“Oh there he is! He didn’t go 50 yards from my stand!”
How many times have you heard this line while watching a hunting show? Have you ever wondered why the “hunter” didn’t just follow the cameraman to the dead animal? I mean the cameraman was there already because he is filming the excitement of the recovery from the animal’s final resting place. Do these shows think the viewers are stupid enough to believe the hunter just noticed his animal?
What about other lines commonly heard in the thirty minute long commercial.
“That was a perfect shot! That deer won’t go 75 yards” meanwhile the arrow is clearly sticking in the deer’s guts.
Or
“Mmmmeeehhhh (doe estrus call, don’t really know how to spell it),” 45 mins passes and a deer walks down a trail towards a food plot, the hunter shoots it, and as the deer runs off the hunter turns to the camera and says, “We called that buck in!”
Or
The reenactment of the “shot”. This one really bothers me! Why is the camera man stepping in front of a loaded gun or archer at full draw in order to take video from there? If the animal was truly standing at 20 yards wouldn’t it see a camera man walking around in front of the hunter?
This is just a few things I have noticed. I won’t even go into the mention of a sponsor of some sort every 20-30 seconds. Honestly why don’t T.V. hunters just start wearing Nascar suits, or fishing jerseys? Yes, I understand your sponsors are what make your show possible, but allow the product to speak for itself. We know it’s a Mathews (a.k.a slow, heavy, overrated bow) you don’t have to say, “Let me set my Mathews down and look at this deer.”
With all that being said, here are some ideas I have had for my own hunting show:
1. No fake shots! Everything will be shown as is! If I make a bad shot you will know it and I will do everything in my power to find that animal and put it out of its misery as soon as possible.
2. No sappy sad music! I am a hunter; I don’t feel the need to play sad apologetic music throughout my show!
3. Product commercials will be just that! When we are hunting we are hunting no product descriptions I will let the products I use speak for themselves.
4. 100% fair chase on public land DIY! I have nothing against those who hire guides and or hunt private property; but that is not who I am. I am a public land hunter, that would rather eat a tag because I couldn’t get it done than pay someone to take me out.
I know there may be a few people who disagree with the things I have said. To those people the next time you watch a hunting show pay close attention to how cliché each show is, and focus on that, before long you will have the same feelings towards them as me.
If not you can comment below calling me stupid, or email me at Bethepredator@gmail.com look forward to hearing from you!