The first big buck hunters

[backstraps]

I know the shows are so successful due to the amount of viewers they have. Sponsors are making $, outfitters are making $ personalities are making $, etc etc.. it is a $ maker for some people....

WITH that being said, I do see a trend where the table is turning. More and more people are getting away from that non sense. It is not a game the "common typical" man can pay to play.

I think the trend is leaning towards common sense hunting, back to the roots of knowing HOW to hunt, and getting the job done.

I think this website alone is a fine example. The more Dan and his tactics are heard of, the more members sign onto this great site. True hunters are hungry to learn how to hunt.

The age structure of many hunters afield now are hunters that grew up watching "hunting" on tv. They are bred to believe to kill a good buck it has to be done on private, managed property, or with an outfitter, or over "bait" food plots.

I honestly feel 10 years from now the trend of the mess on TV and pixie products will be fading. At least I sure hope so!

[redsquirrel]

My biggest concern with the hunting shows is the influence they have on the new generation of hunters. Over the past 2 years I have taught 2 people how to hunt. They were complete beginners. The only thing they knew about hunting was what they had watched on TV (or youtube). For one of them it took me a lot of work to make him understand that it is only tv and not even close to our reality hunting public land.

[kurt]

The tide is turning some because not everybody has big money and you simply cant hunt like what you see on Tv on pressured ground and be successful. So out comes the thirst for knowledge.

[JoeRE]

We all should keep in mind the big money in the hunting industry is a symptom, not the actual disease. We can curse the money all we want but that doesn't do a thing. People just want to see giant antlers with no thought to where and how. The only way to fix the problem is change that culture. There is not a simple or easy fix - most of us, myself included, are fascinated by antlers...but the where and how needs to be much more important.


In regard to the first big buck hunters, I have a feeling the native Americans, early trappers and such could show anyone in the last 100 years a thing or two about pursuing game. Most of the time they didn't go after big bucks just because they had no reason to...but I bet if they had, their woodsmanship and knowledge of game would have humbled all of us recent "big buck hunters." Think you spend a lot of time outdoors? They spent every day of their lives out there and had to learn or die.

[whitetailassasin]

I hate the phrase " we do it just like you do", such a false statement. What they need to say is "we do it just like you would if you had our money and opportunity" LOL. I used to watch all the videos, until I started paying attention to the fine details. Fences in the background, guys hunting with both gun and bow, but never letting the animal approach for the bow shot. The shows became as much of an advertisement as it was about successfully teaching people how to set up and kill deer. I understand the money aspect and how when a sponsor is offering you money and merchandise it changes some. But I don't shoot a certain bow because so and so does, I shoot the one that feels right in my hands. All the merchandise I use is because its field tested, has a purpose, and it flat out works for what I need. I have been approached by some prostaff from my home state and other states about filming, but I refuse to advertise a product saying that it, not my knowledge and set up, is what killed my deer. Example: sprinkling cmere deer down and saying it brought my deer in. Or using a certain broadhead saying its the best. Simple and proven works for me. I have a deep respect for us public land hunters who have to actually "hunt" there game.

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[Milk Weed Seed]

I used to be glued to the outdoor channel, now I cant stand it, with the exception of Greg and Jake Miller, they all seem phony to me. Greg and Jake seem to be the only ones discussing their tactics too?
A good friend of mine used to hunt in Kansas every year with an outfitter. The outfitter claimed one of the biggest names in the industry (I'll leave his name out in case it is not true, but pretty sure it is...) hired small aircraft to move push the deer on the property, for his show. I wish there were more shows like Extreme Whitetail Tactics and Whitetail Addictions, but then I would watch to much tv

[keb]

"The mere fair-weather hunter, who trusts entirely to the exertion of others, and does more than ride or walk about under favorable circumstances, and shoot at what somebody else shows him, is a hunter in name only. Whoever would really deserve the title must be able at a pinch to shift for himself, to grapple with the difficulties and hardships of wilderness life unaided, and not only to hunt, but at times to travel for days, whether on foot or on horseback, alone."
~ Theodore Roosevelt 1901

Pretty much sums it up on who the real hunters are.

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[Jackson Marsh]

"The mere fair-weather hunter, who trusts entirely to the exertion of others, and does more than ride or walk about under favorable circumstances, and shoot at what somebody else shows him, is a hunter in name only. Whoever would really deserve the title must be able at a pinch to shift for himself, to grapple with the difficulties and hardships of wilderness life unaided, and not only to hunt, but at times to travel for days, whether on foot or on horseback, alone."
~ Theodore Roosevelt 1901

Pretty much sums it up on who the real hunters are.

[ Post made via iPad ]

Great quote!

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