Kills funny on TV ??

[joevan125]

This post is really confusing to me.

I almost always get overly excited and yes you can count on me having a huge smile on my face when it all comes together.

The day i stop getting excited and that huge smile goes away i will find something else to do.

[bornagainbowhunter]

Originally posted by joevan125:
This post is really confusing to me.

I almost always get overly excited and yes you can count on me having a huge smile on my face when it all comes together.

The day i stop getting excited and that huge smile goes away i will find something else to do.

YUP!! that is my point also.  I may make someone mad here, but I can honestly tell you that it will not be my intention.  

All of the guys that say it is not about horns or that horns mean nothing, if two bucks walked up, would you shoot the smaller one if given equal shot opportunities?  If hunting makes you sad or makes you cry, why do it?  Why spend countless hours practicing, hanging tree stands, scouting, and perfecting your gear if there is not excitement or joy?  It is cheaper to buy meat from the store, if you figure gear, gas, tags, stands, time, ect...

You stand here bashing these guys for doing what they enjoy, are you not doing the same, doing what you enjoy?  You bash all of their equiptment, their "gadgets and gizmos" you call them, have you ever talked to one of them.  Most compound shooters will tell you that they either cannot shoot a stick or that they do not feel they are efficient enough with trad to hunt with trad gear.  I am not trying to stir the pot, just trying to understand where all of the "us vs. them" attitude comes from.  We are all hunters, we all support the same things, but we all have different emotions that cause different reactions.  

Like I said, I am not tring to offend anyone, but some of these replys sound like an elitest's rant against everyone and everyting that is not conformed to their own point of view.  

John

[trapperzeke]

The clearly faked or orchestrated reactions are the only ones that truly bother me.  As long as the emotions are genuine, I can accept any reaction I suppose.  I remember when my 12 yr old niece finally fired at game for the first time (missed a rabbit with a shotgun).  She shook like a leaf, got weak at the knees, and we laughed ourselves silly.  I don't think we were being disrespectful, just revelling in the culmination of a long process of becoming a true hunter.

[Chris Shelton]

I guess you guys shouldn't smile in hero shots then either?  Look we all know that most of these hunting shows are crap, but I don't think it is because the guys laugh when they are successful.

Why do we get so excited or happy when we are successful?  Why are we so attracted to horns?  I hear a lot of this term "horn porn" going around, are you guys telling me that you would pass on a massive buck because the horns are too big? If the answer to that is yes than you are probably lying.

Sure I think most of us would be just as excited filling our tags with does but we would love to get that wall hanger.

If you don't get excited or laugh when you are successful then you are not a good representation of the lifestyle.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

I think the general consensus is that genuine emotion in whatever form doesn't bother us.  It is the fakeness that alot of the show hosts portray.  

Fred Eichler is a prime example of genuine emotion coming out after a kill.  He gets just as excited shooting a doe or a spike as he does shooting a big moose, and makes no apolgies for it.  Laughing, crying, smiling, high fiving, pats on the back are all real emotions that people show after accomplishing things not just hunting related.  

Baseball players after winning the world series, football players after winning the super bowl, fighters after winning a title bout all show the same emotions and reactions listed above because it is the cullmination of a lot of hard work, dedication, preparation, and practice. Which pretty much sums up a hunting season for most people, so to expect hunters to act like they are at a funeral after a kill, no pun intended, is a little bit ridiculous.  

When I get my first tradbow kill, you can bet that I will probably as my dad would call it, "act a fool!"

[varmint101]

No big deal to me.

Also, another thing to consider, how many of us hunt with someone always at their side?  That creates a different scenario also.

[Gary Logsdon]

I totally agree with the idea that there's "honor" - if you will, in displaying true emotion on making a great shot or walking up on downed prey in contrast to the obigatory "sounds of success" that a lot of TV hunting celebs habitually emit for sponsor driven hunting segments. That can be very distasteful.

