Ever Had a TV hunter in your Hunting Area?

[Art Vandeley]

I met that guy that holds his bow above his head in the Stanford gas station once. He was hunting gophers so not a big deal.

On a semi un-related note, one Sunday morning in college I saw Will Primos in the continental breakfast lounge of a hotel in Bozeman. I was nursing a wicked hangover as there was a Bobcat game the day before. I would have liked to say Hi to him but was in no state of mind to hold a conversation.

 

[timmy]

I think there’s a pretty decent chance I have the shed from a buck Randy shot down there.

 

[timmy]

Considering that the Custer- Gallatin is the only national forest in the area and covers the area from Bozeman to the eastern boundary of MT, it’s not a big deal to “spill the beans” with that info.

Also, considering that most hunters want a base of operations with motels and gas stations and restaurants, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which town in the area offers that in close proximity to some public land.

From there OnX maps is the game changer that allows someone unfamiliar with the area to figure out the complexity of private/ public boundaries.

After that it’s just a matter of how much effort people are willing to put out and how lucky they are.

Hunting is constantly changing and a successful hunter is willing to change to accommodate that reality. Sometimes that means raising a big enough stink to cause FWP to address the management decisions that are allowing/causing a decline in quality and opportunity.

Unfortunately most hunters want to find a scapegoat to blame rather than fix a problem. MT’s FWP seems to take their cues from hunters who refuse to change and in turn are happy to continue with 1960’s management plans.

The majority of hunters on this site would like to see change but as a sportsman that cares about a resource and knowing it’s not going to change, it was completely irresponsible doing what was done. It changed things posting stuff on the internet can wreck an area. Even if it’s just the boot on the throat of an already over exploited area.

 

[Old man bob]

Tv shows can put a damper on an area , but in Montana's case its the G & Fish fault. To many tags . The State isn't overpopulated either. Here in AZ. we have at least 8 million here. 5 Million in Phoenix area alone. We still have great trophy hunting for all species. Somebody up there doesn't know how to manage Game. I hunted SE Montana 3 times 6-8 years ago and found Good bucks. But even being half old (now 63) back then I would get away from people. Saw lots of hunters but most were close to roads or driving them. Very few using big Glass too. Its not Rocket science.. I think Colorado is in trouble to from what I saw there in early Nov..................BOB!

 

[Poke 'Em]

Even if, and I think it's a huge if Randy did make SE MT more popular it's still the states fault for not managing it

Well, he was certainly hired to do so.

 

[Gellar]

I lived in pike county Illinois for 5 years. Every year you would lose multiple permissions. Even if you wanted to squirrel hunt the answer was always “well, so and so has this leased for deer hunting.” I pretty much quit deer hunting because of it and got into waterfowl. Then that blew up and farmers were getting 10,000$ to lease a flooded corn field. So, I moved!

 

[kansasdad]

Chad Belding and his crew were in south central KS this past season goose hunting. He used a local guiding service, the guy was in my daughter‘s high school class. I tried to figure out which suburban interface fields they were hunting on when the drone was up capturing footage. Looked to be about 5 miles from the house.

 

[baz77]

THP hunted deer in one my spots this year in Ohio I doubt anyone could figure out the spots unless your a local they didn’t kill anything or have a real productive hunt so I’m not worried lol

 

[3855WIN]

Years ago, a local guy had a local TV show. Dad and I were shocked and disappointed when we saw him fishing over “our” boat wreck. I guess it wasn’t “our” secret.

 

[F250]

At a northern Quebec fishing camp about 10 years ago, there was a "famous" fishing show host in one of the cabins. One afternoon when my family and I got back to the dock, we were taking photos of my mother and mother-in-law with their 26 lb. and 23 lb. lake trout. Famous guy had caught nothing and began swearing at his guide (we did not have guides). Famous guy asked to pose with my mother's fish. Reluctantly, I allowed it. He hung one of his sponsor's lures from the trout's mouth, and had the guide take a bunch of photos. Then, famous guy takes my mother's fish off the hanging scale, tosses it into the DIRT, and attempts to pick up the other fish. I blew !! As I headed to give Mr. Chitbag a well deserved azz kicking, my wife grabbed me from behind with both of her hands on my collar. Dragging her slowed me enough for Mr. Chitbag to run to his cabin. For the remainder of the week, Mr. Chitbag would jog from his cabin to his boat. The old guide, who only spoke French, smiled and clapped his hands when he saw me.

