It's not like this is new news or anything and i'm not the first to discover it but:

Do any of you watch hunting shows or shooting shows that come on either cable or tv? Do you guys ever notice that almost everything they shoot, or the equipment they use is, or hunting SAFARI'S that they go on is VERY EXPENSIVE. I was watching Shooting USA last night with JIM SCOUTEN and he brought up HEARING PROTECTION. He 1st showed a pair of regular Ear Muffs that cost 16 dollars. And i was like "cool". Then he show another alternative which looked like hearing aides. One went IN the ear and the other went AROUND the ear then in it. No big deal at first. He then went on to describe all the features and then tell you how many Decibels it decreased sound to and BLAH BLAH BLAH. Now, here comes what everybody wants to know. He then sais that these devices were sold SEPARATELY. And i'm like, "OHHH COME ON BUDDY, HOW MUCH ARE THEY?". He said they were OVER 500 dollars APIECE!! I could not believe that. 1000 dollars for a pair!! That's just ridiculous!

And it's not just that show or any one show, it seems to be alot of them. The guns and gear that they show just seems to be very expensive for the ordinary working JOE. Now, don't get me wrong, we own some very EXPENSIVE airguns and some of us have very expensive airguns with very expensive scopes and very expensive air compressors and so one. I get it. I do. But i guess part of my gripe is that we are supposed to be in somewhat of a RECESSION i thought but prices seems to keep going up. How when so many people aren't working. I THOUGHT. But i watch alot of those programs and it just seems that everything they shoot and all the gear that goes along with it is, VERY EXPENSIVE. And yes, I KNOW that they are sponsored.

$1000 for hearing protection when the $14 (on sale) electronic ear cups I got from midway work great? Yeah, I was feeling silly about good scopes but this is CRAZY! Reall, if the sound canceling cups were not good enough a little foamy plug added in would still save enough to get a Zeiss scope (on sale)!

Yeah, it's amazing what they will put on tv to sell to the public. All it takes is someone to say, "if you advertise my EXPENSIVE PRODUCT, i will give you (the host) a pair for FREE). And it's ON AIR.

I think you're on to something! If those manufacturers really want good, long lasting exposure...they ought to give US free samples! Heck, we'll actually go shooting with it and post pictures and videos that stay on the net for other customers to see. Some folks will buy the stuff just because they need to be prepared for that day when they will have everything ready to go shoot.

I guess we'll have to stop talking about crazy prices though...

My thoughts; for what they are worth.

It's because you aren't watching a show about shooting, or about hunting. You are watching a show about making a "SHOW" about shooting and hunting. It's always the same type of people. People who "network" with other people like them. It's ALL about the product placement. Because it's their job. The sponsors pay. They'd make the game animals pay to be on TV if they could. Hunting is just the frame around the whole thing. They film each other's kids hunting (in sponsor clothing, carrying sponsor products, on the sponsor property, with guest appearances from other shows like theirs). It's the same five people and their network. It's the network executive, who's never hunted before - on his first Safari to Africa. (Gag me Smilie goes here). It's their career to make "shows", and ... what do you know ... here comes little "Bubba Junior" on his first deer hunt. He lines up on a 14 point 230 pound buck thru his Zeiss scope ....

It's all canned, and prepared. Product, product, product. They know what they have to sell, to stay on the air. They're not gonna do that showing Walmart stuff.

Gary

LOL....GB, i could not have said it better at all. You hit the nail right on the hea with that one.

I'm even starting to see that happen on another air gun (big bore) forum. It's the same 3-5 guys who are all networking with one another to sell products and now that they SELL something, they are now appearing on air gun tv shows. Don't get me wrong, it's not jealousy, its simply pointing out how ODDLY the industry does business.

But yeah, it's nothing like turning on one of those hunting shows and little Bobby who is 9 yrs old and is related to the host, takes his first grizzly bear in Alaska with his very own Ruger No1 in .375 H&H magnum topped off with a SWAROVSKI scope. Like come on guys, what dad is gonna buy a 9 yr old his own $4,000 set up? And of course the commercial comes on it sais, "this show brought to you by SWAROVSKI optics....ACCEPT NOTHING LESS THAN THE BEST", and "RUGER FIRE ARMS, when one shot is all you got"....lol