What should we hunt and film?

[Oak]

I know I'm probably in the minority, but I have little interest in watching turkey, predator or hog hunting on TV. The spot and stalk bear hunting would be somewhat more interesting, due to the fact that almost nobody else is doing it. Bear hunts on TV are either over bait or are coastal Alaska hunts. BORING..............

There are already a whole bunch of shows dedicated to predator hunting.

I like the Alaska hunt idea, but I think I would limit it to two episodes. The preparation/logistics information would be better suited for the internet. In that regard, I think a webisode about logistics would be very useful for EVERY episode. It would allow you to devote more of those precious 22 minutes to actually hunting, and would draw people to the website. It might also reduce the number of questions in emails and PMs that Big Fin gets after every episode airs.

I think that a Coues hunt would be a great show. It is not as difficult as you might think to get deer footage under 200 yards. Getting a shot at a big buck at that range on camera would be more difficult, but doable at a respectable buck.

I'd like to see a Columbia blacktail or Sitka blacktail hunt. It's unfortunate that you can't get a filming permit for wilderness. We should work on that some more (1_pointer, you listening?).

My suggestions:

4 elk (1 archery)
3 mule deer (1 archery)
2 pronghorn (1 archery spot and stalk)
1 whitetail
1 bear
2 wildcards: Alaska moose/caribou; lower 48 sheep/moose/goat; Sitka or Columbia blacktail; Coues deer

I would drop an elk hunt for an additional wildcard if it became available.

 

[Oak]

Speaking of setting you up for failure , another wildcard suggestion: Barbary sheep in NM.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Looks like a good mix. My only thoughts are you're too heavy weighted on elk.

 

[shoots-straight]

What a terribly stressful problem you have Fin.

 

[MNHunter]

Speaking of setting you up for failure , another wildcard suggestion: Barbary sheep in NM.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention this one. This would make for an awesome episode

 

[StHubert]

I like the idea of the Alaska hunt for moose and caribou. When you are there, you can shoot Wolves up there as well. In September of 2009 I was hunting moose there, we were allowed to shoot upto 10 wolves a piece at that time. Unfortunately we didn't get any. Depending on the area you are hunting, you could use your Moose tag to shoot a black bear instead of a Moose. You would have to check the regulations to make sure you can do this. The reason for this is that the Moose tag cost a lot more then the Black Bear tag, meaning you can shoot a lesser tag.

Everybody I think would like to shoot a Caribou, learning how to do this unguided would be a great show.

As for having an episode explaining logistics, I would be all for it. I believe the more educational a show is, the more entertaining it is. Majority of shows never explain the logistics, How do you get the meat back, the antlers back, the hides back? How do you take care of them in the field? If the stations don't want to broadcast an episode like that, you could always put it on your website. For me, the reason I watch your show is to be informed and learn how to do it. How about making your episodes longer.

 

[Danvet]

Might as well throw in my .02. I love to turkey hunt but like some others have said, I don't like watching it on TV. I really don't understand why the true excitement of turkey hunting does not "come through" on video. I love the idea of an archery moose hunt, never been lucky enough to do it myself. I think that you're correct on the number of whitetail shows, there are loads of them (but I still love my KS whitetail hunting). Don't cut the number of elk and muley hunts unless you need to make room for an Alaskan excursion. I think that you should have one of the "hunting show big shots" as a guest on OYOA. Hand them the topo maps of a national forest, tell them they have 5 days and video the resulting hunt.

 

[JohnCushman]

I think that you should have one of the "hunting show big shots" as a guest on OYOA. Hand them the topo maps of a national forest, tell them they have 5 days and video the resulting hunt.

That made me laugh...awesome reply!!!

Seriously, though....have Waddell and the other Boner Collectors prove what they win all the awards for!!! LOL Let them show us all how it's done!!!

 

[Bambistew]

I think its a good mix. I like the elk and western deer (all species) hunts the most. Archery, rifle or what ever. Elk in the rut is awesome, but over done. I think a late season 'snow' hunt would be pretty sweet. I think a spot and stalk bear hunt would be great to add in too.

2 or maybe 3 shows on AK hunts would be pretty sweet. I think its probably every hunters dream to go to AK at least once. I whole heartedly think you should tag along with a resident on one of the big 3 hunts ... Make sure to include information on the BS guide requirement law.

