TV hunters portrayed as ignorant.

[oldfireguy]

I grew up watching The American Sportsman. Hosts like Gowdy, and a variety of well known guests. Articulate. Great stories.
Today, the shows seem to celebrate ignorance. "Me and my buddy", or "I seen it".....loud music drowning out the sounds of nature. Unsportsmanlike shots crippling deer. Excuses of "We backed out during warm weather; didn't want to lose the G2's....just the meat. Shooting technology has relaxed hunting skills.
Ah hell. Long winter.

[Plainsman]

They are all products prostitutes that I can't stand anymore. They have to stand just right so you can see their Nikon binocs strap, then twist so you can see their Leupold rifle scope. They leave the big sticky patches on their rifles, of which Savage covers half the stock. They whisper after the deer is dead. You see three minutes, the three minutes of advertising. When they come back on there is two minutes of review. Out of a half hour show your lucky to see seven or eight minutes of actual hunting. Cut out the tree stand whispering bs tactics and your definitely under five minutes.

[KEN W]

You guys must be watching the same shows I used to watch. I got tired of all the same stuff you guys mentioned. Especially the bad grammar....."Me and him." etc. And also that whispering after the shot was made. If I can't understand what they are saying.....I turn the channel. With 3 hunting and fishing networks you can watch these guys 24 seven.

[Chuck Smith]

The product and commercial BS is what I cant stand.

I hate to say it especially on the show the "fowl life". In that 30 min show they have 15 mins of paid commericals (ie: regular breaks), then they have 12 mins of in show Ad's.... in the middle of birds dropping they are putting up logos of companies. Then you have 3 mins of talking... mostly about the products.

I like the shows that talk about the cooking, skinning, taking care of the game. I like Fred Euchler and his shows. He gets so excited about just harvesting an animal. Plus his wife typically shows a cooking aspect or he does a skinning aspect. I also like the show meat eater.

But you are correct... the shows are getting worse and worse.

[Plainsman]

I watch Meat Eater, and Tim Wells on Utube. Along with Mark Dice of course.

[KEN W]

I mainly watch waterfowl and upland hunting shows. Except the upland on a game farm.....No tolerance for shooting pen raised and released birds when the guy gets there.

[blhunter3]

Meat Eater is awesome. Steven Rinella also has some great books, well worth it. I like learning more about the cooking, cleaning, and the whole background of the hunt. Just kill clips gets old, because they always shoot monster big game, or always limit out of fowl. Though it is cool so see their spreads of decoys, but learning why they set up, or how they set up if fun. But seeing 500 fullbody Canada goose or duck spreads is out of the realm for normal guys.

[Chuck Smith]

Though it is cool so see their spreads of decoys, but learning why they set up, or how they set up if fun. But seeing 500 fullbody Canada goose or duck spreads is out of the realm for normal guys.

Exactly.... waterfowl shows need to be about this. Showing the set up each hunt... wind direction, hide, decoy placement. Or if they had to change something up in the middle of the hunt to make the birds come in closer.

These shows should be teaching material and entertainment.

I am sure it is like most of us the same ones work year after year. But it is always good to learn something new or just to see that they way you are doing it works.

[dakotashooter2]

I loved American Sportsman ...Particularly for the narrative and story telling. Shows don't do that any more. Maybe because modern viewership doesn't have the attention span for it, and certainly not the appreciation. I don't watch very many outdoor shows any more. There is no "romance" or mystic to them. Watching American sportsman you could "feel" yourself there.

[blhunter3]

" I couldn't have shot this monster buck without __________________" Is so annoying. I know you have to give plug to your sponsors, but limit it to 3-4 a show.

[KEN W]

The other thing that gets me is that 99% of these hunting shows are using a G/O. Obviously none of them can find game and do it on their own like most of us do.

[blhunter3]

There have been times when you can see the high wire fence in the background. Yeah, that's fun.

[Plainsman]

There have been times when you can see the high wire fence in the background. Yeah, that's fun.

I am surprised how many African hunts are canned fenced in hunts. I don't remember what the animal was, but I was watching this one show and the guy says wow are we lucky he is coming back towards us. Like the animal had much choice, they had chased him into a corner and he was simply following the fence around. Sort of like some of the elk and deer hunts in North Dakota. Disease factories in my opinion.

[KEN W]

The worst of those I can remember was a few years ago when Jimmy Houston was deer hunting from a stand and the owners of a fenced deer yard were herding bucks toward him to shoot. You could clearly see the fenced in area.I have refused to watch any of his shows since.

Don't know if you guys have seen this video. If not.....it might make you sick to your stomach. The deer are drugged and herded towards the hunter. One even falls down and the owners prop it up so the guy in the stand can shoot it. He paid $15,000 for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbcZQ52lAs

[blhunter3]

That was an easy $15,000 someone made because someone else is a sucker.

[riverrat47]

Every outdoorsman I talk to says the same thing about the hunting and fishing shows being nothing but 30 minute commercials. I can't decide which is worse for commercialism, the hunting shows or the fishing shows. I very rarely watch anymore.
Why can't we get something better? Well, from my understanding, the show has to pay to be on an outdoor channel. Thus, they have a bazillion sponsors to be able to afford to buy time and each sponsor expects maximum exposure.
Yep. I, too, long for the return of Curt Gowdy and "The American Sportsman."

[Plainsman]

I hit the outdoor channel the other day as I turned on my tv headed towards Utube. Anyway there was a fishing show on and the guy had so many stickers on his boat you couldn't tell what color the boat was. The deck of the bass boat was entirely covered, as was his clothing. I get why they do that, but what bugs me is a one half hour show is more advertising than show.

[blhunter3]

Advertising is crazy expensive. Just to get someone to wear a t shirt with your company name on it, can cost over $50,000 a year.