Don't be fooled by Les Johnson

Status
Not open for further replies.
Thank you Texas95 .... my TV is great and I will not name it and appear to sound materialistic. I laughed at how mad some guys got over this. I thought my post was fair and ok for discussion.

Heretic - thanks..... also, that might have been me calling you heard hahaha. I never assume my secret spots are secret anymore. I personally think the shows are OK. I DVR them and fast forward through the dramatic crap and infomercials. I could not sit through an episode if I could not fast forward through that.
 
I just had to look and see which site I was on as it sure sounded like I was on the coyote gods site and not here where hunting is the issue not a self appointed elites society. COME on guys most of us come here to get away from that kind of $hit!!
 
The best thing said in this whole thread, is that no matter what anyone does, someone will not like it.
I'm just starting to mess with video, and I surely can't wait for the "experts" to tell me how bad I suck.
Les has a show, doesn't make him a better hunter than anyone else, also doesn't make him any worse.
Just a guy with a call and a gun, and has sponsors paying for advertising. He has to "advertise"their products, if he is using their money to pay for the show.
I have met Les a few times in person, I wouldn't call him a friend, but he seems like a good guy just trying to make a living just like the rest of us.
I think constructive criticism, could be e-mailed to him, or just don't watch any show you don't like. Duane
 
Some funny stuff going on here.
laugh.gif
 
INCREDIBLE!!!! EXPERTS EVERYWHERE!!!!!

1. If you know anything about Les, you would know he's not sponsored by Kanati Tek...guarenteed!!! He is no longer with Foxpro either...so tell me why would he ever promote or use their calls?

2. Les isn't trying to fool anyone. Don't flatter yourself...I'm pretty sure he has much better things to do than sit around trying to think of ways to fool you or anyone else who chooses to watch his show. If there wasn't a certain amount of editing it would end up looking like home videos...not an award winning television show!!

3. He has won the Worlds, the Nationals 5 times, the Midwest 2 times...pretty tough to fake any of that. He is still the only guy to win all three in the same year. So...I'm pretty sure he has nothing to prove about being capable of killing more coyotes than most will ever dream of seeing.

4. You obviously haven't the slightest clue in the world what it takes for Les, Fred Eichler, Predator Pursuit, Foxpro or anyone else to produce a television show. Especially a 52 week show with 26 original episodes. Les Johnson is the only reason a predator show is on T.V. today. He was the very first to take a huge risk, get it done, make it work, and produce an award winning show!! Everyone said it would never work when he tried it, and now there are what...at least a half a dozen on T.V.?

I guess I just get real tired of the "experts" butchering those who produce a television show. I watched Fred Eichler get crucified over bullet choice, Predator Pursuit was called "Dull" and ran into the dirt a month or two back. It's ridiculous!!! Anyone who is willing to take the risk and put in the time to produce these shows deserves some respect for trying to put something informative and entertaining out there for anyone to enjoy.

It's real easy to sit in front of your television (no matter what brand)
wink.gif
and then use the keyboard and click away pumping up your internet "prowess" by calling "B.S." on someone else who has proven they can back it up!! This just proves: Any fool can complain, criticize and condemn...and most do.

I guess when you start filming and producing your own show you can edit it how you see fit...and then hope people are just a little bit more easy on you then you were on them!!
 
Geez folks, if you don't like the show, change the
channel or shut the tv off.
I'm pretty sure nobody is holding a gun to your head and
forcing you to watch.
 
Originally Posted By: Big_Red_FoxINCREDIBLE!!!! EXPERTS EVERYWHERE!!!!!

1. If you know anything about Les, you would know he's not sponsored by Kanati Tek...guarenteed!!! He is no longer with Foxpro either...so tell me why would he ever promote or use their calls?

2. Les isn't trying to fool anyone. Don't flatter yourself...I'm pretty sure he has much better things to do than sit around trying to think of ways to fool you or anyone else who chooses to watch his show. If there wasn't a certain amount of editing it would end up looking like home videos...not an award winning television show!!

3. He has won the Worlds, the Nationals 5 times, the Midwest 2 times...pretty tough to fake any of that. He is still the only guy to win all three in the same year. So...I'm pretty sure he has nothing to prove about being capable of killing more coyotes than most will ever dream of seeing.

4. You obviously haven't the slightest clue in the world what it takes for Les, Fred Eichler, Predator Pursuit, Foxpro or anyone else to produce a television show. Especially a 52 week show with 26 original episodes. Les Johnson is the only reason a predator show is on T.V. today. He was the very first to take a huge risk, get it done, make it work, and produce an award winning show!! Everyone said it would never work when he tried it, and now there are what...at least a half a dozen on T.V.?

I guess I just get real tired of the "experts" butchering those who produce a television show. I watched Fred Eichler get crucified over bullet choice, Predator Pursuit was called "Dull" and ran into the dirt a month or two back. It's ridiculous!!! Anyone who is willing to take the risk and put in the time to produce these shows deserves some respect for trying to put something informative and entertaining out there for anyone to enjoy.

