What should we hunt and film?

[MN Public Hunter]

OK where is the originality here...every show hunts elk, every show hunts deer, every show hunts lopes.... Is the real question just how many of each of these should I hunt? If that is the case then just do 3 elk, 3 mule deer and 3 lopes and 2 bears and 1 whitetail...either way it's what every other show is doing. Boy am I pissy tonight...sorry...

 

[Lawnboy]

OK where is the originality here...every show hunts elk, every show hunts deer, every show hunts lopes.... Is the real question just how many of each of these should I hunt? If that is the case then just do 3 elk, 3 mule deer and 3 lopes and 2 bears and 1 whitetail...either way it's what every other show is doing. Boy am I pissy tonight...sorry...

Sure they do as far the the animal is concerned but everything else is totally different. Would be interesting to see if the "professional" hunters could pull off an episode of each of those species while doing it on public land and in a 5 day period unguided. This show is totally different.

 

[thecrittergitter]

This show without question is different. My hats off to Randy for putting this thing together and it will continue to be my favorite show on OC. I know i see a lot of people wanting some elk hunts dropped but personally, thats my favorite big game animal to hunt and i enjoy the heck out of watching the elk hunts. I say stick with the elk, spring black bear, muleys, and whiteys..........so, really just get rid of the turkeys Turkey hunting is like golf, fun as hell to go do but boring as chit to watch Although I must admit, it was entertaining watching Fin get to the point of almost using his shotgun as a frisbee...LOL Fin, you should follow me on a spring bear hunting this fall so all your viewers can witness a grizzly bear chewing on your leg...........or mine

 

[thecrittergitter]

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.

Randy11, I think i have already talked Fin out of those hunts. 10 yrs ago, it would have been a sweet area to video spot and stalk whitetails and even elk hunts. Now, the wolves have completely decimated the deer population in Western MT. In fact, just the other day in St.Regis, three wolves chased a bloodied up elk right down the middle of the road in broad daylight less than two miles from town. I think the WOLF hunt should be a video for next year for sure.

Plus, the other trouble, even if the populations are good, the terrain is not very condusive for getting great footage and FIN and the boys don't need to add any more challenges than they already face

 

[thecrittergitter]

When I draw the Dutton Muzzy tag he'll have that covered

I'd like to be wealthy enough that I could hunt all fall and buy the wife furniture to keep her from complaining about my habit Can you do anything about that Fin?
I would like to see you do the hunts that your having a blast doing. If some are too stressfull as far as getting footage then don't do them. Most on this site don't realize how much pressure there is to find the animal, get good footage, and then hopefully harvest. All in 5 days. Not a whole season. My challenge to you is to have fun this year. Relax. I think your show will turn out even better.

As far as the hunts. I think any of the combinations mentioned will produce quality TV.

Good luck on that tag LB........While you are in MT cussing UT for another rejection, I will be setting up bivy camp at 11,000 ft in Colorado and getting ready to pack out my monster public land bull.

 

[----]

wrong spot

 

[----]

Randy11, I think i have already talked Fin out of those hunts. 10 yrs ago, it would have been a sweet area to video spot and stalk whitetails and even elk hunts. Now, the wolves have completely decimated the deer population in Western MT. In fact, just the other day in St.Regis, three wolves chased a bloodied up elk right down the middle of the road in broad daylight less than two miles from town. I think the WOLF hunt should be a video for next year for sure.

Plus, the other trouble, even if the populations are good, the terrain is not very condusive for getting great footage and FIN and the boys don't need to add any more challenges than they already face

Numbers are definitely way down from even 3-4 years ago. Still good bucks in the hard to find areas though, and lots of public land to look for em on. We killed one really nice buck out of there this year, and I passed on 3 or 4 that were better than the one I ended up killing on the ranch. I put up a picture of the nice one my buddy killed in this thread: http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=241721

I really don't think the terrain would be that bad. The deer are really using some of the burned off areas, especially once the snow hits. Wide open steep country, with rutting whitetail. That'd do it for me.
It'd definitely have to be a deer/wolf combo though. Still can't believe I couldn't get one in the scope until after the quota was filled.

 

[IdahoBugler]

Randy,
After seeing everyones response it should be very apparent to you that you can't make everyone happy. Anything you choose will be watched. I'm looking forward to that bear hunt in Alaska. That will be fun to watch.

 

[mdhunter]

Big Fin: I think mdcrossbow was onto something. Like it or not 70% of the population lives east of the Mississippi. I understand hunting the east coast isnt the emphasis of your show however this hunt is something that can be done by anyone. How many places in the United States can you camp on the an ocean front beach and hunt? Sika deer are related to elk and actually bugle just like them. This is a hunt unlike anything most people have ever done, yet anyone could actually do. The beach hunt would really seperate you from the crowd of other shows. The other upside is at about 100lbs live weight, Sika deer wont leave you with a $500 shipping expense if you harvest one. There are probably a 75 million people within an eight hour drive of this location. Anyone could do it... Did I mention they are delicious???

