NBA teaches the pick & roll to get closer to animals.

I think that all of these "hunting shows" have attracted more folks to the sport. However, I think many are coming to it for the wrong reasons. Hunting began as a necessity for food. It evolved into a pass time to bring families and friends closer. For many, it still is. But now it seems that more and more it's all about "Freak nasty bucks", name brands gadgets and most of all, money.

I agree.

Well, when i started this post, I did not expect this many comments. They are all great. I guess I will share my opinion also. I won't say hunting shows are bad, as a matter of fact, I enjoy watching them sometimes. A few years ago I was actually involved in filming and hunting for one of the major production companys in the hunting industry. I always thought how cool it would be to be on a hunting show. Let me tell you, it is not that great! As you get into it deeper, you lose the fact you are hunting and are so worried about everything being right( camerman has good view, sun light is good, are you getting the b-roll you need etc.) Example you have a great hunt, everything was perfect, you play back footage and realize the heads on the camera were dirty and its awful footage, your heart sinks, but the fact is it was a great hunt, but you dont think about that at the time. I know this sounds off topic, but that experience led me to my opinion on the publicized aspect of hunting. I realized that some people truly do not care about what others think and we should all be more that way, but whether you like it or not it has influenced the way the majority of hunters hunt. I will give you some examples: if your buddy kills just a deer, pics are not immediately sent, however big buck goes down everyone in his contact list will have one. 2. Every one has a friend that harps on scores, 15 years ago not many hunters even understood scores much less even talked about them. 3. I would bet that 90% of the hunters on here own a couple of devices that are suppose to make them better hunters. In conclusion I am not saying it is a bad thing, just deep thoughts. By the way I will admit I am a trophy hunter, but what is a trophy will be determined by me, when I pull the trigger.

hunting has changed me, in becoming a better shooter, Still love opening days get excited everytime sitting in a blind or on the ground, I sat in a blind this moring didnt see a thing, later saw more sitting in my tractor working, And still got exicted. Hunt for youself and enjoy the times hunting, it could end one day..

I'll say you see much less backlash out of hunting shows that are obviously on public land ( hunting big game & showing some obvious landmarks when they pan their hunting area) than you do out of the public land duck hunters...

Man why'd ya have to go and post something like this? I wimped out after seeing this...lol. Awesome and Very touching. I love putting meat in the freezer but this is what it's all about ....

Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen?

Before I landed up half blind and with 2 bad legs and could not drive, I was going to our place at least once a week, most weeks twice or more. This was year round not just deer season, the only times that didn't happen was when we were in Ruidoso for a week or 2.

I'm going to say that the mainstreaming of hunting and hunting videos has been an AMAZING thing for our sport.

Look at the approval ratings for HUNTING since it started... DUCK DYNASTY is the most popular show on cable television...

Hunting was atrophying in this country.

For the first time in 30? years we are ADDING hunters to the sport.


That is the direct result of shows getting into peoples living rooms.

Hunters aren't shown as evil bambi killers. They are shown as respectful middle american families.

That's a GREAT thing for hunting in the future.

Agreed

Yes Nogalus, it is.

For me, being in a front row seat to observe the outdoors is what my reward is. I love harvesting mature bucks, but its not the be all end all, just the icing on the cake.

The influence of hunting shows I view overall as being positive, in that it has added hunters to what was a shrinking tradition. It's up to all of us veteran hunters to teach them to hunt for the right reasons. And I embrace that responsibility.

That video is gold!

Agreed!

lol, i have watched it at least 10 times since i found it a few days ago, my boys (5 and 3) like watching it too.

its so funny to see how much people get worked up over hunting shows when all they have to do is turn the channel. take them for what they are worth, with most of them you are getting to see some big deer, with some of them you get some good info, and with all of them you get the infommercials.

I deer hunt because I love to deer hunt. I do spend more money to do so now but that's because The Lord has blessed me and I can afford to spend a little more than I could when I was a young man. So am I personally spending more because of the shows? No. Is it possible that the shows have driven up the cost? Perhaps.

What is a trophy? I think the question has multiple answers to me. Size of antlers for sure identify trophies. But to me the real trophies are the ones that take into consideration much more than the animal. They include your family, hunting buddies and the memories created when taking the trophies whatever size the antlers are. Two come to mind...first is a little five point I took in Arkansas a few years ago. I went to our Men's family hunting reunion and when I got there my dad ask me to get he and my mom some meat which I was able to do. The fact that I was able to give my Dad the meat and had the opportunity to hunt with my extended family was awesome. The other was hunting with my ex FIL. I shot a little seven point right after he and I split up. It had be raining for a couple of days. We walked over a mile in the mud to get to the area we were going to hunt. When we split up he told me not to shoot anything that wasn't a big one because of the rain etc. he hadn't even made to the place he was going to hunt when he heard my shot. As we carried that buck out of there he never stopped giving me a hard time...

Those are the real trophies to me...although that beautiful almost perfect 10 point that scored 144 I got is also an awesome trophy!

Wow...You just summed up my whole philosophy in three paragraphs.

When I was a kid I only got to hold a BB gun once we got into position, such as, on the edge of a Dove field on the 1st of September. Our Dad never hunted Deer, when he was growing up he only had Squirrels to hunt. He was also a bird hunter. When my older brother and I got introduced to Deer hunting we were eaten' up with the whole concept. Camping out, pre-season scouting, learning from older hunters and enjoying the company of like minded people. What more could you ask for? Killing a deer is just a bonus. I still feel that way and can't wait for that first cool front every year. It's magical. It takes me back.

I hunt on 40 acres with 2 other people, sometimes 3. Yes its tight hunting. I haven't seen a deer in the stand since 2010, which was a nice 12 point so I cant complain. But I still enjoy spending the time with family and at least getting the chance to hunt. This is probably the best thread I've seen so far.

Size of the deer really doesn't seem that much and I found I learned more being a lurker at sites like this than on any of the shows. Turned them off, I want the whole experience, not a trophy.