It's real easy to sit in front of your television (no matter what brand)
wink.gif
and then use the keyboard and click away pumping up your internet "prowess" by calling "B.S." on someone else who has proven they can back it up!! This just proves: Any fool can complain, criticize and condemn...and most do.

I guess when you start filming and producing your own show you can edit it how you see fit...and then hope people are just a little bit more easy on you then you were on them!!

good post!
 
It is entertainment plain and simple. I will watch Les any day over another whitetail show.....and I will turn to Les everytime I get the chance because I can't handle another episode of my wife's HGTV when I don't get to choose the evening's programming.
 
Hey, this is my first post. I agree with MOTOX. I also hate fake stuff. Not real, looks stupid. (Que in laugh track with dog howl in background).
 
hes got a good gig... would love to have it... but its about sponcers..... the camera will cut to him blowin the call w/ no face coverage.... then in the kill shot he has a facemask on! guess you wait for em' to come in b 4 you camo up!
 
Good post BIG RED! Some folks have absolutely no clue what it takes to produce ONE of those television shows, let alone and entire seson.

As I've said before, ANYONE who has the brass to go film, produce, and air a television show has my respect.
 
I pick apart TV shows all the time over their use and knowledge of guns and ammunition. Like the one that disputed the death of a man bein killed by "birdshot" because it's not lethal beyond 15 or 20 feet. Then there was the guy killed with copper-plated buckshot at least 10 years before copper-plated buckshot was produced.

Shayne
 
His old videos are great. Anytime money comes into the picture, as in advertising and sponsors, the enjoyment of the video will go down. Same with Randy Anderson and Primos.
 
I will watch Les's show over any whitetail show anytime, I to think he talks to much ### BUT ### the guys paying his bills want that so HE has to do it. And its my choice to watch or change it.
I watch because he is doing a sport i LOVE

I think alot of guys or kind of like me ,we know he's a great hunter and caller.
He just has that voice like a GREAT radio host. He knows how to promote and talk and thats what it takes to be on tv ,and thats why he is there.
Most of us are just ole country hicks.
 
Sure he kills coyotes, I also don't like the fake footage. Hand flapping in and out while calling, jerking rifle into position while coyote is looking, walking on a ridge top to get to calling spot, calling once it is less than 1/4 mile out. I see a lot of things that are mistakes or unusuall scene shots.
I'm certainly not jealous, he is just plain annoying on his show, I watch it sometimes to watch the coyotes, the coyote's reaction and approach will teach a person more than his faked scenes. It would be better to see dry calling stands than the over used, un-needed graphics, and 10 minutes of ads in beginning of the show.
As far as winning contests, some people win those contests by shooting coyotes off of bait piles, like the one in WY. 2 yrs in a row the winner had something close to 20 kills, then when there was no snow, less than 9 kills. Not everything is as it seems. If he wins the contests with the methods he uses on his show, it would be really hard for me to believe.
 
I've been dabbling with producting videos now for a few years, trying to learn as much as I can to produce quality videos with average equipment, that hunters will enjoy. I'm not in the big league by any means, and not sure that's where I really want to be right now, but I do have three currently on the market, one in the making and several short clips of my own hunting experiences. As such, I do have some knowledge of what it takes to produce a video under hunting conditions.

There is a lot said for producing "the real hunt," and that's what most of us like to see. That's what I strive very hard for, to get it as it happens. The problem is it's darn tough to do, to capture footage of everything. Indeed, I miss a lot of good shots, such as ARCOREY's 500 yard groundhog. It just happens in the field.

Hunters are a mixed bag for sure. Some like the real stuff, even if it's bland. Others knock a video if it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles and fancy editing that appears to be more like a Hollywood production, thereby giving the appearance of high quality. Have you watched much of the Sportsman's Channel lately? Seems that shows are in competition to see who can pack the most editing "stuff" into a show. To me, it's overwhelming, full of distracting special effects and not good. I want to see the hunt and not all the fancy stuff. I'm sure others like it just fine.

As was previously stated, someone will always find something wrong with a video. I can't ever seem to choose music that suits everyone. Some love it and others hate it, so I just go with what I think is good and let it go. After all, it's my video.

Most videos are probably edited slightly or somewhat to depict a particular scene as it really happened in the field, but it may have been reenacted a bit to show a guy holding a rifle as if he were shooting right then and there. He may have been sitting in the exact same spot where he took the animal, but the camera man doesn't always have time to video the hunter first and then swing on the animal in a timely manner, and to caputure it all to be pleasing to watch. Unless there are two camera men involved, that's almost impossible to do, and to capture the hunt before the shot is lost to video. Animals don't just stand there and wait until the camera man is ready to roll. Probably the best video is where the camera man is behind the hunter and slightly to one side, thereby capturing the hunter as he stalks, and being able to zoom up quickly on the animal.

There's a lot of "stuff" that goes on in producing a video that is educational, entertaining, and that depicts the real hunt. Sometimes a little editing is needed to pull it all together.

I have viewed one of Les' videos, and I enjoyed it. As to the video in question, I don't agree that a particular call should be advertised when another one is what really produced the animal (If that's indeed what happened). As to having a face mask on in one scene and not in another of the same hunt, well, that is probably something that needs to be improved on in the logistics of producing the video. Either a mask was worn or it wasn't, so the scenes should be consistent with what took place in the real hunt.

