Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Do hunting show "stars" take unnecessarily high shots?

In most instances, the rifle restrictions on turkey are due to the perception that a hunter would be more likely to hit another hunter with a rifle load than shot out of shotgun as the bullet is thought to travel further. The fear here is driven from hunting on crowded public land, where you never know what's beyond your target.

In truth, a 38 SPL target load would be perfectly adequate to kill a turkey at close range and probably be in the dirt within 80 yards. However, you probably won't see these rifle restrictions coming off any time soon. In reality, if you took my example and said it was legal to shoot 38 SPL at turkey, somebody would then try to push it with a 38 SPL +P and there would be some idjut out there with a .223 REM trying to take them at 200 yards. I see the point. I just wish I could shoot 38 SPL at turkey here in Kentucky.

As to the original topic: I used to watch a lot of hunting shows, but it was because I had a dog that loved to watch them. Barney really took those shows seriously, and we had a lot of fun together.

In my experience, the average TV show hunter is a lot like the average hunter I see coming into the local deer processor. Some deer come in blown in half. Some look like pincushions.
Most hunters start out with good intentions, and it just does not always go so well. The TV guys are not all that bad, they just do it on TV.

The reason you see so many trophy shots taken in the dark is that it takes a while to do the setup, and the video cameras are not as sensitive relative to the human eye. Any deer shot around sundown is going to require artificial lights, even if the human eye can still see it.

Take this as an example:

Tagging out, 2014

I shot this doe at 4:15 PM. She fell just inside the treeline about 60 yards from where I hit her. Sundown was at 5:30. It was right at sundown but still plenty light when I got the truck to her, but I had to use a flash to shoot.

To the human eye, this was a perfect early evening, but to the less sensitive camera it was black as night.

What especially gets me is the "stars" who act like teenagers having their first orgasm after they hit a deer.

Turkeys ain't hard to kill. We kill quite a few each fall at 100 and even further with sub sonic 22 lr hp. They dont' go far. The shot doesn't bother the deer. Heck it rarely bothers the rest of the turkeys.

Well, also on the subject of turkeys, any one of these TV dudes will be the first to tell you how wily and wary they are ( unless they are from the south, then the turkeys are often called 'weary'...)
But Bubba has not much problem sneaking up on them holding just a turkey tail fan in front of his face and ground sluicing them from a few feet away. Literally.
REALLY smart birds!

Shooting those ducks on the water can be tricky if swimming with the current.

That's why turkeys were nearly extirpated from east of the Mississippi.