It seems with all the hunting shows on TV, big bore handguns are pretty much ignored. Why is that?

Because it's difficult and requires more practice than many other forms of hunting and is thereby not as popular as some other forms. At least that is at the core in my opinion, however, I always try to emphasize in editorial that it is extremely challenging and therefore deeply satisfying.

Indeed.

Because everyone knows that you can't hunt and kill game with a sixgun...geez man

Or....there are too many uneducated folks about the sport out there and still think its a gimmick and the networks don't want to take the chance. Only thing we can do is represent the sport well, not scare off new folks that are wanting to get started and eventually, maybe more will sway this way. I've seen a definite change in my last 15 years since I really started to do it pretty much exclusively...Which do you think is my real opinion

GlennS,,,,I am going to go with uneducated folks. There is no doubt it is challenging but, if no one else should recognize this you would think dedicated bow hunters would. It seems if bowhunters were heard, so should big bore revolver hunters be. [did that last sentence make sense?] Come to think of it, specialty pistols are also rare, and they are pretty much rifle equivalent in the right hands.

I can give you a shorter answer, the industry hasn't, to this point, supported a handgun hunting tv show. They want to appeal to a broader audience. In my opinion it's the last untapped market.

It's also an extremely small market at this time. There are TONS of bow hunters out there & even more rifle hunters. Compared to the bow hunters we are very much a niche market. Look at this forum as an example. In my opinion this is the best & really the largest handgun hunting forum out there. SP is a larger forum (or at least used to be. haven't been there in quite a while)but handgun hunting is a small part of their audience. How many folks are on here in a given day? With that demographic I doubt anyone is willing to risk the investment in a show. personally I think it would fly. I think that as long as the hunts are interesting (speaking personally I'm tired of white tail, hogs & turkeys. Guess it's cause I can't hunt them.) & diverse rifle hunters would love them & we would pickup numbers.
We need a talented quartet or so of handgun hunters that can spend a year with both revolvers & specialty pistols chasing elk, bear, moose, various deer, etc, not just in easy access areas but in real back country hunts. Make 12 quality episodes & they would fly!

Take out the talented requirement and I'll volunteer for one of the 4 slots!!

So I've come close a couple of times with a TV show that was being pitched by some friends at the Outdoor Channel and even with their clout they couldn't get a cornerstone sponsor for the show. Ruger was in until the last minute then they backed out because "they didn't want to create a market for something they couldn't produce". To me it's the chicken and the egg. Bowhunting and blackpowder hunting has been pushed so hard by the industry that those two sports have increased dramatically. The hunting handgun market is really down to two, Ruger & S&W. Ruger is selling all the guns they make. Why drop a bunch of money into marketing without the ability to increase production. It's still all about the black guns.

Yeah if talent, ability, looks, & success aren't necessary & someone wants to fund it I'd be glad to hunt moose, black & brown bear, caribou, sheep, goats, & Sitka Blacktail in AK, all with my 480 SRH! Think Ruger,Ultradot, Hodgon, Cast Performance, & Kifaru (have a new pack on order) would want to sponsor me?

Follow the money.

You guys are hitting it on the nail head. At the present with the major handgun companies at peak production and profits soaring from conceal & carry handguns; they are not going to invest in any more production lines, ads, etc. in the hunting firearms. I know I left out black guns, self defense shotguns and the like, but I was only referring to the handgun market. Maybe if those markets ever starts to taper off maybe they might consider the hunting handgun market or hunting show.

I know I am not stylish or anything but I divvy the part for hunting sheep, goats, caribou, etc. and even a few species in Africa, South America and the like. I have always believed and hoped someone would start a hunting show dedicated to only handgun hunting. If it happens I will be one of the first to tune in.

It would be great if it happened.

It's all about what is selling. Look at your local dealer ads, it's all self defense guns. Sure big bores sell, but i bet nothing compared to self defense guns. Like someone said, follow the money.

I know this may sound cheesy but when I was a young lad; most hunting shows were unsponsored. They were filmed with a home video camera by some Bubba and his buddy and you had to get up at 5am to watch them on small cable channels. A lot of those same Bubbas are now the patriarchs of hunting television. This forum has handgun hunters with friends with cameras or GoPros and hunt just about every animal on earth with a handgun. Why don't we add a video forum and start filming our hunts and try some editing. I know it's not the same as a full production TV show with sponsership. But it's a start and would be the same as yesteryears small local cable channel. Who knows who may take notice. It may give everyone here a chance to be a movie star and allow others to share the sport we enjoy.