Otherwise, I will say that Les is out there, trying to produce videos for hunters, for enjoyment and education. I wish him well.



 
Hello Motox and the other folks who have chimed in on this post. After reading it a few times, I have the following comments.

a.) I don’t watch much TV and have never seen an actual PQ show, but I do own all of Les’s DVD’s which contain footage from his show and have always liked Les’ camera work and storyboard.

b.) I like Les Johnson as well as many of the other guys on this board and others who make DVD’s or calls for a living or for a hobby. Some guys in this game have a lot of credibility but are poor PR folks and cannot or do not want to market themselves and some guys have very few miles, little credibility and limited coyote knowledge but are very good at marketing themselves. If you don’t know this, let me tell you first hand, Les Johnson has more miles and credibility than most of the other guys in the “spotlight”, combined. He is a smart, good looking, sensible guy who does a wonderful job of portraying our sport in a very classy manner and is a great ambassador for the game we all love to play.


c.) Every time I read a thread that starts out with something like “Don’t be fooled by Les Johnson……” or something to that effect, I get a little uncomfortable on several levels.

The first, and most obvious, is that most of the time it is done for the sole purpose of running the guy down. I don’t know if that was your intention or not, but based on some of your comments, it seems like that’s the purpose, but I hope not. Les is not a dishonest guy or a guy out trying to misrepresent his products or others. He’s simply a guy who’s worked harder and dreamed bigger than most of the guys who call coyotes.

Let me follow that up and tell you that it’s extremely difficult to film, produce and edit a show. My guess is that Les, by now, after a few years of shooting this thing, doesn’t even see the show before it goes on TV. There’s also a 99% chance that he is not involved in any of the editing of the thing by now and has turned over all of the production to someone else. That just happens after a while when the “polish” starts to wear off a little. (By the way, some of this stuff I have written about in the past on my blog at www.markzepp.com if you care to read any of it)

I don’t doubt that you heard a Foxpro sound on a stand, but trust me when I tell you that sounds can get added and things taken out of context when you are not in the editing room. That has happened to virtually everyone I know who has done any TV or DVD work over the years and turned the long, lonely editing hours over to anyone else.

Although he is no longer sponsored by Foxpro or any other electronic call company, he will be the first to tell you that Foxpro makes an excellent product. Maybe he was using a Foxpro and mentioned that but the editing crew picked the only footage where he forgot to mention it because they liked his smile better on that “take” or a host of other possibilities. I don’t know and didn’t see the show, but there are several ways that something like could have happened.

d.) Les’s calls are nice, unique, and I am a fan of his as I am sure many others on this board are. It’s OK if you like his show or don’t like his show, that’s what helps make this country the greatest place to live.

Good Hunting Fella’s,

Big Mark
 
Wow! I tnink the overall picture here is how easily a comment on a forum can trigger a war of posts! This is a losing battle 4 every1 involved.
 
Ok my turn to chime in. First and foremost I dont produce my own show, however I do quite a bit of editing. Like most I agree whoever has enough guts to produce a show year round, hats off to them. We all deserve to have are own opinion on each matter. No matter if we have 6 posts or 6000 posts on here.

I too do not own a single DVD by Les or watch his shows. The acting and the constant sponsor push is just to much for me. There is "B" roll and then there is "B-S" roll. B roll should be short cut aways (ie: deer coming to a stand, magpie flying in, storm moving in, crossing a fence, exiting a vehicle, decoy falling over in the wind, etc) Something that tells a story. Thats the whole point, trying to put people in the moment, like they are with the hunter. "B-S" roll is just that....a bunch of BS. For instance you begin to call a stand with the camera in front of the caller and the next thing you know there is a coyote coming to the call and the camera man is 30 yds behind the guy calling. Thats BS. Im a firm believer in a 2nd angle camera to catch the true reactions of a caller. If he has this 2nd angle camera then he does a dam good job of hiding the camera. And another thing is when he sees the coyote coming in the first thing he does....points to the coyote! Come on we all know he isnt really doing this.

And the sponsor push is just crazy. I know they pay the bills and trust me I know how much money goes into filming and espically having a spot on the Sportsmans Channel or Outdoor Channel. But there are lots and lots of "award" winning hunting shows that dont push that bad. Thats what commericals and credits are for. An occasional shout out is ok and prolly advised by most in the industry. There are several hunting shows that are great shows in actually telling a story, like your in their shoes. Some that come to mind are: Heartland Bowhunter, Eastmans, On Your Own Adventures. And when it comes to the predator hunting industry I think the Predator Pursuit boys do a [beeep] of job on their shows!

Before anybody decides to jump on my back about this post I will say this again. I respect what they do, its alot of work in the field. And 10x times that work sitting behind the computer. But tell the story and only the story. If I want to watch bad acting Ill turn it to NBC and watch Days of Our Lives. Ive never met Les, hopefully some day I do. He is a pioneer in the hunting industry when it comes to Predator Hunting on TV. Im sure he is a good guy and by the looks of it he is an EXCELLENT hunter/caller.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top