So what do we all think of this?

Shrek

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The anti's cry when we shot them with a firearm and say it isn't giving it a fair chance, now a guy does it with a spear and it's inhumane.... we are just never going to win. It's not a big surprise. Now was the dude celebration a little over the top, yes but it's his moment not mine. We as hunters are an odd bunch, bring up longrange hunting, hunting with a spear, hunting over bait, hunting behind a fence and your bound to get someone's panties twisted. Hell if it's a legal hunting means and you are proficient I wish you the best of luck and good hunting.
X2 ! If you're proficient and legal it's not my business to judge. May not be what I want to do but whatever makes you happy. I don't think it's helpful to post videos of extreme hunting for public consumption. I didn't watch but it doesn't matter.
 
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The anti's cry when we shot them with a firearm and say it isn't giving it a fair chance, now a guy does it with a spear and it's inhumane.... we are just never going to win. It's not a big surprise. Now was the dude celebration a little over the top, yes but it's his moment not mine. We as hunters are an odd bunch, bring up longrange hunting, hunting with a spear, hunting over bait, hunting behind a fence and your bound to get someone's panties twisted. Hell if it's a legal hunting means and you are proficient I wish you the best of luck and good hunting.
Anti's aren't the ones we need on our side. It's the folks who aren't pro or anti hunting. This kind of video is likely to push more of them to the anti side.
 

elkyinzer

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The anti's cry when we shot them with a firearm and say it isn't giving it a fair chance, now a guy does it with a spear and it's inhumane.... we are just never going to win. It's not a big surprise. Now was the dude celebration a little over the top, yes but it's his moment not mine. We as hunters are an odd bunch, bring up longrange hunting, hunting with a spear, hunting over bait, hunting behind a fence and your bound to get someone's panties twisted. Hell if it's a legal hunting means and you are proficient I wish you the best of luck and good hunting.

I disagree, it's not wrong because he did it, it's wrong because he distastefully broadcast it to the world.

We should all strive NOT to get peoples' panties twisted, because it's what's best for the future of our sport. I can guarantee you that hunting's future is an emotional PR battle more than it is based on sound science. If you don't think stuff like this incrementally inches us closer to a world where hunting is illegal, then research the state of hunting in Great Britain.

If he wants to do it and tell his buddies, I am fine with that. But to YouTube it so he can become more famous in the industry, he accepts the responsibility to present hunting in a positive light. He did not achieve that in any way, shape, or form, so he deserves every ounce of shit that comes his way.
 

elkyinzer

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Not sure what the obsession is with videoing hunts and putting them on YouTube? Stupid...

This, and it's the most irrefutable statement made thus far:

I'm sure it will help his career.

It's disgusting. For the common good, the hunting industry and the media associated with it should blackball the hell out of these idiots, but they won't. For every Rinella out there doing absolutely incredible things on our behalf there are 100 of these boneheads and their blonde bimbo wives hawking useless shit to the knuckle dragging meatheads of the world. I hate to be such a cynic, but if anything makes hunting illegal, it's going to be our own fault for putting the almighty dollar over the preservation of a sacred lifestyle.
 

gelton

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Just seems a little too "Good ol boy" "Bone Collector" ish to me.. Those guys don't give a crap about shot placement.. The kinda shows when they come on the Outdoor Channel I switch to Sports Center..



Wow... Is that shit even legal? He shot the bear in the forehead...

Is that the guy that dropped the spear on himself in Africa?? I kind of hope so lol

Reminds me of:

[video=youtube;3-RJqDvVmqk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-RJqDvVmqk[/video]

Of course its legal and shot placement seemed spot on to me...and on the bear, if you are standing there with a bow and arrow facing a grizzly (yeah i am sure he had backup but it was waayy back if you watch how far he ran to catch up) then that is the only shot that guaranteed a quick kill, last thing you need is a lung shot that would give it a minute or two to turn on you. As others have said, if its legal who are we to judge? Everyone nit picking someone elses style does nothing for our cause either.
 

woods89

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Not sure what the obsession is with videoing hunts and putting them on YouTube? Stupid...

