There are obviously some strong feelings towards some TV/Video personalities... Boddington and Sullivan always come up to name a few. Just curious as to how you all feel about Tony Makris and Chris Dorsey. Makris is near the top for me, I like his personality and demeanor. Chris for whatever reason rubs me the wrong way and I almost can't watch him. Almost. Thoughts?

I don't watch a lot of hunintg TV but I like Boddington and Shockey.

I think Boddington tells the truth, is very competent in the field, admits it if he does make a mistake and finally does have a huge amount of client expereince.

Shockey on camera seems very real and these expedition on the "Professionals" are far from slam dunk affairs. He just goes to interesting off the beaten track places. I guess I'd like to do more of that myself so I find the show very interesting.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
I don't watch a lot of hunintg TV but I like Boddington and Shockey.

I think Boddington tells the truth, is very competent in the field, admits it if he does make a mistake and finally does have a huge amount of client expereince.

Shockey on camera seems very real and these expedition on the "Professionals" are far from slam dunk affairs. He just goes to interesting off the beaten track places. I guess I'd like to do more of that myself so I find the show very interesting.

Mark

+1 Boddington is great, but I love Shockey. He has a lot more personality and you never know where he's going to hunt next. Markis hunts some great locations. He also does it with a double rifle, so what's not to like. My cousin however seems to be rubbed the wrong way by him???? Don't know why. I think Under Wild Skies is a great show though. I remember getting up early on the weekends to watch it on ESPN when it first came out. Dorsey I could do without. I like the show.......most of the time (accepting the occasional canned lion hunt), but he isn't that interesting as a host. I've also been told he's kind of shaddy to deal with in business.

Brett

I don't care at all for Chris Dorsey. I ran into him at the SCI Convention a few years back when we were both ordering necklaces from a prominent jeweler for our wives. He left his credit card after picking up his necklace and I literally tracked him down for the jeweler and returned it. He treated me worse than hired help, never said thanks, nor offered to talk further with me when I mentioned to him that I thought his shooting was quite respectable. Those are the types that I have absolutely no use for, ever. I like Tony Makris, although I have heard that he can be a bastard to deal with at times. Boddington is a down to earth guy with tons of experience and knowledge and he is not afraid to talk with the common man. He has taken the time to talk with me at the airport, on the airplane (back from Africa) and at the SCI Conventions. He gets high marks in my book. By the way, Marc Watts is a super nice guy as well!

I really like Under Wild Skies with Tony Makris. The show is extremely well done.

Jim Shockey's "The Professionals" is really a
cut above. The Pakistan, Uganda, and this last episode in Peru were fantastic.

Is that Disgust?

I honestly think I owe much of my safari success to Craig Boddington, Dave Fulson, and Tim Danklef of Safari Classics. Really the best on education and entertainment out there with the emphasis on education. I think the two buffalo dvds are awesome, and I can't see anyone watching the first disk in Boddington on Elephant not getting fired up for an African hunt. I watch these over and over.

As far as more entertainment with some education, I really like Marc Watts and Tony Makris as well. Moja's production quality is very high. Mark Buchanan's dvds are also good for entertainment.

I've never seen Jim Shockey or Chris Dorsey so I can't comment.

I had all Mark Sullivan's dvds; watched them, sold them. Same with the Capstick collection. Good books, dvds not so much.

Is that Disgust?
Perhaps a combo of discussed and disgust. Read it how you want

I guess I am going to have to be the first to mention who I would have thought would have been an obvious selection?

Cindy Garrison.

I won't say anything else in case my "boss" is reading this!

Anonymous

Boddington on Buffalo did it for me. I like Shockey as well as he has his bride with him and she is super. Makris is just a hook and bullet guy - no depth on the screen. I really do not like the two ding a lings that rep Bushnell and shoot poorly.

I like the Tiffany and ? whatever her husbands name is. She is fun to watch due to her personality but I never come away with anything other than entertainment.

Boddington and Shockey educate me.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
Boddington on Buffalo did it for me. I like Shockey as well as he has his bride with him and she is super. ...

Boddington and Shockey educate me.

Agreed. Boddington and Shockey are pretty much it. Shockey, especially when he darts the Rhino. The PH was getting really nervous! "Do it! DO IT! DOIT DOIT DOIT!!!" LMAO! That was great!

Marcus Luttrell

Boddington is great and deserves the highest respect, however Makris is a proper poephol!

quote:

Boddington is great and deserves the highest respect, however Makris is a proper poephol!

+1

quote:

Originally posted by Vans:
Boddington is great and deserves the highest respect, however Makris is a proper poephol!

Is that good or bad?

I don't watch much TV. In this genre, Boddington, and to a lesser extent Shockey, are about the only guys who would even prompt me to turn on the tube. Yeah, mine still has a tube!

