TV HUNTS - STAGED OR REAL ?

[DBogie59]

I just looked up MIDWEST WHITETAIL, you're right it is a useful site. I much prefer these type of shows, the ones that give good tips, rather than the ones that just show another deer being killed. I enjoy MANAGEMENT ADVANTAGE also, once again useful tips.

[bmstaaf]

Watch a volumes 1-7 of drury outdoors...it will tell you everything, it went from apassion- to a business...they educate, shoot does, and tell you what Nd how they hunt....funny things you will notice, they don't mention scent control, they ride to their locations with their hunting clothes on, the bucks don't look like their on roids (thats their later seasons)... they are awesome videos, and it shows you how the industry exploded....I ad typing on my phone, (not editing) one more think they do on the videos is hang stands and hunt them that day...in todays world to most, this stuff would not get you a buck, but they got them!

[Den]

I think most are staged.Sure who dont like watching a Huge buck arrowed from a tree or ground blind,but i would like to see more avarage hunters take deer in there own state or hunting ground whether a tropy or not.I enjoy watching that kind of hunt the most.At least you know its honest

[rjohannsen]

Watch Heartland Bowhunters and check out their website. Those guys are legit and film some awesome hunts! Real, down to earth guys just out hunting!

[scotman]

By "real" I mean hunting as you and I experience when we go hunting. That's what I called hunting with all that goes with it.

It seems these programs are really commercials for xyz outfitters or xyz ranchers and if you come here the same thing will happen for you.

How long have these deer been protected so that when the cameras roll there will be action Not to be to cynical. I think that some of these deer are hand picked for certain celebrities before they ever arrive for their hunt. Would be nice if they were honest about the details.

This is another reason that I feel that some of the testimonials and endorsements that are from these kind of hunts are useless in telling us how they would work on a real hunt.

Welcome to the hunting industry! I quit watching a long time ago, now I just go and hunt.

[Gutrunner]

I'm a little late to this conversation but it applies to my thoughts while hunting yesterday afternoon. Today's "hunting" shows have convinced new hunters that to be a successfull hunter follow these simple rules:
1. Plant it and they will come.
2. Pour it out of bag or container and they will come.
3. "New" is better when it comes to equipment.
In SC where I hunt, the hunter numbers are dropping with the deer population. Everyone has been brainwashed by the QDMA that most "hunting" shows shove down our throats daily. A "trophy" deer is judged by the eye of the beholder.
"Real or Fake" hunts make it hard to get my 8 year old son to go hunting. "It's boring" is his reply when I ask if he would like to accompany me to the hunting woods. It's hard to compete with computer games, television and more 3rd grade homework than I can remember. My son has watched "hunting" shows with me and has become disillussioned by what he has seen. When he has gone hunting with me, if a deer hasn't show up in 10 minutes, time to go! I hope as he matures he will understand that hunting is more about the experience than the kill.
I was fortunate to grow up when public lands were widely available for hunting in SC. My father taught me to be an outdoorsman and to understand why an animal would be in a certain area. Todays "hunting" shows have left new hunters with an expectation of instant gratification by merely entering the woods on a hunt. Few "hunting" shows use airtime to educate new hunters.
I could not agree more with the comparison of "hunting" shows and porn. Most of todays "hunting" shows are infomercials pushing products. What we see is what they want us to see. Another dead deer with large antlers, the likes of which, most of us will never see in our lifetime of hunting.
"That's all I have to say about that." - Forrest Gump.

[loneranger]

Last post was SO TRUE,,,! I know though,,you can see deer just out walking around, in daylight,,nice bucks too, if you have one thing,,,,lots of light pressured land. I once paid for a hunt in S Dakota. No fences,,no bait,,,just 3,000 acres hardly hunted. Could not believe my eyes! Deer out parading across openings at 3: in the afternoon. Large bucks too. Were like cattle! Was just a cattle ranch, where rifle hunters,,a few at that,,hunted basically from pick-ups, on the two tracks. So,,if you can purchase enough land,,and disturb the deer little. You can have the hunting you see on TV. I can't,,and I don't!

[Woods Walker]

You got it! The scenario you described is sadly what makes most (not all) TV hunting "celebrities" so popular.

I remember one show where this doofus who just shot his "booner" was whining about how he hunted "hard" (sitting on his can in a treehouse that someone else built and scouted) for THREE WHOLE DAYS before he killed this buck of a lifetime.

Cry me a freaking river.......

[Sopchoppy]

Another one not to watch......don't even remember the name of the show. Hog "hunting" in South Georgia with a BUSINESS named "Hog Swat", who uses night vision equipment and AR-15's. The first 20 minutes of the show was the guy talking about what a problem hogs are in Georgia and the "service" he provides to the farmers. For 5 minutes of the 30 minute show, the host of the show shot at hogs with the AR-15. Must have fired 100 shots and killed maybe 5 hogs. He was shooting as fast as he could pull the trigger as the hogs ran all over the open field. My wife who was on Facebook, looked up and asked, "what kind of hunting is that"? Hog problem or not, that ain't the way to do it.

[Ostermann]

I tend to watch more of the shows related to property or habitat management, young hunters hunting, or certain areas of the country. I could care less about watching hunter X that we all know for the past 10 years shooting another 20000 inch buck. Most of the time it is on land that is scouted by someone else, maybe fenced, low pressure, limited hunters, etc.

I would rather see the young kid shoot that 5 pointer (not a management buck) or watch a hunt in another part of the country. Like i've said in earlier posts, too much of the, "I smoked that buck" talk after the shot and not paying attention to where it runs.

I had the opportunity to take out my son (7), nieces (11, 9) and nephew (7) out hunting in Wisconsin. I was blessed to shoot a small doe with all four of the kids in tow! Now if I can get them to settle down, maybe next year I can take them out a few more times if they want to go.

Every deer a trophy and cherish your time in the woods.