An interesting opinion on social media impact on hunting

[Howboutthemdawgs]

The problem isn’t the number of hunters…it’s the number of hunters related to amount of land. Land is disappearing at a staggering rate. There is simply not enough available land. That is the basis for overcrowding being an issue nowadays. And then you throw in a bunch of bro hunters who do everything for likes and YouTube views it’s a gross combo.

 

[Tree Spud]

I think he is a man coming to terms with the monster he helped to create.

How does he handle the dilemma of social media? By creating an opposite view just to gain attention and his own followers. Then coat tailing on his brothers success (think SEO optimization) to promote his most noble cause. Why bring his brother into this and not mention others by name? Because maybe he can't stand on his own and is afraid of being unfollowed?

While his article had some good points, and yes social media can be a swamp of egos, much of it comes across as ... "I'm better than you because I am the enlightened one" ...

 

[Tree Spud]

That is a great article. Very true.
To say he is jealous of his brother is disingenuous at best, and possibly illustrates some of what he wrote about.
I think he is 100% correct. Ive seen it for years. Hunters only hunting so they can show what they killed . Hunters always wanting to kill more so they can prove what a great hunter they are.
For myself, this site is the closest i get to social media, i dont tweet, i dont Instagram or Facebook or any of those . I very rarely even post kill picks via text, unless its my kids. I dont watch many hunting shows regularly, though i do watch meateater because I do think thats a good show, that shows all sides of hunting and is brutally honest with all.
Hunting and fishing has become nothing more than a swinging dick competition.

If he is not jealous of his brother, why did he even bring him up? There are plenty of other big name celebrity hunters he could've brought up.

He is clearly obsessed with his brother and his success ... textbook case of jealousy

 

[Bill Loser]

If he is not jealous of his brother, why did he even bring him up? There are plenty of other big name celebrity hunters he could've brought up.

He is clearly obsessed with his brother and his success ... textbook case of jealousy

Maybe brought him up simply because of the same last names?
He is clearly obsessed with his brother, yes.
Lol

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Something that was mentioned in the article that works for and against his argument was that data for tracking hunter recruitment, success, and overall activity is not well documented. I personally fit into the category of someone who hunts both in and out of state on public land, and have only been doing this on public land for two years. There seems to be a lot of people like me, and I suspect we were all similarly encouraged by the success of people like the Hunting Public on out of state public land hunts. In other words, social media has helped myself get out and use the land I had been paying for, and I'm sure I'm not alone. The people who have been bowhunting public land for decades that are complaining about this influx of hunters on that land didn't realize how good they had it. The people that transitioned from hunting shared private land to hunting public land are really missed in the data set we have so far.

Social media is a plague for pretty much every industry and society in general. Believe it or not but this site is also a form of social media. Humans aren't adapted to be in communication with this many people. Our tribes were never this large. I think we are all still learning how to use this tool. But I'm glad that this is being talked about.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

This isn't "social media" as most would describe it - it was only TV - but I recently saw about 5 minutes of a show on the Outdoor channel while channel surfing. It was Roger Raglin, I believe, and he was aiming at something out of a ground blind. I figured it was a buck, so I stuck around to watch the shot. He was putting his crosshairs on a squirrel ........ and the worst part was, he waited until the squirrel was "sitting up" on its hind feet eating a nut in its front paws. (the 'cute" type of pose most non-hunters love). Squirrel eating ........ squirrel blown away by the shot, twitching on the ground in its death throes.

Now I'm sure most of us here get it - but to the non-hunting public (which is ENORMOUSLY BIGGER than the hunting community) - that had to be appalling and grotesque. Maybe we outdoorsmen and women ought to police what gets tossed out into the media for ammo against what has always been part of human nature for eons ...... hunting. While most hunters are honorable and law-abiding, with no "bloodlust and gore" hunger - the few bad apples and some poorly thought-out broadcasts can corrode what slight tolerance the public has for hunters these days. Nothing against Raglin - but blowing away a squirrel sitting up eating a nut, and then filming the twitching, was carpet-bombing our image to the non-hunting public. T...H...I...N...K before acting / broadcasting. Hunters aren't the only ones watching shows like that.

 

[bueller]

I used to get and share lots of information on various local fishing/hunting forums. Over the past few years the local reports have essentially become non-existent and several of the forums have actually shut down. We helped out countless new outdoorsmen, young and old, in these forums. I assume IF the reports are still out there they are on Facebook, etc. I haven't advanced with the times in that matter and have no plans to but I definitely miss the sharing of local information. A glory pic with no "story" doesn't help out the new guy or girl much.

Sadly though forums like this one are a thing of the past. At this point I just hope there are enough odd balls like myself set in their old ways to keep the content here interesting.

 

[hillrunner]

If he is not jealous of his brother, why did he even bring him up? There are plenty of other big name celebrity hunters he could've brought up.

