FLboy77

Now remember that these shows are for entertainment and for showing guys kill big deer not a show about their knowledge in the field. And I know that thoses are the kind of shows most of us on here like to see "The do it Yourself on Public Land Hunt"

With that said if you put these guys on public land that they had never seen before most of them would not kill a mature deer maybe a dink or two but not a mature deer. That takes time.

MichaelHunsucker

I agree to this for some people. Some are as hardcore as it gets and got into the industry by hunting all the time and killing a lot of big deer, and others may have just been in the right place at the right time.

EITHER WAY, these guys now hunt for a living and get to spend more time in the woods than most of us. That being said, they have a TON of experience and im sure have become extremely knowledgeable along the way.

Thats not to say that they are better than a lot of people here on the forum...

kickin_buck

Very few of the TV guys (there are some) do much, if any actual scouting. I have gotten to see first hand how these shows are put together and I promise you that most of the time, they did not happen like you see it happen on TV. A few examples. I filmed a kill in Kansas, maybe 40 minutes before last light. Only had a few minutes of the deer coming in, great view of the shot, great recovery. However the next day (our last day) it was raining, the condition did look the same as the day before, so we waited until we were back in Illinois and filmed the "shot" some of the tracking job, and even a few bucks that make the show. The shows are mostly pieced together, sometimes two or three hunts are combined to make one airable series. Another example, I filmed a kill in Illinois, we got held up getting to the outfitter due to weather, got to his place, where in a stand 20 minutes after arriving, 30 minutes after arriving we were filming the shot, no more than an hour after arriving we were filming the recovery. We did it all without ever even seeing this property before hand, in fact as I remember correctly we were told just two days before we need to go down as a crew had to back out. I don't want to take anything away from these guys, because it is hard work and a lot of times very unrewarding (the best buck I ever filmed would have flirted with 200" gross but my shooter missed the shot and neither of got paid, but the footage was still used), but I just don't want people to think that they need to compare their hunting skills to those they see on TV. Like I said before, it is apples and oranges, just two very differnt styles of hunting.

PABuckbuster12

Agreed! Most of these guys just have been fortunate enough to know someone to have an in to get a foot in the filming world. Most of it is $$$$$ as for they are not out hunting these deer in the same wild woods as we are. I agree with you quiksilver, you and many others on this site and throughout the world can out hunt some of the tv faces. I always have dreamed about finding a patch of woods niether knows, and turning myself(or one of many people) and one of the tv faces loose and see who out hunts who.

Lil jealous of them? Yes I am but for good reason. As we all have good reason.

kickin_buck

[quote]ORIGINAL: PABuckbuster12

Now that would be an interesting show!!!!!

HuntingBry

I really think it depends on who you are talking about. As was mentioned Greg Miller was an author and accomplished hunter and that was what got him his "pro" job. Lee Lakosky has been managing property and slamming big bucks for years. Marrying Tiffany was the best marketing move he ever made because her popularity brought his knowledge and skills to the spotlight. So, there is some very knowledgable and talented pros out there.

There are also some folks that are very fortunate in their situation and get to hunt great outfitted properties that don't take much skill to hunt. I think those folks would be crying for their mama if they had to try to hunt some of the properties that all of us hunt.

Ultimately, I don't think you can make a blanket statement on the pros. You have to take them on a case by case basis and you'll pretty quickly figure out which ones are the real deal and which ones aren't.

Vabowman

I would love to know what goes on behimd the scenes with these big time productions. I know that WKP works very hard to bring the reality out in their vids but Im sure there are some things that have to be done to make it watchable. But at least I know with WKP it's not just a show up and hunt deal put the tag on and gone. I like the fact that sometimes they don't close the deal. Also, when Todd passed on the buck in the opening scene of "Beyond the Kill" that took balls, huge balls. Then He did it again in the Grind on the tall brow 8, I wanted to come through the screen and ring his neck!! Until he finally did shoot him a few weeks later...thanks for coming to your senses Todd!!! Anyway, many of you know that Im a supporter of WKP, not with any $ but just morally, and I love their stuff and they appreciate your business when you buy a vid. Todd and Walt and the others are great guys from what i can tell, I don't know them, just a few PMs here and there, but they are class acts. Give them an opprotunity to entertain your soul.

MichaelHunsucker

Well put...

Germ

You could not out hunt Ingrid Newkirk

BTW stunning information coming on the so called "king" very soon

AF Hunter

Most of the pros have someone else to scout out the hunting area, place the stand, pattern the deer, and do all the other prep'ing. If you can shoot straight and accurate, you could do the same thing as most of them. What you also have to remember when you watch the hunting shows, they do not show you all the hours of nothing going on but just the highlights of the deer coming in and the kill.