Matt Rinella gives a talk at Pope and Young

[Nicoli7153]

The common man's days are numbered, unless you have $ you're SOL. So much for the public trust doctrine.

R3 was just beginning in the late 90s early 2000s. I maintained then and still do now that the best recruiters are current outdoor people. They were the mentors for decades if not centuries.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Solutions? One of the only long term wins I could actually see happening, though not easily or cheaply, is regaining some lost ground in access.

It is wild to me that now CO is at a crisis but if you look at the starts there were far more OTC elk tags sold 20 years ago, and here out east everyone talks about how few hunters there are compared to the 80s.

Seems like QDMA/ big buck porn whatever, really slammed the door on private access. I bet the average score of a buck taken has gone up 40 inches in the last 15 years but is that worth 1/10 the access.

 

[shrapnel]

He appears to be a blue jeans, flannel shirt kind of guy that likes to hunt and wants to promote his way of hunting. It is not wrong and not bad, but the continual dividing the camps of what is acceptable and what is not, can’t continue as there are only so many ways a pie can be divided.

He isn’t a fan of displaying hunting success, whether it is social media, pictures or even mounting the trophy. He also stated he feels that the record keeping of Pope and Young, Boone and Crockett, contribute to the over commercialization of hunting and the resources.

Hunters have always admired a trophy for its size and magnificence, yet the dollar has polluted the true spirit of hunting. I agree that it is more about how big and not about the hunt. Social Media has contributed a lot to the degradation of hunting as it has placed too much emphasis on the trophy and not the hunter or the hunted. We all must agree that Social Media is also what supports this site…

 

[Nameless Range]

I've written about Matt in relationship to "influencers" like Randy before, and what I think. TLDR - Most influencers are a drag on culture and quality of hunting. But if anyone does it right, it's Randy.

Ultimately, I think what Matt would like to happen is as likely to be implemented as an ethic of "why can't we all just get along?" That is to say, it's naive and ain't gonna happen. I don't know if he actually thinks its achievable anyway.

All that said, I agree with him on what the real problems we see on the landscape are (access to tags, crowding, loss of access to earth, etc.) Our intuition is to blame the popularizers, and to be sure they do have an effect. Though, I'd wager the percentage of its influence on the negative things we see is dwarfed by the real reasons we are feeling the squeeze and seeing the decline - that being actual demographics and population change and loss of acres open to the average hunter and an unwillingness of state agencies beholden to revenue to do right by the resource - I believe those would happen if social media never existed.

I think Matt's voice is an important one. @Pucky Freak , a while back on here mentioned that influencers and their gear-whoring and digital galleries of death are a sort of modern day market hunter. I had never thought of it that way, but I think there's a truth to it.

 

[BuckRut]

The big thing to keep in mind about the effects of "infuencers" is that what they put out there is essentially a commodity. It doesn't flourish without a customer base that is not only okay with it being there but demands it and uses it. People aren't just stumbling across this content and having grand revelations that change their thinking. People are actively searching out this content and consuming it.

 

[lastlight]

The big thing to keep in mind about the effects of "infuencers" is that what they put out there is essentially a commodity. It doesn't flourish without a customer base that is not only okay with it being there but demands it and uses it. People aren't just stumbling across this content and having grand revelations that change their thinking. People are actively searching out this content and consuming it.

This thinking does not apply to Joe Rogan and Meat Eater (post Netflix release). Those two alone have brought in an unfathomable amount of new hunters that wouldn’t have got into hunting otherwise. The flood gates opened then the masses just have to google 5 words and they are exposed to hundreds of “how to” content that has made it insanely easy.

Marketing works, period.

 

[BuckRut]

This thinking does not apply to Joe Rogan and Meat Eater (post Netflix release). Those two alone have brought in an unfathomable amount of new hunters that wouldn’t have got into hunting otherwise. The flood gates opened then the masses just have to google 5 words and they are exposed to hundreds of “how to” content that has made it insanely easy.

