How many times have you watched a hunting show on television and seen the host shoot a trophy animal after just a short time in the stand?
You probably think “that’s not very hard”, or maybe “I should do that”.
Sometimes television hunts go well, but more often than not you’ve got to work hard to harvest an animal on videotape.
I just returned from a bear hunt in Ontario with Pete Jones of Superior Bear Outfitters near White River. My goal was to shoot a black bear from an Ameristep ground blind using my Predator Recurve bow.
A few weeks ago Pete sent me trailcam pictures of a big bear on the bait I was going to hunt this season, and I was excited to try my luck for my first big game animal with traditional archery gear.
We made the eight hour drive to White River and were in the blind by four o’clock. Anticipation was high but we didn’t see an animal that night….in fact we didn’t see anything the next night either.
Pete had done his job though, and on the third night the big guy came in to the bait.
The four hundred pound boar stayed in front of us for fifteen minutes, at one time walking as close as eight feet from the blind. With a gun I could have shot him a dozen times but he never gave me a good archery shot.
I spent the next two nights in that same blind hoping he’d come back, but the big bear never showed up. On the sixth night of the hunt we moved to a treestand where I’d shot a bear two years ago.
That night a real nice animal came in….but it was too dark to shoot.
I made the drive back home, but couldn’t shake the thought of that first big bear….and three days later I drove back to White River.
This time I hunted four more days and only saw one small bear. Pete’s other hunters were doing well. They’d taken more than fifty animals and a dozen of them were over three hundred pounds. For some reason that success didn’t rub off on me and I went back home without an animal.
In all I spent ten days and sixty hours in the northern Ontario bush, plus another thirty two hours on the road.
That’s a lot of time to come home empty handed.
I wish I could say this doesn’t happen very often, but unfortunately it does. Like you, not every one of my hunts is successful. The problem is I produce a television show.
The truth is taking an animal on videotape isn’t easy.
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not complaining. It’s a blessing to produce an outdoor television show and there’s nothing else I’d rather do.
Just remember though, the next time you think it looks easy…it’s not always like it seems “as seen on TV”.
You should talk more about that on the show. Let people know that hunters don’t just walk out in the woods, kill something, and then go home. More shows should show the work involved, the hours spent in the stand, the misses, the hours trailing. Most real hunters know this, but non-hunters don’t. Bring back some reality to the hunt!
Hi Bubba,
I do talk about it quite a bit on my radio show.
It’s funny though, I’ve been criticized on the TV side of things for being “too realistic”. It seems some people only want to see the quick and easy side of hunting and not the work behind it.
Thanks for your comments.
Mike Avery
You are truly blessed! I really enjoy watching your show! But you’re right, not all hunts are successful ones, but that is what makes us better hunters. If we knew we would “bag a buck” everytime we went huntin, then it wouldn’t be called “hunting.” It would be called “shootin!” I believe the reality of not being successful on every adventure drives us to try harder and keeps our hearts pumpin’ for more! T.V. is for education and entertainment, but what is learning if we don’t have mistakes or trials to learn from? I know you’ll get that big ‘o bear! You can’t get him out of your head and it’s gonna drive you to go after him again!! Good luck on your future hunts!! I believe it’s not always as easy as it looks, but I sure hope I can reach far enough to catch my dreams one day!! Thanks for a great post Mike! Happy Huntin’!!
Thank You Anna. I just checked out your site. Looks like you guys are suffering from the same addiction that’s got me.
Good luck to you…and thanks again for your nice comments.
Mike Avery
Hi Mike,
You are right, we don’t hear that enough – the long days, the sheer amount of WORK that goes into not only preparing for a trip, but then dealing with the unforeseen circumstances on that trip. I tell our viewers, too, that this is reality TV and the reality is, you don’t always get your trophy every time out. And that is what keeps you coming back. Its like golf for me. I don’t really like it, but for some reason I keep coming back just b/c I hit ONE nice shot in all of 18 holes. Good Luck next time!
Thanks Michelle,
I had to give up golf. I get enough frustration with the TV show.
Keep up the good work at Sportsman Channel!
Mike Avery