As for the killing of creatures for food - it was explained in season 1 that he will not do that to fluffy ones. Those that slither or swim seem to be OK. Strange, aint it?
I remember in season 1 he talked about not liking to kill things. The one we watched last night was the "lost hunter" episode, which I think is season 2, and he and his buddy (first time I'd seen one where he had someone with him) shot a squirrel and what looked like a grouse, so his attitude might have changed.
I was right there with MrsSmith making fun of the raft he built, but he may do that kind of stuff to do a visual demo of what doesn't work. He's been doing this gig a long time, so when he does stuff like construct a quick, makeshift shelter, then the next morning talks about how cold he got and that the shelter was inadequate, and then enhances the shelter, that looks to me more like demonstrating to the viewer how to fix a mistake rather than him making the same mistake over and over.
I will say there's no excuse for the way he cooks some of his game. If you have a fire going, at least put the thing on a proper spit and cook it instead of burning it. :)
The hunter episode showed his buddy fishing in a lake with a hook, line and bait. They didn't catch anything all day. Been there, done that. Having fishing supplies doesn't mean you're going to catch something.
The hunter episode also showed Canadian SAR trying to find him (looked like they used the episode as a training opportunity for the SAR team). They talked about how the SAR team was right on their trail in the thick forest they were in, and if they would have hunkered down and waited, the SAR team would have caught up with them. Instead, they went looking for open ground so they could signal SAR. I might have done the latter myself depending on the situation. Can't signal a helo if you have a thick canopy above you. One might have argued that they should have stayed at the first lake where they were fishing, but they also talked about how many hunters that are picked up by SAR won't admit that they were lost, so the continued walking might again have been a "realistic" scenario for the SAR team.
As others have said, he may not be Mr. Survivor, but I like his show for realism much more than Grylls or stuff like "Man, Woman, Wild". That said, as far as survival shows go, I probably like "Dual Survival" the best. Though they sometimes put themselves in risky situations as well (though nowhere near what old Bear does / did), they do some pretty innovative stuff (like their space blanket and visquine shelter in their very first episode).
Les still gets major kudos for "going it alone" and leaving the support team far away.
