I get tired of hearing this sometimes on the dvds and shows..I mean I feel like they are blowing smoke up my rear...Hunted hard? really? for 95% of them, they never scouted a second or one foot step on that property...what does that mean anyway? "hunted hard"? Im not sure I would consider that hunting hard...You want to know what hunting hard is? Try a guy like Schultzy...I mean this guy gets one deer tag a year and hunts for one particular deer every year and most times lets deer go that would be slam dunks...just b/c he is ..1. looking for the right one and 2. doesn't want his season to end. Look at a guy like GMMAT...you wanna talk hard hunting? try hunting the amount of hrs he does time after time in an area with very few if any "monster" bucks...or even older bucks..yet, he goes and he admires his woods without complaint and he also takes his deer every year...try BHF...gutting it out day after day and maybe passing on a shot that's just a little too far for is max range and taking the chance that he will never see that deer again..and to top it all off, all these guys do it traditionally! Hunting hard is all relative I assume, but I dare ask Stan Potts or Lee to do what these guys do day in and day out...that's hunting hard to me...done with my rant.
I hear that lol. I've always had pride in myself with how "hard" I hunt. From the opener to the closer I dont' miss a single sit (barring extreme weather). Lots of all day sits mixed in. I'm not the greatest hunter in the world, but one thing is for sure........ I outwork the other guy. I'll do whatever it takes to reach my goals. Live, eat, sleep and breath hunting! Countless hours on stand (and scouting) year after year. It bugs me a little bit hearing some people use that phrase without knowing what it really means.
Define hunting hard VA? Your examples of guys who hunt hard are guys on this forum who don't do much differently than guys in many tv shows do. I mean.. you gave Jeff as an example. He puts in lots of time. And he does. But so do they.. and multiply what Jeff puts into the woods by 4.. thats how much time many of them had in.. only they were away from their families for weeks on end. So how are they not hunting hard? As compared with your definition? I think your digging too deep. Many of those guys have got to do A LOT more than you or I do throughout the season. I don't see you filming and hunting... its A LOT more work than simply hunting alone. A LOT more work. Like night and day. I'm not asking you to feel sorry for these guys and gals... but they put in the time. Your just watching the 1% of footage thats squeezed into a 30 minute tv show.
I think they absolutely hunt hard. They might not have to scout hard because of the locations most are hunting but they definitely put their time in.
Easy grasshopper..I do film, in fact i have 2 kills on film on a dvd right now from this year and others from last year..I didn't say they didn't put in time Duke...I said they didn't hunt hard...Hunting hard is scouting, busting your ass to figure out the deer/ bucks on your property or public property...how does Stan Potts hunt hard at Hadley Creek Outfitters? How does Bill Jordan hunt hard at Milk River? compared to you? Me? Im not saying they don't put in time, but it's a hell of a lot easier to put in time on a stand where they are as compared to other places even in the same state....this isn't about location or anything like..they know the outfitter has done the work and they sit...it's good entertainment, but you didn't hunt hard....tell Stan Potts to hunt on some public land or even a private farm in IA or IL and see what he thinks is hard then.... Also. Im not putting them down for hunting there, they have too to make a living...just don't look at the camera and say..." we have hunted so hard for this" just before you plug the outfitter and give thanks to them and say " wow, Joe Blow really did his homework for us" "he knows his deer"..etc...Duke, how can you not agree with that considering how you hunt yourself? I have to ask...I tell ya what, your own buddies at WKP hunt extremly hard and put in the hrs and work it takes, know smoke blowing there....do they not?
I am a guy that has never hunted from a stand or blind. I am 100% walk and stalk as thats the best way to hunt here in Australia. I can only assume that once you are in your stand the hard work (except carry out) has been done by the hunter or the guide if 1 is used. the amount of time that must go into patterning animals movements, selecting a site and fittting a stand must be ridiculous!! If you turn up to an outfitters and get dropped off at a stand there is no way that is " hard hunting" even if you sit in a stand for 4-5 days. I would love to see some of these TV hunters battle the 110 plus deg heat and walk 7- 10 mile looking for game......
Duke, You are spot on to a point!! I know what VA is trying to say is that the pro's that hunt with outfitters more than the ones he picked. They show up and the outfitter shows them the trail cam pics and then puts them in the stand and the second day they kill it, but they have been gone and on the road from state to state.And I couldn't agree with you more or should I say my wife couldn't agree with you more when asked about the 24 days straight I was on the road and then throw in the weekends I was gone and then the 80 lbs of camera equip and every thing else you carry into the woods in the rain and anckle deep clay.. and the 20 hours of video we shot for 4-5 minutes of air time.. Is right on.. I just think you both are right on this one.
I hunt smart... not hard. I do think most of the video guys do hunt hard.... if by 'hunt' you mean putting a lot of time in a tree, and planning months in advance where to hunt and when. Now, 'scouting', 'patterning'... maybe not so much... but if you expect a guy to kill mutiple bucks in multiple states on a consistent basis... scouting time is going to be limited. 'Specially for the bigger 'stars' that have to do a lot of outdoor shows/shoots and what not. Some of the video heros probably are crummy hunters who happen to hunt on good land with better guides, some of them are probably outstanding hunters who could get it done pretty much anywhere if they had to. Most of them are probably just 'good' hunters who happen to have the drive and talent (and/or BS ability) to get sponsors and put out a tv show.
