Hunting shows

I can't watch them shows. It's not real life Pennsylvania hunting. I get zero value from those shows. They have nothing to offer anyone trying to learn how to hunt. But I am an NRA member, and receive American Hunter magazine. There you will find tons of info. on the how to's of hunting all species.
 
BH

I don’t watch many either. Really, really enjoy Raised Hunting with David Holder. It’s about as close to real life hunting for most of us as those shows get. The focus is often on the intangibles of hunting - family, beauty, disappointment, exhilaration, hard work. It’s all DIY stuff.

I also enjoy watching shows with duck hunting. Can’t manipulate those birds with high fences and bait piles.

IMO most of those shows are one of the main reasons there’s so much focus in the hunting world on inches of antler and making the record books instead of simply enjoying the experience of the hunt.

Yep... if hunting over bait piles and food plots is your cup of tea I can see where one would consider it a "norm" but "hunting" it shall "never" be.

IMO..... it reveals the weak who have a need to brag, about those "mounts" on the wall, and the expierence of it all.

In other words, look what I shot.

In closing, let me just say, Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night.

I find artificial baits soooo much more challenging, dont you Dardy's?

Jigs are my go to baits but I do try other look-a-like baits, from time to time.

I call it fishing, not catching. How about you?

Having guested on several fishing shows in the 90’s, there is a whole lot more to those shows than just going fishing or hunting with a camera running, especially if one does it for a living.

When we did fishing shows, they ran 30 minutes. Of that, 8 minutes were reserved for commercials, so we needed 22 minutes in the can. With 2 minutes on either end for introduction and closing, that meant 18 minutes of content.

To keep the show entertaining, we tried, but did not always succeed in limiting the show to 50% “B” roll material (canned stuff like casting, talking, running the boat, tying on/showing lyres, etc.). So, realistically, that meant 8-10 minutes of “good” action. And, that’s a lot.

Think about how much action, as in hooking, landing, releasing/boxing, actually takes place during one if your fishing trips. In order to get that 8-10 minutes, we probably needed 15-20 fish. Some just didn’t cooperate and the footage was junk. No one cared about the little ones (just like no one cares to watch a hunting show where does or cows or small males are the quarry), so they were edited out.

So typically, it took 2-3 days to get enough raw footage for a show — if the fishing was good.

Hunting shows, particularly big game would be worse. The actual action — spotting the game and shooting it — probably takes under a minute. That leaves a whole lot of filler time that unless there are other game animals involved, is just as boring as sitting in the woods not seeing anything.

Adding to the constraints for hunting shows is a limited time frame as well. Seasons are when they are (unless it is preserve hunting that has a more liberal time window) and one must make hay while the sun shines.

Imagine trying to shoot 13 (or 26 if lucky enough to book that many slots) during the limited time hunting seasons are in. Even excluding travel and bad weather days, there better be a critter hit the turf every other hunting day, every third day at worst, or the shows aren’t getting done.

Can that be done in PA? Maybe, but not consistently, and unlikely if the qualification of it being anything more than a scrub is tossed into the requirements.

Now, if one is trying to make an actual living at the outdoor show game, costs start to be paramount in the hunting equation. An acquaintance had an internet channel with his outdyshow on it. He gets equipment at a discount, but does not get paid by the sponsors. Nice, but not a living.

He looked into the Outdoor Channel and the cost was $60,000 for them to put on a single 13 show season with one repeat season. He got to keep 1/2 the advertising revenue from the shows, but he also had to guarantee a percentage of his sponsors would place ads.

The cost of production was all on him — travel, equipment, licenses, editing, etc. If the show survived 3 years, then there might be some consideration of the channel kicking in some of the production.

This is why they go to place where they cannot only guarantee action, both shooting and “B” roll filler, but can get it done in 1-2 days, hopefully with other species available at the same location (notice how many deer shows feature hogs or exotics from the same location).

It is meant to be entertaining, not the reality most of us face, which wouldn’t last 3 shows.

So take the shows for what they are and watch or don’t.

DarDys
Having guested on several fishing shows in the 90’s, there is a whole lot more to those shows than just going fishing or hunting with a camera running, especially if one does it for a living.

When we did fishing shows, they ran 30 minutes. Of that, 8 minutes were reserved for commercials, so we needed 22 minutes in the can. With 2 minutes on either end for introduction and closing, that meant 18 minutes of content.

To keep the show entertaining, we tried, but did not always succeed in limiting the show to 50% “B” roll material (canned stuff like casting, talking, running the boat, tying on/showing lyres, etc.). So, realistically, that meant 8-10 minutes of “good” action. And, that’s a lot.

Think about how much action, as in hooking, landing, releasing/boxing, actually takes place during one if your fishing trips. In order to get that 8-10 minutes, we probably needed 15-20 fish. Some just didn’t cooperate and the footage was junk. No one cared about the little ones (just like no one cares to watch a hunting show where does or cows or small males are the quarry), so they were edited out.