He is clearly obsessed with his brother and his success ... textbook case of jealousy

It would have been pretty odd for him to not mention his brother, kind of an elephant in the room kind of thing. I haven't listened to it yet but I'm looking forward to the podcast they did together that dropped last week.
I've heard Steve mention his brother's opinion on what he does before. I don't think there is any bad blood at all.

 

[ghilliehunter]

As for looking at hunting pics, I really enjoy the Successful Hunts and TrailCam Pics posts on Habitat Talk.

 

[Bill Loser]

As for looking at hunting pics, I really enjoy the Successful Hunts and TrailCam Pics posts on Habitat Talk.

Its easy here. We are all "into" the pics and stories. We all understand the ups and downs, which is why every game animal taken is considered a trophy.

 

[Native Hunter]

I learned a long time ago that I need to quit worrying about other people's motives for doing things and concentrate on doing what I feel are the right things for my maker, my country, my land and my family. After all, if you read the "Good Book," that's what we are all put here to do for the life we have been given. This forum and another similar forum are the only forms of social media that I even use, and I only do that to share information with like-minded people. I must admit, however, that I do get excited at harvesting a mature buck and enjoy posting the pictures and telling the stories to those of you who I know will appreciate it. But, I think that is more from the excitement of seeing a plan come together and seeing at least some reward for a lot of hard work.

I do think that social media for the most part has gone crazy. I can't believe how many people feel that they need to be posting every move in their life on places like Facebook, etc.... I don't need to know every time someone passes gas or scratches their rear end.

Merry Christmas everyone. This is a great forum for the right kind of hunters - and those devoted to improving the land and improving the sport for future generations. Keep up the good work

 

[MRBB]

IMO< a lot of social media adn hunting shows are all about the person , or the products used, and NOT really about the hunting
and IMIO< this is also why so many hunters are not hunting much any more, as well as why the sport isn't thriving as it once did

people today feel if they cannot do something like the popular do, they don;t want to do it!

and the costs to have all the things so many that do hunting videos and hunting shows, prevents many from getting into the sport as they feel its too costly,
as most TV/video's I see, show hunters on prime land with a commercial of products that ain;t cheap!

yes there are a few that are more about the hunt, but far and few IMO are that!
so, for e, social media and Tv shows, are ruining the sport more than there helping it
just like urban expansion, and loss of farm land, and wooded areaa's, them pl;aces t so many of use grew grow up rural,
where we as KIDS typically grew up about the outdoors and as such, grew to a desire to be in the outdoors and hunting was a way to use them for our entertainment,,
these pl;aces are becoming rare and not the norm as few generations ago now,
this is a huge part of lack of new hunters and loosing hunters as there SPOTS are going bye bye at a fast rate, making the sport more for the wealthy, like it or not, thats life!
so, for me, these days,,
a person either has the desire to hunt or they don;'t,!
but social media has a lot of negative to it IMO!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

don't need to know every time someone passes gas or scratches their rear end.

Well there goes MY next post ............

I don't even text, so spacebook, flitter, instascam, pik-pocket and all the other platforms haven't - and won't - see me. Old-fashioned .... would rather TALK on the phone than "thumb - it."

Sorry, Native ......... I have an itch .........

 

[Bill Loser]

I

Well there goes MY next post ............

I don't even text, so spacebook, flitter, instascam, pik-pocket and all the other platforms haven't - and won't - see me. Old-fashioned .... would rather TALK on the phone than "thumb - it."

Sorry, Native ......... I have an itch .........

I text, thats it. Non of the other crap either.
This is the only social media I do.

 

[SwampCat]

I think it is all a perfect storm. The first time I went out of state hunting was in 1969 and I was 14 yrs old. We lived in Minnesota, and had watched an Eastman hunting movie and wanted to mule deer hunt. There werent mule deer in MN, so we went to wyoming. Had there been mule deer in MN, we probably wouldnt have made the trip. Had we not watched the Eastman movie - we wouldnt have gone. That movie was a form of social media

My dad had a good job, but back then, a lot of mothers, mine included, stayed home with the kids. We owned a single vehicle - a station wagon. There wasnt money to be traveling all over the country for hunting trips.

I ended up in Arkansas in 1980 with my young family. There were quail, squirrels, ducks, and turkeys aplenty. Enough deer. I had bird dogs, duck dogs, and rabbit dogs. I didnt have to drive over an hour from the house to experience excellent hunting for a variety of species. Fur prices crashed in the late 80’s and by the early 90’s, quail, rabbits, and turkeys were following suit.

We started going out of state to turkey hunt, because their numbers had dwindled in our own state. We picked areas in adjacent states with the help of where to go articles in outdoor magazines - another form of media. By the late 90’s, I was going out of state a couple times of year to bird hunt - we had an unhuntable population of upland game. And by that time, we were turkey hunting several states. Almost every wife worked. Almost every family was a two car family and some were three car. Most folks I knew had a 4wd truck - almost unheard of in the 60’s. Leasing started big time around my place in the mid to late 90’s, closing down tens of thousands of acres of commercial timberlands, once treated as public land. That meant you had to go farther and wider to find good hunting.

