The Fever

[7mmremmag]

I just finished watching their "Northern Alberta Elk" episode. Has anyone else seen this show before? I know a lot of guys dont support Wild TV these days.

I just watched as the hunter dry fired on a bull elk at 10-15 yards 3 times in a row with his rifle and than shot the HUGE poplar tree 3ft in front of him. (I know everyone makes mistakes and everyone needs to learn and buck fever etc, this isnt the part of the show I have a problem with)

The next clip shows them on a cutline where he announces he is going to shoot the elk when it stops(The elk never does stop) He fires two shots, and clearly hits the bull both times. (This is where my problem arises) He then asks his buddy (The camera man as hes cheering) "Holy, how far is that? 400 yards???" He than goes on to say to the camera man "I think I see 5, maybe 6 points"

So this guy, misses an elk 4 times at 15 yards, 3 times due to not being able to get a bullet in his gun and the 4th time because he shot a 18" diameter poplar tree 3ft in front of him, and than he proceeds to take a pot shot at an elk that he has no idea how many points it has (In a zone I presume has a 3pt minimum, like most northern ab zones) and he has absolutely no idea how far away the elk is!?

Is it just me or does this scream idiot to everyone???
It might be time to join the other 3/4's of AO and cancel Wild TV

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Clean miss, then a quick clean kill. What's the problem?

[pseelk]

If you've never missed a shot,you're either lying or you dont hunt much.
If you hunt long enough all these things can happen to anyone,hopefully not all at the same time and not when theres a camera rolling!

[NBFK]

[getatmewolf]

These things happen? I don't see what the big deal is, everyone gets excited and has had moments like this, you just don't normally have a camera on you. Relax, its just a TV show, you don't have to watch.

[Springer]

Really 7MM , who hasn't got excited before and jam or miss ??
Their also on this Forum so chucking insults .....not very classy.
Just maybe there was an issue with his firearm !

[58thecat]

Ya on camera everything gets caught while if not you can always tell the story to end up looking like a hero. Been around a few oh my what just happened too. Seen a guy shoot over a deer at ten yards, cycle a round short and jam the spent casing with the round feeding, drop to his knees, fix the problem get up deer now thirty yards, pull back the hammer and drop it on a empty chamber...deer vacates and that was a Boone and Crocket deer...

I do see your point that maybe they should edit a few things before it hits the viewing public

[buckbrushoutdoors]

heck of a show as far as Iam concerned, guy got excited missed. Got another oportunity and made two well placed shots. Id be happy with my shooting as well.

[Snap Shot]

I am thinking it's just you on this one. How I interpret the situation is his gun was malfunctioning then got his firearm working was presented with a shot with a sighted in rifle & in all the haste pulled it and made some kindling. Clean miss.

I made kindling once shredded that popular real good & I was with my brother who had his gun malfunction several times in a row (to much oil in firing mechanism in the cold) that worked out swell in the end for me.

Heck of show so far sturkos. I am enjoying it. keep the film rolling.

[dshaw]

We have been programmed now that every hunting show we watch has to be the perfect broadside shot double lung everything just right. In real life we all know as hunters that this isn't the case. I know when I hunt elk in a 3 point zone I count the first 3 points on one side and after that I don't care what he has he's legal. Very rarely is a hunt perfect and everything goes how its suppose to.

[arrow_baron]

The fever is one of my favorite shows on wild. Not only are they Alberta based but I find it to be real, a lot of other shows on wild I find the hosts almost seem to be acting sometimes. I think the Sturkos' are doing a great job. Like the post above said nobody is making you watch it. So if you don't like it don't watch it.

[waterninja]

Have to agree with those that say if you don't like it don't watch it. I watch Wildtv on a bigscreen through my computer, which means I can watch whatever I want whenever I want and can skip the commercials if I feel like it, and can also watch another episode or show if I don't like the one I'm watching. I feel the 4 bucks a month is well spent.
Think I'll watch the Fever episode OP is upset about in a few minutes.

[Bobbydee]

I would rather see a show like this where real life situations happen. Than other shows where everything happens perfect and the hunters all have proffessional outfitters that get them on all the animals and they just shoot.

