MThuntr
Well-known member
You just mad Cushman keeps winning
Depublicize, Deglorify, Demonitize (anti-self promoting of hunting group)?
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Dinkshooter
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thusby
Well-known member
There has been a lot of change in the last decade to move the needle of hunting media back toward an ethical, conservationist viewpoint. Many thanks to @Big Fin and the others who have slogged those cameras around for a good chunk of their adult hunting life to prove their conviction. There is still a long way to go but I hope they young hunters can find an old episode of Fresh Tracks before they find some trophy kill-shot compilation.
@Dinkshooter, that pose will always be one of the Hunt Talk classics and why you are the unanimous winner of the annual CSEH competitions. Thanks for the laugh it provided ...... again.
MThuntr
Well-known member
Oh the struggle! Damned if you do damned if you don't
noharleyyet
Well-known member
This pic is what I always envisioned a burpee to be...before the hip vernacular was coined.
idahohuntr
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An interesting topic - one I've thought about a fair amount. On one hand I hate being one of those 'get off my lawn' curmudgeons, but if I'm totally honest I also generally dislike most media promoting hunting...such wild places and experiences turned into commercial ventures is a turn off for me. I used to post pics occasionally on facebook or hunting sites - but stopped doing so many years ago for many of the reasons articulated in the 'DDD' description. I have also altered who I hunt with, leaving the instabook cool photo guys to enjoy their pursuits and media posts in favor of those companions more interested in the experience and oblivious to 'likes' and 'follows'.
On the deglorify front I would like to see much tighter regulation for commercial hunting - to include any public land filming/photography for any non-private purpose. Some tighter regs might include different, much smaller pools of tags for anyone intending to film/produce hunt content, substantial increases in public land permit enforcement (film permits), seasonal restrictions in favor of true DIY sportsman etc. I've not spent a great deal of time thinking about these ideas, but in general I want to see a much higher bar to filming/producing hunts than what exists today. I'm sure a lot of what I'm throwing out could arguably infringe constitutional rights, but at the same time I also think there is a line to draw once when crosses over into commercial activity...and posting a video on youtube, even just trying to self promote or push a product, would fall into my broad definition of commercial activity.
The one gray area for me in this discussion is hunter recruitment. I understand we need new hunters to continue to have a base of people to advocate for and protect our hunting and public lands and I've spent many years as a hunter education instructor bringing hundreds of new hunters into the ranks...but I'm not convinced we have a hunter recruitment problem. I understand why any number of outdoor and hunting companies (and state fish and game agencies) promote this incessant need for more hunters, because they are heavily driven by profits (and license revenue) and they want to sell more and more product. But for the amount of lands and wildlife resources we have today, I rarely have thought to myself, gee, whats really needed for the future of hunting is another 6 or 8 pickups at this trailhead. I suppose there is an argument to be made this is short-sighted, but given the explosion in western hunting interest...I don't see hunting at jeopardy because everyone fades away and there are no hunters left to fund and advocate for wildlife conservation.
Anyways, some ramblings from my soapbox. I admit being at least a partial hypocrite in that I enjoy my share of youtube videos and forum stories. I'd be lying if I didn't say some of the media has probably even influenced where I've applied or hunted. I should also fully acknowledge the obvious - there are many different folks promoting and producing hunting content and the hunting image they promote is quite diverse.
On the deglorify front I would like to see much tighter regulation for commercial hunting - to include any public land filming/photography for any non-private purpose. Some tighter regs might include different, much smaller pools of tags for anyone intending to film/produce hunt content, substantial increases in public land permit enforcement (film permits), seasonal restrictions in favor of true DIY sportsman etc. I've not spent a great deal of time thinking about these ideas, but in general I want to see a much higher bar to filming/producing hunts than what exists today. I'm sure a lot of what I'm throwing out could arguably infringe constitutional rights, but at the same time I also think there is a line to draw once when crosses over into commercial activity...and posting a video on youtube, even just trying to self promote or push a product, would fall into my broad definition of commercial activity.