I've wondered this sometimes also. Why? Call me selfish but I feel like I earned my experiences through hard work and I'm not sure I feel a need to share that with anyone who has internet access...........

I was definitely a bit chagrined when I checked CNN during breakfast this morning and saw this headline, OUTRAGE OVER HUNTER SPEARING BEAR!
 

W.D. Crawford

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This, and it's the most irrefutable statement made thus far:



It's disgusting. For the common good, the hunting industry and the media associated with it should blackball the hell out of these idiots, but they won't. For every Rinella out there doing absolutely incredible things on our behalf there are 100 of these boneheads and their blonde bimbo wives hawking useless shit to the knuckle dragging meatheads of the world. I hate to be such a cynic, but if anything makes hunting illegal, it's going to be our own fault for putting the almighty dollar over the preservation of a sacred lifestyle.
This can be a touchy subject. I do agree that the pursuit of fame and wealth will bring about the downfall of hunting. I quit watching The Outdoor channel and all the others about 6 or 7 years ago. I got sick of all the hype and I felt like I was watching an infomercial. That's my .2cents.
 
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I think it was a hell of a throw and that the guy has some skills to be able to do that successfully. Now, what successful means to anyone else is another thing altogether and the celebration was pretty over the top for my taste but it wasn't my hunt.

Of course the media is all over this. They live in fantasy land where meat magically appears on plates and money grows on trees.
 

Manosteel

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Wow, that link is informative and a bit scary. I thought it was just the youtube yahoos raising a stink, but there are legitimate media outlets that caught onto this.

I also got a kick out of him saying, to paraphrase, "I am the first person in the world to have ever done it"....um, no, I highly doubt that no one ever speared a bear before modern weapons were invented. Didn't notice that the first time. You may have been the first jackwagon to publicize it on youtube, but far from the first if we are talking all-time here.

I find these situations fascinating as they relate to the Public Relations aspect of hunting and how that affects our future. If this one approaches the level of outrage that the African incidents solicited, I will be surprised. I get how the Cecil thing makes us look bad, but I don't see this one as being quite on that level. Still, I have some significant issues with the video. I guess at this point, I have more questions than answers:

The baiting? Why do people raise such a stink about it? Personally, I have no desire to do it, but I realize bears are unkillable in some places without, so I'll fight for it. Why do people think baiting (and hounds, and trapping) are so unsporting? What do we do to turn these around? Because we are on a path to all of these methods being illegal within a few decades, then what's next? Treestands? Optics?

Would it be more beneficial to all of us just to cease broadcasting hunts? I know, there is no mechanism to do so, but come on, you've got the blinders on if you can't see it's one of the biggest threats to what we do. I am conflicted. It's not hard to see how stuff like this galvanizes the general public against hunting. To a lay person watching that video, the portrayal was cruelty, plain and simple. It's not the act of killing the bear with a spear that looked the worst, it's how he acted after.

If he would not have acted like such a jackass after spearing the bear, would the public reaction be better? Why do these publicity seeking douchebags not realize that you have to act somber, appreciative, and humble after making a kill? I don't know this guy but I can tell you from just having looked at his social media platforms for 2 minutes that he is out for the attention, big time. Is that for business purposes? Should hunting media even be a business? Is he a narcissist? Is he just an idiot? How do we stop these idiots from mucking it up for those of us with a lick of common sense?

The hunting community at large will rally around this guy like they always do, when we should be congratulating him for his achievement while simultaneously scolding his deplorable disrespect for the animal and asking ourselves existential questions about what these kind of situations mean to the hunting brotherhood.

My thoughts exactly. The guy comes off as a GOOF! Clearly an attention seeker. Not good for hunting.
 

