VS Whitetail Challange...I think I'm going to be ill

[bbassi]

This may be in the wrong spot and feel free to move it, but I thought it would be better seen here. I got home tonight and caught the last half of a new show called the Whitetail Challenge on the VS network.

Though I didn't see the beginning, the gist of the program was apparent. It's a new COMPETITIVE deer hunting show staring many well known, big name hunters and move by move commentary (much like commentators in football) from none other than Jeff Foxworthy and some other yahoo, and in the field insights from some "babe" who sounded completely out of here comfort zone.

Folks, it looks like while we were all focused on the WHA debacle, the VS network snuck in under the radar and tore the top off the bottle. They were even sponsored by some big name companies. I'm afraid the way we see hunting portrayed will never be the same.

I'd be interested to hear what others who saw it think.

[Brutus Hedgeapple]

I just saw bits and pieces of it like you, but agree totally.
 Anything for fame and fortune, I reckon.

 Brutus

[JOHNL]

That show is trash! Anyone who hunts for competition should take up golf or some sport. Hunting is not a sport at least not in that sense. No respect for the animals.

[Danny Rowan]

Any contact info, Who are the sponsers? Might be too late but maybe if we did a email or phone blitz we could get this crap off.

Danny

[Danny Rowan]

[email protected]

send them a civil email with your disgust for the program. If we get enough real hunters to email them might do some good. Keep it civil, ie no name calling and such just tell them of your honest distaste and that you will no longer watch their channel no matter the programing until they cancel this show and that you will ask all other real hunters to do the same and contact the sponsers as well.

Danny

[Pete W]

A google search turned up this.

 http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/24595/?UserDef=true&catID=78

and this

News Release

Jeff Foxworthy And David Morris Host VERSUS Whitetail Challenge Presented By Tecomate

Stamford, Connecticut—VERSUS, the home of field sports' finest, today announced that everyone's favorite blue-collar comedian and deer hunter, Jeff Foxworthy, and renowned whitetail hunter and author David Morris will host the VERSUS Whitetail Challenge presented by Tecomate; a special presentation to find and name the world's greatest whitetail hunter. The VERSUS Whitetail Challenge takes four of the biggest names in the world of whitetails out for three days to hunt on one of the best free-range deer ranches in Texas—the winning hunter walks away without cash, but with serious bragging rights. Expert whitetail hunters and hosts of Whitetail Revolution on VERSUS, Larry Weishuhn, Ron Spomer, Mark Kayser are three of the master hunters featured in the special. Duncan Dobie, editor of North American Whitetail magazine fills the fourth challenger spot. This one-hour special presentation premieres on VERSUS December 14 at 7 p.m. ET as part of the network's "Hunting for the Holidays" programming block. An encore presentation will air Friday December 22 at 8 p.m. ET.

Jeff Foxworthy, one of the hosts of the VERSUS Whitetail Challenge, is known around the world for his stand-up comedy and shows like Blue Collar TV. He is the spokesperson for Tecomate Wildlife Systems, a company that offers superior wildlife management products and services to hunters and managers to enable them to improve their wildlife populations and habitat through better management and nutrition. David Morris, co-owner of Tecomate, has over 25 years of experience in the whitetail industry and is the former executive publisher and owner of Game & Fish Publications and North American Whitetail Magazine.

"VERSUS is on a mission to be the number one field sports television brand," said Gavin Harvey, President of the network. "America is a whitetail nation and we are excited to bring Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris together with four of the best whitetail hunters in the country for this first-of-its-kind whitetail showdown."

Credentials for the four accomplished hunters participating in VERSUS Whitetail Challenge are below:

· Larry Weishuhn, known as "Mr. Whitetail," is a professional wildlife biologist who has worked extensively with whitetail deer and other big game species.
· Ron Spomer, a widely published writer and photographer, is a rifles columnist for Sporting Classics magazine, a technical writer at Rifle magazine, and a field editor at American Hunter magazine.
· Mark Kayser is the whitetail columnist, the conservation editor and the Bowhunting Advisory Council coordinator for North American Hunter. He is also the backyard whitetail bowhunting columnist for Bowhunt America magazine.
· Duncan Dobie, editor of North American Whitetail magazine is also the author of several books on whitetail hunting, including: Whitetail Dawn, White Tales and Other Hunting Stories and Georgia's Greatest Whitetails.

Hunting for the Holidays—a month filled with the best field sports programming on television hosted by avid outdoorsman and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Larry Csonka. Csonka will wrap VERSUS best outdoor programming, including VERSUS Whitetail Challenge, with a series of gear ideas for sportsmen. Included in these segments will be holiday cooking tips, Camo in the Kitchen, and smaller gift ideas with his annual Stalking Stuffers. From The Magic Fish Scaler to Cabela's Jerky Seasoning, and laser sighters to high-tech socks, there's sure to be something for every field sports enthusiast. All of Csonka's segments for Hunting for the Holidays were filmed at Cabela's Retail Showroom in Hamburg, PA. Tred Barta will also be filming special segments giving his own unique perspective on gear recommendations for the holiday season.

VERSUS (VERSUS.com) celebrates real competition in all its forms. The network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events like The Tour de France, the America's Cup, the Dakar Rally, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), Professional Boxing, the Boston Marathon, AMA Motocross and Davis Cup. Now in more than 70 million homes, the network features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. The network offers unique, competition-themed original programming and is the exclusive home of Survivor in syndication. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

Media Contact:
VERSUS Public Relations
[email protected]

[Pasty Face]

CRAP, thats what I thought when I first saw that show.

The girl by the way is a big member in SCI, or at least she says she is. Saw here kill some speed goats a while ago.

