RE: Big Name guys...
I'm certainly not a "big name guy," and I hesitate to respond to message boards because it always turns into a ripfest, but I do want to comment.
One of the things that hurts all of us in every aspect of hunting is generalization. Because a poacher kills a buck at night, all hunters are smeared due to generalization. So pleasedon't generalize when it comes to TV/celebriity/writer hunters. Some TV hunters bought a camera and air time and became instant celebrities. Others have spent years working their way up to a point where someone would put them in front of a camera. Guys like Greg Miller, for example,did everything, scouting, treestand placement, bloodtrailing, etc., on their own for decades. They wrote about it, gained some notoriety and found themselves on TV.
Now, once a cameraman is involved,it is impossible to do all that pre-hunt work in several states. Who could run a string of trail cameras in four states, plus do the scouting and treestand placement? These guysmust get into a camp and get it done in a week. The good ones willmove stands at midnight, hunt all day long, stay cool under considerable pressure and use their experience to get it done in five or six days.It's just not feasible to do it all, mostly because none of us can be in two places at once.
I hunted elk for 22 years, almost all do-it-myself hunts on public land. I always gave myself two weeks so I had time to locate the elk and work my way intoan opportunity. You can't do that when taping a TV hunt. A guided hunt will get you into the elk quickly and while I often prefer to take off hunting by myself a good guide will save me the days I used to spent learning country. I still have to do the work and make the shot.
There are a lot of obstacles to making a television show, including having a 200 pound squirrel in a tree next to you, or bellycrawling behind you when hunting mule deer. I'm not complaining, and I love my job,but there are a lot of misconceptions out there. Some celebrity hunters are where they are because they have unlimited funds. Some are rich and highly skilled. Some areblue-collarand high-skilled and some rely solely on the skills of an outfitter and primo land. The point is they are all different so generalizing about "big name guys" isn't fair. Many, however, are excellent hunters who, if put in most hunting situations, and given the time, would hold their own very well. Flame away....