TV HUNTS - STAGED OR REAL ?

[Jon H.]

I think, these so call pro's, is no better hunters than us! Mater of fact, I feel we are better hunters because, we have to figure out the in's and out's and put in the time. Witch they can't. They have to shoot a lot of deer to make a season. So they have to go where they can! Witch means outfitters and high fence! All they are is personalty's. Now Lee and TIf. They have a farm, and they plant food plots all year. And run camera's all year. With no hunting pressure other than them. Shoot, even I can shoot big deer like that! So even with them, it is all staged! If it wouldn't, you wouldn't watch them and buy there products!

[bmorris]

This I think is a very accurate state of TV hunting. What seems like a "real" hunting situation is really staged in one way or another. Just like in bear hunting the time of when the animals will show is predetermined by the use of timers ,guides or trail cameras. That is why I can't understand all the hype and advertising is accepted by the general hunting public. With or without the products used the show will go on.

[All Talk]

I just want to say since I read this post when it was originally posted I have found myself watching each show and wondering how they got that shot or, that would not happen that way. It has made some of them hard to watch. I think most of the staging is done after the shot. They reinact what happened to make it a better show. It would be hard to get all the angles while hunting. You might never kill anything because you would scare everything off before the shot.

[loneranger]

I have to say,most big buck,videos,the ones where old bucks are shot week after week,if not staged, are shot on large tracts of land, where lack of human contact make the deer almost tame. Case In Point- I got disgusted with the hunting I had on public land in N. MI. I paid for a hunt in S Dakota, near the Blk Hills. These cattle ranchers had never had a bow hunter on their land.I was the first one.usually they just booked 5 or 6 rifle hunters that they took out in their pick-ups. They would spot a nice buck,stop the truck, get out,,andshoot it. First eve out I couldn't believe my eyes. Deer paraded out single file hrs before dark, with little fear. No bait put out. No high fence. Just 3,000 acres of land for cattle and little human disturbance. Most deer, some nice bucks too, used trails too far away for my bow. I asked if they had a tree stand. Get me up a tree back by those trails. Next day at 1pm, we were out there putting a stand in a tree. Sweating with the truck parked under the tree. They sawed off pine boughs which they piled next to the trails. I can't hunt here tonight,,I said. All this disturbance, and smell, the deer will never come near. They thought I was crazy. Won't bother the deer they said,,,and they were right. Same time before dark here came the deer. Does with fawns, bucks of all ages, walking right down those stinky trails, with fresh-cut boughs all over. The cowboys even left the aluminum ladder I used to climb the tree on the ground. I watched a nice buck step right over it.If I hadn't seen this I wouldn't have believed it! It showed me,,if deer are mostly left not pestered by humans,,only a few farmers or cow-hands, they will settle down almost like cattle. Much different than public land in MI. This explains alot of the videos. I now reside 20 miles from Lee and Tiff, in Iowa. I only own 40 acres, and have many neighbors that shoot anything brown. The hunting is better than MI, but not like the quality the video makers have on their thousands of ,"Managed", acres!!

[pgchambers]

My brother and I bowhunt 240 acres on the edge of Buffalo County, WI. Most of the neighbors, as well as ourselves, practice some sort of management strategy. We all plant food plots, pass on young bucks, and try to keep the doe population in check. There are no outfitters within ten miles of us, and there are no high fences. The last four years, we have seen or taken at least one 150"-160" buck, and several B&C bucks have gone down to neighbors.

I rifle hunt about 260 acres around 6 miles away from my bowhunting land. On that property the guys have no food plots, shoot anything and everything, and basically have no management philosophy what-so-ever. We have taken one 150" buck in the last ten years. Again, the difference is 6 miles. The fact is, I enjoy hunting at both places.

My point is, staged or real, is a matter of perception. Is my bowhunting property staged? You could argue that it is, but the work put in to create that environment is part of the fun for us. When I invite a friend to hunt with me that didn't help, is he really hunting, since I place him in a stand where he has the best opportunity even though he would have no clue without me? I am not sure he cares. Many of the TV shows are probably staged, but I am certain they are to differing degrees. I guess it is up to the individual to decide what goes too far and what constitutes staging.

[jonny5buck]

My brother and I bowhunt 240 acres on the edge of Buffalo County, WI. Most of the neighbors, as well as ourselves, practice some sort of management strategy. We all plant food plots, pass on young bucks, and try to keep the doe population in check. There are no outfitters within ten miles of us, and there are no high fences. The last four years, we have seen or taken at least one 150"-160" buck, and several B&C bucks have gone down to neighbors.