John

I enjoy both Craig Boddington and Jim Shockley, they seem to be down to earth, enjoy what they are doing, and strike a good balance of being informative and entertaining. Tony Makris, to me, comes across as pompous and over dramatic. Take for example how Makris dresses, he looks like he is trying to look like he just walked out of some Nairobi safari clothing makers shop in 1935.

I've never heard of Tony Makris.

Chris Dorsey is OK by me except most of the Dangerous Game airings are reruns.

I like Craig Boddington on Tracks Across Africa but they could lose the deep voiced narrator that says things like ...Craig BODDingTOOOOOON! and "some have called safari the last great ADVENTURRRRrrrrrre!" The deep gravely voiced narrators should be left to advertising to gullible people where the deep voice means you should believe them.

I also like Jim Shockey. I don't have too much critical to say about his show except that I fast forward through the "she safari moment."

I don't know much about other hunting shows perhaps in some cases because if they feel the need to add to the entertainment with background rock music, I don't watch them. I also prefer watching shows where good English is used rather than such phrases as "I seen."

I like Craig and Jim and Tony all good in diferent ways. As to Tony's clothing, I like the leather vest he wears and contacted him about 5 or 6 yrs ago as to where I might get one for our local SCI fund raiser. I talked with his sec. and upon investagation she told me he had had the vest for over 30 years and couldn't remember where he got it. So maybe the outfit looks old because it is. He also loves to use old guns like the paradox he used on at leat one show I watched. I remember one show in Europe hunting hogs and he and his lovely wife were in a high stand and she was in a full lenght fur coat and a fur hat, quite the royal treatment. I haven't seen any of his shows in a couple of years. Is he still publishing the magazine Under Wild
Skies?

Being a proper poephol is bad! Agree with you about his outfit MJines, wonder how far he actually walks during his hunts? In a leather vest in the African bush........Not VERY I can guarantee you that!!

No Vans, quite the contrary regarding Tony. He hunts hard for all his stuff. In a 30-minute show it's hard to go into all the detail and hard work, but he's not a softie. He a big fan of the "hunt" of a hunt.

He's one of our country's most ardent supporters of the 2nd Amendment and the rights of hunters. It's because of that I'm guessing, that he's a throwback regarding hunting apparel. He's also one of the best shooters with open sighted rifles in the hunting world. He and AR's Sharpsguy are right up there as the best in the biz.

I've used Tony's leather ammo belts (not his personally, but those sold by Trader Keith's) and they are the best!

Ditto on Shockey and Boddington---they are icons and between the two of them do a lot to improve the image of hunters as knowledgeable, responsible people with a deep appreciation of the quarry that they pursue.

If a show comes on with Tony Markris --- I turn it off! I do not like his demeanor nor his style. Also, I refuse to watch a show with Wayne LaPierre hunting. Again, the guy rubs me the wrong way. My thinking is, that the hunts these two are going on would much be much better served by raffling or drawing for an NRA member to go. You know, a working class guy who pays dues and supports the cause. As these 2 guys make the bulk of a very good income from the NRA organization, I think thats only fair.
Jim Shockey generally puts on a good show. I've never seem Boddington.

I like most of the African themed shows, but can't stand Ray Bunney and Jim Burnworth. I could also live without Steve Scott.

SableTrail, you have to admit that he wears the least practical hunting outfit known to man? After a long walk in a leather vest(with gloves!) I would be sweating so much that thing would shrink to a size that not even my 1 year old son would be able to wear?

Jim "it's a BONGO" Shockey is a hoot. Craig Boddington is all business. I never fail to watch either of them if I'm watching TV.

2 days ago was the first time I had ever saw or heard of Makris...he gut shot a Sable and spent the rest of the show tracking it...in his fingerless biker gloves, no less! BTW, the other half of the show featured some big shot NRA dude hunting buff in what looked like calf roping gloves. Were they worried about getting blisters? They say you only have one chance at a good first impression...You blew it Makris. And the gut shot had nothing to do with it.

You couldn't pay me to watch that draft-dodging, now supreme patriot, Nugent.

Yeah VANS I'll agree with ya on that one. Leather, bleeks and high boots ain't my thing on a safari. Of course I am the self-proclaimed safari style expert here at AR, so let me expound on this.

What a man wears on safari is a reflection of him and his personality. Same for a woman. Cyndy Garrison has been known to sport a skimpy tank top in Tanzania, while Tony M. prefers throwback attire.

People wear what they wear because it makes them feel comfortable, which is necessary to execute a perfect shot. Perhaps, just perhaps, they've practiced in the clothes they wear on safari. And that clothing helps them stay in their comfort zone, when lining up the shot.

Did you know that many safari hunters are superstitious as far as what they wear? They consider some clothing items lucky not just identifiable of character. Maybe Tony likes the leather because it's lucky. To me he's a man's man. He could do GEICO commercials. "Is Ed Too Tall Jones really too tall?"

