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Old November 11, 2014, 12:12 PM   #1
doofus47
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I'm a bit conflicted: my review of last week's Pure Hunting TV show

Admission, I actually watch it fairly regularly. It seems a step above the mean, in the sense that the hunts generally seem un-edited: people miss, or they don't see game, or sometimes hunters make bad shots and have to track, etc. I pay attention.
The tag line in the opening credits is (warning: this is not verbatim) "the last, best, pure hunts for people willing to go the extra mile."

So the episode from last Sunday was a bit different. Instead of one of the usual hunters, the show followed a guy who was brand new to big game hunting. He was starting with elk. He hadn't been small game hunting at all either. He was an absolute beginner but had picked up shooting sports and distance shooting as a hobby recently. He had been practicing. I was intrigued.

The guy pulls a tag for a rifle season in area 66 in Colorado. GMU 66 is, for those not on the 10-year waiting list, an area on the Western Slope that has many big bulls, low numbers of hunters, and gorgeous terrain.

Anyhoo, the guy has already won the lotto, but the TV host 'wants to put him on a big bull'. So the TV people have some locals pre-scout the area and find several herds and big bulls.
Summary: the guy shows up gets the map coordinates and a local to guide him. He shoots a bull from 300 or 400 +/- yards away across a wash and packs out a rack (to be fair, I'm sure he took the meat, albeit not on camera).

Total disclosure: I admit that I don't practice long distance shooting and I probably wouldn't have had the confidence to take that shot with my 30-06 and 2-7x scope. Nor would I ever take a shot that would require 30+ minutes of hiking to try to find the last known location of my quarry and BEGIN to follow a blood trail if I'd made a bad shot. Feel free to label me a green-eyed monster or an overly cautious girly man.

And I'm thinking:
What happened to going the extra mile? What's pure about this? How is this different from a guided hunt on a private ranch? What happened to learning how to hunt big game? Why wasn't this guy doing his own scouting and learning about elk sign and learning to find potential bedding, watering, feeding locations? Why weren't the TV hosts helping him (and the viewer) appreciate that getting the big bull is maybe not the point of hunting, but learning about animals, woodsmanship, colleagues, nature, mountains, and yourself while hunting IS the 'pure' of hunting big game? There's not a lot of hunting pressure in that area, so he could have TRIED to get closer than the next zip code before calling in an artillery strike. They could have tried to let him pick his own locations and burn some boot leather looking for whatever bulls he could find. Maybe his experience could have immortalized on camera that "any elk is a trophy elk." Maybe he was pressed for time, but so what? Do what you can. No one learns all there is to hunting in one year (week/season).

I'm actually a whole lotta bummed. In my opinion this episode was a let down not only from the usual level of reality/humility in the series but also in the sense that it could have glorified the journey of hunting that makes us more-rounded people. Instead it was all about the rack, which made it little better than a 30 minute fraternity-house wet-tshirt event for sofa hunters.
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Old November 11, 2014, 01:21 PM   #2
Doyle
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The answer to all the questions can be summed up as this: This is a "made for TV" hunt. EVERYTHING other than getting eyeballs to watch the show (and the related sponsor ads) is secondary.
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Old November 11, 2014, 01:22 PM   #3
feets
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Showing the real effort behind a stalking hunt will not sell the TV show. There's not enough excitement for non-hardcore hunters.

Welcome to the wonderful world of mass market media.
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Old November 11, 2014, 01:25 PM   #4
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Quote:
The answer to all the questions can be summed up as this: This is a "made for TV" hunt. EVERYTHING other than getting eyeballs to watch the show (and the related sponsor ads) is secondary.
that is why the only good hunting show on TV is Meateater with Steve Rinella!

such a good/pure hunting show that there are even episodes when they fail

no mentioning of gear and whatnot and it is all about the meat
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Old November 11, 2014, 03:10 PM   #5
doofus47
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Husqvarna:
Quote:
the only good hunting show on TV is Meateater with Steve Rinella
I watch that one regularly. That's been a quality show for sure. I do like some others like Bowhunter TV, although mostly for the technical and archery tips during the show. I think that there are a few other ones worth saving. Solo Hunter is pretty good. Western Hunter is probably the most beautifully filmed show on TV.

Yeah, TV is primarily a marketing tool. I should lower/drop my expectations about hunting shows being a means to educate about hunting. It just seemed like a golden opportunity was dropped.
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Old November 11, 2014, 04:17 PM   #6
jmr40
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A 300-400 yard shot at elk in that part of Colorado is not long range shooting. Most outfitters will tell you up front that if you are hunting in that part of the state to bring a rifle and the skills to shoot to 400 yards. They will get you closer if possible, but 400+ is a very real possibility as the best they can do. In other parts of Colorado, and other states the terrain may be much different and much closer shots are the norm.

