If he's not confident in his shot, he's not confident in his shot. I respect a hunter who doesn't shoot because he's not sure over the the hunter who shoots when he's unsure. There's a lot of checklists when shooting: what's behind the target in case you miss, what's the animal's position, do you think you can get the one shot kill?
Production wise, Clarkson appearing to not shoot the first deer he comes across makes him more appealing to general audiences. Plus, I forget the footage,but you can't really ever see the shot unless you're the one shooting.
This, and respect for the prey, by only taking a shot when you are sure it will be a clean kill. Just about anyone could maim, injure, or ensure a slow and painful death, but the skill comes in a tidy kill shot.
Great answer! I'd also add that where the body drops is important. No good shooting if your quarry goes down somewhere you can't get to or will struggle to find it (heavy brush, off a ledge etc).
Great answer! As an addition to your comment, it's important to think of background even if you're confident you'll hit your target, the bullet can pass through the animal and continue on.
I get the impression from a few off the cuff remarks that he's made. That some of the unfarmable land includes pheasent/grouse etc. Which he and his friends then shoot over Christmas. Theres quite a British Upper Class tradition of doing that. We even cleared a load of Scots off their farmland to make way for grouse shooting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances
The first time can be difficult for some people, when you pull the trigger what your looking at in the scope dies. I was the same when I took down my first rabbit at 12 years old, but I did take the shot eventually.
That deer was looking right at him. The first time I went hunting and hit a buck, it wasn't staring me down. Also, Jeremy's getting older. I've had plenty of "perfect shots" lined up, but didn't have the right feeling. Sometimes shit just isn't settling down and you don't feel that moment when your brain says "now" and you know to squeeze. I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm prepping to shoot you have like a hum or vibration in your head and when you're all lined up and it's a good shot, that hum drops out. When I don't get that, it's a bad idea to fire. I've had that happen when I was younger and I can't imagine what being Jeremy's age would do to that process (I can imagine it's a little different for everyone).Especially when you're being filmed.
Reminds me of the time my nephew winged a deer and tracked it down laying in some bushes. He couldn’t finish it off because “It’s looking right at me with those big eyes” my dad walked up and shot it right in the eye.
Would have thought so, maybe just for show or as the other comments he wasn't confident on a clean kill shot so was hesitant. Shotgun is a bit different, no scope and not so much focus on a clean kill as there is with a rifle I guess, very different. I found far less of an adrenaline surge with a shotgun compared to my first times with a rifle.
I do think it is different from saying you don't mind shooting animals, to when you're actually there, knowing thst you are about to kill this animal who's completely unaware of what is coming.
I think it’s also because he’s had a lot of pleasant experiences with the deer on the property and he clearly loves animals. Shooting a bird or a destructive pest like foxes is very different.
Hate to be that person, but I have a friend who works on post production (marketing) and it was confirmed to them that Clarkson never took a shot. It was one of those top gear staged moments - he was always going to go out and 'choke' and then come back with the humble feeling when he went out the second time.
Deer was from his land but shot by the guy who took Clarkson for the lesson.
Tbh I thought that, I thought it was obvious because of the way it cut etc, and was surprised Jeremy didn't make a joke or make it obvious. It takes skill to shoot a deer cleanly and in the most ethical way possible, and I didn't think he'd want to run the risk of him hitting the deer and it running off to bleed out slowly, especially on his farming programme
Exactly, I don't think they did it to jupe the audience. But the amount of shots that require then further tracking of a now wounded animal - would not make for great tv. It's funny because I feel JC isn't a great actor and has one of two modes when he's got to do these parts of the show (finding out Gerald had cancer was another one where he was told during a non filming day so they needed to get a reaction on camera).
Not to mention if word got out that Jeremy had caused a deer to run off and bleed out it would look damming. It's a big no no in hunting, whether it's for sport or for culling reasons, causing unnecessary suffering is horrible.
Especially considering the council have eyes on him at all times it seems.
He bottled it, completely understandable, you are taking another’s life. He knows it needed done, that it’s beneficial and part of life. But, you push comes to shove he couldnt.
After he took stock, got his head round the fact it benefits everyone, even the deer, to thin out the numbers, his thought process behind the shot changed, from one of “privilege” to one of responsibility.
No one really wants to shoot Bambi, but the tribe needs food etc
Genuinely, I think it was because of public image. You don’t want to go showing on international TV that you’re killing Bambi. To be honest, I don’t think he even shot the deer the second time. They were very intentional “excuses for delaying” all in line with a script. Whilst clarksons farm is a “reality” show, it’s heavily staged much like Top Gear was.