I have had a similar thing happen on a white tail in Ontario my first ever buck, and my gun mis fired twice as i think i the primer was seated to deep. at the same time i am shaking like a dog ****ting razer blades with buck fever. needless the say by the time i got the third bullet in the buck was long gone after a doe in heat.

It was clearly a three point bull and he may not have known the exact yardage but would have had a pretty good idea.

i like the reality aspect, they didnt candy coat what happened. of this show and the fact they are DIY hunts in our beautiful home province of AB.

just my two scents everyone is entited to there own opinion.

boddy dee

[The Flint&Fly Guy]

i would say the missing is not that much of a deal. he only missed once, and i would also be seriously nervous after that many misfires in my gun! i do agree that the not knowing the amount of points on the elk does seem to be a bit careless, which is not how we as hunters should present ourselves.

[JD848]

Shooting a poplar tree 3 feet away is little more than buck fever,dropping your clip and messing about with rounds can happen to all hunters,i would have edited that part out of shooting the tree because excited or not it is careless and dangerous use of a firearm,and for those that think that is normal it's not,but most amatuers will think this is normal and will tell their children viewing this on tv that it's ok.Anyone who shots a big tree 3 feet away is a nut,and should have the gun taken away from him and taken into town and never leave the house.
If you get that excited over a animal you should not ever hunt again because you are a dangerous person, like the show or not,watch it or don't watch it,has nothing to do with care and control of a firearm.

[waterninja]

So I just watched the episode OP was referring to, and yeh the host had some equipement problems with rifle, but that can happen to anyone. He even apolagised to viewers for the comedy of errors that were about to occur, but thats real life hunting/filming. The bull he shot was clearly legal, even if he could'nt count every point (turned out to be a 6 pointer). I would have done the same.
One thing I noticed him do is lean his rifle against a tree when glassing or calling, with end of barrel against tree which is a huge no-no in my opionion. very easy for small bits of bark to enter barrel. I enjoyed this episode.

[pikeslayer22]

Taking a long shot @ a moving animal with no idea how far it is on a cutline surronded by bush is border line insanity let alone an amature excited! I take it Safety & Ethics is out of the relm for these guys.

[buckbrushoutdoors]

Originally Posted by JD 848

Shooting a poplar tree 3 feet away is little more than buck fever,dropping your clip and messing about with rounds can happen to all hunters,i would have edited that part out of shooting the tree because excited or not it is careless and dangerous use of a firearm,and for those that think that is normal it's not,but most amatuers will think this is normal and will tell their children viewing this on tv that it's ok.Anyone who shots a big tree 3 feet away is a nut,and should have the gun taken away from him and taken into town and never leave the house.
If you get that excited over a animal you should not ever hunt again because you are a dangerous person, like the show or not,watch it or don't watch it,has nothing to do with care and control of a firearm.

Id be really curious so see your hunting resume

[arrow_baron]

Originally Posted by buckbrushoutdoors

Id be really curious so see your hunting resume

X2

[JD848]

Like I said if you think this is normal ,well think again.I have hunted hard for 45 years and yes like I said dropped the odd clip and had a few rifles jams.
IF your worried about my resume ,just by asking that question put's you exactly where I think you are resume or not.BY the way do you hear the sound of dueling banjos once in a while because I believe your in the right area,or maybe there coming from your porch?

[buckbrushoutdoors]

lol

[Attilathecanuk]

Maybe that's why the name 'the fever'? Sometimes life happens an ya miss!

[waterninja]

Originally Posted by JD 848

Like I said if you think this is normal ,well think again.I have hunted hard for 45 years and yes like I said dropped the odd clip and had a few rifles jams.
IF your worried about my resume ,just by asking that question put's you exactly where I think you are resume or not.BY the way do you hear the sound of dueling banjos once in a while because I believe your in the right area,or maybe there coming from your porch?

JD I really think your your getting to worked up about all of this. Sometimes when your hunting or fishing poop happens.