 

[Bio Bo]

A few days ago, I called the OC to ask why they were not televising anymore Obsession Revealed, another how-to show that I particularly enjoyed. Turns out they are not televising any of their shows until after July this year, indicating a lack of turkey hunting shows this year. I explained that the how-to shows like OR and OYOA adventures were the kind of shows that people like me enjoyed most on their channel, and that you can only watch so many kill shots.
The guy appreciated my comments enough to send a gift package that FedX just delivered today. Turns out to be a couple of key chains w/ ear plugs inside and a travel alarm clock w/ OC logos on them. A nice promo gift that any outdoorsman could use, so thanks OC. The point is, it doesn't matter what the quarry is on a show, but the how-to information and sharing the whole experience is what counts, IMO.
As much as turkey hunting is a passion of mine, I can see where some turkey hunting shows are boring to some. The shows you find boring I probably criticize as well because the callers are either scaring away the turkeys, or they're sitting in ground blinds until a turkey happens to pay their decoys a visit and they can get a shot on film. Maybe because a turkey can pick off a cameraman that isn't well hidden pretty quick. That's not turkey hunting,and it's as boring to me as box stand hunting over feeders for WT.
But the calling of the birds and knowing that they are answering YOU, just as bugling elk do, is what makes it so exciting. If you don't experience that part of it, you likely don't see the attraction. But any how-to show about calling or hunting turkeys that explains strategy and technique is interesting to most hunters
I especially liked OR's "What went wrong" analysis, when they failed. And I especially liked OYOA's showing the frustrations and adversitys that go into a OYO hunt. Also comments like, "Did you pick up his pack?" "It only weighs 40 lbs!" That's funny stuff! But it's real!

 

[Big Fin]

Lots more good comments. A couple points.

When I talked about the struggle of being successful for elk, it is not successful in killing one, but getting enough quality footage for a successful episode, as measured by quality of the footage, dead elk, or not. I really don't feel that I have to kill something on each episode, and I am sure we will have at least one of two "no-kills" a year. As hard as we work at it, we are still going to have some "no-kills," just part of the experience.

Our biggest sponsor spent a lot of money on a survery of what viewers want to see more of in outdoor TV.

More of - Western big game, fair chase, information about accessibility and availability

Less of - High fives, high fences, turkeys, and whitetails. I suspect the responses are because there is already so much turkey and whitetail, not that people want to see none of that.

We scored very high on all the survey items, so we won't be changing too much, but trying to improve what we find is working.

I get the analytic reports of what the response is to each episode. Last year, our 3 elk episodes were off the charts, followed by the bear hunt, the antelope hunts, and then the turkey hunt. The deer hunts were just average. Maybe that is because they were just average episodes.

So, we are cranking up the elk hunts some. How many, who knows? The odds of getting six tags is pretty slim.

The network does not want "info and data" type episodes. They want entertainment. The hard core info stuff will have to be delivered via webisodes, but no one pays to sponsor those, other than 'Ol Fin. If I start posting webisodes, you guys better start buying any featured products, as that is the only way I can recoup any of that cost - Just kidding. You will be seeing more webisodes, and seeing them before things start airing on OC again in July.

You guys know that if I was to do a series based on what I love to do most, it would be Fin and Friends on the Pronghorn Plains. But, I have to be receptive to the recommendations of sponsors, as they want to see OYO type hunts that will provide best natural integration of their products. That has to fit in the boundaries of what our mission is. And, I am very sensitive to what viewers want to see. I put all that in the mix, see what tags we end up with, and then try to figure out schedules, knowing we can't be in multiple places at the same time, and then I hope what we put together is something of quality and is compelling to you guys.

Your input is very important to this process. I mean, what other shows go out to a website and ask for input on what they should hunt? Well, here are the names of those shows.

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Thanks again for the input so far. Will consider it all, within the context of the other sideboards we operate in.

 

[----]

I personally wouldn't try to get a set number of a certain kind of hunt, but rather take the best hunts that you can.

Definitely keep the MT spring bear hunt, by far my favorite hunt of the year, and your episode last year was awesome.

Couple suggestions would be a mountain whitetail hunt, in either Western MT or N Idaho.
There's lots of big burnt areas where I think you could pull of filming pretty easily.

Another cool one would be SW MT rifle elk hunt.

I know there's lots of guys on the site that could help you out with either of these.

 

[Bio Bo]

Lots more good comments. A couple points.

When I talked about the struggle of being successful for elk, it is not successful in killing one, but getting enough quality footage for a successful episode, as measured by quality of the footage, dead elk, or not. I really don't feel that I have to kill something on each episode, and I am sure we will have at least one of two "no-kills" a year. As hard as we work at it, we are still going to have some "no-kills," just part of the experience.