[gobbler10ga]

Crap is right , If they want a real challenge come to Mountains with me and hunt public land

[vermonster13]

These guys were going to be the original hosts of the WHA but backed off when all the noise was made over the drugs. They took the idea and reworked it a little and made this show. The WHA hasn't gone away either and I fear we're going to see more shows in this format also. I hope that this will be a very short lived fad, but this is what the videos and shows have been leading up to for years. Many of the big camo companies and ATA members are on board with this junk and the only thing that is going to get this stuff off of the air at this point is to not watch. Unfortunately only 10% of hunters watch these shows and they are major hits rating wise, 5% and they are still profitable. Guns, girls and guts will give them the numbers they need sadly.

[Jason Lester]

Hey my oppinion of VS, or OLN, whichever they choose to go by, is simply this... They play the tour de frace half the time and then try to make up with it by putting "hunting" shows on later.
I'd rather not watch the channel but sometimes there is nothing else on.

Now as for the show I have mixed feelings. I though the award and scoring was a bit much. Anouncing it like a football game was just weird. I think the hunters (all rifle hunters) took mature deer and that was cool. I would have rather seen then feeding the hungry or something. But lets face it they at least were pushing mature vs giant young deer. Most people won't get the opertunities they hunt in anyway. So for most people its just about seeing big bucks on TV.

Besides have you ever had a freindly competition between freinds about the size of you deer. Its all in good fun. I guess what I'm saying is I took it a little more that way then you all must have.

Sure they had a prize they won. But reletivly little. I would have been offended if they had gave them a big cash pot or a new gun ect. Like competing for some item. Of course they didn't know what the prize would be. (and I'm sure it wasn't cheep)

Anyway all and all not the best of shows. Not the total worst for me but if they don't ever do another it won't hurt my feelings.

[DRR324]

I'm with snailskin on this one.  Just a hokey way to produce a hunting show.  Trying to make it like Bassmasters with all the diagrams, travel routes, etc.  The real gist of the show is that 4 guys shot 4 mature bucks.  I didn't make much more of it than that.  The whole idea that now one of them is the worlds greatest hunter is a joke of course, I AM the worlds greatest and they didn't even invite me.  I recon it was more of a hunting camp style of competition- the only difference was they had tv cameras and most of us hunt privately, and don't win a bronze statue for taking the biggest buck in camp.  Just my 3 cents.

[vermonster13]

See, we're already at 20% on this thread alone.

[jgbennett6]

Personaly, i watched it last night. Kinda enjoyed it. They weren't competing for a cash prize, the winner got a beautiful bronze statue. these guys were already well known for hunting before the Vs. that why they had them on tehre, to see who's techniques and methods worked the best in thsoe conditions. they did nothing illegal, and it wasn't in a high fence hunt. I enjoyed it and liked some of their techniques.... Are you sure Mr. "Whitetail" was going to be in the WHA?

[vermonster13]

No, Versus network was going to air the WHA is what I was saying above. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and this is just a little more pavement. These guys were paid to be there obviously and this show just lays groundwork for shows like the WHA.

[John Scifres]

Pick your battles folks.  This is not a winnable one, in my opinion.  Draw a line in the sand and defend it but don't forget to look at the big picture.  Look at the list of shows and hosts on there.  It is all about commercialization of hunting and fishing.  This "competition" is no different.  

I mean, any network that would continue to show Jimmy Houston after he got caught on the canned hunt here in Indiana does not really deserve the dignity of a response.  And Tred Barta???  "Shark Hunters: RAW"???  And that's just in the "Field Sports" section.  Look at their show schedule for today.  "E-Force", "World Combat League", "Holy @%^*!" ???!!!  

Come on, they aren't gonna care about any feedback except the publicity it's getting them.

[JStark]

They will care if they don't have sponsors.  Write VS and the sponsors saying that you won't purchase anything and will actively post on hunting forums against them.  This is what hurt the WHA so much.

They may not get the majority of their ratings from hunters, but their sponsors get all of their revenue from us.

[jgbennett6]

well..the way I see it, these guys had tags, hunted a non-fenced area (unlike the WHA).and did everything legal, with a little contest. I know teh guys I hunt with have a little contest every year, and whom ever gets teh largest buck gets the plaque for a year..the only difference is these guys were on TV.. i see nothing wrong with it.

[jgbennett6]

wow....guys this honestly disturbs me for some reason... I will probably get slammed, but i think alot of this hatred has to do with jealousy.......jsut what did they do wrong?..exactly....there were no money prizes, no high fences...part of the rules were you couldn't use any elevated stands for crying out loud. better yet, lets flame every celebrity hunter who has passed on a wounded 1.5 y/o so they can shoot a big ol 4 yo...this is borderline rediculous

[vermonster13]

Jake I think you're missing the road this is leading down. What a bunch of buddies do amongst themselves is one thing, this is another. The road is made I fear and there will be no turning off of it until it reaches the dead end. I just don't watch any hunting shows or buy any hunting DVDs. I'd rather be doing it myself and have other uses for my money.

Writing the sponsors is all well and good, but I have low hopes for it working with this. Nothing illegal being done here this time.

[jgbennett6]

I understand where this is leading but i think it is also causing an uber-sensative hunting community. I dont trouble myself with what other hunters are doing, as long as its legal, and on permitted property. If people actually paid attention to this show they may have actually learned something. yes it was with rifles, but 3 of the guys on the show are amazing whitetail hunters. and writting to the sponsers.. people can go ahead, here are a few Burris optics was one, Tikka firearms was another. and Tecomate...i dont think they are going to give a rats patooot.