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What's the one thing that makes you shut off a hunting show?

turkeyriver

PMA Member
I don't pay for any outdoor channels on TV, but I get LOTS of links to stuff on youtube. Maybe I'm just an old grumpy guy, well no maybe about it, but I can't stand the fistpump and the phrase, " I SMOKED him". I mean, was that buck your mortal enemy in combat or something? Isn't that a military term for bombing a enemy position and turning it to "smoke" instead of enemy soldiers? If I hear that, I'm moving on immediately. Give me a guy that quietly gives thanks for the opportunity to shoot a nice one and expresses hope that it was a clean shot and kill, and I'll suffer thru a couple commercials to watch what he does next. Now, unloading a clip from your AR on a running yote and making him tumble deserves a SMOKED HIM! Sorry for the rainy Sat. morning rant.
 
Yeah. Agree. I hate that. I like genuine happiness and excitement (a kid with a big smile and congratulations from her dad...)

To tell the truth, I have a little bit of a problem watching too many at all- watching someone else doing what I wish I was doing- but I’m NOT and CAN’T- I have limited tolerance for that, especially when the hunter on the vid is a bit of a butt.


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Personally I don't mind the "I smoked him". It's excitement of success. If it doesn't get your blood pumping you probably shouldn't be doing it. HOWEVER, when I see the rifle come out to sit in a box blind on a "guided hunt"over a food plot, I'm done watching. I'll watch rifle hunting out west when they're packing horses and hiking brutal miles on foot every day to fill that tag. Those are challenging hunts and I'd love to do an elk hunt like that someday when I'm done funding my kids hunting addictions AND mine.
 
CHEESY stuff!!! Guys who kinda come off “phony” overly corny for attention. Or Way way too overly emotional.
I’ll admit- I turned almost all of em off. I always like MW & Outreach & that’s about it. I had a few friends who i liked to watch too who were affiliated witn XYZ place. The rest I just didn’t care for & turned off.

One more thing- I totally get that basic bills need to be paid. There’s some shows that are one intense giant commercials. All commercials. Hunts are all commercials, very aggressive & then when there’s a “commercial break” it’s even more commercials. I’m just saying “there’s a threshold” we all know it when we see it. Bills need to be paid but some shows go way way way overboard. Inside baseball- at MW- my input is: “pay the bills, do it as minimal as possible and don’t make it - IN YOUR FACE- over the top”. I’ve always liked how tasteful it was done & gonna be more-so as the next season is filmed in 2018 here. Just like THIS website - we do low amount of sponsors & very few ads. Google makes them or the apps make them but we don’t. TASTEFUL!!!


Real dudes being themselves who really care about teaching & not shoving a product down your throat. Always be cool if that exists. A lot of areas it doesn’t & why I don’t watch those. I wanna see the good outlets get even better & listen to the public so they do provide the best information & enjoyment while minimizing the stuff folks don’t like.
Good post! I’m curious to hear more.
 
I have never watched shows to watch hunters. I only watch to see different animals. The only object that should be on film is the animal. The only animal that should be in a picture is the animal. A sign of respect and honor.
 
I don’t like when guys make a horrible shot and still celebrate like it’s a great thing knowing that the animals gonna suffer for the next 8 hours, and when guys miss they turn into 5 year old cry babies. Should be the opposite, I’m absolutely fine with a clean miss but get sick to my stomach if I make a bad shot.
 
I have not watched a hunting show for probably close to ten years. Some of the above posts have summed up my reasons why. I'll read a magazine or listen to a podcast though
 
Fenced hunts

-or-

Just watched a show where guy was trying to get 1000 inches of antler in one year. He was basing his kills on anther inches—we all like big bucks—but do you really have to keep a running tally??
 
My last buck I killed, I'm pretty sure I said, verbatim, "I just smoked him, thank you, Jesus!". Lol.

Just came out in the emotion of the moment without any forethought, after 14 hard days of hunting. I've said nothing at all, other times though and I certainly don't get excited much at questionable shots. I totally get what you're saying though, certain terms definitely make us seem more meatheaded than others.

I can't watch a lot of hunting shows either. There are quite a few shows on the outdoor channel/cable that are just guys who love to hear themselves talk, pimping some gimmicky product and they come across as insincere.

Web shows seem to be where it's at for good content and education. The product sponsorship is a necessary component, but I hate that part of it. I've always said the best gear/equipment for you is the stuff you currently have and can use well.

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Scripted hunts. Verbatim conversations. Fake hunters. I cant stand them. I havent watched a hunting show off the outdoor channel/pursuit channel in years. I want a real life response, I dont care if it's a guy going nuts or a guy simply smiling and being humble, but I just want a legitimate honest response.

Outreach Outdoors and Midwest Whitetail guys have always been legit IMO.
 
I totally get what you're saying though, certain terms definitely make us seem more meatheaded than others.

If I said I just smoked him, I would be referring to a perfect shot, not the blasting of the animal.