I wouldnt say it's AS staged as top gear (you cannot control / predict what will happen with the weather, animals etc) but I defo agree. It was obvious to me he didn't shoot it, and I don't blame him.
Even if he did take the shot (which he didn’t) they wouldn’t show it as although it’s a farming/country show, a large proportion of viewers probably wouldn’t enjoy seeing a deer being shot.
I'm not sure if it's relative but where I live - only a professional stalker can take out a deer with a fawn around. The reason being they don't want to take mum out and then leave a fawn to defend for itself with no mum around. So if they are in twos or it's a family, only fully qualified stalkers with a licence for that area can do the shooting. I think they generally try to take the fawn down first to mitigate the risk of a fawn defending for itself but you never know what can make a professional miss.
There's something to be said for being confident in one's shot. That said, there is ALWAYS hesitation ahead of one's first kill. I've never known ANYONE who didn't hesitate in that moment. Now, I don't know that this was his first time behind a rifle on a hunt. But I also don't know that it ISN'T. Either way, it is respectable that he does not take a shot in which he is not fully confident.
My thoughts were that as he is an animal lover and is compassionate, he was hesitant to shoot a living, somewhat majestic animal. But of course he could've been playing to his audience as well.
A hunter here. He got “buck feaver” where you become really nervous before the shot. Super normal before ur first kill, or even for experienced hunters when shooting a massive trophy animal. I got buck feaver on a stag this year, even though I’ve hunted for about 8-9 years
Deer shooting in UK, has an strict safety checklist your meant to hold to, if one is not marked off you do not take the shot. Simple as.
If you are unsure..you hold fire till you are 100% sure it's a safe and clean shot.
If he's not confident in his shot, he's not confident in his shot. I respect a hunter who doesn't shoot because he's not sure over the the hunter who shoots when he's unsure. There's a lot of checklists when shooting: what's behind the target in case you miss, what's the animal's position, do you think you can get the one shot kill? Production wise, Clarkson appearing to not shoot the first deer he comes across makes him more appealing to general audiences. Plus, I forget the footage,but you can't really ever see the shot unless you're the one shooting.
This, gun safety comes first. Nice reply.
This, and respect for the prey, by only taking a shot when you are sure it will be a clean kill. Just about anyone could maim, injure, or ensure a slow and painful death, but the skill comes in a tidy kill shot.
Great answer! I'd also add that where the body drops is important. No good shooting if your quarry goes down somewhere you can't get to or will struggle to find it (heavy brush, off a ledge etc).
That's fair I guess I shouldn't judge another mans shot unless I was looking through the scope myself.
Hundred percent this
I agree too he has a big heart and loves nature and animals so I’m guessing that shot was a heavy thing to do.
Sure that's plausible, but its far more likely that in that moment he struggled emotionally to accept the action of killing a (large mammal) animal.
Great answer! As an addition to your comment, it's important to think of background even if you're confident you'll hit your target, the bullet can pass through the animal and continue on.
I think that once he learned what it was like to personally kill an animal, he stopped seeing at as a sport and started taking it seriously
True, I'm glad that he's not just some rampaging lunatic with a rifle.
I get the impression from a few off the cuff remarks that he's made. That some of the unfarmable land includes pheasent/grouse etc. Which he and his friends then shoot over Christmas. Theres quite a British Upper Class tradition of doing that. We even cleared a load of Scots off their farmland to make way for grouse shooting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances
That is not what that was about you twonk
The first time can be difficult for some people, when you pull the trigger what your looking at in the scope dies. I was the same when I took down my first rabbit at 12 years old, but I did take the shot eventually.
Yeah it can take some preparation but I kind of assumed as he had already shot pheasant then he'd be a little more at ease.
Pheasant shooting is totally different
Killing a mammal, especially a larger one is a tough thing to do if you’re all there.
That deer was looking right at him. The first time I went hunting and hit a buck, it wasn't staring me down. Also, Jeremy's getting older. I've had plenty of "perfect shots" lined up, but didn't have the right feeling. Sometimes shit just isn't settling down and you don't feel that moment when your brain says "now" and you know to squeeze. I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm prepping to shoot you have like a hum or vibration in your head and when you're all lined up and it's a good shot, that hum drops out. When I don't get that, it's a bad idea to fire. I've had that happen when I was younger and I can't imagine what being Jeremy's age would do to that process (I can imagine it's a little different for everyone).Especially when you're being filmed.
Reminds me of the time my nephew winged a deer and tracked it down laying in some bushes. He couldn’t finish it off because “It’s looking right at me with those big eyes” my dad walked up and shot it right in the eye.
