Social Media Guidelines for Hunters

[TreeStandAthlete]

Ask yourself why you're posting the photo before you do. Even if it seems obvious the act of taking a second to answer the question to yourself out loud can give you insights you maybe didn't have originally.

You don't always need to be in the photo. I always take a grip and grin for my personal collection. If I'm sharing a cool buck I shot on social media then I make sure I'm not in the photo. The story is about the animal, besides inflating my own ego (or trying to sell shit on the back of a dead animal) there's no reason I need to be in the photo, especially since I'm the one posting it on my social media. People know I shot it, and even if they don't, I know I shot it, which is all that should matter. Ego is what drives the majority of bad looks on social media.

 

[Cameron.25]

This is my only social media, but i really like all this robby. Looks good so far

 

[MuleyFever]

 

[Traveler]

Appreciate you soliciting thoughts into what right looks like and how the hunting community can self reflect on this topic. A few things stand out to me (ok maybe more than a few)

- posts and acceptability are very situational dependent. Photo vs video, personal vs public access, do you break the fourth wall? Standards are probably different for each of these.

- be open to criticism and learn skills on how to take it. No one is forcing another person to post online-when you do you have essentially opened yourself up for good and bad feedback. I have lived in several small towns, you can’t just do what you want in those environments and not expect consequences and reputations to develop, good or bad it’s a microscope. I think social media and digital can be a similar situation

- have a few people watch your content first and get feedback before posting.

- be careful with what you are exposing for where you are. Trailheads, units #s, towns, major landmarks, etc no need to include

- be honest about what was a reasonable shot that didn’t work out and what can appear reckless or rash. Animals move at the exact wrong time, people use the wrong pin in the moment, a branch is there that wasn’t obvious, or just miss by a few inches and that is all it takes. BUT is that running quartering to downhill at 600 yds really within your expected performance range? I think even non hunters can tell the difference

- don’t show the guts but show the meat

- if it fits without being corny showing appreciation for the land, ecosystem, wildlife in general and not just the hunt is a good look

- it’s ok to celebrate a little. But there is always a line, I’m not sure what it is but I know it when I see it. Probably somewhere between a high five and the ickey shuffle…

 

[Elkangle]

id prefer if people didn't mention the state...countries are fine...but after that..leave it to the imagination

 

[Szwampdonkey]

The ONLY way to ensure a future for hunting is to get your kids involved in hunting and get them OFF social media. My son is 8 and doesn’t even have a video game yet while i see kids his age at his basketball games staring at phones the whole game, it’s sad.

As far as hunters on social media for those inclined to have social media accounts (i don’t anymore) post all of it. Blood and all as that IS an integral part of hunting. Those who don’t like it are hypocrites if they eat steaks and burgers and hiding hunting from them, sterilizing it for them, washing blood off, etc only further pushes hunting into the shadows.

If you’re a hunter you have nothing to hide, period.

 

[robby denning]

id prefer if people didn't mention the state...countries are fine...but after that..leave it to the imagination

I have cleaned this up big time on my stuff. Learned that there are a whole lotta people hunting the gut piles and you can trash a spot

Every spot is important to someone, even if you’re not coming back. Respect that.

Social media too dang efficient at reaching people.


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[MuleyFever]

Every spot is important to someone, even if you’re not coming back. Respect that.

I disagree here. If I do the leg work and find a spot that is my spot to share as much as it is someones to covet.

If someone gives me info I treat that as theirs and never share it though.

 

[robby denning]

I disagree here. If I do the leg work and find a spot that is my spot to share as much as it is someones to covet.

I mean on social media for anyone to figure out.


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[grappling_hook]

Showing kids/family involved in hunting is a positive, as is discussing the preparation (physical, scouting, gear prep, etc).

Discussing the traditions and intergenerational customs is a positive; as is "adult onset" hunters describing their new passion in addition to hunt photos.

In some traditions, thanking the animal and/or sending it off is important. This shouldn't be done for purposes of showing off how connected you are (i.e. virtue signaling), but if it's part of your custom, tradition, or traditional way of life, there's nothing wrong with including that. Similarly, some people pray over the animal and/or give thanks, and there's nothing wrong with including that in a social media post describing the hunt. Same thing if you are Native and it's part of your group's tradition (just don't use Native traditions culturally owned by specific group if you aren't Native or aren't entitled to do it in that tradition, and don't share other people's cultural property/songs/stories).

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

The masses need to see we're educated and can have logical respectful meaningful discourse, not simply a guy with a pickup bed full of empty busch lite cans screaming to the world that he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him and he can do what he wants.

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[gilby]

Using pictures of dead animals on your dating profile paints hunters in a bad light. When I started dating my now fiancee, she kept mentioning how common it was, and how poorly it was received by non-hunters. Having a picture with yourself glassing or a pack on was a more preferred method when chatting with her friends.

I did not have any pictures of dead animals on my profile, but the topic came up on our first date when hunting came up.

 

[Roguemountainhunter]

Many of you have heard it. But here is my rendition: "THINK, TYPE, POST": "THINK" ABOUT THE MESSAGE BEING COMMUNICATED AND WHO COULD POTENTIALLY VIEW IT, "TYPE" A COMMUNICATION THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH OUR VALUES, AND "POST" ONLY THOSE MESSAGES THAT DEMONSTRATE DIGNITY AND RESPECT FOR SELF AND OTHERS. All I'm saying is think about our community and the direction you want us to go.

