Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

Does anybody else get sick of seeing these big name hunters holding up 200 class monster bucks, or is it just me? Not to be a bad sport, because I'm not one at all, but I think if any of us on here had the time, money, and resources to travel the continent and pay big bucks for guides at the best farms and ranches, we could kill anything they do. Am I right? If so, why are we constantly drawn to watching videos of hunts like this? There's really not much to 'em. They fly 2000 miles for a guide to put them in a monster buck honey-hole where the buck/doe ratio is probably 5:1, sit for probably an hour, and this gigantic corn fed deer steps out and says "Hey, there's too many bucks here and I have nowhere else to go! Shoot me please." End of hunt, followed by a grand dramatic story. I wanna see a show on the outdoor channel of nothing but average hunters killing average deer. I wanna see a group of does run out, bust a hunter, and ruin his hunt. I know it may not be as exciting with no names, unsuccessful hunts, and smaller deer, but it would be a TRUE reality show that more people would relate to and more than likely learn more from. Real hunters videoing real hunting. The average joe has spent countless hours in the woods scouting, tracking, patterning, planting fields, learning about his/her surroundings, and coming up short on many many hunts. When they do kill that buck they've been after, it's a wonderful blessing and a great sense of accomplishment, no matter the deer's score. I'm sorry but paying tons of money to have someone put you on a monster buck doesn't even compare to killing a 120 class 8 point you've been hunting, patterning, and scouting on your own for an entire season or more. I know MOST of these big names earned their stardom through these same means, but now they try and teach us average joes things we've taught ourselves over the years, just by making a good shot on a monster with the direction of the farm or ranch owners. The only thing I learn when watching these monster buck videos is how to smile real big in a picture and how to tell a grand story. The only way to become as good as these guys appear to be, is through experience. I wanna see that on television, not a 5 minute hunt followed by a "Tip of the Day." I wanna see what I see when I go into the woods scouting and going through logic in my mind on where to set up.

All that being said, gimme some feedback. Is it just me? And if you have a picture of an average deer or any deer that you're proud of, let's see it, no matter what the size. First kill, first buck, first 8 point, anything. After all, without us average joes hunting would be nothing.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

Words well spoken however... we have the option of just not watching anymore.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

I dont watch shows like that. I think that if you took any one of those folks and stuck them in a hunting camp with a bunch of ordinary Joes, they likely wouldn't do that much better than anybody else.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

I don't watch 'em, but I still love watching real hunts. That's what I wanna see, ya know? I wanna see what the average hunter sees every time he goes in the woods. I think it'd be a great thing to help rookies learn and discourage them from giving up and paying somebody to "give" them a deer. If people keep going on paid hunts and high fence hunts, they won't have any skills to pass on to their kids and grandkids. Then the future of hunting is in question.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

Exactly. They wouldn't know what to do without a camera and big bucks running everywhere.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

I plan to hold up some monster racks during the course of my lifetime, though yes I do get sick of some of these guys.....and I agree if we all had the time/money to just hunt....though I'm happy with how I do it for the most part, I don't think I'd want to hunt 6 months of a year....

I see alot of those guys taking small deer though that I would pass on, they go west on a deer hunt, and dont want to come back empty handed....and take whatever, though ya some seem to always take some big boys.

But if youre hunting every year in great units....we'll all get lucky....

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

I can't stand those shows either, Eastmans and Jim Shockey are the only huntign shows I DVR anymore. I guess allot of people like to watch them though, or they wouldn't have the sponsors and paychecks to keep cranking them out. Watching someone shoot a big buck from a plywood blind out of an open field while it eats corn flakes does nothing to help improve my hunting, so I don't watch.
Here is a pic of an average buck. A 17 inch 4x6 mountian buck taken off public forest ground. I stayed in the same clearcut from daylight to dark for 8 days straight. After spending a couple days there I felt committed and knew if I left I would miss a buck walking through, but packing my camp chair 2 miles out there everday so I could sit still paid off. 350 yard shot with my 300 Win.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

I once met a guy in Kansas about 3 years ago who was, from what i gathered looking at his trophy room, probabaly the best bow hunter I will ever meet. The guy has killed over40 P&Y bucks in 35 years of bow hunting. He has killed 18 deer over 160" and 3 over 200" between Colorado and Kansas, all on land he scouted, managed and hunted. Talk about someone worth listening to. This guy was simply amazing. He had his entire 100 yard driveway lined on both sides with the "small" sheds (<140") and a bunch of huge ones in his trophy room. He is the guy who should have a show, all on his own land, showing all the time that he spent in the feild,before during and after season.I know he was hunting big buck country, but he knew so much about management and so much about patterning deer it was unbelievable. I hope i meet him again someday and try and learn a few of his tricks.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

Why hunting shows remain popular while at the same time canned hunting is met with disdain is baffling to me. I have only seen a few shows where the hunt is anything but a canned situation. I watched them my first year deer hunting, saw what they were, and quit watching.

RE: Average Joe vs. The Big Names
 

Kind of like watching porno. Its mostlyl staged, but yet it seems to keep so many people entertained[8D]