Onefunzr2, give him one more shot. I know that sable volley wasn't his best execution, but I've seen him kill buffalo stone dead with one shot.

Safari TV would be pretty boring if all the characters looked, hunted and sounded the same. Just my opinion as your style expert, but the standard khaki gear for Africa is a little overdone!

quote:

Originally posted by Vans:
SableTrail, you have to admit that he wears the least practical hunting outfit known to man? After a long walk in a leather vest(with gloves!) I would be sweating so much that thing would shrink to a size that not even my 1 year old son would be able to wear?

Nah!...He's probably got his butler giving him a fresh change between 'takes'

buckeyeshooter, what is a working class guy? It sounds like anyone with a few more quid than you is a snob or a non worker.

This is funny as my son who owns a small business (really small 2 employees and himself) was out for 4 days compliments of a 6mm kidney stone and some smaller friends. The guy he left in charge told him when he got back on Friday "Christ I don't know how you do it, when I went home after work I was just dead tired and only wanted to go to bed." This from a working guy to his non working boss!

By the by Tony is a good guy and can tell a story. I only wish I had never made a bad shot. I wear biker gloves too on safari.

Another thing I found Wild Skys yesterday it was my bad I didn't know they had changed to VS from OD.

I certainly dont know africa but have worn leather vests to work in year round cowboying and ranching in Colorado, New Mexico and central Texas because I found them comfortable and useful. Good protection and if they are loose not at all to hot.

I rarely watch TV unless Im away with buddies.

I would compare Boddington and Africa to Tiger Woods and golf.

However, yesterday I saw an episode of Under Wild Skys and it was enjoyable to watch.

I have to give my vote for Jim Shockey. I'm not saying anything bad about the rest, but I like Jim over the others. He presents both the good and bad times. I really like the shows that he has his father on. His dad is a hoot.

I really enjoy Shockey probably the most. Although, Boddington is right up there.

As long as it is educational, realistic, and shows the true side of hunting, I'm usually for it.

Shockey's episode in Peru was great.

I turn off anything with Chris Dorsey in it- like others, he justs ribs me the wrong way- he has zero personality- makes one wonder how he ever got a show, much less kept it.

Just don't read any passion or personality from the guy.

I don't pay for cable or satellite tv so I miss most of these hunting shows; the ones I catch are mostly on dvd and online.

I got to meet several show hosts and authors from the African Hunting realm at the SCI convention this year and was pleased by their general down-to-earth attitude.

I met Tony Makris last year at a shooting school in AZ. We were in different classes, but everybody eats lunch together. (I didn't know who he was until one of the other guys told me.)

He was very friendly and seemed happy to answer and talk about all the questions from a few of us interested in African hunting. I greatly appreciate him taking time to talk to us during his lunch break. Nice guy

I've never seen any of them on TV, but have seen Boddington, Brittingham and Shockey on VHS, and DVDs. If the TV shows are as well done as the home use films then they are above in quality of filming, and editing, broadcast quality. Though I've seen just about everybody who makes African hunting films, and most have their place in the line-up. Some look like a dozen home movies stiched together and the film quality is not the best.

Of those three the only ones I'd buy are the Boddington and Brittingham because both depict the whole safari experience, not just the "rack-um & stack-um" format of most African hunting films.

I enjoyed Shockey in the films put out to member of THE NORTH AMERICAN HUNTING CLUB when he was guiding hunters on Vancouver Island for black bear, but his TV show wouldn't interest me because he only hunts with IN-LINE muzzle loaders, and I can't stand to even look at those plastic stocked, scope sighted, stainless steel, bolt action abortions, so hunting that involves them holds no interest for me. It has nothing to do with Shockey himself, just that his type of hunting doesn't interest me!

Moja's films on DVD are well done but like Shockey's in-line muzzleloaders,I find the "LONG SHOT" somehow out of place on Safari, and simply doesn't interest me personally.

......... To each his own however!

Gee, hunting to get up close because you don't have the range for a 400 yd shot wow.

404WJJeffery: AMEN!

I heard once that Makris has serious issues with the sun on his skin and that is why he always wears the big hat, long sleeves and long pants, and the fingerless gloves.

I've always liked "Under Wild Skies", although my personal opinion is that some of his rifles are better in museums than the Okovando, but it's his hunt.

I think Boddington has by far the best African hunting shows. I also like Shockey's shows.

I think Burnsworth is too much of a "whack em and stack em" guy. I really DON'T like shows with a lot of screaming, yelling, and high-fiving after the animal is killed.

I don't like the hunting shows with crossbows or archery from a permanent blind over bait.

Kristy Lee Cook has a couple of shows that I try not to miss. It would have been worth it to go to the DSC convention just to see her sing the National Anthem.