The one gray area for me in this discussion is hunter recruitment. I understand we need new hunters to continue to have a base of people to advocate for and protect our hunting and public lands and I've spent many years as a hunter education instructor bringing hundreds of new hunters into the ranks...but I'm not convinced we have a hunter recruitment problem. I understand why any number of outdoor and hunting companies (and state fish and game agencies) promote this incessant need for more hunters, because they are heavily driven by profits (and license revenue) and they want to sell more and more product. But for the amount of lands and wildlife resources we have today, I rarely have thought to myself, gee, whats really needed for the future of hunting is another 6 or 8 pickups at this trailhead. I suppose there is an argument to be made this is short-sighted, but given the explosion in western hunting interest...I don't see hunting at jeopardy because everyone fades away and there are no hunters left to fund and advocate for wildlife conservation.
Anyways, some ramblings from my soapbox. I admit being at least a partial hypocrite in that I enjoy my share of youtube videos and forum stories. I'd be lying if I didn't say some of the media has probably even influenced where I've applied or hunted. I should also fully acknowledge the obvious - there are many different folks promoting and producing hunting content and the hunting image they promote is quite diverse.
Today once you watch a few videos or make a few you are an expert. Then better yet you have the right to tell someone else the type of hunting they are doing is not hunting or there is something wrong with the type of hunting they do. Trapping is a dirty word today or does it mean you are just a killer if you predator hunt? How about a little tolerance and acceptance to others who hunt and just use different weapons and different legal techniques.
I am worried youtube and social medial has conditioned and educated the new hunters or younger generation that there are only a few ways to hunt.
>like if your a whitetail hunter you don't know crap if your not running atleast two dozen cameras and have names for 1/2 the bucks you have pictures of.
>wasn't hunting if you didn't gain 5000 feet and beat Cameron Haines for the kill shot oh and you found the bulls sheds the last 3 years
The sport has bigger issues than technology and non hunter opinion
I am worried youtube and social medial has conditioned and educated the new hunters or younger generation that there are only a few ways to hunt.
>like if your a whitetail hunter you don't know crap if your not running atleast two dozen cameras and have names for 1/2 the bucks you have pictures of.
>wasn't hunting if you didn't gain 5000 feet and beat Cameron Haines for the kill shot oh and you found the bulls sheds the last 3 years
The sport has bigger issues than technology and non hunter opinion
Do discussions like this come up with sponsors? To me it sure seems like a bunch of the “new” media are willing to cut any corner they can to make a buck and self promote. It’s staggering to me how many hunting media “personalities” have past and current wildlife violation convictions or charges and yet they are able make a very comfortable living off hunting.
D
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Bow, being the only acceptable method of take. This will be my 10th year hunting... in a pile of states and in most seasons, I've never encountered a hunter under 40 in the field with a rifle. Caveat, a few kids with their dads.
Not a knock on archery, but it it's crazy that a bunch of CO units have 800% more archery hunters than they did 10 years ago and 20% less rifle hunters.
So I am an adult onset hunter. My exposure to hunting was initially through Meateater and Instagram personalities, as well as another popular forum starting with R.
Even with all the info out there, it’s hard to parse ego from good advice and glitz/glamour from the realities of the hunt.
No one in my family hunts, and thankfully I’ve made a new friend/hunting mentor. That one on one real field time is more valuable than anything I’ve read and watched.
From a hunter recruitment standpoint-yes, I’m another truck clogging the trailhead. But I’ve also improved many people’s view/understanding of hunting and been a regular donor to conservation as well as a vocal advocate.
To me, that is the important part of hunter recruitment—ensuring that there are people who understand the value of and advocate for public lands and continued hunting/fishing/trapping access. I hope to push any new hunters I come across to the Newbergland of video/podcast/forum as it is more congruent with the hunting knowledge and ethics I’ve learned in the field-wish I had come across it all sooner.
I largely agree with the “three Ds” that started this all. All we can do as individuals is police our own online behaviors. I would also suggest that people be open to mentoring those around them. For me, this was the best transfer of knowledge. It also increases the odds that the next truck at the trailhead shares the same hunting ethics and behavior standards as you.
Even with all the info out there, it’s hard to parse ego from good advice and glitz/glamour from the realities of the hunt.
No one in my family hunts, and thankfully I’ve made a new friend/hunting mentor. That one on one real field time is more valuable than anything I’ve read and watched.
