What is missing? Todays Hunting Films/Content

OP I'm kinda in the same boat. I couldn't get enough elk content as a kid. I am the only one I know that would sit with a paper and pen trying to figure out the perfect recipe of bugles and cow calls while watching Primos. I actually attempted tying a high 8 camcorder to a pack frame in an attempt to get footage 30 years ago. I have always wanted to share part of what brings me some of my happiest times in this life. I can't get enough of the full draw kinda of stuff. Great footage (usually!) and a good story to boot. Never watered down. My daughter has gotten into hunting in part because she has come every year with me to Full Draw Tour since she was 10! In 2020 she got her first big game animal a bear with a muzzleloader and I was able to film the whole thing. It was a priceless experience that I will always treasure being able to relive. Showing potential boyfriends is a bonus too.
I probably look at hunts online in a little different lens having attempted it with my very limited budget, and a young family with multiple health issues. I can appreciate the work and effort that hunters go into sharing a hunt. Its a pretty vulnerable thing to do if you have ever read comments. But I see us as brothers and sisters going through life in differing yet similar journeys. I have gone to a tried and true spot and found more trucks than elk in an area seen on the Full Draw Tour, but as much as I hate getting to a trail head with a crowd already there, I can't bemoan anyone trying to get outdoors and enjoy what we have! I feel like celebrating any cool experience anyone has. And yes there is lots of "content" that is painful to watch, doesn't give any education, or any satisfaction visually or audibly! But then you find one that hits home and strikes a cord and invites you into that world for a moment. I have sacrificed my own season to just follow friends in good units because I love being with great people in woods and like to share what we find. Filming is never our priority and I will never make a penny off what I produce, but I know my friends and family appreciate that I put the effort in to share it. It gives me lots of time all winter to relive all the feels from fall. My buddies give me grief all the time saying I'd rather be behind the camera than the bow. I have put a couple hunts online and love the process of editing footage. There's a creative side to it that can be incredibly exhaustive and full filling. There is a creative side to men that doesn't get enough attention if you've read Wild at Heart by John Eldridge you'll understand. Filming and editing hunts has helped me on my own journey in life.
 
All this hate for social media influencers is really feeding my soul today y'all, thank you!

It took me a while to figure out what about hunting promotion/media I dislike so much, but I think it comes down to this... Making money off of hunting and the killing of wildlife is antithetical to the North American Model.

Now this might be too far for most people, but I am against outfitting and guiding for the same reason.
 
All this hate for social media influencers is really feeding my soul today y'all, thank you!

It took me a while to figure out what about hunting promotion/media I dislike so much, but I think it comes down to this... Making money off of hunting and the killing of wildlife is antithetical to the North American Model.

Now this might be too far for most people, but I am against outfitting and guiding for the same reason.
Almost lost it when some shmuck on insta my buddy shows me is blasting unit numbers to his 100k followers… and he is a UTard which is typical, can’t guys enjoy hunting and not exploit the resource?!
 
I have always wondered what level of narcissism it takes to post videos of yourself on the internet for strangers to like, and is it an unhealthy level?

That being said I watch a lot of hunting videos in the winter, it helps dull my seasonal depression. The worst are the vlog style talking heads, along with the excessive self or product promoting variety. The best are a group of buddies with one who wants to film and no one who is trying to be a star. Back story is neither here nor there for me, it's just a hunt after all. Unless you have a lot of history with this particular hunt or animal.

I've made a couple videos of some of my "bucket-list" hunts. Man do they bring back the memories vividly. I upload them to YouTube set on PRIVATE and share the link with the guys who were with me on the hunt and my wife. Nobody else needs to see them. The beauty of this is you can take sweeping shots of the landscape and skyline with no fear of giving away your spot! Someday my kids will get to watch them and hopefully enjoy seeing their dad doing what he loved in his younger years.
 
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