Unethical Hunting Show

[HogBiologist]

Was just watching "The Season With Justin Martin" Episode "Turkey 2".  Turkey was coming in and hung up. Guy asked how far you think he is.  Other guy said about 50 or 55 yards.  Guy hesitated and then took the shot.  Dusted the turkey with brushing of non lethal pellets.  Turkey fluffs and runs away.  Guy jumps up with his gun and they cut as he begins to run.

Holy Crepe! (intentional spelling of pancake like food)

Guy takes long shot on bird with only upper half of neck visible, peppers the bird, runs with a gun....

After all this they cut to the after scene.  The other guy says, "how could you shoot under him"?
Shooter says "It happens"

BS it does not "Just Happen".  How about making an ethical shot.  How about waiting until the bird is in range.  I don't care if you have a show to film, it isn't worth wounding the bird.  And then to act like he missed the bird when it was obviously a wounding hit.  I wanted to jump through the screen and B-Slap that #%@&*@(@.  I hope someone on here knows them.  I want them to read this.  A guy like that would never be allowed to hunt with me.

[Idratherb]

I saw that too, I have a hard time watching any hunting show to be honest.

[mgm1955]

Too many cameras, too many networks trying to fill time slots, too many people sending the wrong messages. When the pressure mounts to film successful hunts good hunting practices often get overlooked.

[El Pavo Grande]

Hunts as you described are why I quit watching hunting shows. 

[BowBendr]

Hunts as you described are why I quit watching hunting shows.

Agreed. I can't watch hunting shows any more.

[spurman]

I don't watch hunting shows anymore.

[tomstopper]

Yep. Real good role model. Some kid is going to jump up and try to run with a loaded weapon and get hurt or killed. Just portrays hunters in a negative light in general and gives the Libs another reason to take our guns. Not very smart......

[allaboutshooting]

I could not agree more with all the posts on this subject.

A few months ago on OG we discussed the very disturbing marketing that seemed to encourage shots at turkeys at distances beyond 40 yards. Most of us who frequent this site know that 40 yards is in fact a long shot and any distance beyond that poses some real problems.

The first of which is that any shot pattern will start to degrade very quickly beyond 40 yards or so. It just spreads out and soon is exceptionally wide so that shot hitting a turkey will be over his entire body and not the preferred kill zone of the head/neck area.

The second problem is the retained energy of a lead pellet drops off very quickly after 40 yards and the energy necessary to cleanly kill a turkey may not be there.

A third but much less discussed and less understood physics problem is that round balls (pellets) launched at speeds faster than 1100 f.p.s. decrease in velocity much more rapidly and lose energy much more quickly than pellets launched at 1100 f.p.s. or less. So the retained energy of a pellet launched at 1100 f.p.s. may be higher than a pellet launched at a higher speed, especially at distances beyond 40 yards.

Paper may be an excellent medium for evaluating patterns but a very poor one for evaluating retained energy. We all know that at times we can have that "magic pellet" that will kill a turkey at some distance that should never have been shot but in most cases, like the one cited, the turkey will be hit with pellets, and die another day due to injuries or gangrene. If you've ever seen a turkey that had gangrene, it will certainly make you think before taking a long shot.

I appreciate your bringing this subject back up for all of us to consider again.

Thanks,
Clark

[laturkeyhunter]

apparently this is a trend for hunting shows I'm watching Red Arrow episode "spring turkey" and the host of the show done pretty much the same thing three times in one episode. His excuse the first two times was "i couldnt find my bag of chokes so i just grabbed a shotgun out of the closet that maybe wasn't as field proven as my other shotgun". and then he got mad and started throwing his gloves and face mask after he shot at the second turkey 4 times. and then he patterned his gun and it was shooting several inches off. its pitiful

[the Ward]

I also can't watch these so called "pro's" and their shows anymore. Most of them have become info-mercials at best, slob hunting at their worst. We cancelled our cable recently due to all the horrible programming and "reality show' marathons and honestly I don't miss it at all. That money we were spending on cable is going to go to something worthwhile now, hopefully a boat!   

[jakesdad]

This is why the only 2 shows I watch anymore are "Fresh Tracks" and "Meateater";both tell like it is,sometimes you win,sometimes you dont. Everything else is just plain crap. Most guys sound worse than NASCAR drivers trying to get in all the sponsor names after they shoot something.

[dawgfrombama]

I hardly watch any hunting shows anymore.  I usually watch the Primos guys and that's about it.  I can hardly relate to what the turkey pros do anymore.  I'm an old school turkey hunter still doing the way I learned in the 80's hunting hardwood creek bottoms and pine plantations of south Alabama.

[J Hook Max]

 I'm with Dawgfrombama. It is hard to watch.
I started hunting turkeys in the late 60's in the Mississsippi River bottoms. Things were much different and then moved to South Alabama in the early 80's.
No sitting in popups with strutting decoys. You went into the woods and found your birds and called them in. Didn't kill as many and not as many old birds as hunters do today but it made you a far better turkey hunter.

[J Hook Max]

I also like the post from Allaboutshooting. If he's past 40 yards, let him walk. I have killed turkey past those distances but not by much. I have let many more walk away. Nothing more sickening than a crippled bird.
Too much pressure for people to kill birds and not enough emphasis on ethics of hunting and shooting. They should do shows about those topics sometimes but I guess that doesn't sell as many decoys and shells.

[zeke632]

Meat Eater, Western Hunter & Randy Newberg show are the only shows I can stomach.

I don't want to step on anybodys toes but sitting in a tent shooting turkeys.....just doesn't seem right to me. To each his own.
I think a lot of the tv shows could be used against humters.