So what do we all think of this?

[kpk]

I also saw on Sarah's Instagram this morning that Under Armour dropped them over this. I don't think the Bowmars decided to spear a bear for social media fame and attention......they already have it. Sarah is always posting about lifting, hunting, and game recipes - she reaches a lot of different lifestyles in a positive way.

The fact that UA dropped them over this is BS in my opinion. UA should draw a line in the sand and say we either support hunting or we don't. Supporting it when it's convenient for them doesn't cut it. The Bowmars have promoted the hell out of Under Armour gear for a very long time, and UA should have stood behind them.

Could the video have been done in "better taste"?? Probably. Does it make a difference? probably not. The ANTIs would be against it no matter what. Once the ANTI crowd starts blasting social media everyone is real quick to jump on board with them. The fact is when one ANTI hunter is pissed off....they are all pissed off.....and they all scream loudly.

I'll be curious what/if anything is said by all the other big name hunters that are also sponsored by UA in the upcoming days. Bottom line is if the hunt is LEGAL it shouldn't matter if he's using a rifle, shotgun, handgun, bow, Xbow, spear, etc. the hunting community should stand behind them.

 

[gauge]

kpk, I just finished a new thread on this. I completely agree. Not really sure how to make my voice heard to UA though.

 

[16Bore]

Didn't watch it and won't, but will bluntly say this: If you gotta put your shit on YouTube, you're already a dick.

 

[tipsntails7]

The over reaction to this is just ridiculous. I've hunted with John in Alberta, and they do a great job getting you in close on lots of bears and specialize in hunting them on the ground. All that being said, this is one hell of an accomplishment and must have took a ton of practice to pull it off.

I guess I should not be surprised by the public response, but disappointed in UA if in fact they stopped supporting the Bowmar's. If you follow them on social media, there were lots of pictures of Josh practicing for this hunt and it was no surprise that he was going to bear hunt with a spear last spring. I'm sure UA did not have any problem being tagged in those photos, and it is pretty hypocritical if they shun it now. I guess they need to pull sponsorship from every other hunter that does not make the perfect shot? Be sure you supporting are companies that support our lifestyle, and not reacting to the opinion of the moment.

Sad to see it spiral down this path.

For me it has zero to do with the bad shot and everything to do with how he conducted himself...

Under Armour has an entire DIVISION devoted to hunting, but make no mistake, it is a small piece of their overall business, and when it comes down to it, it is that, a business. Guy shoots a bear with a spear, acting like you smoked it then acting like a complete tool.... Well I probably would not want to be associated with that either.

He did this entire thing for one reason, notoriety, if you can't see that not sure what to say.


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[charvey9]

For me it has zero to do with the bad shot and everything to do with how he conducted himself...

Under Armour has an entire DIVISION devoted to hunting, but make no mistake, it is a small piece of their overall business, and when it comes down to it, it is that, a business. Guy shoots a bear with a spear, acting like you smoked it then acting like a complete tool.... Well I probably would not want to be associated with that either.

He did this entire thing for one reason, notoriety, if you can't see that not sure what to say.


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I've said it in a few other places, but have no issue with UA choosing who and how they want to be represented. Its their business. However, they lost me when they took a stance against a legal and ethical form of hunting. "We do not condone the method of hunting he used to harvest this animal. " UA made the issue about spear hunting, not conduct.

Its extremely hypocritical that they supported the Bowmar's through the preparation for this hunt, and the many since he killed the bear, only to drop them once things heated up. I have no respect for that.

 

[tipsntails7]

I've said it in a few other places, but have no issue with UA choosing who and how they want to be represented. Its their business. However, they lost me when they took a stance against a legal and ethical form of hunting. "We do not condone the method of hunting he used to harvest this animal. " UA made the issue about spear hunting, not conduct.

Its extremely hypocritical that they supported the Bowmar's through the preparation for this hunt, and the many since he killed the bear, only to drop them once things heated up. I have no respect for that.