Lilleybee

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This has caught the attention of the major Canadian Networks. It was a lead story on the CTV National News, along with Trump/Clinton updates and Olympic news, so no small coverage. They showed the entire kill scene, the throw and subsequent reaction. Even the go pro footage as the bear ran off. They related it directly to Cecil the Lion. The minister for the province of Alberta where this took place has already stated they will be banning spear hunting.
The airing of that whole video on a very popular national network will set back hunting in the minds of the neutral/voting public greatly. I can't help but think the intent of the network to show the go pro footage of a gut hit bleeding bear was nothing less than their way of discrediting hunting in general.
In his response to the media the "hunter" claims his spear to a much more ethical and humane killer than a bullet or arrow. Sooooo, to the general public's mind you better ban all forms of killing bears.
I won't be surprised if this thing takes on a life of its own.
 
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This has caught the attention of the major Canadian Networks. It was a lead story on the CTV National News, along with Trump/Clinton updates and Olympic news, so no small coverage. They showed the entire kill scene, the throw and subsequent reaction. Even the go pro footage as the bear ran off. They related it directly to Cecil the Lion. The minister for the province of Alberta where this took place has already stated they will be banning spear hunting.
The airing of that whole video on a very popular national network will set back hunting in the minds of the neutral/voting public greatly. I can't help but think the intent of the network to show the go pro footage of a gut hit bleeding bear was nothing less than their way of discrediting hunting in general.
In his response to the media the "hunter" claims his spear to a much more ethical and humane killer than a bullet or arrow. Sooooo, to the general public's mind you better ban all forms of killing bears.
I won't be surprised if this thing takes on a life of its own.

That's exactly why you don't post videos of stuff like this.

While I think it is utter BS, I can understand where someone who has never hunted finds this video distasteful. And for someone to have this be their only look at a "hunter" I can only imagine their thoughts.




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Floorguy

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Didn't think gut shot and clean kill went together till this thread...

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I just saw where the Bowmar's lost their under armour sponsor over this video. While I think the video is pretty cool I too can see where the non hunting crowd could see this as over the top. I don't think he ever anticipated the backlash this video has caused. I think it's a good reminder that before you post anything that might be a little too edgy or doesn't show us in a more positive light it's best to really contemplate if it's worth posting or not. It's sad to have worry about what anti hunters say and think about us but it's the world we live in right now.
 

charvey9

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The over reaction to this is just ridiculous. I've hunted with John in Alberta, and they do a great job getting you in close on lots of bears and specialize in hunting them on the ground. All that being said, this is one hell of an accomplishment and must have took a ton of practice to pull it off.

I guess I should not be surprised by the public response, but disappointed in UA if in fact they stopped supporting the Bowmar's. If you follow them on social media, there were lots of pictures of Josh practicing for this hunt and it was no surprise that he was going to bear hunt with a spear last spring. I'm sure UA did not have any problem being tagged in those photos, and it is pretty hypocritical if they shun it now. I guess they need to pull sponsorship from every other hunter that does not make the perfect shot? Be sure you supporting are companies that support our lifestyle, and not reacting to the opinion of the moment.

Sad to see it spiral down this path.
 
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Well the video has been taken down now so I'll have to go off memory. What did he really do that was so unbelievably offensive besides his over the top celebration? I don't remember anything else. Is it he did it with a spear that has everyone so resentful of him? How many animals are failed to be recovered from a poor shot every year....
 

IdahoElk

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How come the video of Jared Allen spearing an elk last year didn't garner the same attention? I thought that was pretty bad ass too.

Former NFL Defensive Lineman Jared Allen Spears a Bull Elk - Wide Open Spaces

There are a few animals that are "lightning Rods" that attract the most hate and controversy from the peta crowd.
Any hunter of notoriety that purposely posts a picture or video on the internet of themselves grinning over a dead Bear,Mountain Lion,Wolf,African Lion probably just suicided their career but their ego stops them from using better judgement.
The fact that this guy has already taken the video down proves that it wasn't such a brilliant thing to do.
In the end it just makes it harder for us "average" hunters to continue doing what we like.
 
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