my favorites.
 
I watched Elk Chronicles this week,and watched the president of the RMEF go "ELK HUNTING" on a $9000.00 hunt in colorado on a Huge private ranch. He said what a "TOUGH" hunt he had,and it looked pretty easy to me,by driving up the road and seeing hundreds of Elk to take your'e pick from. These kind of shows turn my stomach,and as a working stiff have a hard time donating to such a cause. I quit the magazine about 8-years ago,mainly because there lack ok of usable information,and their loose stance on wolves. Just my opinon...
 
'On Your Own Adventures' is a great new show I say....I've seen it a few times now and I find it to be just like hunting on public land is for me. I agree with brdhuntr on these shows that are filmed on a private land.....it's just too easy, they don't have a clue what REAL hunting for the average hardworking guy is like. I'd like to see more shows on the same theme as OYOA.....keep up the good work guys.
 
"it's just too easy, they don't have a clue what REAL hunting for the average hardworking guy is like."

Now that's funny right there. The difference is that you are hunting unmolested game that the "average hardworking guy" hasn't bumped from draw to draw. Elk are still elk and deer are still deer. I'd like to think that I'm an "average hardworking guy" and I'm pretty sure I "have a clue" what "REAL" hunting is like on both private and public. "REAL hunting" for the "average hardworking guy"? Are you kidding me?


It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com
 
AWLB,

I have to agree with firemedic...and not sure what point you're trying to make?

I dont think firemedic was kidding.

There is a very clear and distinct difference between hunting elk, deer, antelope etc. on private VS public land. I more than have a clue regarding those differences as I've done my fair share of both. I will preface with the fact that I have never, and very likely will never, pay for access to private land. I have however hunted quite a bit of private free of any charge.

I used to have pretty much exclusive hunting rights on a very large ranch in central Montana for mule deer. Not uncommon to see 40-60 4x4 buck deer a day...nothing B&C size, but many nice mature mule deer bucks by Eastern Montana standards. Those deer would stand next to the road and wouldnt even run when you got out to glass them. The public lands surrounding that ranch...lucky to see any mature buck. If you did, I assure you they wouldnt stand around waiting to glassed.

Beings how a majority of hunters arent either willing to pay for exclusive access or know a rancher...most of us hunt on public land. Its only logical to say that for a vast majority "real hunting" involves dealing with heavily hunted big-game on public lands and all the other things that go along with hunting public land. The big-game on that public land act much differently than the game found on private lands...anyone with even remote hunting experience and 2 firing brain cells recognizes that fact.

Want another classic example? How about killing a 330 bull on one of Turners private ranches VS hunting the surrounding public land? Pretty comparable I mean deer are deer and elk are elk right? Me thinks not.

Big difference between the two and to deny that is pretty much to deny logic.
 
Point: Don't elevate yourself and think that because a person hunts private land that they aren't "real hunters". Sure the game acts different thus my statement "unmolested". The initial thread was talking about TV shows hunting on private land vs those that film their shows on public land. It's definately easier to film animals on private land because it's hunting them in their natural behavior. Believe me when I say the difference is being able to sneek up on a rutting bull knowing that somebody is not going to come over the hill and blow your 600 yard stalk. That's the difference. Sitting on a ridge waiting for half the country to bump elk past you so that you can get that 15 second shot at a running bull....that's the difference. I can promise you one thing, given the opportunity, I would wager that most, if not all, would jump at the chance to hunt private land. It's not because the elk have duller senses or the deer are dumber. It's because you don't have to deal with the people issue. Hopefully that clears it up for you Buzz.

It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com
 
Bull, seems to me that you're missing the obvious point. On a general tag hunt on public property there just aren't the animals that there are on a good private property hunt. On public, it's not being worried that someone is going to "bump" your animal, it's the fact that there are a LOT more hunters around and that you may not even SEE a shooter animal.

To try and pass off that the two hunts are even remotely similar, IMO, is just wrong. There is a MAJOR difference in the type and quality of hunts expected.

Joey
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-16-09 AT 10:25PM (MST)[p]AWLB,

Maybe you dont get the point...or maybe you havent done much public land hunting.

Lets just use a mature six point bull as the animal in question regarding a "real hunt".

I could take 1-2 days a year on Turners Flying D or Bar None and whack a 330 bull every single year...without a problem one, and thats not a guess, thats the truth. I dont think spending a day or two a year hunting a private ranch equates to a "real elk hunt".

I also happen to have a friend from Montana who kills a mature bull EVERY year on public land. Bulls that any hunter would be extremely proud of. The guy works his guts out, spends a ton of time hunting, and even more time scouting. To do what he does takes an incredible amount of commitment...something that 99.9% of the hunters simply dont, and wont, do.

You damn right I'll elevate a hunter who routinely takes mature bulls on public land in OTC units above some dude that pays a trespass fee to whack a bull in one day, with no scouting on a private ranch loaded with mature bulls.

There is a difference, and that difference is huge. I get tired of seeing show after show with some no-talent assclown hunting private land that he's paid to access (most of the time with a guide) and claiming its a "real hunt". Real for who? Rich dudes? People that own private ranches? People that pay for leases?

Not meaning to offend, but "real hunting" for the vast majority does not involve anything to do with private land, leasing, or paying for guided hunts all the time.

Real hunting involves dealing with low densities of mature animals, other hunters, and all the rest that goes with hunting on public land.

