Just turned it on

 

Them guys are the real deal unlike most of the other yuppie hosts/ personalities. Rinella won my respect when he debated an anti at a book signing plus makes some great hunting gear/ products. Good dude to have in our corner for sure.

 

He is one of the good ones. I wish he would return for another flintlock hunt. He came close the first time but no dice.

 

He was hunting near my camp. Footage along the road was in Karthus.

 

I watched it and he's one of the few I like as well.Still,taking getting a FL lesson and a few shots from a bench and then heading out with a flintlock to shoot at live targets is dicey at best when it come to ethics.

 

he is one that i can watch an episode without swearing SOMETIMES

 

Admittedly, I was horrible when I started to flintlock hunt. I have been getting better every year. I now have good confidence in my shooting ability.

 

Back 25+ years ago,I missed most of archery and rifle season because I was away for work.It had been a few years since I hunted with a flintlock so I dusted it off and went to the range.I put a one gallon paint can about 40 yards and missed it every time.I went back out with a shooting stick and did better,but still pretty bad.I went out with my brother and a few of his buddies that year.The very first drive a buck and several doe came right up to me.I had a perfectly broaside shot at the buck at less than 25 yards.When the smoke cleared,he was on the ground twitching.I thought,must just be a better shot shooting at game.When I walked up to the buck,I saw that I drilled him right in th head.It wouldn't have been a bad shot had I not been aiming behind his shoulder.I put it away for several years because I had no business shooting at live animals with it.Later,I dedicated an entire summer and fall to it and got it figured out.I still won't shoot more than 50-60 yards with it.

 

I retired mine about 10 years ago. I killed one that last season, after a dozen misses.

 

After I got my confidence back I took the week between Christmas and New years to hunt with my BIL and his family.There were a lot of deer and a lot of shooting but only one dead one.I would say at least 6-8 shots were taken every day,some days more.I saw plenty of deer but never fired a shot,which whizzed a few of them off.I still wonder how many were winged that week.

 

Definitely one of his best, most down to earth, hide nothing episodes. I hope he does another flintlock episode. Personally at the end of the show it didn't seem he was all that much into it.

 

why would anyone hate him. his show is awesome and he seems like a great dude true to his sport. the muzzleoader episode was great because it was realistic and it was in pennsylvania. I love meateater its also somehow amazingly made its way onto wokeazz netflix. their website's also is super helpful for like any info that you need hunting, foraging, recipies, etc.

 

why would anyone hate him.

He ruined Sika hunting for a lot of people.

 

I watch Meateater all the time. He shows the misses and the hits. Doesn’t hide his failures and admits them. Some of my favorites are the shows from his Alaska fish camp.

 

I like his show, good, bad or indifferent he's honest about it. Not a trophy hunter, just hunts.

 

Heard of him but never saw the show, I'm too cheap to pay to watch tv.

 

Tons of episodes on his Youtube channel for free.

 

Anybody read any of his books? Good reads! He has some funny stories of growing up hunting with his brothers and dad.

 

I have American Buffalo

 

He ruined Sika hunting for a lot of people.

How so?

By doing a show hunting Sika in MD. Popularity exploded. I had trouble even booking a Sika hunt last year and then I went and blew out my knee prior to the hunt

Just one example but he blew up the very unknown resource of Sika hunting to appease his sponsors. The vast majority of American hunters had no idea that opportunity existed.

OK, got it.

Hard for me to relate. I figure any serious deer hunter educates himself to the various opportunities in the entire country, I know I always did. I was doing DIY southern eastern shore hunts in the early 1980's before deer TV was a thing. Also, guess I'm more of a share my spots guy than a hide my spots guy, so...

 

I understand, we’re all different.

There are a lot of niche opportunities across this country that neither you or I will ever know about. The people that enjoy them most likely wanna keep them quiet for good reason.

Every great public accessible hunting and fishing spot is great for one reason, lack of pressure. When someone exploits a location for their own self promotion, I think they suck.

When you were heavy into hunting, did you share all your public land spots with strangers? I guarantee Steven Rinella will never promote or share the locations of his favorite public hunting spots. I share lots of info with a few close friends who respect the hunting code when it comes to sharing spots.

 

I never hunted Sika deer but knew about them and hunting opportunities for them in Maryland in the late 80s and early 90s.

 

He ruined Sika hunting for a lot of people.

not that that would bother me at all. but what wld be the reasoning for that. he mainly uses first lite and vortex gear.

I just realized this said sika not sitka, to each his own but still dont get why a TV show would affect someone's personal hobbies

 

Sika hunting is not a secret to those that can afford to make a trip there to do it. I am quite sure Maryland hunters are also familiar with Sika deer hunting opportunities.

 

I knew about hunting the eastern shore for sika back in the late 70's while at college in MD. Its no secret to many....never has been.

 

With 100,000 people per year going through the Outfitters room at the Harrisburg Outdoor Show, who doesn't know that Md has Sika deer and that they are hunt-able?
I noticed the mounts and booths and grabbed brochures in the early 1980s when I was in Jr High.

 

Ritz was the CEO of Game Trails, a commercial hunting preserve. Game Trails was fined $50,000 (one of the largest wildlife penalties in state history) for numerous misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act and for making false statements to Kentucky officers.

Apr 03, 2009

Frankfort, Ky. "“ A Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources deer biologist who noticed discrepancies while analyzing 2006 hunter deer harvest data triggered an 18-month long state and federal law enforcement investigation that produced one of the largest wildlife penalties in state history last month in United States District Court, Owensboro.

