Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why do hunting shows suck so bad?

It would be so easy to make a good hunting show, and yet these duetche bags always end up shooting Thompson Centers and talking about how they set up their food plots. WTF is up with this crap? I mean the shotgun guys aren't afraid to talk about what gun they used and what load. Why can't they mention what cartridge and what load? And while we are at it, quit showing us the same footage eight times while you tell us what a hard day you have had waiting (hunting) in the blind.

Now, I understand filming a canned hunt is a lot easier to do, but if you have nick named the particular deer you are waiting for, it totally ruins it for the viewer. I mean really, if there was a show that had a guy with a good personality (Jim Shockey comes to mind), that was not only hunting, but was talking about his gear and using different rifles in different cartridges, it would go huge! I can't be the only one?

I know what you mean! I`d like to know the cartridge their using and what rifle too.

I guess what one likes or dislikes, depends on what shows one will watch. Since I don`t hunt with a bow (which there seems to be alot of bow hunting shows), I`ll flip the channel when I see a bow. Same with a muzzleloader too, as I don`t shoot or hunt with one of those either.

I`ll watch Shockey, but only when he`s guiding someone using a centerfire.

I think it could be that activities like hunting and fishing just don't translate very well into TV shows. A 30 min TV show, less commercials is less than 20 min in length. During that time period, you have to describe and start the hunt, introduce guests, plug the guide/lodge, show some of the leg work, and finish it all up with you killing something interesting. What's missing are all the hours and days in between. The sitting in the rain, the missed shots, the lack of animals, etc. To fit this format, it almost has to be a canned hunt.

By condensing it down like that, I think it also cuts out some of the best parts of the sport. I can enjoy a hunting or fishing trip and not catch a fish or pull a trigger. I enjoy it mostly because of the people that I've met over the years that I hunt and fish with. You can't really show that aspect of it on a TV show. Sometimes its those days that you come back empty that make you better appreciate the days that everything goes right.

These shows also tend to make people believe that hunting and fishing are a lot easier than they really are. When I see someone catch a 120# + tarpon on the fly in the Keys, I know that it probably took a week, maybe two, of fishing everyday to pull that off.

yes your right, some of the shows really stink. one of the guys i don't care for is that micheal waddell. he's a bone collector all right, i think he smokes a few bones too.

One reason is that the shows are 20 minutes of commercials...3 minutes of self congratulatory stuff....2 minutes of riding a 4 wheeler or truck to the stand......13 seconds of hunting... 4 minutes and 47 seconds of looking for and posing with the deer.

Yep, I'd rather watch a rerun of
Three's Company" before watching 90% of the hunting shows on TV. When canned hunts full of self-promotion, strident dialogue and good ol' boy bonhommie are presented to the viewing public it's no small wonder the Anti's think of us all as a bunch of Elmer Fudd's.

To the producers of said shows: thanks for nothing.

So my question is, why bother to watch the stuff?

I don't watch a lot of TV. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where I can walk out my door to do my own fishing and hunting. A couple of years ago, however, I was in a situation where I was exposed to some of these outdoor TV shows. It didn't take me long to get more than my fill of these animal snuff-flick informercials. In my opinion they rate right down there with soap operas as entertainment.

There are still a lot of great books out there I haven't read, still a lot of decoys I haven't carved, still a lot of ammo I haven't loaded, and on and on...

I'd like to see a hunting show put out that was the same caliber of the fishing show "Walkers Cay Chronicles"..which to me proves it CAN be done...just that no one has tried...apparently even a little....
Ingwe

I like Jim Shockey's show. I know Brad Farris that does Will Primos' show and I like him as well.

I don't watch many others.

I'm usually too busy cleaning my Win. Model 70 in .378 made in S. Carolina.

Ingwe has seen it.

Ego's of the guys doing them and $$ are what drives the shows. Most are pretty lame, but there are a few good ones.

canned hunts, phony whispers just before dispatching the tethered animal, and non stop product placement.

Its true, more than one "over .30" M70 got out of S.C. no one has seen the other one...or even pics of it...
But yeah, I've seen the .378...but can't remember if it was .378 Wby. or the new .378 WSM, or maybe even .378 WSSM.....
Ingwe

Yeah, they are pretty lame. I enjoy watching a few, such as "The Spanish Fly" with Jose Wajebe. I think he does a wonderful job of giving you a sense of the adventure where ever in the world he is for that show, and he often discusses his equipment to make you aware of what he is using and why. I feel Jim Shockey has done a good job on several of his shows but a few could be better. Not many other hunting shows compare as well as Shockey's.

I agree, I get agrivated when no one discusses their equipment. You hear so much anti-single shot drivel across the forum how people don't want to handi-cap themselves and then the majority of hunting shows feature Thompson Center as the firearm...but only because they are a major sponsor. If any other firears are featured, they are never discussed.

And to answer your question (Why do we watch?), I think it is because that is the only thing on that relates to what we want, even if the shows do suck. Occasionally somebody from a show will pipe up and ask what he/she/they can do to make it a better show, but in all honesty I think there is only so much that can be done once all the sponsers and investors in that show have their way. And maybe a large percentage of viewers just don't know any better to demand more...

Seems like it doesn't hurt it they have a hot wife too.

I'll watch Benelli's American Bird Hunter on occasion, I love it when Tom Knapp misses, then jokes about it. Sort of alibis my (many) misses. And it plays like a bunch of guys having fun.

Yeah, old Knapp isn't near as good on birds as he is on clays is he?

I started this post by naming names and whining about them, but decided there is nothing to be gained by getting personal. Suffice it to say that most of those programs make me wanna hurl.

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The only one I really care to watch is "Tracks Across Africa". It has the feel of the old hunting shows (such as "American Sportsman") that I used to watch on Saturday afternoons with my Dad way back when. Great music which really sets the mood and complements the scene being portrayed -not screaming electric guitars (which there is nothing wrong with except in the context of a hunting experience) -and no "fake drama". They allow the elements that we all love about hunting to be exhibited. And every show has 4 informative short segments by Boddington which are very well done 1.General Safari information 2.A conservation message 3.Shot placement on the specie being hunted on the show and 4.Trophy tips again on the specie being hunted.
I know that Craig Boddington draws his share of criticism which for the life of me I don't understand, but there is no denying his African esperience or his genuine enthusiasm for the hunt. And of course there is no denying the commercial element of the show, but they are very up front and straight forward about it. And you get the feeling Craig does not really exhibit products he would not otherwise use himself. And no Thompson Centers (which in itself sets the show apart from the herd). Very different show from the general Outdoor Channel fare and, to me, very well done.

Uh...yup.

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Have to give you a thumbs up on that one, escpecially the no TC's part. I'm sick of them just from watching TV.