Marketing works, period.

You have studies and numbers to back up that speculation? In God we trust but all other bring data.

 

[Nicoli7153]

Think we are all aware of the increased interest after the Covid lockdowns. Not much for a lot of folks to do but watch shows and then be ready to get outside and be active when things eased up. Pent up demand!

 

[xcskier_hunter]

The big thing to keep in mind about the effects of "infuencers" is that what they put out there is essentially a commodity. It doesn't flourish without a customer base that is not only okay with it being there but demands it and uses it. People aren't just stumbling across this content and having grand revelations that change their thinking. People are actively searching out this content and consuming it.

I partly agree with this but I think it also depends on the type of content. For example, someone might watch a video on how to apply in x, y, or z state because it's faster than reading through the state-produced information but could still prefer that video not exist as they'd be more than willing to do the leg work themselves if that was their only option.

You also might watch an elk hunting tactics video because you do want to be a better elk hunter but would prefer that video not exist and instead be able to draw more elk tags and learn about elk hunting in the field.

Obviously you could refrain completely from consuming hunting content but you're ultimately putting yourself at a disadvantage by not consuming what is mostly free information many other hunters consume, since you individually not watching is unlikely to put anyone in the hunting industry out of business. I think a similar analogy could be made with baiting in some states where I've heard many people say they'd like it to be banned but if it's not they will bait themselves just to compete with their neighbors that bait.

Either way, I'm not sure there's much that can be done and am not advocating for anything to be done to stop any of this. However, I do find it amusing how many hunting "influencers" take a holier-than-thou attitude about their content when criticized for it.

 

[BuckRut]

I partly agree with this but I think it also depends on the type of content. For example, someone might watch a video on how to apply in x, y, or z state because it's faster than reading through the state-produced information but could still prefer that video not exist as they'd be more than willing to do the leg work themselves if that was their only option.

You also might watch an elk hunting tactics video because you do want to be a better elk hunter but would prefer that video not exist and instead be able to draw more elk tags and learn about elk hunting that way.

Obviously you could refrain completely from consuming hunting content but you're ultimately putting yourself at a disadvantage by not consuming what is mostly free information many other hunters consume, since you individually not watching is unlikely to put anyone in the hunting industry out of business. I think a similar analogy could be made with baiting in some states where I've heard many people say they'd like it to be banned but if it's not they will bait themselves just to compete with their neighbors that bait.

You're not wrong. You've also come to realize the bigger picture problem is. Our ability as the hunting community to become and act as a unified group is one of the biggest problems. This is why we continually get beat around by the animal activists and environmentalists because they have found a way to act as a group to attack hunting and squabble about the particulars after they've won the battle against the hunters. When the issues arise we are so busy fighting with each other over the details to combat the main problem as a team.

 

[lastlight]

You have studies and numbers to back up that speculation? In God we trust but all other bring data.

Oh boy, you serious Clark? You need studies to show you how marketing works?

Watch the hunt quietly video and soak up the graphs. If you have a gohunt account or enjoy dissecting data off fish and game sites take a look at applicant numbers. There’s a correlation with the rise of applicants in every state and the onset of rogans hunting interest and meat eater Netflix release. There’s no other driving factor besides Social media influencers that makes any sense.

And yes, anecdotal evidence is a valid measuring tool. I won’t list all the times I’ve heard “I’ve recently acquired interest into hunting because of Rogan and Rinella” but it’s long.

Side note - No one can argue that as a whole hunting opportunities aren’t diminishing year after year, hence we don’t need more hunters. We need more habitat and access which doesn’t grow on trees, can’t be built, etc.

 

[mplane72]

The fact of the matter is there is really nothing to be done about "influencers" if you believe in the Constitution and free market. I would love to see a reduction in pressure across the country but that's not likely to happen until over saturation leads to ever poorer experiences that lead to quitting. I'd like to see an expansion in opportunity to cover all the pressure but that's not likely to happen.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Just taking the temperature of the room… where do we stand on cyber bullying hushin… great way to stop over crowding or the greatest way

 

[FI460]

Oh boy, you serious Clark? You need studies to show you how marketing works?