Let me relate an example of an "archery celeb" who left his true emotions in the woods on one of our hunts together. Jerry Simmons (designer of the Simmons Shark heads)and I were with exhibition shooter Byron Ferguson the morning he claimed his biggest bear ever.  When Byron made the shot the previous evening the bear hadn't exactly bolted away the way you like to see them do whenever they're hit hard. The bear basically walked into the dark Canadian bush and disappeared.  Byron brought the arrow into camp that night with a subdued look on his face. I examined the arrow, which had a lot of dark venous blood from front to back, so we decided to wait until sunrise to pursue the bruin.  Byron didn't sleep much, none of us did for that matter, so we were up early and anxious to settle the issue.  Long story short, Jerry was filming as Byron carefully took up the trail with his eyeglasses on for insurance. Ha, you won't see those worn on TV.  I guess he didn't want to miss a drop of blood.  When Byron finally got a glimpse of dark hair through a maze of greenery he LOCKED UP, looked at Jerry's camera and whispered "I think that's HIM and I sure hope he's dead. If we don't come out of here and somebody sees this tape, tell mama (Referring to his wife Wanda) that I love her.!"  You can't make that kind of thing up; it flowed from his lips with concern and anticipation.  Well, the bear was indeed dead and all of us were estatic, especially Byron.  Jerry turned the camera off and we all began to back slap and celebrate a very private and LOUD moment.  Here's a photo taken afterwards.  You can probably still see a hint of relief in our faces.  When emotions are real I don't mind seeing them on film . . . just wished Jerry had left that camera on a bit longer.

(Hit F5 on your keyboard to refresh the page if the photo fails to load.)

 

[Bowwild]

A buddy filmed me killing my first eastern gobbler with a bow several years ago. When I looked at the video I was shocked that my eyes could open so wide -- but not quite so wide as my mouth. I shook his hand (it was his blind, his spot, and mostly his advice that produced this opportunity) and was genuinely excited.  When I killed the first live deer I ever saw in my life with a bow when I was 16 years old in 1969 I actually shook the 2-trunked hickory tree my stand was in and shouted, "I got one, I got one!"  My buddy across the field told me to shut up so the rest of us can hunt.  Like many have said here, its when the enthusiasm seems to be for the show instead of from the heart that's what bothers me. When the hunter is obviously out-of-breath excited and relieved (the fellow and wife on Archer's Choice comes to mind) I think that's real and I like it.  I too like Fred. I sent his wife an e-mail and told her I watched his show because of his genuine enthusiasm for every bow kill.  I also think Roger (can't recall last name) of Jimminy Cricket fame comes across as very real.  My favorites though, maybe because they are a bit more subdued and stress the hunt more are Tim Strickland (Strickland's Hunting Adventures) and Dave Watson.

Litmus test for me.  If the host feels a need to display the big fancy travel bus in the show, they are more about building celebrity than promoting hunting, hunters, or archery.  There's another strategy that turns me off and I won't describe it here but it is becoming a very common approach by many of the shows and some archery advertisements. I won't even look at a product endorsed using this kind of message.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

Nice pic Mr. Logsdon, and an awesome cover photo of the sillohette bowhunter on TBM.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

I will admit, there is something to the guys that just stand there shaking, showing there trembling hand to the camera to show how much they are shaking.  That may or may not stop ofter the 100th Whitetail you harvest, I hope it never goes away.

[Gary Logsdon]

Roy, "big fancy travel bus"?  That's what country music stars sometime refer to when they say "the eagle has arrived".  Hank Jr. once told me about singers who think they've arrived and try to show it when they buy themselves at least one "Touring Silver Eagle."  Of course he had three at the time, so look who's talking, HA.  Maybe some of the bowhunting "talent" out there have become confused and think that they're actually country stars?  I've noticed one or two who have a habit of hosting country singers on their TV shows which feature THEIR travel buses!

[Gary Logsdon]

Thanks Candler, I like the way the TBM cover turned out; the image contrasts with the others on the store racks . . . sort of gets your attention.  I try to capture those special moments we all have either experienced or aspire to, which I guess in a way relates to this thread.  "Personal satisfaction" is pretty darn subjective.

[Bowwild]

Yep. I sure miss Mr. Bear.

I realize people have to make a living. I also suspect being a professional hunter is probably hard work if you do your own sponsorship gathering, scouting, stand set-up, etc.  

I probably should lighten up a bit regarding my ever-hardening stance against cooperating to help build someone's celebrity.  I guess I respect hard work more than genes.  Maybe that's because I buy my "jeans" at Sears?