Its a business, not family. under armours hunting market is so small compared to everything else. If your actions result in people possibly looking unfavorably on their brand expect to see the door, especially when your basically a no namer.

Legal sure, ethical? maybe to you, maybe to me, but certainly not to others.

If he had portrayed this as an initiative to get back to our roots as hunters, made a good shot, edited the film appropriately I guarantee you this would never have happened. Instead he made it about him being a "Bad ass", made a shitty throw, acted like a tool, edited it poorly and it blew up in his face...

 

[Manosteel]

I have hunted my whole life, as my father, grandfather and great grandfather did before me. I am also a business owner and I would not want to be associated with this guy. Plain and simple tipsntails nailed it with his last 2 posts.

 

[Darren Best]

Hunters that turn their noses up at styles of hunting (and trapping) they disagree with are a bigger threat to our heritage than anti hunters.

I have been seeing this bullshit for 30 years, hunters bitching about other hunters and spouting ethics while we fall one by one.

Either get your heads out of your asses and stand united or fall divided.

The antis don't ever give up, they don't ever quit and they never turn on each other.

Humans were killing animals with spears for hundreds of thousands of years, do you think any of their family whined about ethics when the meat was passed around?

 

[tipsntails7]

Hunters that turn their noses up at styles of hunting (and trapping) they disagree with are a bigger threat to our heritage than anti hunters.

I have been seeing this bullshit for 30 years, hunters bitching about other hunters and spouting ethics while we fall one by one.

Either get your heads out of your asses and stand united or fall divided.

The antis don't ever give up, they don't ever quit and they never turn on each other.

Humans were killing animals with spears for hundreds of thousands of years, do you think any of their family whined about ethics when the meat was passed around?

Sorry but your off base on this one. Guys like this are the reason people look at hunters with disgust. Guys like this cloud the waters for people that never grew up hunting and paint a false picture of what "hunters" are about. Videos like this are the biggest threat to hunting.
This video gave anti's an easy target and I'm sure turned neutral parties away from hunting.
I don't care about the spear, but I'm sure as shit not going to condone how he acted. You wanna act like that fine, but when you video it and broadcast it you represent hunters wether you like it or not. It's our job as stewards of the land to stand up and say NO that's not what we are about.

Save me the killing of animals for thousands of years bit. Did they video tape it? Did they strap a go pro so they could show their friends? I sure as shit now they didn't act like tools after they killed animals. Most actually thanked animals for giving their life for their sustinance.


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[Darren Best]

And you were a stone cold killer with no emotion on your first kill or ones that you worked really hard for?

 

[tipsntails7]

And you were a stone cold killer with no emotion on your first kill or ones that you worked really hard for?

Emotionless no, somber yes. My grandfather and great grand father were natives, and instilled their values at a very young age in me. If I would have acted as that man did in that video I doubt I would have ever been taken hunting again.

My first elk, I was extremely emotional, a lot of hard work, and I hugged my father who called it in for me.

I'm much less emotional know, and I understand that a lot of people don't view it the way I do, but at the end of the day you are still taking a life. Acts like that should not be taken so lightly, even if it is an animal.

Again I don't have a problem with what he did, and for that matter how he acted, although neither are my cup of tea. My sole problem is him video taping it and publishing it for all to see. At that point you are representing more then yourself, your representing all hunters, possibly in front of people that know nothing about us or hunting in general. We need better from the faces of our sport. Like it or not we need to pander a bit to the neutral parties, or California and it's ridiculous hunting laws will be the new norm.


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[Ryan Avery]

Didn't watch it and won't, but will bluntly say this: If you gotta put your shit on YouTube, you're already a dick.

You're a dick if you post hunts on YouTube?

 

[W.D. Crawford]

You're a dick if you post hunts on YouTube?

I was kinda wondering about that my self.