 

[bobbydean]

I would like to see youth hunt. Whatever one of your members draw, either deer, elk, or antelope. That is the ultimate Do it Yourself hunt.

I like what you are doing.

I love to see an Ibex hunt in New Mexico. Drawing the tag is ridiculous; but can be
done!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Big Fin: I think mdcrossbow was onto something. Like it or not 70% of the population lives east of the Mississippi. I understand hunting the east coast isnt the emphasis of your show however this hunt is something that can be done by anyone. How many places in the United States can you camp on the an ocean front beach and hunt? Sika deer are related to elk and actually bugle just like them. This is a hunt unlike anything most people have ever done, yet anyone could actually do. The beach hunt would really seperate you from the crowd of other shows. The other upside is at about 100lbs live weight, Sika deer wont leave you with a $500 shipping expense if you harvest one. There are probably a 75 million people within an eight hour drive of this location. Anyone could do it... Did I mention they are delicious???

I can't think of anybody that dreams of someday hunting on the East Coast....

Horace Greeley was right, "Go West Young Man"....

 

[JohnCushman]

I grew up in Upstate NY and some of the area (public land and a ton of it) in the Adirondaks rivals the beauty and challenge of anything out here in CO. Non resident tags arean't overly expensive and there's no draw...everything is over the counter, including deer and bear and turkey...lol I go back and hunt back home as much as possible, especially now that my oldest son is showing more of an interest in hunting. I used to live in Erie, PA too, so I usually stop there for a couple days on my way back and forth and hunt some public land that was an old stomping ground back in the day.

PA is another cheap NR state that has some really good land areas...last I checked it was like $48 for a NR deer tag, which was OTC

I think there is a bit of a point with most of the viewer being back east. If a show was done on their turf, they might be more willing to connect with the show better. Doing a show going out there might spark more interest in people being more willing to travel and expand their hunting horizons

((just a thought...lol))

 

[mdhunter]

Let me get this straight Jose, you chase Coues deer but want to bad mouth Sika deer? Huh...
Your probably right, why come east? Liberal bag limits, big deer, fabulous duck and goose hunting, world class fishing on the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...whatever. I hope you draw your one tag this year....oh yea- dont drink the water.

 

[A-con]

Jose is right ( I can't believe I just said that ) Stay west.
The mix you suggested sound great to me. Why limit archery, hard to get a kill shot ?
Always be ready for those “Once in a lifetime” tags like Sheep, Moose or a good Goat hunt.

 

[Oak]

Why limit archery, hard to get a kill shot ?

I suspect a title sponsor like Federal would not want too many archery hunts.

 

[icb12]

Also thinking of Sitka Blacktails. Used to see them while commercial fishing in SE AK, and they always intrigued me.

Read my mind

An August high alpine blacktail hunt would be a kickass show. Rifle or Bow or Both.
In all honesty, Kodiak would be easier all around.(but more $$$$)

If you are thinking about combo hunts. Blackbear, blacktail combo is doable on POW in the fall. Except you'll be in Petersburg in the spring....
Also Fly out of Ketchikan and an over the counter goat tag is readily available and totally doable.

Of course the whole fly out thing kind of taints the DIY aspect for many folks, with a beaver costing around 1295 a flight hour. But split 4 ways between 4 guys with 4 tags.. who doesn't want to watch a crew go 4 for 4 on Mountain goats in beautiful Alaska

As a side note, if you decide to do a SE AK hunt for blacktail I would go early or late. August or November. August Alpine for bucks in velvet or November Rut. The other months would be a nightmare for filming logistics.

 

[A-con]

Federal does have a bigger banner than Tight Spot or Ripcord.

 

[Oak]

Federal does have a bigger banner than Tight Spot or Ripcord.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=241732

 

[dmserpa]

Whats with the no horses thing? Nothin finer than doin things the old traditional way,,,,,packin with mules and horses OYO. I know there are very few of us around that have their own packin outfits but this is the next best thing to hiring an outfitter, the only thing we lack is the knowledge of the areas we hunt, but this is the way we hunt the western states when we draw for elk or deer. Maybe others that have horses would be able to see the benefits of OYO with horses??? You could tag along with camera on any of our hunts! We haul a trailer load of mules a thousand of more miles every year to get to the good huntin grounds,,,,,,it doesn't get any better than this.
As for the shows, ELK and mule deer make the show for me and also Alaska
Keep up the good works,
Dennis

 

[idahoshoer]

I like your idea of puting the trip to AK together as a show, Even not AK, but what homework it takes to just go out of state.