I watched a television show today on the Men's Channel where a giraffe bull was taken with a bow and I have to be honest with you . . . it got me pretty irritated! Please understand that I have hunted for most of my 49 years all across North America, with one trip to Africa (where I did take a giraffe) so I am not a misguided animal rights promoter.

My problems with the show are as follows:

1. It was a 65 yard shot with a bow and arrow . . . in a strong wind (based on the wind sounds on the soundtrack and the waving grass). I cannot, at ANY time, justify this!!!! I don't have a problem with the shot distance - for a person who is capable of making the shot - just the fact that it was taken in a wind. I have a friend who has won several national archery titles and holds several records. I watched him drill an arrow through the heart of a bison at 63 yards in Texas (with no wind). He would never have taken the shot if a stiff breeze had been blowing. I feel that taking that shot showed very poor sportsmanship.

2. The hit was a poor one . . . in the lower neck toward the upper back. OK, I agree that sometimes bad shots happen . . . but don't stand in front of the camera and comment about what a good shot it was!!!! A comment made on camera about the "major artery" leading through the neck was grabbing at straws and definitely pulled credibility from the show.

All in all . . . that show left me with a feeling of disgust in my stomach. In the present world where hunters are under a microscope, what sort of message did that send to the majority of people who are undecided about hunting?

I welcome any discussion.

Thanks!

JDS

Did the giraffe die?

I am constantly amazed at poor shots on TV. Often the shot is clearly too far back and they comment on how wonderful the shot was.

I saw a show where Ted Nugent made a similar poor shot on a Bison then raved about it.

I guess they can't exactly go back and do a re-take but I agree that it isn't something that should be promoted as great hunting.

I don't watch hunting shows on television because:

- too many of them occur behind high fence
- they have too much bow-hunting
- they usually involve some sales pitch
- they have too much bow-hunting
- most of them use staged shots, follow-ups, etc.
- they have too much bow-hunting
- they're often hosted by some yahoo or egomaniac
- they have too much bow-hunting

As an aside, the cameraman is often off to one side of the hunter, so the bullet (or arrow) impacts look 'off'.

George

Just after the shot ,"THE HUNTER", comments that the vitals in a giraffe are very high and forward.A true statement but I don't think they are in the neck above the spine.

Someone asked if the giraffe died.Well a giraffe died,whether it was the same one or another one we don't know.Also we do not know if it was the same day, if a gun was brought into play,etc.What we do know is that it was an ugly looking shot.

I think it was on the next show that we got to see a hunter shoot a great big red stag off a hill just in front of a nine foot high hog wire fence.

I don't watch them, I have met all those guys and have yet to meet one that impressed my as a hunter, most can't walk around the block without a rest..

I see deer shot in the morning and when they find the trophy its dark!! and they talk about the wonderful shot and the great deer....You will see a lot of bad hits called good...

The other thing that gripes me to death is they all sound like they are making an obscene phone call with all the whispering going on, then when they find the deer, they are out of breath from walking from the deer stand to the deer, a total of 50 yards...either that are they are hyper ventalating with excitment...Then to top it off the keep up that friggen whispering after the shoot the deer, and in my experience dead deer cannot hear as well as live deer...

I suppose there are some good shows now and then, maybe.

Two things -

1. I am not a bow hunter, never will be as I think it is not the best way to hunt. I have seen repeatedly lost animals even on good shots. One of my best friends is a bow hunter. He practices daily and is addicted to it. He has lost 2 deer and an elk that I know of. I just don't see hunting with a bow as a good way to represent our sport. When the Indians had access to guns, they switched from bows and arrows.

2. I like hunting shows, but they are nearly all the same. I participated in a goose hunt that was filmed for TV. It was all staged. The TV guys filmed hundreds of geese, then we shot one, which was caught on film. We had to re-shoot the shot to make it look like I was shooting, then we re-enacted all of the aspects of the shooting to make it all flow.

In summary, the shows are very difficult to shoot as the TV guys are rarely in position to capture the action. This is the reason they do the hunts behind a high fence.

Now, don't get me started on high fence hunting - it is deplorable in the way it is done in Texas. I haven't seen it elsewhere but a high fenced hunt on 2000 ac for elk is ridiculous.

Oh well.... At least we aren't hunting in Wisconsin.

This past July I was in South Africa and had determined that I wanted to take a giraffe with my bow. I had a very heavy compound and arrows weighing over 800 grains. A set-up that prior thereto I had judged would be more than adequate. I had studied the anatomy at length. After studying giraffe for a day and a half at a water hole I then convinced myself that FOR ME it would be irresponsible to use my bow to take a giraffe. My judgment had little to do with my assessment of my skill to properly place the arrow. Instead, I had become increasingly concerned regarding the virtually overlapping ribs and the extremely thick skin and the prospects for a sufficiently penetrating shot. I believe that for me the only appropriate shot with a bow would be straight on through the chest of the giraffe in a very small area that would best yield to the penetration of the arrow. I chose not to take any such shot. Instead, the next day a took my giraffe with a single shot from a .375 to the heart at which the giraffe immediately collapsed and promptly expired. Getting a close up, first hand inspection of my giraffe confirmed my assessment. I remain convinced that for me the bow was not an appropriate implement. Nevertheless, giraffe have been and will continue to be taken efficently with archery equipment and I applaud those who are able to achieve success in this manner.

The truth of the matter is many Texas ranches with high fences have very large holdings and 30,000 acres isn't unusual...

The vast majority of land mass in Texas is a great expanse of near open range privately owned ranches of 100,000 acres to 500,000 acres and that does not even enclude the King ranch or its neighbores..Much of West Texas is 100,000 ac holdings or better with deer and livestock contained only by a 3 strand barbwire fence....Oklahoma on the other hand is a smorgasbord of small miniscule ranches and fenced hunting...The smaller Texas ranches are mostly confined to a small area considering the overall size of that planet.

I grow weary of folks that judge all Texas hunting as fenced hunting, when many of the ranches are actually larger than the state they live in...Most Texas ranches are larger than the average fenced ranch in So. Africa, most states, and other countries.

"I suppose there are some good shows now and then, maybe."

Ray, sometimes you can be a little "one-sided" as all of us older opinionated fellows can be at times, I'll buy into all you wrote in this post.

They are all a bunch of phoney whores looking for a customer so they can carry on with their lifestyle as it is now. Selling is selling and I don't buy! Way too much bow hunting as if they are trying to convince the antis that that bow hunting is painless, a clean way to kill with never a cripple and way to many bad shots called "great shooting".

Have a nice Thanksgiving Holiday!

I should add some graemlins, but since I can't decide which ones are best, I'll pass today.

I got stuck on a hunt for brown bear once with some of these characters & their video cameras. One of them passed up a shot at a 9' bear because the light wasn't right. Next day shot a smaller bear but late in the day. Next day everybody in camp had to go out to re-enact the whole thing. Almost enuf to make you sick. It does make you realize how much stuff on these shows are faked.