Most modern guns and loads are pretty much point and shoot out to 300 anyway. There isn't enough bullet drop to matter at that range and only in rare cases would wind be a factor. Anyone with the skills to hit a bull elk at 50 yards can do it at 300. Once you get to 400 yards a bit of skill is required, but it ain't rocket science and anyone with decent equipment and a little practice should be able to make the shot.

Once you get beyond 500 then you start needing really good gear and a lot of skill. I don't really consider it true long range shooting until you get to the 700+ yard shots. I can't do it, but I know people who can, and have made shots that far on many occasions.

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a very realistic show that depicted a typical hunt for the area in question.
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Old November 11, 2014, 05:20 PM   #7
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I do not watch hunting shows anymore, but do watch the occasional video on the net. If I start to hear music played as a background, I turn it off. Some of the best videos have shots fired in the background, or you can hear traffic on an interstate. If the video makers have to kill the background noise, I figure something is faked. I have never been out hunting and heard music coming out of the woods. That is just me, but that is how I rate the shows I watch.
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Old November 11, 2014, 05:41 PM   #8
jimbob86
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400 yards is not long range. Many cartridges (including a properly fed 270WIN) will shoot 300 without any holdover at all ..... 400 is not long range to me by any stretch ..... .

It would be for someone who never shoots that far ...... but for folks west of the 100th meridian ...... wide open spaces are the rule, rather then the exception.

Are there shorter shots? Yes, and longer ones as well......

Quote:
I'm actually a whole lotta bummed. In my opinion this episode was a let down not only from the usual level of reality/humility in the series but also in the sense that it could have glorified the journey of hunting that makes us more-rounded people. Instead it was all about the rack, which made it little better than a 30 minute fraternity-house wet-tshirt event for sofa hunters.
"Sofa Hunters", and the products they buy, are what allows these shows to exist at all ....... the market has proven that they can sell people stuff if they show them being used on TV ...... is that a bad thing? Actually, it does not matter to me: I don't watch these shows, or TV in general. I've got better things to do .....
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Old November 13, 2014, 10:23 PM   #9
reynolds357
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That is the way most guided hunts are. You pay the guide to be the hunter for you. All you have to be is a somewhat accurate shooter. The only Elk I ever shot was over 700 yds away. I did not have a guide, but I was with a local who was probably better than most of the professional guides in that area.
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Old November 14, 2014, 02:08 AM   #10
FrankenMauser
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Quote:
A 300-400 yard shot at elk in that part of Colorado is not long range shooting. Most outfitters will tell you up front that if you are hunting in that part of the state to bring a rifle and the skills to shoot to 400 yards. They will get you closer if possible, but 400+ is a very real possibility as the best they can do. In other parts of Colorado, and other states the terrain may be much different and much closer shots are the norm.
I would tend to agree.
I don't hunt Colorado, but I do hunt elk in two areas in Utah and a decent-sized region in Idaho.

The primary area in Utah is a mix: Most shots will be 100 yards or less. But, there are some areas for shots out to 1,000 yards (or more). The average shot is probably about 200 yards.

The secondary area in Utah is a bit longer, on average: In the trees, most shots will be 100-200 yards. In open areas, you might see 600-1,000 yard opportunities. The average shot is probably 250-350 yards.

The area I hunt in Idaho is a total grab bag. Some places might have "long shots" of 75 yards. While other places (like where I'm going tomorrow) give you 'minimum' ranges of 300+ yards. (If you see an elk at 300+ yards, that might be your only chance to drop it.)



I try to limit myself to about 300 yards, even with my .270 Win (sighted for 272 yd 6" MPBR) and .30-06 (sighted for 238 yd 6" MPBR). With the "timber rifles", that limit shrinks even further. Generally, the thumpers have an unofficial limit of 150-200 yards, but my scoped .444 Marlin does have a drop chart in the butt cuff, for each load that I shoot, with data out to 450 yards (and calculated "holdover" points noted for the "Accu-Range" reticle in the 2-7x scope).

I, personally, would be quite unlikely to drop something past 400 yards, but I won't question another shooter about it, unless they've proven to me or show evidence that they're incompetent at long range shooting.


This year, it doesn't seem to matter much. I haven't seen a live elk since the day before the Utah elk season opened...
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