 

[BigHornRam]

On a B C stone sheep hunt after 20 unsuccessful days looking for a legal ram, I returned to the main camp. Outdoor writer Ron Spoomer was there ( not sure if he does tv shows) hunting and fishing and trying to promote the outfitters business. He was a funny guy and had some good stories. Dont think the promo work did much good because that area didn't pan out for the outfitter. The next day I got to spend the 3 hour Bush flight out sitting on Ron's moose.

 

[mtmuley]

I did meet Jana Waller a couple years ago. She came out to the Breaks to help her brother in law pack out a bull. mtmuley

 

[D4570]

Many years ago Less Johnson of preditor Quest Had a seminar in the small town of Conrad.
My son and I attended and have been hardcore callers ever since.
A very nice guy and very sincere. He did some shows from here in the past.
The Fox pro guys have done some in my core area, never had a problem.

 

[MThuntr]

Multiple celebrity hunters where I hunt and sometimes I see an uptick when the show gets a repeat but for the most part it's not any worse than it was already if they cut out the notable peaks it can help. It's the Instafamous guys who share too much info.

 

[Walkathon]

Ran into Larry Potterfield (Midway USA) and the president of RMEF at the Holiday Inn Express in Miles City, MT during deer season years ago. They were hunting with a local outfitter but hadn't filled their tags when we talked to them.

 

[Brian in Montana]

The only thing close to that was once I was sitting in a ground blind, bowhunting antelope at a waterhole. I had a couple of different groups milling around the area that seemed to be working their way toward the spring. A couple of guys parked down lower and started coming up the ridge with a decoy and a guy trailing close behind with a camera on a tripod. They probably weren't TV pros, they didn't really seem to know what they were doing, just plowed right ahead with my bling in plain view 300yds to their left. They spooked the one herd, backed off and came back up east of me, yep, spooked the other herd too. Trotted back down and drove off. I was not pleased. They might have just been amateurs trying to film a "hunt". I don't know.

 

[LuketheDog]

A lady bowhunter from the South and her camera crew came up to to hunt with an outfitter I know in the Flat Tops in Colorado, in a pretty rugged area I've spent a few weeks in. He said she was one of the worst hunters he'd ever had--poor physical conditioning, constantly trying to find cell service so she could send texts, complaining about everything, taking breaks all the time to smoke a cigarette, not willing to chase a bugle, they never even really were able to get into elk due to her behavior. When the show came out it was edited to make her look like a mountain-hunting hero, who despite conquering the Rockies didn't kill an elk because "that's hunting"...I guess it's harder when you're not in a tree stand on a private land food plot.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I guess I have seen a couple of my spots on Solo Hunter. Now that I think about it. I remember watching Tim Burnett hunting in Eastern MT. All the while I kept thinking, man that area looks familiar. Toward the end of the episode he was posed, talking to the camera with a very distinct geological feature behind him, and I knew.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Ran into Larry Potterfield (Midway USA) and the president of RMEF at the Holiday Inn Express in Miles City, MT during deer season years ago. They were hunting with a local outfitter but hadn't filled their tags when we talked to them.

I'd love to meet Larry Potterfield. You never really know what a person is actually like, but he seems like a genuinely good guy. Runs a really good business too, IMO.

 

[WapitiBob]

I've hunted an area featured by popular hunter, certainly not "my area" as it's a draw area. It was featured two years on his platforms, twice listed as one of "Guys" top areas, discussed at length on at least two forums, and has had zero point creep for 4 years. I don't worry about that stuff.