[Gary Logsdon]

He often told people to just call him "Fred", and was a very humble man who believed in the power of a handshake and keeping your word. I was always amazed at how good Fred's memory was when it came to minor events and people.  He liked to pick on my wife each time he saw her holding a camera. He would brag on her new toy, and then describe the camera she was carrying the last time he saw her, often years before.  He liked to joke about how good she was becoming with it.  Sometimes it was difficult to pry the details of his numerous adventures out of him. Fred was always more interested in where I'd been recently than where he'd been . . .  gee, no comparison there! The last time I visited him he had been released from the hospital and anxious to hear about my recent bear hunt above the U.P.  Fred missed living in Grayling and was all ears whenever he heard anything about recent travels in the area.

Yes, he's missed.

[Bowwild]

I never met him.  It is very cool that you have (and more)!  According to my collegue in Elk Range Kentucky I think you might have handed down a Great Northern bow to him?  He didn't say who gave it to him but my guess is you're one bow short?

I came close once just months before he died. I was the typical archer/tourist visiting his museum and shop in Gainsville. I bought one of his hats which they said he would have signed (for anyone) but he wasn't in that day.I left it and he signed and they mailed it to me! Alas, I misplaced the hat in one of my nearly 14 moves over the years.

Sorry guys, I hope you will "bear" with Gary and I a moment as we contemplate a legend.

[Icandraw]

Originally posted by Buckeye Trad Hunter:
I sometimes laugh after taking an animal but it's not meant in a disrespectful way.  It's because of the culmination of an exciting and very successful hunt.  Now, I don't jump up and down and hoot and holler and such but I do enjoy my success in a respectful way.  It's not a laugh because anything seems funny but because of the break in the tension of the moment.  I get somewhat upset if I miss, very upset if I should make a bad hit, and excited when I'm successful.  By the way, after the excitement of the moment there is a bit of sorrow because after all, I have just taken a life.  

However, I have saw some people who do apear to be completly disrespectful, but maybe this is just how they deal with the excitement.

Thats the way I feel about it!  

[matt schuster]

I think the term "horn porn" came about as bowhunting videos became more and more explicit and the emphasis is predominantly on big antlers.   I first heard the term years ago and a hunting show where a bunch of rednecks stood mesmerized before a tv showing a guy bloodily killing a boar with a long knife.  

Personally, I have nothing against horns, but how I get those horns does mean a lot to me.  If I had a chance to shoot a world record with a gun, or in a pen, I would pass as would most of you because I'd just as soon hit it with a truck.  I personally get a lot more satisfaction out of killing a doe on my ground in GA, than I would killing a nice buck over a feeder in Fl or TX.  And I am not saying I wouldn't do both, because I have.    Why should be pretty obvious.  But, and I can only speak for me, I don't really care how other folks do it unless I think they are damaging the sport.

[oxnam]

I love giving gifts to my little children because the gets so excited and can't hardly control themselves.  At what point does that excitement need to be turned off?

I am half glad I don't have video of my first elk harvest.  I had worked for very hard for 5 seasons to make it happen and when everything finally came together and I had my bull, I am sure I would have looked, sounded, and acted like a fool.  No matter how improper, I don't think I contained myself in those first moments.  It was a humbling experience to which I offered my prayers of gratitude.

I don't know how many people here could win $25,000 and not pump your fists and jump around around like a goof.  I have a hard time faulting true emotion.  I think many may be right that it may not look good for the sport on TV.  Some may fake the excitement but Eichler's responses, at times, seem over the top but I believe that is just how he is and I am happy for him.

[Gary Logsdon]

One more thing about Fred Roy and then I'll get off of here:^) No surprise that he sent that hat to you.  He was a hands on guy and many times worried that he had forgotten to do things like that for folks.  Fred kept an old fashioned black "30s era" typewriter in his office that he used to peck out notes and letters with.  It was badly misaligned which explained the uneven distribution of letters in the wording of the Bear stationary.  Fred kept a bottle of whiteout handy as he was constantly having to make corrections. Oh, that's probably not one of my old Great Northerns.  I just did a head count and they're all still there:^)  Okay, someone take us back to the original topic of this thread!

[52 bow]

Thanks for the input guys, everyone has his own opinion.I'm a whitetail fanatic and watch the different deer reactions--most of the other content is put on or just stomach wrenching.A turn of the head with a nice smile after the shot tells all-- the best is Barry Wensels eyebrow twitter!!!!!