While hunting in BC a few years back, Northwest Hunter was filming a hunt with our outfitter. They told us that they only film the kill shot and after that they might spend a day or two filming everything else. They don' t want to waste their time on the pre-kill stuff if it never happens. I like the ones that film the hunter before the shot and you can tell from the angle that they are standing between the hunter and the animal. Yeah right.

I for one, like to watch the hunts I can' t afford. I mean, a public land mule deer hunt in Utah would be like a reality show. Who wants to see that? But a cape buffalo hunt? I' ll probably never do that. (especially with a muzzle loader)
I am a little tired of Texas Whitetail hunts though. Let' s see some Montana or Colorado sheep, goat or lion hunts and a little better, er, real approach to the kill.
Some of the commercials actually show better kill shots than the shows.
And Ted Nugents sound guy needs some serious help. Whispering in the blind is great, but how about some voice overs telling a little about the hunt in a real voice.
Some nuts and bolts shows would be great too, maybe a " shootout" between various manufacturers with regular guys and pros alike rating and using equipment.

In magazines, I hate the " how to" articles that tell you how to sit in a tree and wait for a deer to walk by. How about some stories about hunting on your hind legs!

Lets see, hunting shows


1) Canned hunts....fences

2) Hunting canned hunts and pretending they are not.

3) Lies....Jay Gregory...I rattled..when you damn well he didn' t.

4) Advertising...over doing it, especially ad' s for products you know they are not using.

Seems this is most of the hunts now adays.....

Magazines,

Over advertising as in Field and Stream, more ads than articles.

For one I' d rather watch the Mulie over the Buff. Ever watch a Cape Buff hunt? They' d have a more challenging hunt goin after Holsteins. Every one I' ve seen they just stood there chewing their cud and waiting to die. No interest in hunting them. As far as the home grown hunting, that' s the best ones, real guys,no guides or farms doing it the way you would. And (this will start an up roar) But I' m tired of hunting Whitetail deer, man if thes shows don' t show how easy it looks to kill one. How ' bout a trophy Cascade Blacktail hunt in the Olympic Rain forest? You think sitting in a tree is tough hunting try spottin' of of these " Boogers" in the really thick stuff.

I don' t understand anyone not wanting to watch a hunt they can' t afford (at that time). I can remember learning to read well by reading the likes of Outdoor Life, Field and Stream and Sports Afield when I was really young.
Those magazines along with hunting and fishing trips with my Dad and older brother gave me a love of the outdoors and the sports we enjoy so much today.
In 1999 my friends and I went to Montana on a trip we named " Web' s Quest" in honor of my father. He had traveled through Montana during WW2 on a troop train heading for the Pacific to camp out with some friends and play with the Japanese boys across the water. His dream was to return there someday and hunt and fish in Montana which was God' s Country to him.
He spent a lifetime working and raising his family always talking about returning to Montana. He never took that trip but magazine articles helped him keep the dream alive. Today' s hunting shows reflect the reality that putting them on TV costs money and marketing is what pays for it.
Thanks to those " mercenary" magazine publishers and TV producers who entertain us and keep dreams alive.

I too believe that it is just a marketing scam. At the end of the shows, they have hunting " tips" , but they just talk about products that will " help you bag game" that the normal working class person can barely afford. And how people go to these high priced hunting ranches, go into an elevated, heated, and covered shooting boxes, with recliners, which are situated over feed sites and game trails, inside a high fence and they won' t go out because of the rain. What' s the challenge in that? You sit in this stand and shoot at a target that goes by. I can do that at the range and shoot paper targets. If I go hunting and I don' t start to get exhausted from walking in the heat or cold, climbing up and down rock slides on my knees and hind end, or worrying about all of the other elements in the outdoors I know that I haven' t worked hard enough to get the satisfaction of being out in the wild. I need a challenge to keep me going. I don' t think that the people on these shows are out there for the satisfaction, they just need a job, and that is the best one for them. Now I know that all shows are not like this, but I have seen shows that just discust me, because of the criteria that I just listed.

I second handloader1' s list and add canned hunts.

In response to shooting an animal on the last day I have to say I do the same. I am a meat hunter first and a trophy hunter second. So on the first day I may pass up an animal in hopes of finding a bigger one. If I don' t find a bigger one then its all about filling the freezer.

They always seem to make bagging big animals look easy. It aint that easy, and it usually aint that easy to find em, unless of coarse you' re hunting on prized private land. I' ve noticed that quite a few of the hunters taking these monster bucks or bulls dont seem overjoyed, almost like it' s just another animal in the freezer. Also, I would like to see more stalking on hunting shows; the hard hunts generally are the most memorable.

I can' t stand it when a magazine is written at a grade school level, which is most of them. My two current favorite mags are In-Fisherman and Gray' s Sporting Journal. Both are written with adult readers in mind, both mag' s advertising drives me nuts. There is a regular advertisment for hunting in Argentina in Gray' s that has triplet brothers shooting about a gazillion doves and piling them in front of each person, I think is absolutely disgustingly wrong and unconsiousable (nor do I give a rats behinny about how many lodges are orvis certified). I don' t care how liberal the seasons are in that country or how many bagazillion birds they have that those guys can shoot a gazillion apiece. But it has incredibly cool photography and articles that are intelligently written. For the most part this applies to In-Fisherman.