Sounds great to me...

Funny, I've never used 'when I was a kid' and 'cable tv' in the same sentence. ;-)
I was 20 before I knew that 'oz' was in color, 'cuz it sure wasn't on the tv I watched it on as a kid. Boy, those monkeys used to scare me.
That was back when I was young and dumb, but I'm older now.

Dogsbreath.

Handgun Hunting the monkeys in Oz. Now there is a video game I could get into!!!

I support Badubet's idea. I already film and edit short hunting videos for my Facebook page, and I wouldn't mind making some for this site.

Throw my 2 cents in. That is a great idea.

I sense I am seeing some team spirit here! I am very limited budget wise but, I will donate what I can to the effort.

Dhom, to go back to your original question......the world is missing men like John Wootters & Hal Swiggett. Men that didn't whine when they shot guns that recoiled more than a 44 Mag. Big Bore pistols kick, plain & simple, and most people have a hard time learning to control the recoil.
I think " big bore" pistols sell good because of the " cool", "tough" factor or the look at my big gun dummies you see on YouTube. Within a few months most of these same folks sell these guns cheap because they are "too much gun" for them.
Another big factor is that we are a very limited few that really hunt with our handguns. A very few. The great generation of TRUE handgun hunters are unfortunately aging out. I used to love to read about John Wootters, Hal Swiggett, John Taffin, and Lee Jurras hunting/ killing animals with Big Bore pistols. Most of the writers today probably live in subdivisions in big cities & lack the balls to shoot & handle big bore pistols.
The black rifle/zombie BS is what sells in guns today....not hunting.

Works for me.

First,big bore handguns, I feel, are just about the hardest weapon to hunt with.
second, the interest in handgun hunting has declined.
third, Gary Smith was very close to having Outdoor Life channel
do a handgun hunting show which would have jump started the sport.
I feel we are a dying breed and eventually it will go back to using 22`s for small game.
However, take comfort in knowing that you are part of a group of hunters that use a special weapon..... a big bore handgun

I kind of think that a series of handgun hunting would go over like gang busters on the Sportsman channel,the bowhunting programs are near innumerable and every one the same,Imagine how popular it would be if Lee Lakosky was given a 68 inch longbow and hunted on public land instead of a farm that raises 180 inch whitetails.

First time I went hunting with a buddy of mine we went to a wild life management area that he knew of. We got out of the truck before first light and got into the woods. We needed to cross a big creek (15ft/wide, deep and fast) and waited for the sun. So we sat there and chatted a bit, then got up to go. We could see each other by then and he said 'hey, where is your gun?'. I said 'Dang, I always forget something'.
You sure get lots of strange looks when another hunter sees you without a rifle.
The last guys I saw were getting out of their truck at my friends land up near Amicalola falls. I spoke with them because we didn't want to get in each others way. They asked about the pistol and I asked them how many shots they took over 100 yards. They said hardly any.
In some ways a pistol is easier to hunt with. Easier to move thru brush, and you have a wider range of shots you can make. I'm right handed, shooting to the right of my nose with a rifle is limited.
I don't see why you couldn't post up to youtube or make a channel on youtube for handgun hunting. If that got hits, you might find someone interested in sponsoring something. Wouldn't that be a dream? To be paid to hunt? I though of a bumper sticker 'will hunt for food' but then realize that's what I was dong already.

db

Actually, a friend and member here (Bud Rummel)and I have been working on just such a project over the last couple of years. It is slow going but I try to remain optimistic.

Gary - in rough numbers, what kind of $$ would be required for a season's worth of production? How much money for a "cornerstone" sponsor?

I wonder if the buy-in is less on the Sportman and Pursuit Channels? It seems like all the big bucks are being spent on Outdoor Channel...

Guys, in case you haven't seen it yet, Gary just added a new forum for hunting and shooting videos.

I fully support the idea of putting videos on the forum and certainly support the idea of setting up a handgun hunting channel on YouTube (greater reach than the forum).

However I suspect we may be selling the sport short if we say there's no market for handgun hunting. In comparatively recent times we've seen S&W release the S&W 500 and 460, Ruger maintains its 454 Casull line and also does an occasional 480 batch. You have the Contenders, BFRs and numerous big bore custom jobs etc. In autos there you'll find 460 Rowland kits, Lone Wolf 6" barrels and a host of other products made for other than the self-defense market. These are all commercial products which companies have tooled up for and produced because they see a market.

If there's enough market to justify making the guns then its likely there's enough market to justify decent videos. It may just need the right push to get momentum.