[Bobbydee]

Originally Posted by Attilathecanuk

Maybe that's why the name 'the fever'? Sometimes life happens an ya miss!

haha well said.

[JD848]

I love watching wild tv and the show the fever, reality tv is good example how hunters behave in real life and all lessons should be learnt from others actions.
The one op asked about my resume and by the way the banjos deal was just a joke.
MY resume of my life of my hunting and guiding life off and on for 45 plus years has made me see things I never want anyone to ever see,my best dragging his parntner out 95 percent dead after tripping on his rifle and the guy died half way to town,my friend Rob never was the same after that.Myself and another guy who I had never hunted with, this guy had hunted for decades but I did not know that he got very excited and we drove up to and area where there was a big buck I had seen and was ready to park and was ready to walk in when the buck walked out in front of us and I was driving .I stopped the truck and jumped out and grab my rifle and so did he I told him I was going to shoot this deer.The buck just stepped in behind tree about 200 yrds and my rifle was pointing at him and just I was ready to shoot , the back of my hunting friends head was in my cross hair's and i lifted the rifle up in a flash and never fired.I got very mad,i mean mad dog mean,unloaded the gun and smashed into the back of the truck and yelled for five minutes at this guy.He got excited and knew it was a wall hanger and forgot all about me and I told him I was going to take a shot at the deer and he ran out in front of loaded gun about 20 feet ahead of me.I was focused so hard on the deer and never in my wildest dream would I have expected someone to run 20 feet from my right into the line of fire.How could you explain for the rest of your life that you shot your friend in the back off the head,his wife kids etc.I never hunted the rest of that season and to this day will never forget that moment and have hunted alone since.When you have not hunted with someone before be very careful until you learn exactly how he handles himself at all times.When you have hunted with hundreds of different folks as I have you become a hunter who is 100 percent on care and control of your firearm.I could write a damn book on what I seen.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by JD 848

Shooting a poplar tree 3 feet away is little more than buck fever,dropping your clip and messing about with rounds can happen to all hunters,i would have edited that part out of shooting the tree because excited or not it is careless and dangerous use of a firearm,and for those that think that is normal it's not,but most amatuers will think this is normal and will tell their children viewing this on tv that it's ok.Anyone who shots a big tree 3 feet away is a nut,and should have the gun taken away from him and taken into town and never leave the house.
If you get that excited over a animal you should not ever hunt again because you are a dangerous person, like the show or not,watch it or don't watch it,has nothing to do with care and control of a firearm.

wow...

ok so i sat slightly in from the tree line waiting for my deer to come out. i did lots of scouting so of course he came out and walked right where i thought he was going to, about 100 yards up wind. i slowly raised my rifle and looked through the scope.
"there's a doe behind him, a few more steps and i've got him"

i wait, the deer walks a few more steps and i pull the trigger. to my surprise the deer wasn't flattened. so i watched the deer run off into the horizon for a mile or so.

so i do what anyone would do if they potentially had a bad shot. i flagged the spot and looked for blood (i was so far away from the bush he went into i wasn't worrying about pushing him)

no blood and there was fresh snow i followed his tracks. no blood for a mile and i walked right beside his tracks. of course i think that they might be the wrong tracks so i go back to where i shot from to re gain my perspective.

when i got there i saw a poplar tree split in half

as for the deer i never saw him in the daylight again and he lived another day unhurt. i ended up seeing him the next year at the taxidermist and the neighbor had shot him.

so it happens. maybe not to someone as infallible you but to every day people it happens

[depopulator]

Cool story, makes be wonder if a couple of you even hunt. Reminds me my 2nd biggest bull elk - he was somewhere between 350 and 450 (no time to range), I held the cross hairs conservative high and greased him the first shot, then missed the 2nd and 3rd shots due to the 'fever'. Dirt nap for Mr. Herd Bull all the same. I was actually hunting and no regrets taking those shots. True story....

[STURKO OUTDOORS]

Thanks for all the feedback regarding the show. We appreciate it all whether it's positive or negative. Best of luck to all of you this coming fall. Hope you all enjoy season 2 of "The Fever" when it airs.