Watch the hunt quietly video and soak up the graphs. If you have a gohunt account or enjoy dissecting data off fish and game sites take a look at applicant numbers. There’s a correlation with the rise of applicants in every state and the onset of rogans hunting interest and meat eater Netflix release. There’s no other driving factor besides Social media influencers that makes any sense.

And yes, anecdotal evidence is a valid measuring tool. I won’t list all the times I’ve heard “I’ve recently acquired interest into hunting because of Rogan and Rinella” but it’s long.

Side note - No one can argue that as a whole hunting opportunities aren’t diminishing year after year, hence we don’t need more hunters. We need more habitat and access which doesn’t grow on trees, can’t be built, etc.

Hasn't there been a similar increase in most outdoor recreation though? For my entire life we've been camping at this little lake that my great grandfather engineered the dams on. First come first serve USFS campground. Up until 2020 it was no big deal to pull in Friday afternoon and get a site. That doesn't happen anymore. Some days I think I could walk all the way across the lake on paddle boards.

 

[FI460]

Just taking the temperature of the room… where do we stand on cyber bullying hushin… great way to stop over crowding or the greatest way

Full support amigo.

 

[BuckRut]

There’s no other driving factor besides Social media influencers that makes any sense.

I think this is a very shortsighted statement. I believe the popularity of the influencers is driven by the increased user base as much as they are driving the increase. This world is a complicated place and if you truly believe there is a singular source responsible for the increase you are very wrong.

 

[RemingtonRules]

He appears to be a blue jeans, flannel shirt kind of guy that likes to hunt and wants to promote his way of hunting. It is not wrong and not bad, but the continual dividing the camps of what is acceptable and what is not, can’t continue as there are only so many ways a pie can be divided.

He isn’t a fan of displaying hunting success, whether it is social media, pictures or even mounting the trophy. He also stated he feels that the record keeping of Pope and Young, Boone and Crockett, contribute to the over commercialization of hunting and the resources.

Hunters have always admired a trophy for its size and magnificence, yet the dollar has polluted the true spirit of hunting. I agree that it is more about how big and not about the hunt. Social Media has contributed a lot to the degradation of hunting as it has placed too much emphasis on the trophy and not the hunter or the hunted. We all must agree that Social Media is also what supports this site…

The points he makes are not at all what you are saying. D- watch again and listen to improve score.

 

[RemingtonRules]

The fact of the matter is there is really nothing to be done about "influencers" if you believe in the Constitution and free market. I would love to see a reduction in pressure across the country but that's not likely to happen until over saturation leads to ever poorer experiences that lead to quitting. I'd like to see an expansion in opportunity to cover all the pressure but that's not likely to happen.

Shoulder shrugger

 

[mplane72]

Shoulder shrugger

If that's an accusation in this instance yes. I send more then my share of letters to the people that matter every legislative session. I vote with my feet, eyeballs an wallet often and try to complain little. If I get going I can complain with the best of them. My friends call me "hater". I'm jaded as hell about the future of hunting. I questioned even introducing my kids to hard core bow hunting the way I like it here at home because I feel it will ultimately lead them to disappointment due to nothing more than lack of access. We spend most of our together hunting time Waterfowling now. I encourage them to save their money for fewer quality hunting trips vs. yearly out of state trips, which is what I am doing now myself.

I've been hunting "quite" for some time now. On that front there's really not much more to be done.

 

[Nick_CO]

Just taking the temperature of the room… where do we stand on cyber bullying hushin… great way to stop over crowding or the greatest way

For awhile I kept seeing giant decals on truck windows that had an Elk antler and said Hush. I thought maybe it was a movement encouraging people to not talk about elk hunting spots or something. Then I learned it was another dumb influencer social media bro hunting show and I died little inside.