 

[Cowbell]

id prefer if people didn't mention the state...countries are fine...but after that..leave it to the imagination

I have narrowed down some hunting show hotspots this way hehe

 

[Zappaman]

Them's fightin' words Buddy! (just kidding... and some GREAT "gentlemen" hunters (who own REAL ranches and farms) I've known have busch lite (or Keystone around here) cans in the back of the truck... ).

This makes a point: ANYONE (despite the truck, gear, or beer cans) can be a superb person to know in the hunting world. There are JUST as many A-holes (wearing $2k in Sitka with $5k rifles) as there are "Larry the Cable Guy" D-head types out in the field. BUT MOST are good people- being just who they are... Americans who live and work and sometimes get to hunt- great guys (and gals) despite the gun, clothes or beer they drink!

The social media "thing" you are working on isn't my cup o' tea (never checked in myself), But any media showing sincere depictions of REAL people enjoying the sport is of interest to me. I have to agree... the ego based garbage I've seen (very briefly) holds NO interest for me. So IF your "audience" is targeted to the chest thumping monkeys with guns... I've zero interest.

But if you attempt to pull out REAL hunters who are hunting for themselves (and not twitter or whatever), I wish you luck. I hunt a lot and eat 75% of my food from the field and garden (four deer in my freezer last 45 days). I hunt to eat (and I do appreciate the "meateater" series as it seems focused on the hunt for meat-- although I know they are getting top choice with cash and sponsors. Still I respect the idea and feel they do a good job there).

Tell the REAL story with REAL people and I feel you will have something more people will appreciate. So many BS "reality" garbage content out there and funny... NONE of it is "real" (and I'm guessing it's getting old), but it was old "day one" and I ignore it right away. I haven't watched TV (with ads) the last 40 years because it's NOT real-- it's "programming" (as is a lot of other BS online).

Keep diversity, show REAL people doing REAL hunting and I'd be interested. Long shot, but good luck anyway.

 

[Cowbell]

A couple of things that irk me as a hunter, so I know they irk nonhunters:

1) "got it done today" like you just finished a job; "dirt nap", "busted em", "slayed em", "lead poisoning" etc. this is number one with me. Nothing could turn someone vegan faster than this.
2) Talking about how long and hard your season has been. "It's been a long hard season but I finally got it done". Im literally scrolling through my FB posts and I see these post almost daily in between all the prayer chain posts for people having a long hard fight with cancer. I mean, come on. Recent example is a young video hunter I'm friends with shot his second big buck of the year and complained about how tough of a year it had been for him / after he has shown pictures of every day of his hunts for the past three weeks. Meanwhile I'm at home with three kids just hoping to get to hunt one day this week. And these people are posting like every one of their friends cares. We are all sitting on bean bags eating Cheetos waiting to see what big buck slayer did today lol. Another example was Jeff Danker recently posted similarly. Jeff is a good Christian guy but he hunts for a living for crying out loud. Don't ever complain about how long and tough your season has been. Unless you are in the company of only hunters who won't take it out of context.

 

[Marble]

@robby denning

Great topic Sir! Overall, this place is well policed. I can't think of anyone who has lasted longer than they should have.

Assuming we are talking about our own forum, I would suggest you enforce the already established rules as is with the following additions:

If someone is warned or banned, it would be nice to know what the offense was and actually see the warning. IMO, it can be embarrassing to someone to be publicly warned about behavior. Obviously, it would be your discretion, but embarrassment, or the threat of, has been a powerful tool my wife and I have used with teenagers and had been a very large deterrent.

Posts should be real and should discuss the wounding of animals. Specific details and gore should be carefully included. Something educational we can all learn from should never be excluded. There is always a tasteful way these situations can be discussed.

I like the grip and grin photos, but would also like to see more pics with stories of perseverance and hard work leading to success than just the result.

Maybe a sticky where there are important links to petitions or causes we can get involved in to raise awareness.

I would like to see the reality of hunting here with adult discretion exercised.

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[Cowbell]

I have cleaned this up big time on my stuff. Learned that there are a whole lotta people hunting the gut piles and you can trash a spot

Every spot is important to someone, even if you’re not coming back. Respect that.

Social media too dang efficient at reaching people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My favorite is when tv hunters give the drive time from their house to the unit they are hunting. It's amazing how easily you can narrow this down.

 

[william schmaltz]

-Don't ride on the animal
-clean up as much blood as possible, tuck the tongue back in etc.

These are both big ones with me! Especially in Alaska with people riding dead moose and caribou. For me personally it just looks stupid; to the average person scrolling along, I feel like it puts out the "conquerer" vibe and makes for a tough argument about respecting the animal.

Never forget that it's not the "left wing nuts" we need to worry about. Our kind make up a very small percentage of the population and we hunt at the luxury of the majority of Americans who view what we do as favorable. Don't give that demographic any reasons to think otherwise.

Also, "Now for those of you who hate social media, I don’t need to hear from you, There are plenty of threads on this social media site covering that." had me rolling! That always riles up the mob!

Edit: I remember a few years ago almost every hunter was putting that PETA filter on their FB profile picture background with a kill picture. They did it to piss off PETA folks and I'm sure they did, but I can guarantee you that non hunters that are fine with hunting but probably hardly think of it once a year were not laughing along. I feel like the big winner during that whole deal as far as gaining awareness and more people on their "side" was no doubt PETA while hunters looked like the unfortunate overstated stereotype.

 

[bojangles808]

you harvest crops, not animals