 

[charvey9]

I still see this as two separate issues. I could care less who UA sponsors, or chooses to have represent their company. It is their business, and if they want to cut ties with the Bowmar's for conduct, or any other reason, I'm fine with that. No argument there, and I agree the video was not my cup of tea although they did nothing wrong.

However, when a hunting brand caves in to anti-hunting pressure and publicly denounces a legal form of hunting we all lose. When they attempt to cover up the previous support they gave for said hunting practice, it shows a total lack of integrity and I lost all respect for the brand.

Whether or not we like it, brands like UA carry a powerful message to those on the fringes of this argument. They chose an opposing view, and no doubt swayed a lot of support against a legal and ethical style of hunting. The fact that Alberta is now working towards a ban on spear hunting and bear baiting is proof of that. If all it takes is some outrage and a few thousand signatures, what is to stop them from going after bow hunting next, or maybe a complete ban on bear hunting? You don't find that concerning?

 

[mmw194287]

Whether or not we like it, brands like UA carry a powerful message to those on the fringes of this argument. They chose an opposing view, and no doubt swayed a lot of support against a legal and ethical style of hunting. The fact that Alberta is now working towards a ban on spear hunting and bear baiting is proof of that.

Respectfully, I would disagree with this statement. I don't think that there's anyone who saw the video, couldn't make up their mind about what they thought of it, and decided "Well, UA dropped them, so I guess I'm not okay with what the guy did." I think that decision makers at UA (who are responsible to their shareholders, not the hunting public) recognized as you did that the key demographic to consider is the 80% of people who are on the fringes--and they could plainly see just how objectionable this video would be to them.

While it's not a simple cause-and-effect scenario, I would wager that their response reflected the non-interested public's opinion of this incident far more than it gave shape to it. UA has a vested interest in promoting hunting's popularity and strengthening public approval of it--and they read the winds right on this one, whether we like it or not.

 

[IdahoElk]

I think ultimately UA is a corporation and they only care about the bottom line,people like the Bowmar's are hurting their bottom line therefor must go.
There are 100's of people waiting for a chance to be the next Cameron and promote UA in a positive light,by next year there will be some new fresh face promoting UA, hopefully someone from Rokslide and we will have forgotten all about the Bowmar's.The Bowmar's were given a chance of a lifetime with a industry leader and THEY blew it,no biggie,life goes on.

 

[16Bore]

You're a dick if you post hunts on YouTube?

I was kinda wondering about that my self.

Re-read with emphasis on the word "gotta", as in "have to"....

 

[Kevin Dill]

You're a dick if you post hunts on YouTube?

In my opinion...no. Maybe the more important opinion belongs to someone who has never hunted...is not anti-hunting...but finds themselves exposed to one of the more gratuitous killing videos. Show them the Bowmar spear video and ask them how they feel about hunting after viewing it.

They might have a nastier noun to use.

 

[flyinsquirel]

....Like it or not we need to pander a bit to the neutral parties, or California and it's ridiculous hunting laws will be the new norm.

I see this viewpoint talked about a lot on the internet and I find this position to be quite strange. Being that I'm here in the great state of CA, I have watched it all go down firsthand. The antis have been kicking our ass for decades by singling one group out while the rest stand by with their complacent hands in their pockets because it doesn't affect their type of hunting. Mountain lions on the protected species list, Hound hunting all but banned, no lead in historic Condor range(at first), trapping.....

Their mode of operation throughout has been to be in our faces, excessively militant, sue the shit out of everyone and everything, protesting, standing on obviously made up 'facts' and just generally acting like crazy people. They are well organized and well funded. With those tactics they have garnered great support from the neutral. So much so that we now get easily outvoted every time no matter how ridiculous the idea.

Our laws are already headed your way, and they will apply the same tactics upon you. React accordingly.

 

[Darren Best]

Banning trapping is on the ballot in Montana this fall. They have stated openly that banning all forms of hunting and fishing is on their agenda.

Do you seriously think that after spear hunting and baiting is made illegal they will stop and give up?