WOODSMANSHIP ON TV?

[Forresterwoods]

#7294

So how in the world do the hunting shows on TV have anything to do with real life WOODSMANSHIP skills?

At least 90% of the hunting shows have nothing to do with real outdoor skills and what the nature and joy of hunting is all about. I think most folks here know the drill. Drive to ‘camp’ without the need to survey as it’s a private area with feed plots and game trails with tree stands in place. The overweight hunter sits while 8 or 10 ‘small’ bucks go by…and sure enough on the last day the big boy comes walking by. At 15 yards the arrow sticks in about 6″ deep. Next the hunter walks up at night and finds his buck just 30 yards away in flat terrain. This huge buck magically appears in the back of his truck driving into camp. Don’t tell me he’s going to leave a gut pile in camp. I don’t think the average hunter walks more than 50 yards on one of these TV hunts. Almost forgot..he takes a practice shot before the hunt. These shows cater to people who put no time in the woods and have huge amounts of money that paves the way for a ‘successful’ hunt. That’s how I see it anyway. Your thoughts?

Kevin

[mhay]

#60216

The way you see is how I see it too. Although I haven’t seen a TV hunting show in 15 years , I have seen the DVD’s . I began to see trends and techniques that just don’t sit well with me .

Being an avid turkey hunter of the OLD SCHOOL , it’s easy to see how so many companies are making videos to market their products . Now we have young and old hunters that are convinced that in order to KILL a turkey one must have ALL the latest turkey calls , camo , camo gun , blinds ,decoys ,,,,,,and a shotgun capable of killing a tom at 40+ yards .The list is nearly endless .

Woodsmanship doesn’t come into play for most ,,,at least that’s the way I see it .

I could say more but won’t.

[Doc Nock]

#61097

forresterwoods wrote: So how in the world do the hunting shows on TV have anything to do with real life WOODSMANSHIP skills?

At least 90% of the hunting shows have nothing to do with real outdoor skills and what the nature and joy of hunting is all about. I think most folks here know the drill. Drive to ‘camp’ without the need to survey as it’s a private area with feed plots and game trails with tree stands in place. The overweight hunter sits while 8 or 10 ‘small’ bucks go by…and sure enough on the last day the big boy comes walking by. At 15 yards the arrow sticks in about 6″ deep. Next the hunter walks up at night and finds his buck just 30 yards away in flat terrain. This huge buck magically appears in the back of his truck driving into camp. Don’t tell me he’s going to leave a gut pile in camp. I don’t think the average hunter walks more than 50 yards on one of these TV hunts. Almost forgot..he takes a practice shot before the hunt. These shows cater to people who put no time in the woods and have huge amounts of money that paves the way for a ‘successful’ hunt. That’s how I see it anyway. Your thoughts?

Kevin

Kevin, another good piece on TBM that shows insight and genuine concern.

I quit TV when it went digital. I do like others, watch DVD’s but have become quite selective as to whose I watch.

I agree that most pay big $$ to get put where all the “woodsmanship” work has already been done by someone paid to do so…

In their defense, they claim if they put up all the “background” material, we’d sit there bored. I wouldn’t. You wouldn’t. But most want to see ACTION footage. So I don’t know if our prejudice is true, that they don’t DO woods work, of if it’s a cutting room choice to not show that!

Alas, in the end, it doesn’t matter, does it??

The point you made and is relevant is that many young and new hunters come to see all the EAZY pickins…and then hit the woods, know little of their quarry, or behavior, don’t experience the same QUICK success and become discouraged and go back to video games. Therein lies the saddest part of our evolution and protection of our future.

[SteveMcD]

#61176

I have always been a huge critic of hunting shows for the obvious reasons we all know. Truth is.. the “average” hunter today never venture more than 100 to 200 yards from the road either. I am getting awfully close to 60 and still carry a back pack and I feel darn blessed about it, because of age and health there are many that cannot.

There are a couple good shows out there.. Eastman’s has always been top shelf in tradition of their Grandfather. And “On your own adventures” always is a quality show and on the up n up. The rest of them have nothing to do about hunting and everything to do about “selling”.

