TOPIC: Watched American Outlaw? Your thoughts?

I'll post mine after watching tonight...

So, I'm watching this right now. It's about 45 min.s into the show.

So far, the only character I identify with is a grower... And he's setting makeshift land mines out of altered shotgun shells.... To protect the families 'sang from poachers.

Hmmm.....

How did he make those shotgun shell mines? I want some.

Well Guys,
I just finished watching the show and a lot of it was what I experienced during the digging season. Car after car coming in from North Carolina and letting some guy out to disappear into some hollow or trail and be picked up in the evening by a girl friend to carry a sack full out. They went straight to a buyer and sold. They did not have permits and keep doing it until the plants go down.
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There is nothing about this show that can be good for growers.

Hugh

When the first guy didn,t know doll,s eye from black cohosh I thought here we go and I wasn,t disapointed. I never once felt any realism 550 a pound for fresh ginseng in west virgina the first week of season indeed I would love to here from anyone who got that price from the buyers on the show if they are indeed real dealers. after 32 years digging herbs this show made me sick at my stomach yes ive had enough close calls to fill a book but anyone acting like these fellows would probally run into a tree and break their own neck. Still having said this I will watch again if nothing else to laugh at such stupidity.

Wow Hugh that stinks that these poachers can come in and dig all day then go straight to a buyer willing to buy without all the proper papers being signed etc.

Leebros, I am glad you posted that about the dude calling Doll's Eye (White Baneberry) the wrong plant ID and calling it black cohosh. Not one of us on this forum would make that mistake. So that shows to me these fellas don't know their \"a hole\" from a hole in the ground.
Too funny and sad all in the same.

I bet these knuckle heads got paid darn near nothing to show how dumb they are on national TV.

And yes I couldn't believe it when they tried to say that one fella was paying $550 a pound for fresh seng. What a crock of BS.

PS. I wonder how much Sarsaparilla these guys have dug in their life thinking it was ginseng, lol
Latt

To use a term... \"It's all Hollywood.\"

I don't know how to get a TV Network to do better fact-checking. Wish I did.
I watched this last night ... was going to watch it with an open mind, or attempt to do so. That failed about 10 mins into the show.

So, there's this guy from Georgia, who's whole family depends on him to have an income from illegally gotton gains. He's willing to risk it all -family, raising kids, jailtime, bodily injury- to go steal 'sang from not only his state, but out-of-state as well.

Then there's the dealers. As we have touched on on other posts, there's little accountability as to source documentation, and in-state residency. To be objective, the show did not show the whole process of how the dealer bought the roots from people. They may have glossed over that, however my point remains. And the pricing? I'd like to get that price for wet root when the time comes, however I doubt that will happen. The non-purchase of a digger's root because it was after closing time seemed to be dirty trick.

I like the grower, seemed genuinely concerned about his crop, land, poachers. I really can't fault him much. However I truely hope that he mapped his landmines that he put out so he doen't step on one accidently. The show didn't address the inherant liablilty he incurrs if someone were to take him to court for injuries.

Just my 5 cents worth....

With an active interest in ginseng, I really tried to watch the show, but I became bored and quickly fell asleep. Overall, I think that this show has been scripted and produced so poorly that I'm sure it will be cancelled soon. They failed at their chance to produce a modern, informative documentary.

Very well said max, I watched the show and thought it was pretty entertaining. I do think it was very staged just like moonshiners except with ginseng. I do not agree with hunting ginseng on federally protected areas such as national parks etc. It worries me just a bit how they are showing how profitable ginseng is getting. I think it will only breed more trespassing on federal and private property. I'm all for a man trying to make some extra cash if it's done legally and respectfully. Over all it was a good show but I think it was a bit juiced up for the entertaining aspect.

I've said it before, I don't think any publicity is good. The more numbers like $500 per pound get out to the general public, the more it invites \"get rich quick\" people to give it a try. The more out there, the more chance of dirtbags like in the show raping and pillaging. The more root flooding the market, the lower the price!
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