Yours in optimism...

Francise,,,,I have to agree that a lot of the great handgunners are gone, but not here because they post all the time on this forum. I love hunting with handguns but, couldn't match most of the people at this forum by a long shot. I believe some of todays great handgunners are right here and are willing to put up a team effort to promote the sport. The American Legion post I am active in is selling a boar hunting ticket for $2 and you get to shoot 2 boars at a hunting preserve. If any of the persons that win are willing to handgun hunt I will film it the best I can for you guys to critique.

ok so i ill be the bucket of cold water. i dont want to sound elitist... think of how many slob hunters that you know of. people that can SOMETIMES hit a paper target at 400yrds and think its ok to shoot an animal at that distance. or ml hunters that use "magnum" loads a sabot pistol bullets that now have a 300-350 yrd gun. sound shooters ect ect. do we want every tom dick and haery to hunt with a handgun because its the next neat in thing? ya cant stop em (and should not) but that dont mean you have to point he way. i know i sound like a snob and maybe i am. this has come out all wrong and i should not post it be will and hope that all take it the way i mean not the way it sounds.

Dhom, I agree that this site contains "the best" handgun hunters. I am just sad to say, that I feel we are a small select few. We really need to encourage our wives, girl friends, and children to take up handgun hunting. If we do not, it will be a lost art. I say this because I feel it is the most difficult form of hunting to master. I would LOVE to see a handgun hunting only show! Would LOVE it! The world we live in just wants everything handed to them - the easy way. I know that bow hunters will argue with me about this, but I know Whitworth would agree with me, a 50 Alaskan handgun is much tougher to master as opposed to a 70 pound draw weight bow. I hope and pray that a handgun hunting show comes to reality!

Blue,
I hear where you are coming from. I not only hunt with pistols, but I'm big into the conceal carry life to. Heck, I'm not opposed to open carry either. We (the carry all the time crowd) like to encourage folks to carry all the time, but then we get folks like Zimmerman who did us no favor at all.
So I agree with your idea, and I think most here will see thru to what you were saying and why.
One aspect that I think was missed a page or so earlier was in the discussion of gun manufacturing is that I think many of the big gun are not bought with the intent to hunt. I know a guy who has a .500 and, best as I can tell, he uses it to end every handgun conversation with 'I got the biggest one here'. Doesn't hunt, doesn't reload, and I'm sure he doesn't shoot it near as often I he would like you to think he does. I'm sure there are a bunch of boxes of ammo out there with 2 or 3 shells fired that are just collecting dust.
I know that GM counts every vehicle they sell that is dual-fuel capable as a unit that is using dual-fuel. We all now that's not the case though. So I can see why the gun manufactures are building to a higher demand than the gun hunting crowd can muster.

Dogsbreath

The above is redeemable for $.02

Franchise Ive been a traditioal bowhunter for 36 yrs and my range on game with a selfbow is 20 yrds , with a center shot glassed bow 35 yrds,I used a compound,sights and release for 2 yrs and a fifty yrd group were easier then with a iron sighted revolver.

Dave, try shooting the same bullseye with a 50 Alaskan revolver....the recoil is brutal, making the concentration needed to hit the bullseye much harder. That is just my opinion, and I'm sure others may be different. Big Bore pistols to some means 44 mag or 45 colt, to me I'm thinking 475 Linebaugh & up in revolvers. If we are talking single shot's, I'm thinking 45/70 power class & up. There is and always will be a reason why the general hunting public doesn't hunt with big bore pistols, it's the stout recoil they produce. To each his own though.

Big Bore or not...we DO need a handgun only hunting show!! In most cases the big bore, super powerful pistols aren't needed anyway.

I can't speak for the Sportsmans Channel but at the Outdoor Channel a couple years ago it was $250K just to buy the air time. Add in cost of actually doing the hunts and the production and you can see how fast it will add up. This is one reason there are so many bad shows out there because quality is expensive.

Bluecow I hear ya but there isn't any stopping those guys anyway. They would be such poor shots that I'm pretty sure most game would be quite safe.

As far as missing and crippling goes, I think that is the dirty little secret of bowhunting and for that matter shotguns with buckshot. I know a lot of deer are killed with both but how many are wounded is a lot higher than we would like to think. I have nothing against either method but it certainly isn't what you see on TV.

I have to agree. Brutal recoil adds a whole new dimension to what we do. If handguns didn't produce debilitating recoil, many still couldn't do it well because it's just hard generally speaking.