[Fallguy]

#61561

I work with a guy that his son got involved with a husband & wife bowhunting team( I won’t name them). His job was to take 6 pallet loads of new stands each fall to private hunting outfitters in 6 states. Starting in July he worked with the outfitters to hang stands and set trail cameras. They then monitored what was coming and when. When something peaked their interest they would fly in and hunt couple of days. If patterns changed and they felt there was time the stand setters would find new trails while they headed to another state. In reality these two are nothing more than hired guns.

[handirifle]

#61879

I too, enjoy the Eastman show, but I have to admit some of his hunts seem a little canned as well. The on your own hunts seem for the most part to be guys that put in the work. My favorite, though not a bowhunter, is Steven Rinella’s, Meat Eater. He puts in the work, and sometime he scores, sometimes not. Every show is a hunt that he works hard to complete, and he eats what he hunts, even coyotes, as an experiment once.

When I do occasional channel surfing of the hunting channels, I am pretty disgusted at the vast majority of the shows on there. If it’s not their new super dooper whack em 3″ expanding broadhead, it’s always from a tree stand. I have shot deer in Ohio from stands, with no shame, but there is no where near the enjoyment I get from taking my deer from the ground. Oh, and I do not have a camera crew to pack my deer out. Just me and my 60 year old legs.

[TurkeyCommander]

#62148

Look into the Fred Bear Hunting DVD collection. It’s grainy old timey footage but nobody to this day could hold a candle up to it.

If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and order the DVD collection if you want to see woodsman ship on tv.

[SteveMcD]

#62289

TurkeyCommander wrote: Look into the Fred Bear Hunting DVD collection. It’s grainy old timey footage but nobody to this day could hold a candle up to it.

If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and order the DVD collection if you want to see woodsman ship on tv.

INDEED!!!

[handirifle]

#62416

I used to watch Freds adventures on American Sportsman every Sunday and cherished every minute of it. He was welll before all the commercial sponsorship (he spossored himself) and retail driven hype. Fred HAD to get up close and personal cause you aren’t going to make a 70yd shot with a recurve.

Thats one reason I like Fred Eichler.

[David Bartlett]

#8744

These “Hunting” programs on television seem to be aimed at the lowest common denominator, much like all the other “Reality” TV programs today. The formula is working for other networks, so why shouldn’t the Outdoor channels cash in on it as well. If it works, don’t fix it!

That being said, I have yet to watch a complete episode of “Survivor” in any of it’s many seasons on the air, and I do not plan to any time soon.

It is unfortunate that the viewing public seem to suck this kind of program right up, when in reality(pun intended), there is very little skill or woodsmanship being demonstrated in your average scripted episode of(insert your favorite reality program here).

[Troy Warner]

#10382

The only woodsman ship I see on tv is when I put in one of my DVDs or have the utube brought up on the Apple TV to watch professor clay teach us some collage courses.

Woodcraft is a dieing art that used to be passed down from father to son/daughter or uncle to nephew/niece. I my case I was lucky enough to learn from watching my father teach my older brothers and myself plus my best friend growing up also came from an outdoor oriented family and we would practice every thing we had been shown in our backyards(actual forests of north Idaho with the bears, black and grizly, mountain lions and yes a small pack of Canadian Wolves that migrated across the border illegally from time to time.) it was wonderfull. 😀

To bad I don’t see more of that these days. But with today’s tech world it was tough to get my son out and teach him what he was willing to absorb. It’s funny, but he is more interested in learning woodcraft today than he was when he was a kid.

Troy

[Forresterwoods]

#11234

These shows are acting as if everyone will hire a guide at the Eat all you want lodge and drive up to your dead deer the next morning. How many folks really had to trudge miles in thick woods or steep canyons for that 400 lb burger? And without proper orienteering skills gps AND a map could be a potentially be a dangerous situation. I think those fundamentals can easily be stressed at the start of one of those shows. I do like that show hunting solo…not advisable but at least the guy knows what he is doing and has a great time even if he only comes home with a groundhog.

Kevin

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#11316

On Your Own Adventures and MeatEater are the only two I’ve been able to sit through. There may be other good ones, but I don’t own a tv and so I rarely have an opportunity to see what’s out there.

But OYOA does a good job of showcasing true, do-it-yourself hunts (or at least as much as they can be on a tv show), all on public land and the host always makes a point of talking about of the importance of protecting public land. It’s not traditional bowhunting, but it’s one of the few shows that seems to be sending the right message.

[Author]

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