From a hunter recruitment standpoint-yes, I’m another truck clogging the trailhead. But I’ve also improved many people’s view/understanding of hunting and been a regular donor to conservation as well as a vocal advocate.
To me, that is the important part of hunter recruitment—ensuring that there are people who understand the value of and advocate for public lands and continued hunting/fishing/trapping access. I hope to push any new hunters I come across to the Newbergland of video/podcast/forum as it is more congruent with the hunting knowledge and ethics I’ve learned in the field-wish I had come across it all sooner.
I largely agree with the “three Ds” that started this all. All we can do as individuals is police our own online behaviors. I would also suggest that people be open to mentoring those around them. For me, this was the best transfer of knowledge. It also increases the odds that the next truck at the trailhead shares the same hunting ethics and behavior standards as you.
Not sure. They don't come up in my discussions with sponsors or their ad agencies. I can have very candid discussions with our sponsors as I've been with most of them for over a decade. They know our style and our tone and they know I've been in the hunting non-profit advocacy world since 1995, so they sometimes will call for input.
I'm lucky in that none of my sponsor ask me about likes, shares, etc., though they include our social media platforms in some of the contract deliverables. They all ask us to do what we do and provide a compelling content story that gives them an avenue to our audience, an audience they all value. That makes my job really easy.
When you think about it, what good is a "Like" on FB or IG? It has really no value, as it is the lowest level of engagement you can ask for. I couldn't give a flip if nobody ever gave a Like on our platforms.
We hire a company to handle IG and FB. That is to satisfy some of the contractual requirements that ad agencies have of us. I meet with the social media person to go over the calendar for the month, covering what I think our audience wants to see, what is expected as part of contracts, and a few openings for me and the crew to be spontaneous. We are not a large IG or FB presence, though we probably could be if that was our goal. We do it in a way that fits our WHY and our style, not to maximize likes, shares, or followers.
Our sponsors think Hunt Talk is more valuable than IG or FB. Hunt Talk has a long SEO history, so when you search certain topics Hunt Talk comes up toward the top of the first page of search results. That's way more meaningful than some IG story that goes away in 24 hours.
Our Hunt Talk Radio and Elk Talk Podcast platforms are far more effective than IG or FB. If we measure total minutes engaged on those platforms, it is crazy numbers. And the way the audience redeems the promo codes we mention at the beginning of those podcasts always impresses sponsors and their ad agencies. That gives us a completely different path forward, both in terms of how we can keep the lights on and the latitude to create content of all forms that we think helps us deliver our WHY and hopefully the audience finds engaging.
When I measure our platforms, we lose money on the video production side. We lose money on Hunt Talk. We make money on the podcasts. We make money on our live events like Elk Talk Live. We make money on our email list. Overall, we wobble between losing money (2020) and making a small profit (2019), so long as the owners don't require a paycheck for their time and effort. When we measure the subjective non-financial criteria we have set for ourselves, every year is usually considered a success.
Might be a long drivel that doesn't answer your question. Given I don't do this for my livelihood, I lose more sleep over the inventory of freshly frosted pumpkin cookies down at the Daily Coffee Bar than I do over the next promise of big sponsorship opportunity (that almost always turns out to be something that doesn't fit well for our style and we politely decline).
Give 'em hell, Matt. DDD!
beginnerhunter
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Sounds like we need the hunting equivalent of substack.
beginnerhunter
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- Feb 15, 2016
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Link?
MThuntr
Well-known member
the group link is in the first post
Thanks for sharing. I needed a laugh and am now following.
I don't doubt his sincerity but I do think he's having some fun too. I remember his brother alluding to his feelings on his last appearance on Rogan.
I'm a meateater fan but I do find myself getting more and more uncomfortable with the never ending product pump they've turned on. I will still wear the gnome packing a unicorn shirt my kid got though.
I don't doubt his sincerity but I do think he's having some fun too. I remember his brother alluding to his feelings on his last appearance on Rogan.
I'm a meateater fan but I do find myself getting more and more uncomfortable with the never ending product pump they've turned on. I will still wear the gnome packing a unicorn shirt my kid got though.
geetar
Well-known member
Meateater was great the first few seasons as a show. I was disappointed in it the first time in season 8 when they had so many bad shots and misses. That’s when it started to look more about products than skills and became just another hunting show.
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