No, not everyone would jump at the chance to hunt on private. I hunted that ranch in central Montana I referenced in my first post for 7 years. It was a great place for my wife to hunt because the deer were not real jumpy (I'm being kind by not calling them just plain dumb). She was 7-7 on 4 point or better bucks. My wife and I are welcome on that ranch to this day, but havent hunted it for nearly 10 years.

I assure you, that ranch was NOTHING like hunting public land.
 
I don't know what public land you're hunting, and if it's in Montana then your public land must really be hurting. It's probably like deer in Utah. I hunt both public and private every single year for elk, and have done for 15 or so years. The amount of game is no different. The "densities" are very similar. In fact, they just might be better on public than private. The ONLY DIFFERENCE is the amount of people pushing game. If Ted Turner has 1000 elk on his ranch and you have access to 100 on public land in Montana then ya, you're probably right. I am only speaking of my experience in Utah and Colorado.

Oh and Buzz, if what you say is true, then I'm sure glad you saw the light after 7 years of being one of those people that wasn't a "real hunter". I bet you're relieved.

It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com
 
Most of the midwest shows (all t.v. hunting shows for that matter)you see are edited clips of an entire hunt. A buddy of mine does filming for a t.v. show. (fair chase whitetails) He usually hunts days for every minute that makes the show.

Often people get the idea that for whitetails, you sit in a tree for 5 minutes and then shoot the big buck that walks by. I wish it was like that.

The big difference from when I lived and hunted in Idaho, is that you would try and spot the game and then move to it.

Here in Ohio, it is different in that you set up in 1 spot and try to do things to bring the animals to you. (grunting, rattling, scents) Sitting in a tree in 10 below weather trying to remain motionless is harder then any hunting I did out west.

Both require skill that is acquired by years of practice and trial and error.

I love both types of hunting, but I still think I get the biggest rush out of seeing an animal a ways off, and then being able to fool it into coming into you. The last few steps before you shoot is the best.
 
AWLB,

That may very well be the problem...you havent hunted MT...I have for the last 28 years. Most of the state is OTC tags for residents and 17,000 elk tags for NR, who can also hunt just about anywhere in the state. Those tags are good for ten full weeks of hunting (5 weeks archery, followed by 5 weeks of rifle).

How do you suppose the elk hunting would be in Utah with that amount of pressure statewide?

Think things would be the same on private VS public? Think that kind of pressure would impact the number of mature bulls on public land? What do you suppose it would do to bull-to-cow ratios? How much effort do you suppose it would take for a person to kill a mature bull on public land every year?

Yeah, thats what I thought.

Oh, and for the record, regarding that ranch I hunted. I gained access after trying for 3 years to get on that place. It wasnt easy to get access, but the rancher liked how we hunted. We walked everywhere and only drove on the county roads. We back packed or took all our game out on game carts. We shot does every year, which were way over-populated as well. After the first two years of us hunting there, we were not only welcome anytime, but also invited to stay in their home. It was comical watching other hunters roll in to ask permission and the rancher answer the door telling them, "we're full with hunters for the next week". My wife and I on the largest ranch in the particular county we hunted...real crowded.

I killed one buck in 7 years on that place...did shoot a doe or two each year on B tags though. I prefered to hunt public land whitetails in Western Montana in the timber. Nothing compares to that type of "real hunting".

So you know I wasnt bullchitting about the animals on that ranch...heres a few my wife and family took:

Wifes first buck:
pats1deer.JPG


Another one:

pats2deer.JPG


Yet another:

http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/muledeer/websize/pats3buck.JPG[img]

One my Father shot:

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/muledeer/websize/Dadsbuck.JPG

Oh, and one last picture of the ONE buck I shot on that ranch...real trophy, shot it on the last day of the season.

buzzmd2.JPG


Dont want to bore you with a bunch more pictures...I've an album full of similar type bucks taken on that ranch by my family and a few close friends.
 
No AWLB.....I wasn't 'kidding'. I meant what I said about 'real hunting'. I hunt private land here in my home state of Alabama for deer.....but that wasn't always the case. I hunted public land and WMAs for years before I had a chance to hunt this private land, so I'm quite aware of the difference between the two. Plus, I think that difference is magnified here in the East. I've hunted out West in NM 6 times in the last 12 or so years....all on public land,....I've sat next to the Floyd Lee ranch and watched bulls come out an hour and a half before sundown on the private land when they won't be caught out until well after sundown on the public where I was. We hunt all private land in southern GA where we hog hunt,...and I'm VERY lucky to have that capability. However as Buzz stated, this was about TV shows, and when an incompetant doofus that can't hit a pie plate at 200 yards with a rifle kills a huge game animal almost weekly......I don't consider that to be 'real' hunting.....it's catering to a TV show personality.....on PRIVATE land. I will be hunting in unit 17 for deer this Nov. in NM where we will drive 2 hours from the pavement....camp in the same place we have every other trip to this place...which was 4,...I'll walk from camp every morning until I get to the place I want to start glassing and go from there. We will camp for probably 7 days and enjoy every minute of it. I may not even see a shooter, I may kill a 180, but this will be what I consider 'REAL' hunting. I have never hunted private land out West....may never....but I DO understand the differences in the two...and I agree with most of your ideas about them...BUT....the TV shows don't lie.....if you're THAT big of a nit-wit on camera....what are you off camera?
 

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