Our biggest sponsor spent a lot of money on a survery of what viewers want to see more of in outdoor TV.

More of - Western big game, fair chase, information about accessibility and availability

Less of - High fives, high fences, turkeys, and whitetails. I suspect the responses are because there is already so much turkey and whitetail, not that people want to see none of that.

We scored very high on all the survey items, so we won't be changing too much, but trying to improve what we find is working.

I get the analytic reports of what the response is to each episode. Last year, our 3 elk episodes were off the charts, followed by the bear hunt, the antelope hunts, and then the turkey hunt. The deer hunts were just average. Maybe that is because they were just average episodes.

So, we are cranking up the elk hunts some. How many, who knows? The odds of getting six tags is pretty slim.

The network does not want "info and data" type episodes. They want entertainment. The hard core info stuff will have to be delivered via webisodes, but no one pays to sponsor those, other than 'Ol Fin. If I start posting webisodes, you guys better start buying any featured products, as that is the only way I can recoup any of that cost - Just kidding. You will be seeing more webisodes, and seeing them before things start airing on OC again in July.

You guys know that if I was to do a series based on what I love to do most, it would be Fin and Friends on the Pronghorn Plains. But, I have to be receptive to the recommendations of sponsors, as they want to see OYO type hunts that will provide best natural integration of their products. That has to fit in the boundaries of what our mission is. And, I am very sensitive to what viewers want to see. I put all that in the mix, see what tags we end up with, and then try to figure out schedules, knowing we can't be in multiple places at the same time, and then I hope what we put together is something of quality and is compelling to you guys.

Your input is very important to this process. I mean, what other shows go out to a website and ask for input on what they should hunt? Well, here are the names of those shows.

..........
.........
....


Thanks again for the input so far. Will consider it all, within the context of the other sideboards we operate in.

One man's treasure is another man's garbage... And it always boils down to money, don't you know...
You liked a comment I made some time back about these sponsors need to re-analyze their target audience. Guess us old farts have already spent our wads in their eyes?
Oh well, one of the few choices Americans have anymore is where they spend their money. And our government is doing all it can right now to change that privilege...

 

[IdahoBugler]

Fin,

I know when I'm looking through the OC guide I always look at what they are hunting before I stop and watch. Recently I've stopped at Red stag, Hawaii sheep/goats and javelina's. I guess what I'm saying is try and do one off the wall hunt every year or hard to do hunt.

Ones that come to mind would be. (like mentioned earlier)
Wolf (Public land Idaho Montana) First to every show that would be cool.
Barbary Sheep New Mexico
Off-range Oryx New Mexico
Ibex

and the one I would watch and I'm sure others would like to see would be a public land Shed hunting episode across multiple states.

 

[Snapshot]

I am entertained so long as you are on the ground working hard; and so long as I don't see a bunch of high-fivin', back slappin', hootin' and hollarin' like a drunkin' fool on the occasion that you kill something. Keep up the good work.

 

[AZ402]

Randy, do you want to film my AZ Desert Bighorn hunt this year?.............

 

[Big Fin]

One man's treasure is another man's garbage... And it always boils down to money, don't you know...
You liked a comment I made some time back about these sponsors need to re-analyze their target audience. Guess us old farts have already spent our wads in their eyes?
Oh well, one of the few choices Americans have anymore is where they spend their money. And our government is doing all it can right now to change that privilege...

Bio - what do you mean by that? Seriously, I am interested to know if something in my post makes people think this request for input of our viewers "boils down to money."

And, thanks for calling Outdoor Channel. I appreciate you telling them about our show. They do put a lot of weight into the calls and emails they get.

 

[Big Fin]

Randy, do you want to film my AZ Desert Bighorn hunt this year?.............

Nah, not compelling enough for our viewers, yuck, yuck, yuck........

You draw, we will be there. Make a movie star out of that one.

 

[smalls]

I'd love to see a NorCal or OR blacktail hunt in lieu of one of the elk episodes.

I also think that you should strive to have one "OIL" type of a hunt every season (sheep, goat, moose, oryx, and I love IDB's suggestion of a Hawaii hunt, maybe Axis deer...).

 

[The Hedgehog]

I think you should reserve a few spots for those special tags people draw, such as moose sheep goat... they trump all.

Or you could just put more of an emphasis on trophy quality mule deer and antelope, with a few good whitetails thrown in the mix. Film hunts that take place on private ranches with some public land but no public access. Sorry.. that's funny and I had to put that in..