Last time I was golfing, (is it OK to admit I golf on a hunting forum?:)) I hit my tee shot and my buddy said, "I didn't see it, was it good?" My response? I smoked it.

But do agree with everyone, the re-manufactured hunts are just terrible.
 
Agree with almost all. I can't watch high fence, staged, fake hunts. People showing true emotion is good with me, but the drummed up, made for tv emotion is off putting. Out of all the shows on tv I think I watch 4 or 5 hunting ones that I feel are genuine. I'm more into YouTube and webshows like THP and MW
 
The total turn off for me is with the several guys out there who try to get as many kills in different states as possble in a single yr ! They shoot smaller ( 115 to 130) in deer and try to pass them off as "big mature old bucks"! Come on !!! Any experience hunter watching can tell its a good 2 or 3 yr old !! Then the phrase i really hate comes out !!! ( i or we are done in. Ohio , nebraska, iowa, ect.ect. ) Like its a chore to get invited to hunt someones awsome farm and you cant wait to leave !!! Reallly ??? They did nothing but show up crawl in a stand and shoot a deer !! And they cant even show grattitude !! Poor! But to end on a good note. I love when they show the whole hunt for the deer !! Laying out a farm hanging stands . planting plots and every aspect of the hunt ! Then finaly getting there chance ! True genuine hunting !!!!

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Don't watch many my self, I do like real life people I agree with all above I enjoy the shows that take some one with special needs and epically kids I like that. I enjoy a show that is educational. I do get agitated when they push products like the silencer that you cough into I am like is this for real , good lord... Couldn't seeing myself using a product I didn't believe in because of a dollar..
 
usually my wife !!

seriously though, I am a guy who learned a lot from watching vids early on from guys like Mark Drury, Kisky, and Steve Snow. As far as a reaction that I admire, it's probably Snow and Winke. They just seem to have an ability to not embarrass themselves on camera when they finally catch up to a deer they have been pursuing for a long time. However, not every hunter's circumstances allow them to have those types of experiences so when a guy looses it on camera, if it's genuine emotion, that excitement is what drove many of us to pursue this sport at higher and higher levels.

Now, the guys that have killed dozens of bucks and act like they just wet themselves when they "smoked" a 3 yr old, well that pretty much sucks.
 
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I try not to watch any of it. As stated several times it doesn't make sense just to shoot a young deer so that they can say they got one. Of course they need harvests to make a show but lets face it, they see bigger deer and then settle with what comes by just to get a kill on camera. That sucks!

ALL hunting shows are the 100% reason why land prices are high and why leasing has taken over. There isn't a person on this form who hasn't lost property that you had been allowed to hunt for a lifetime, that is now owned by a non-resident or is leased, making it off limits to you. You can thank Outdoor hunting shows exclusively for that. If average hunters continue to support these shows, we are only hurting ourselves further and the problem will get worse. Then we have no one to blame but ourselves!! IMO!!
 
1. Stan Pott's voice and delivery
2. Shooting a sub-par deer just to get a kill shot

Not to try to flip the original question, but my favorite hunt of all time was David Blanton a couple years ago in Kansas. After shooting the buck he was after, he gets very emotional and speaks on getting his priorities right to enjoy the hunt and not the kill. Also give a GENUINE tribute to Jesus Christ. Definitely not the Booyah...Smoked him....BBD....Holy Buckets response. David is first class.
 
I will turn it off if they are hunting over a bait pile or if it is a TX/MS/AL etc hunt (those states landscapes just look way different and so do their deer). Othewise I will pretty much watch about any of it, I like to watch hunting. Sometimes it seems like no matter what they do they get criticized. They shoot a big mature buck then people talk about well if "I had that much land to hunt or had that much time to hunt" etc, they shoot a smaller buck, then its "well they are just shooting a small buck to make a show, should have let him walk." Darned if they do darned if they don't. I just like to watch the hunt. I do agree with Elvis, these shows are HUGE contributor to why recreational land prices and leases are how they are.

That said, I don't have any of the outdoor channels anymore, been a few years since I did. If I'm watching anything its on youtube, and you can watch much more regular people on youtube without a ton of advertising as well.
 
I will turn off almost every Africa and Texas hunt and agree with the overly phony junk. Also, kids, I don't care to watch kids hunting. That is more of a deeply personal thing for the family and not so much of a thing I want to watch.

There are some really good streaming shows...The White Knuckle guys do a great job and of course MW. I live for watching Skip on MW! Heartland Bowhunter is not too shabby either. Uncle Ted, I really enjoy his show. He might be a bit over the top in some ways but his sincerity can never be questioned.

On a side note, watching the Primos, Mossy Oak, Realtree folks really make me feel old. Seeing Cuz, Will, Bill and all those getting older makes me realize how fast the years click off. My all time favorite videos were Primetime. I used to go nuts waiting for the new Primetimes to come out. That was some great hunting! Not even sure HS produces videos any more.
 
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