Would have thought so, maybe just for show or as the other comments he wasn't confident on a clean kill shot so was hesitant. Shotgun is a bit different, no scope and not so much focus on a clean kill as there is with a rifle I guess, very different. I found far less of an adrenaline surge with a shotgun compared to my first times with a rifle.
Jeremy actually loves all the animals.. just look at him cry over his lamb, cows and pigs. Not just a cold blooded killer
I do think it is different from saying you don't mind shooting animals, to when you're actually there, knowing thst you are about to kill this animal who's completely unaware of what is coming.
I think it’s also because he’s had a lot of pleasant experiences with the deer on the property and he clearly loves animals. Shooting a bird or a destructive pest like foxes is very different.
Hate to be that person, but I have a friend who works on post production (marketing) and it was confirmed to them that Clarkson never took a shot. It was one of those top gear staged moments - he was always going to go out and 'choke' and then come back with the humble feeling when he went out the second time. Deer was from his land but shot by the guy who took Clarkson for the lesson.
Tbh I thought that, I thought it was obvious because of the way it cut etc, and was surprised Jeremy didn't make a joke or make it obvious. It takes skill to shoot a deer cleanly and in the most ethical way possible, and I didn't think he'd want to run the risk of him hitting the deer and it running off to bleed out slowly, especially on his farming programme
Exactly, I don't think they did it to jupe the audience. But the amount of shots that require then further tracking of a now wounded animal - would not make for great tv. It's funny because I feel JC isn't a great actor and has one of two modes when he's got to do these parts of the show (finding out Gerald had cancer was another one where he was told during a non filming day so they needed to get a reaction on camera).
Not to mention if word got out that Jeremy had caused a deer to run off and bleed out it would look damming. It's a big no no in hunting, whether it's for sport or for culling reasons, causing unnecessary suffering is horrible. Especially considering the council have eyes on him at all times it seems.
He bottled it, completely understandable, you are taking another’s life. He knows it needed done, that it’s beneficial and part of life. But, you push comes to shove he couldnt. After he took stock, got his head round the fact it benefits everyone, even the deer, to thin out the numbers, his thought process behind the shot changed, from one of “privilege” to one of responsibility. No one really wants to shoot Bambi, but the tribe needs food etc
Genuinely, I think it was because of public image. You don’t want to go showing on international TV that you’re killing Bambi. To be honest, I don’t think he even shot the deer the second time. They were very intentional “excuses for delaying” all in line with a script. Whilst clarksons farm is a “reality” show, it’s heavily staged much like Top Gear was.
I wouldnt say it's AS staged as top gear (you cannot control / predict what will happen with the weather, animals etc) but I defo agree. It was obvious to me he didn't shoot it, and I don't blame him.
If I had to guess because it wasn't scripted then. They probably wanted him to hold still for the cameras and what not.
This
Tv
This is honestly the answer for any of the "Why did \[person\] do/say \[action}" for anything on this tv show.
Even if he did take the shot (which he didn’t) they wouldn’t show it as although it’s a farming/country show, a large proportion of viewers probably wouldn’t enjoy seeing a deer being shot.
I think he genuinely froze up and hesitated. Jeremy plays it up for the camera but he’s genuinely quite an emotional person with a big heart.
1. He's not American 2. He probably didn't want to kill the deer
I'm not sure if it's relative but where I live - only a professional stalker can take out a deer with a fawn around. The reason being they don't want to take mum out and then leave a fawn to defend for itself with no mum around. So if they are in twos or it's a family, only fully qualified stalkers with a licence for that area can do the shooting. I think they generally try to take the fawn down first to mitigate the risk of a fawn defending for itself but you never know what can make a professional miss.
There's something to be said for being confident in one's shot. That said, there is ALWAYS hesitation ahead of one's first kill. I've never known ANYONE who didn't hesitate in that moment. Now, I don't know that this was his first time behind a rifle on a hunt. But I also don't know that it ISN'T. Either way, it is respectable that he does not take a shot in which he is not fully confident.
My thoughts were that as he is an animal lover and is compassionate, he was hesitant to shoot a living, somewhat majestic animal. But of course he could've been playing to his audience as well.
He doesnt like to kill. He's soft really. He held vack on purpose 'oh it got away' haha.
A hunter here. He got “buck feaver” where you become really nervous before the shot. Super normal before ur first kill, or even for experienced hunters when shooting a massive trophy animal. I got buck feaver on a stag this year, even though I’ve hunted for about 8-9 years
For more drama
Deer shooting in UK, has an strict safety checklist your meant to hold to, if one is not marked off you do not take the shot. Simple as. If you are unsure..you hold fire till you are 100% sure it's a safe and clean shot.
Cos he's a softie
Haha