Great article in Outside by Rinella

[JLS]

We are very fortunate to have such well spoken advocates within the hunting community like Steve Rinella, Randy Newberg, Ryan Callahan, and Shane Mahoney. Old paradigms must be broken, or the role hunting plays and has played in wildlife conservation in the US will become completely irrelevant.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2354196/conservation-outdoor-industry-hunters

What’s it going to take to see more and bigger wins? First, we need to make sure that our disagreements don’t bleed over into areas where we’re aligned. You and I might not see eye to eye on removing Endangered Species Act protection from grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (I support it) or revamping existing law to allow mountain bikes into federally designated wilderness (I’m against it). But we should view those disagreements as luxuries that come from having a wealth of wildlife and pristine landscapes for people to experience. If we lose the more important fight around defending those ecosystems in the first place, the arguments become moot.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Thanks for posting!

 

[Nameless Range]

Great Article.

 

[krshntr81]

Good read!

 

[el unit]

Excellent article. Thank you for posting this JLS.

 

[BlakeA]

Great stuff as usual.

 

[hank4elk]

Good stuff!

 

[Rzrbck918]

Thanks for sharing. Good article.

 

[WildWill]

Great read Rinella is one of the best advocates our sport has. Thanks for posting.

 

[MJE2083]

Read this earlier, great read. It really hits home for me, as here in Pennsylvania we have several outdoor groups like this that are standing in the way of changing our blue law that prohibits Sunday hunting. Their arguments are based on nothing but fear mongering and false perceptions that hunting is unsafe.

 

[elkduds]

Read it, consider it, recognize what is at stake. People who worship power and its vice president, money, will go to any lengths to consume our public lands. Those of us who treasure those lands and everything they offer, are all that stand in their way. We better stand united.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Man, what a great article, and a nice juxtaposition to the dead monkey picture.

My family and I were over at some friends’ house for dinner last weekend, and we were talking about the upcoming elections. My buddy—who has absolutely no interest in hunting but hikes and backpacks a lot—started telling me how he couldn’t vote for this one candidate because of his stance on public lands. Pretty cool. I think it’s starting to spread. At least, I hope it is.

 

[MJE2083]

I thought this article was really good(and still do) until I showed it to a non-hunting hiker friend of mine. His response, which might have had a lot to do with the title, was "What the hell is this guy talking about, I don't hate hunters". So I went back and read it again, and I can sort of see his point. I know it certainly wasn't the authors intention, but the article could lead you to believe that there is this great divide that really may not be as far apart as you think.

 

[westbranch]

Great article!

I thought this article was really good(and still do) until I showed it to a non-hunting hiker friend of mine. His response, which might have had a lot to do with the title, was "What the hell is this guy talking about, I don't hate hunters". So I went back and read it again, and I can sort of see his point. I know it certainly wasn't the authors intention, but the article could lead you to believe that there is this great divide that really may not be as far apart as you think.

I was thinking the same thing about the title, I assumed it is picked the Outside editors and they try to go for something that is a little click-baity just like everything else online. I know far more hikers than hunters where I live and when I talk to them about hunting none of them seem to be hating on hunters at all. I have brought up hunting when chatting with random hikers on some popular trails near where I live and many have an interest in hunting and just have very little exposure. One hiker friend did have a negative experience with a hunter last year on a main trail but does not think its "all hunters". In my personal experience I have met a lot more bad apple hunters than hikers.

 

[rtraverdavis]

I was thinking the same thing about the title, I assumed it is picked the Outside editors and they try to go for something that is a little click-baity just like everything else online.

Yup. The editors write the title, not Rinella.

 

[JLS]

Yup. The editors write the title, not Rinella.

Yes, he explicitly stated this in a recent podcast.

 

[joelhunter]

I thought this article was really good(and still do) until I showed it to a non-hunting hiker friend of mine. His response, which might have had a lot to do with the title, was "What the hell is this guy talking about, I don't hate hunters". So I went back and read it again, and I can sort of see his point. I know it certainly wasn't the authors intention, but the article could lead you to believe that there is this great divide that really may not be as far apart as you think.

It would be a good title if the article was written by a non-hunter. Then it would serve as a self-imposed reflection. But, hopefully the underlying message of outdoor users uniting for a more powerful conservation coalition is not lost. Another great piece of work by Rinella.

 

[COEngineer]

I thought this article was really good(and still do) until I showed it to a non-hunting hiker friend of mine. His response, which might have had a lot to do with the title, was "What the hell is this guy talking about, I don't hate hunters". So I went back and read it again, and I can sort of see his point. I know it certainly wasn't the authors intention, but the article could lead you to believe that there is this great divide that really may not be as far apart as you think.

I had the same exact experience. I shared it on FB and offered a mea culpa about the time I gave a hiker a hard time for walking his dog in the woods during hunting season. 2 of my hiker friends replied something like, "I don't hate hunters" and "where are you feeling the hate?".

I forgot that most people don't actually read anymore, and they were just reacting to the title...good old fashioned F up by the editor giving the article a title that totally misses the point of the article.

 

[Irrelevant]

renella talked about it on a recent podcast that he's apparently had several bad experiences with non-hunters. Janis didn't seem to agree. I know I've never had a bad experience with any non-hunters, especially out in the woods.

 

[JLS]

renella talked about it on a recent podcast that he's apparently had several bad experiences with non-hunters. Janis didn't seem to agree. I know I've never had a bad experience with any non-hunters, especially out in the woods.

I've never had a bad one, in fact I've had some excellent interactions with non-hunters.