It's not just time in the tree Im talking about...Im talking about the work prior to...Im talking about hunting day in and day out with only one chance all season..like Steve. Or recurving like some have done on here and having to let deer go that would be dead with a compound.. Im talking about going at it when bucks are all but nocternal b/c of pressure, yet, you still hunt with everything you have...are these guys on TV doing this? or just hunting the right times in every state they go to? Im asking...I may be completely wrong on this...Duke you maybe right. Im telling you this is my interpretation.
Anyone who logged more than 550-600 hours afield, last year....hunted harder than I did. Whether they did that sitting in a stand someone put them in.....or in spots they cultivated.....they were there. That's hard work (conceded). I'll add in another 150 hours of practice to that number, last year. I'm not saying (in the least) that I hunt harder than anyone else. That's subjective and unimportant (to me). Like NY, though.....I don't know any other way. And, that probably hurts me. I'm sure there are a lot of hunters who get more out of their hunts (results), that hunt much less. I suppose I'm persistent....if not efficient. Fine with me. And I bet I speak with NY when I say....I wouldn't trade my 2009 season with anyone. If you can say that......kudos to you.
I hear ya, and I never said they didn't put in time, but what I mean is did they work for that big buck they just shot? did they really hunt hard for.?? How many times do you hear this.."our first night in Kansas and we are done baby!" really? wow.. or " we have been here at ________outfitters for 6 days straight and finally we connected" is that hard? Try Bobby Worthington...that's a hard hunter, a serious hard hunter... Look, I understand why these guys have to hunt at these places...Im not nocking them, just don't tell us how hard you have hunted....sitting in a stand that you got dropped off on for 7 hrs and then shooting a buck is not hard..even if you go for days like this, that's hunting long hrs, not hunting hard...just my interpretation...don't twist it.
VA... your examples of guys who hunt hard were guys you put in lots of time etc etc.. by your definition its a guy who puts in time who hunts hard. I simply gave you the fact that guys on tv put in the time.. so therefore.. by your definition... is a hard hunter? By that definition.. you gave. Thats what I said. I said nothing more of outfitters or anything like that.. because it wasn't in your original post. Your changing the game... and thats okay.. but don't expect me to change it first. You know what I'm saying.. meng?
I think many would be shocked if they saw behind the glamor of on screen hunting. I mean, there could have been 3 weeks straight of hunting to achieve that 24 minutes of footage, or there could have been 1 day. All I know is, to capture an ENTIRE SEASON of episodes, I can't even fathom. The amount of work it takes to film hunts, set stands for two, readjust where and how you hunt to accommodate filming...it's far from easy. I honestly would NOT want it as my full time job, as it would suck the fun I find in hunting right out of it. Too many hours to log. I hunt to enjoy myself and the work some of these hunters on tv put in I honestly would NOT come close to enjoying. Obviously some guys work hard, and others not so much, but one thing is for sure and that is there is NO WAY POSSIBLE of knowing how hard they work for a season through watching a 30 minute tv episode. That footage is chopped, edited, reduced, refined, etc to make everything appear perfect and flawless. I agree the preseason leg work is by far the hardest part of hunting when it comes to treestand hunting whitetails....I guess in that respect, you must view Lee and Tiffany as the two hardest working individuals around when it comes to hunting. Manage their own land, hang their own sets, plant their own plots, hunt their own stands often for weeks straight....their hours afield would DWARF anyone on this site i'd wager.
I see what you're saying, its just a difference in interpretation. I call scouting, scouting. And when i mention hunting, i'm referring to actual tree time. There's an easy way and hard way to do everything. For the amount of time that would be needed for the TV guys to scout and hunt hard to fill a whole season worth of shows, I dont think there are enough days in a year.
Yes, when Lee and his bride are hunting their stuff, they put in some serious work and yes, they hunt hard..but when they take their trip to Canada, I doubt it. Don't get this confused...I know filming and all that goes with it is hard..I do some myself.. what Im saying is, the work that goes into killing deer prior to the stand sitting...how much work or foot work did they put in at the outfitters they are hunting?? if they went there and scouted and hung, and moved around and put thought into what they were doing, then yes they work hard and hunted hard...why does this always rub people the wrong way? Im actually giving props to the reg Joes and Im catching heat for it...Watch a Muzzy Bad to the Bone video and you will see what I mean compare that to a WKP video....you will see what I mean.
I agree...I said before, I know why they have to hunt this way to sell videos and what not, that's not my issue, my issue is the whole, " we have hunted so hard for this buck" when in reality, MANY, not all of them, just got dropped off on a stand after they were shown the trail cam pics and were explained to what the deer were doing and how they were moving, then tell us you hunted hard....NO, you hunted maybe all day, and hunted the best stand you could at the outfitter, and you made a great shot, no disputing it...it was cool to watch, gets me pumped, but you didn't hunt hard....hunting is all inclusive...that goes with practice, scouting, map reading, studying, etc...