I rifle hunt about 260 acres around 6 miles away from my bowhunting land. On that property the guys have no food plots, shoot anything and everything, and basically have no management philosophy what-so-ever. We have taken one 150" buck in the last ten years. Again, the difference is 6 miles. The fact is, I enjoy hunting at both places.

My point is, staged or real, is a matter of perception. Is my bowhunting property staged? You could argue that it is, but the work put in to create that environment is part of the fun for us. When I invite a friend to hunt with me that didn't help, is he really hunting, since I place him in a stand where he has the best opportunity even though he would have no clue without me? I am not sure he cares. Many of the TV shows are probably staged, but I am certain they are to differing degrees. I guess it is up to the individual to decide what goes too far and what constitutes staging.

That would be a fair assessment ...but if you bow hunt one property and rifle hunt another 6miles away...how do you know food plots and management have anything to do with it????...you would have to bow hunt both properties about the same time and months ...and number of days.....same thing with rifle hunting.....otherwise your comparing rifle hunting to bow hunting......right??

[pgchambers]

I guess I am just going by sightings of mature bucks. They are almost non-existent on the property with no management. I see your point, though, a true comparison is not possible with differing situations, so it is a bit of conjecture on my part.

I will stand by my opinion that management practices can produce pretty awesome bucks for average hunters. The properties I hunt are all owned by family or close family friends, so they are not public land. The idea some people seem to have, is average hunters can't see the results of TV hunters. I realize I am fortunate to have access to private land, I am on the edge of a pretty ideal whitetail habitat, and also am fortunate to have neighbors who share our management philosophy, but I am a middle class, small town boy, which is pretty average in my opinion.

[jonny5buck]

@pgchambers- i understand what your saying...i also have private land that i hunt ,and i also hunt a few state parks....i like having several different areas to hunt so that if one gets too much traffic even from neighbors i can hunt some of the smaller woods ....the parks are a crap shoot...but some are in areas that always produce big big bucks....i actually relish killing a bigger older buck on state ground because odds are he has seen alot in his few yrs.

Im not totally against 'deer management'' but it leaves alot to interpretation....there are alot of big ranches that gobble up thousands of acres and fence it all off..making tons of money : some have no scrupples or common sense...it wouldnt suprise me if some of them have tags in the ears of their deer and drive their ''clients'' by for there choice of which big buck they want to kill...all the while preaching about '' management'' and food plots with brochures and products like a pushy salesman.....

than there is the blue collar guy..[which you seem to be] who basically hunts and passes on smaller ,immature deer because they are patient and looking for something bigger and older...if there neighbors do the same its a bonus...my only gripe about qdm guy #2 is when they almost seem disappointed when a neighbor or someone kills a basket rack buck or button buck...the great thing about this sport is each person decides what ''THEY'' want to kill...i represent a monority in deer hunting...i have harvested a few big bucks,several in between and still kill fawns every yr......i hunt for meat foremost...but let at least 12-15 deer walk every yr simply because im just not feeling the ''kill'' button or have plenty of meat in the freezer..and decide to be choosey...i have also gone an entire season chasing ''big boy'' ...and come up short...and some yrs have shot up to 2 fawns a doe and 2 bucks...each time i go out is different...each season is different...each sit in the stand is quality time...sorry to babble on...just wanted you to know i wasnt downing you or trying to be demeaning..for your hunting style either....hunt hard brother-JON~

[pgchambers]

jonny5buck

I certainly didn't take your post as anything but good conversation, so no worries. I agree with you on the judgement thing. My brother is a too wound up sometimes about what the neighbors or even his father-in-law are doing. I am more of a hunt and let hunt kind of guy. It is why I enjoy the break of hunting with my rifle hunting buddies. We aren't bone hunting, and we really have a blast during the WI 9 day. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the management stuff too, but why not have variety if you can, and what the other guy is doing is not much of my concern.

[Bukmastr]

I agree with most... Hunting TV sucks. Staged hunts, they lie about bad hits, they don't show set ups, they teach nothing, and shove sponsored crap down our throats... and most of its on outfitted land that the viewers can't afford...
I started my own webshow that fixes those issues... A show more about the hunt than the kill. If your interested in seeing it , its free, here is a link:
http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/videocast/index.php