I like Shockey, especially his Uncharted series.

I had great respect for Greg Rodriguez and even hunted with him twice, once in TX and once in BC. Heck if a nice guy and fun to share a camp with. His murder affected me greatly. I once shared a flight in Cameroon with Boddington. He had just made Brig Gen in the USMCR and I had just made CPO in the USN. He was headed to a camp for Lord Derby Eland and I was headed to a camp for Western Roan. He was interesting to talk to and extremely pleasant and full of info.

Uh, they are not sharing what they are doing. They are selling it. Big difference.

Like it or not, the commercialization of animals is what keeps them alive on this earth.

When animals have a value attached to them, their existence becomes important.


I’m not saying I support these guys making it seem like shooting a deer over a bean field in Georgia is the most extreme thing ever, because I don’t, but I 100% support guys like shockey and boddington.

If we face facts, Avg. Joe hunter does little to give back outside of the Pittman Robinson funds by buying licenses and ammunition. They arnt members of Rocky Mountain Elk foundation, arnt members of Ducks Unlimited, arnt members of SCI, DSC or any other conservation group. He isn’t a member of his local co-op and doesent help his local regional groups monetarily or by volunteering. He helps small town business by buying feed, paying lease dues and eating out in the town he hunts near and that’s about it. He doesent even manage his wildlife on his lease, he feeds what is required, shoots his buck or two then shags arse. No predator control, no population census, etc.

The entire reason most animals are still walking the earth today is because of sport hunting and those who love it. This is true from deer in South Texas, ducks on Chesapeake bay or sable in Africa.



And if you get down to it....those guys that we all love to hate do get new people into the sport. Guys like randy new burg and Steve rinella have guaranteed made a huge increase in public land hunters from out of state. Too much imo but we live in the Information Age.

New hunters relate to guys like that, not someone like jimmy dean sitting on his porch telling stories of running rabbits with his beagles.

What do you guys think about Rinella? He seems to be the most famous hunter these days because of his friendship with Rogan and all his books and TV show.

He is a very smart individual. Lived in Seattle for quite awhile I believe now in Boazman. He has some leftist opinions on some things, but when it comes to conservation so do I. Very staunch public land advocate.

I don’t agree with his views on trophy hunting but I will say he is a very articulate ally to the hunting community and I wish we had more guys like him and less of these other yahoo’s that we see on tv constantly.


A person has to remember when looking at guys like Steve Rinella, Randy Newberg, Cameron Hanes, etc. is they almost live in a “West vs. The Rest type of world. The western hunting aspect is a completely different world compared to what we live in. Their issues they deal with in hunting big game are very opposite to what we have in Texas and other areas, thus a lot of the varying point of views.

Rogan is a smart guy as well but he just recently started hunting so I don’t put much stock in his opinion as a hunter as it relates to mine, although again, he is a articulate ally to the hunting community. I just can’t get behind his pro-drug advocacy. He does have a good podcast and puts well known hunters in the forefront.

I guess we all look at things from different angles and consequently take away different things. I see all the televised hunts as about the only remaining way to still legally sell a free ranging wild game animal after it has been harvested. The modern day market hunters if you will. They just have a new market. I see some as better than others. My loyalty lies with the average family man who passes down to his kids what was passed down to him. In a state like Texas with over 95% of the land being private, I believe the TV hunter has done more to move hunting in the direction of pricing the average Joe out of hunting him than helping him. Just my take on things. Good civil discussion anyway.

It started a long long time ago with Hemingway, capstick and Ruark. How many people decided to go on a safari because if their literature? Probably hundreds of thousands.

Jack O’Connor made sheep hunting an “in” thing. It’s all about supply and demand. A good mountain goat hunt was $5500 not too many years ago but because of increased popularity it’s $15k now. Hell look at aoudad sheep. Guys are getting $5k for them now when a few years ago they were shot as pests. But again, now that people give a poop about them they will continue to thrive.

We just have a easier and broader platform now. As I type this I’m in the gym training for a Canadian moose hunt because I read about it and saw it on tv and decided I want to go experience that. I’m way past what has been handed down to me. My father and uncle who lit my fire of hunting, neither of their dads or anyone in their family hunted big game. So they had to pick it up and most likely read about it in field and stream and outdoor life. They never did much hunting other than for deer and mule deer and elk a few times, somewhere down the like people make a break from what their normal was. I know guys who won’t hardly pick up a rifle but would pass up a 5 star steak dinner to go shoot ducks

I hate the way it’s portrayed in 95% of hunting shows, a bunch of redneck Hicks acting like they are billy bad [censored] for killing a deer or a few pigs, “ pro-staffers “ who are doing it for their own self promotion but I believe programs like shockey’s present the whole other world of hunting outside what we have been brought up with.

It’s a wide big world out there.

-Remi Warren
-Steve Rinella and Meateater group
lots of other very good ones already spoken for as well.

We're apparently talking past each other. I don't watch TV hunters other than Rinella's Netflix shows. All the ones I've mentioned are on YouTube. With regards to the TV shows where they hunt on a private ranch for deer that I could afford maybe once every five years, I've been done with those for years. These are, for a significant majority of the videos, public land hunts. Their podcasts go into great detail on the ins and outs of hunting the animal in question. I just went to Arizona on a five day javelina and coues deer hunt. I learned about the availability from Newberg's videos. I learned more from Scott's podcasts. I even messaged both of them with questions and received answers. Total cost of that trip was the gas to drive there and the javelina tags for three ($100 each). If I'd bought a deer tag it would have been 300 more. I just spent five days in the mountains with my two youngest for the price of gas money and a new mitre saw. I would have never known about it, much less be able to plan it, without those vids and podcasts.

I pretty much watch none of them and respect 'em all. They haven't exactly sold their soul but are doing what a whole lot of us would appreciate - they've found a way to make a living off outdoors pursuits. Beats my day job. Good for them. I hope there's enough interest where even more professional hunters could earn a living.

I don’t know any so it’s not for me to say........

There are a few who follow a hunt from the harvest to the cooler. I wish more would spend time on things that go on after the shot. Many leave lots on the bones and it’s a shame.

Steve Rinella
Randy Newberg
Remi Warren


I'd say I like watching shows with these three hosting.

Fred Bear.

It's hard to believe Tred Barta gets no love from the THF. The man hunted with a longbow and made his own arrows and points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZ0bQ_Lbb8

I had issues with the authenticity of his outward exuberance all the time, couldn't tell if it was always sincere or just acting to the cameras. He was just OK in my book but definitely better than some...

I did see once episode of him trying to put down sandhills with his longbow. A game warden happened to stop by and he was extremely puzzled as to why he wanted to do that.

I’m sure it reflects more poorly on me than them, but the current tendency to refer to the guys on tv as “professional hunters” really bugs me. A PH is a licensed guide usually in Africa. The other people are guys with tv shows. It’s a little like calling myself a dr if I put up a YouTube videos of putting a bandaid on my kid

Im in the same boat. When I hear "PH" my mind automatically goes to the PH's in Africa.

when I hear PH I automatically think about a swimming pool.

I think of anyone that makes a living hunting (guiding, consulting, filming, etc)

How can you respect someone you really don't know? There are a lot of folks out there that put on a good show that are A Hs in the real world when a camera is not in their face.

My granddad.Probably not in the way u mean but to me he was. He got me started hunting back in the early 60's and I still think about some of the hunts together. I'm now trying to pass some of that to my grandchildren.

Tred was great!

Almost forgot Fred Bear.