Our ducks ran out about five years ago. Never in my wildest imagination did I think living in Arkansas, I would not have ducks. I go out of state now to duck hunt. As more and more people had more and more expendable income, and were traveling to hunt and fish more, outfitters started leasing large acreages to serve the traveling hunters, and squeezing the locals out. It became a perfect storm - declining wildlife populations, declining land availability, increased expendable income, and now enter what most of us call “social media”.

Personally, I dont believe social media was the cause of the situation, but it definitely exacerbated the situation.

 

[SD51555]

I used to get and share lots of information on various local fishing/hunting forums. Over the past few years the local reports have essentially become non-existent and several of the forums have actually shut down. We helped out countless new outdoorsmen, young and old, in these forums. I assume IF the reports are still out there they are on Facebook, etc. I haven't advanced with the times in that matter and have no plans to but I definitely miss the sharing of local information. A glory pic with no "story" doesn't help out the new guy or girl much.

Sadly though forums like this one are a thing of the past. At this point I just hope there are enough odd balls like myself set in their old ways to keep the content here interesting.

I think these forums will evolve. The concept is still solid, but I think it needs to splinter. With how crazy hunting pressure and land competition is getting, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more forums pop up, get smaller, and be more heavily vetted for membership.

There are too many con men and a$$holes out there using the internet to steal info nowadays. They are certainly stealing all of our work for free, because we give it up.

Nothing against 99% of u guys, but I’d love to be in a group of ten or twelve heavily vetted intense innovators that can share everything without fear of getting squatters or doing the homework for some swindler.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bwoods11]

It’s a real catch 22. We feel the need to recruit more hunters to our sport, but it’s already too crowded the way it is.

In my home state area (MN)—during gun season we counted over 40 hunters in 2 sections of land and half of that is crop land.

Public land is a zoo. There is a open clash between hunters that want to see more mature bucks and those that shoot the first deer they see.

I personally think there’s too many hunters, too many seasons. The odds are stacked, but then again the DNR seems to want them dead anyway ! ‍

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I read the article when it came out and listened to him on the meateater podcast tonight. I think Matt makes a lot of valid points about the negative impacts some influencers have and some of the more perverse motivations. However, I think the elitism (negativity toward private land hunters) and speaking in absolutes dilutes/hurts his message.

The Steve Rinellas and Randy Newbergs of the world are a far cry from the Bowmars, Chris brackets, cam Hanes, Brian calls, etc and we shouldn’t put them all in the same bucket.

It’s a good conversation to have and I hope if nothing else it causes more “influencers” to reflect on the motivations behind what they post.

I’m going to greatly reduce the posting of dead animal pics on forums (been pretty easy to not post new pics the last couple years) I quit posting on instaTweetFace a while back.

 

[sandbur]

It’s a real catch 22. We feel the need to recruit more hunters to our sport, but it’s already too crowded the way it is.

In my home state area (MN)—during gun season we counted over 40 hunters in 2 sections of land and half of that is crop land.

Public land is a zoo. There is a open clash between hunters that want to see more mature bucks and those that shoot the first deer they see.

I personally think there’s too many hunters, too many seasons. The odds are stacked, but then again the DNR seems to want them dead anyway ! ‍

What is the reason that 40 hunters keep hunting in a situation like that? Are a few trophies killed every year and that is why they keep coming back?

Like yourself, I would hunt other states or go north in Minnesota.
I feel good hunts can be had in northern Minnesota, but my goals are for peace, quiet, and some meat on the table, which are different goals than yours.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sandbur]

I read the article when it came out and listened to him on the meateater podcast tonight. I think Matt makes a lot of valid points about the negative impacts some influencers have and some of the more perverse motivations. However, I think the elitism (negativity toward private land hunters) and speaking in absolutes dilutes/hurts his message.

The Steve Rinellas and Randy Newbergs of the world are a far cry from the Bowmars, Chris brackets, cam Hanes, Brian calls, etc and we shouldn’t put them all in the same bucket.

It’s a good conversation to have and I hope if nothing else it causes more “influencers” to reflect on the motivations behind what they post.

I’m going to greatly reduce the posting of dead animal pics on forums (been pretty easy to not post new pics the last couple years) I quit posting on instaTweetFace a while back.

I seldom watch any of these hunting shows and the only name I recognize is Rinella.

Maybe this thread should lead us to thought on what pictures we post and why we hunt.

At the most basic level, it is for quality meat that we enjoy and this should be acceptable to all but the most fervent vegetarian.

To spend quality time with friends and family would be acceptable to most people.

I need to constantly remind myself that it is not a competition with other hunters, or with a scoring system. I need to remind myself that it should not be for my ego. It should not be a competition with my neighbors.

Hard things to do....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk