I have met him, and I know a few others who know him much better and have been involved in his programmes over the years. He's a businessman at the end of the day. He's made a very nice living out of a niche that follows some of the latest trends but I do tend to agree, he is rooted in the same earth as most of us (even if he's crap with a rifle). I think some of the people that he's worked with over the years perhaps feel somewhat aggrieved when he moves on to the next thing and they are forgotten about - but that's a bit naive on their part - whether he is "using them" or just being a "friend" temporarily, this is all a business to him and I can't blame him for that.
As an aside, it is reputed that another well known (although less prominent these days) journalist with whom he has collaborated extensively over the years (and who has written for the shooting press) got into a bit of hot water quite a few years back when the local constabulary did a routine of check of his safe and pulled out a fully loaded .243!
