At what cost will a hunting TV show go to ?
- Thread starter alaska2go
- Start date
I will defend anyone's way of hunting......as long as it's done legally. If they are guilty of illegal activity then my support goes out the window.
I will have to admit though........I have a tough time defending canned "hunts." It definitely paints hunting in a bad light. I know it's not any different than a steer being killed at a slaughter house for food.............but it's not "hunting" in my book.
As far as hunting shows........there's only a few that I actually watch, and most are western U.S./Canada based. Because of the number of channels and shows that are hunting based that are on today, I think the competition to harvest the biggest or most is sometimes over whelming for these people. They feel the need to push the envelope of ethics or legality (or past it) in order to stay in the game of hunting shows.
What it's done to a good portion of the viewers (and the average hunter) is to give them a false sense of what real hunting is to the majority of hunters across the nation. Owning/leasing/or having access to large amounts of private hunting grounds is not the typical scenario for most hunters. Passing on a 130" whitetail because he's only a 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 yr old and not a 6 1/2 yr old 160+", or passing on a 340" bull because he's not 380" is not the norm for the majority of hunters.
Nobody should feel guilty for shooting something less. If a 2 pt whitetail or muley makes you happy, then I'm going to say congratulations and be happy for you. It drives me nuts when I hear guys say..."well, it's just a 2 pt." like they're embarrassed by it or something. It might partly be because they were lambasted before for shooting something "small" by other hunters.......... but I think a lot of this comes from the hunting shows.
Hunting IS a competition. But for me, it's between me and what I plan on hunting/harvesting. I try to take something better than average, but that is always dependent on the area I'm hunting, and the realistic expectations that area can produce.
Hunting should always be a competition between us and our quarry, and not each other. When people realize that, then the temptation of doing unethical/illegal things should never be strong enough to follow through on it.
I will have to admit though........I have a tough time defending canned "hunts." It definitely paints hunting in a bad light. I know it's not any different than a steer being killed at a slaughter house for food.............but it's not "hunting" in my book.
As far as hunting shows........there's only a few that I actually watch, and most are western U.S./Canada based. Because of the number of channels and shows that are hunting based that are on today, I think the competition to harvest the biggest or most is sometimes over whelming for these people. They feel the need to push the envelope of ethics or legality (or past it) in order to stay in the game of hunting shows.
What it's done to a good portion of the viewers (and the average hunter) is to give them a false sense of what real hunting is to the majority of hunters across the nation. Owning/leasing/or having access to large amounts of private hunting grounds is not the typical scenario for most hunters. Passing on a 130" whitetail because he's only a 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 yr old and not a 6 1/2 yr old 160+", or passing on a 340" bull because he's not 380" is not the norm for the majority of hunters.
Nobody should feel guilty for shooting something less. If a 2 pt whitetail or muley makes you happy, then I'm going to say congratulations and be happy for you. It drives me nuts when I hear guys say..."well, it's just a 2 pt." like they're embarrassed by it or something. It might partly be because they were lambasted before for shooting something "small" by other hunters.......... but I think a lot of this comes from the hunting shows.
Hunting IS a competition. But for me, it's between me and what I plan on hunting/harvesting. I try to take something better than average, but that is always dependent on the area I'm hunting, and the realistic expectations that area can produce.
Hunting should always be a competition between us and our quarry, and not each other. When people realize that, then the temptation of doing unethical/illegal things should never be strong enough to follow through on it.
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The news tonight reported that Clarke Dixon, the Syndicate, was sentenced to 18 months jail time, $75,000 fine, forfeiture of 17 trophies plus rifles and bows. Lacey Act violations. No mention whether or not their rights to get a hunting license were revoked or if any of the sentence was suspended.
They also forfeited an expensive airplane!
They also forfeited an expensive airplane!
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