Game Trails, a more than 12,000-acre Limited Liability Corporation commercial hunting preserve in Union and Crittenden counties, controlled by sole proprietor owner and then Thompson/Center Arms President and CEO Gregg Ritz, and its site manager, William Dirk McTavish, Jr., 43, of Paducah, paid $50,000 in fines after pleading guilty to numerous misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act of taking wildlife unlawfully, and for making false statements to Kentucky officers about the takings and interstate transporting of wildlife.

United States Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel ordered that Game Trails LLC, pay a $35,000 fine and McTavish pay a $15,000 fine.

Robert Christopher Helms, 40, of Booneville, Indiana, and a former Game Trails guide, faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony count of threatening a federal witness. His sentencing is scheduled for June 11.

Department wildlife and deer biologist David Yancy, in August 2007, noticed numerous inconsistencies while comparing and analyzing 2006 Telecheck deer harvest data with data that Game Trails LLC supplied to Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) in Georgia.

Yancy and department Private Lands Wildlife Biologist Phillip Sharp raised these irregularities with Union County conservation officer Lt. Greg Noel. Noel, already familiar with Game Trails and the property, enlisted the help of Crittenden County officer Randy Conway. They began the lengthy process of reconciling the Telechecked deer harvest reports of Game Trails clients with information from QDMA.

Their investigation turned up numerous instances of Game Trails employees, their friends and family chronically taking over-limits of deer, outside hunting season parameters, supplying false information to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and using social security numbers of Game Trails clients without their permission to Telecheck their deer harvests.

State and federal officers seized hundreds of deer jawbones and documentation tying them to Game Trails from QDMA headquarters in Atlanta during the investigation. By sending the jawbones to another state, Game Trails was guilty of transporting illegally taken deer out of state and triggered the Lacey Act violations.

Concluding an investigation by a Missouri wildlife officer, Ritz was charged with two misdemeanors: illegally killing a deer over bait and wonton waste. (Case numbers 460150 and 460149) Hunting over bait is not legal in Missouri and wasting harvested game is not legal in any state. He has had run ins with the DNR in Ohio and Kentucky for game violations also. Not the great hunter he claims to be

 

Ritz was the CEO of Game Trails, a commercial hunting preserve. Game Trails was fined $50,000 (one of the largest wildlife penalties in state history) for numerous misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act and for making false statements to Kentucky officers.

Apr 03, 2009

Frankfort, Ky. "“ A Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources deer biologist who noticed discrepancies while analyzing 2006 hunter deer harvest data triggered an 18-month long state and federal law enforcement investigation that produced one of the largest wildlife penalties in state history last month in United States District Court, Owensboro.

Game Trails, a more than 12,000-acre Limited Liability Corporation commercial hunting preserve in Union and Crittenden counties, controlled by sole proprietor owner and then Thompson/Center Arms President and CEO Gregg Ritz, and its site manager, William Dirk McTavish, Jr., 43, of Paducah, paid $50,000 in fines after pleading guilty to numerous misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act of taking wildlife unlawfully, and for making false statements to Kentucky officers about the takings and interstate transporting of wildlife.

United States Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel ordered that Game Trails LLC, pay a $35,000 fine and McTavish pay a $15,000 fine.

Robert Christopher Helms, 40, of Booneville, Indiana, and a former Game Trails guide, faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony count of threatening a federal witness. His sentencing is scheduled for June 11.

Department wildlife and deer biologist David Yancy, in August 2007, noticed numerous inconsistencies while comparing and analyzing 2006 Telecheck deer harvest data with data that Game Trails LLC supplied to Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) in Georgia.

Yancy and department Private Lands Wildlife Biologist Phillip Sharp raised these irregularities with Union County conservation officer Lt. Greg Noel. Noel, already familiar with Game Trails and the property, enlisted the help of Crittenden County officer Randy Conway. They began the lengthy process of reconciling the Telechecked deer harvest reports of Game Trails clients with information from QDMA.

Their investigation turned up numerous instances of Game Trails employees, their friends and family chronically taking over-limits of deer, outside hunting season parameters, supplying false information to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and using social security numbers of Game Trails clients without their permission to Telecheck their deer harvests.

State and federal officers seized hundreds of deer jawbones and documentation tying them to Game Trails from QDMA headquarters in Atlanta during the investigation. By sending the jawbones to another state, Game Trails was guilty of transporting illegally taken deer out of state and triggered the Lacey Act violations.

Concluding an investigation by a Missouri wildlife officer, Ritz was charged with two misdemeanors: illegally killing a deer over bait and wonton waste. (Case numbers 460150 and 460149) Hunting over bait is not legal in Missouri and wasting harvested game is not legal in any state. He has had run ins with the DNR in Ohio and Kentucky for game violations also. Not the great hunter he claims to be

does this guy have anything to do with meateater? as far as I know hes never had any involvement and even on Google searching it nothing pops up.

 

Sounds like RITZ is a walking citation looking to get rich filming illegal activities as to hunting..LOCK HIM UP!!!!!!!

 

The show is on again at 8:00 on the outdoor channel.

 

I watch all of it on prime or Netflix I love his show.

 

Outdoor channel Meateater starting at 1900 till 2300.

Thats 7pm to 11pm for all you nasty civilians!