So typically, it took 2-3 days to get enough raw footage for a show — if the fishing was good.

Hunting shows, particularly big game would be worse. The actual action — spotting the game and shooting it — probably takes under a minute. That leaves a whole lot of filler time that unless there are other game animals involved, is just as boring as sitting in the woods not seeing anything.

Adding to the constraints for hunting shows is a limited time frame as well. Seasons are when they are (unless it is preserve hunting that has a more liberal time window) and one must make hay while the sun shines.

Imagine trying to shoot 13 (or 26 if lucky enough to book that many slots) during the limited time hunting seasons are in. Even excluding travel and bad weather days, there better be a critter hit the turf every other hunting day, every third day at worst, or the shows aren’t getting done.

Can that be done in PA? Maybe, but not consistently, and unlikely if the qualification of it being anything more than a scrub is tossed into the requirements.

Now, if one is trying to make an actual living at the outdoor show game, costs start to be paramount in the hunting equation. An acquaintance had an internet channel with his outdyshow on it. He gets equipment at a discount, but does not get paid by the sponsors. Nice, but not a living.

He looked into the Outdoor Channel and the cost was $60,000 for them to put on a single 13 show season with one repeat season. He got to keep 1/2 the advertising revenue from the shows, but he also had to guarantee a percentage of his sponsors would place ads.

The cost of production was all on him — travel, equipment, licenses, editing, etc. If the show survived 3 years, then there might be some consideration of the channel kicking in some of the production.

This is why they go to place where they cannot only guarantee action, both shooting and “B” roll filler, but can get it done in 1-2 days, hopefully with other species available at the same location (notice how many deer shows feature hogs or exotics from the same location).

It is meant to be entertaining, not the reality most of us face, which wouldn’t last 3 shows.

So take the shows for what they are and watch or don’t.

Truth. Most have no clue what it takes to put a show together and the costs associated with it. 

What gets me is that one would think, from viewing the shows, that nobody from north of the Mason-Dixon Line knows how to hunt or fish. 😀

Packing list for pro deer hunters getting ready 
 
1. Stack of new posted "No Trespassing" signs (gift for land owner )
2. 50lbs. of corn soaked in deer cocaine ( just in case it's too slow )
3. sun glasses ( at least 3 pair ....really like the blue mirrored ones )
4. camo hat
5. T shirt that says Get R Dun !
6. NRA tote bag 
7. gun
8. more corn
9. bow
10.knife 

 

IMO, These shows are just infomercials almost any of us could do the same if we had the time & money.Look at the equip. that they get suckers to buy.I would be ashamed to have to resort to some of the things that they sell in order to kill a animal with a brain the size of an egg. The absolute worse in my opin. is the Ozone machines. Think also of all the gadgets that we managed to win wars with lesser equip. which includes most of the electronics,range finders,guns & scopes that you can kill with at 600-700 yds & farther. also it seems that all of the pros hawk their own brand of super-dooper buck lure,but you almost never see a buck coming in to it.Then the advent of inexpensive trail cameras that lets you pattern what time the deer will likely show up. Can't anyone come up with a gadget that gives the deer some advantage for once? On a show that I watched once a pro answered a question pertaining to why they don't come here to hunt public land, he said that you can't kill them if they aren't here. He said that if you want to shoot big bucks you have to hunt where they are. They are in to this era of deer farming that some consider hunting to-day. I am not. The pros are able to take advantage of free hunts for the value of millions of people getting to see what the outfitters have to offer.   sam

Eastman's Hunting Journal, and Jim Shockey's  Uncharted are the two shows I watch.
 
 
With Eastman's it is all public land hunts out west, and usually done DIY or minimal film crew following the hunter. That show seems pretty legit.
 
Shockey obviously is very rich, but man some of the places they go is insane, and they do a great job with cinemtology.

My vote for the worst outdoor show was when they revived one of the first and one of the best “The American Sportsman” with Deon Saunders as the host in place of the venerable Curt Gowdy.

The show I remember the most was Saunders hooking into a tarpon, not a particularly large one either, and after a few minutes handing the rod to the other former NFL player staring the he was tired of fighting the fish and he actually laid down to take a nap in the boat.

Back in the Stone Age when I was a kid, there was a traveling group that would bring outdoor films to schools and sportsmen’s clubs. I want to say it was Galloping Galloway or something like that.

That was it — Gadabout Gaddis. A fellow my Dad used to work with was part of his crew, kind of like Jim Fowler to Marlin Perkins on Mutual of Omaga’s Wild Kingdom.

BTW, my veterinarian worked for Fowler while in vet school. He claims that both Fowler and Perkins were big time hunters and spent most of the time that they traveled for the show hunting.

Or the old joke as Marlin says, “While Jim wrestles the giant, black rhino, I’ll work my way back to camp and mix up some margaritas with the native girls.”