The Case Against Hunter Recruitment

[lyle_destroys]

I can understand completely the selfishness of wanting to use public land for yourself and not have to compete with anyone else in it, I also understand the frustrations of point creep and tag allocation.
What I don't understand, is why people will sit back and complain about the attack on hunting, trapping, firearm rights, ect from legislatures while high recruitment of new hunters and gun owners would help normalize these practices and make them less prone to destruction.
The good ole days are right now for many of us, things aren't going back to the way they were in the 80s or 90s, and it's my belief that if we don't include people outside our circles the decline will continue until many of the things we enjoy right now are little more than a memory.

 

[Jimbob]

Ahhh ok. That makes more sense.
Sorry I don’t really follow meat eater or know exactly who does what with the company. I just remember his brother being on several podcasts and thought it was hypocritical to bad mouth something you are doing as well.

im just going to go sit in the corner since I obviously don’t know enough about this to voice my opinion. I’ve been corrected twice on this thread in as many posts time to tuck tail and run haha!

For the record I do like that meat eater brings people into hunting. They are doing well and I’m glad they are around. I just wish there was a way for a company to be successful without constantly pimping products...

I think blood is thicker than water with Steve and his brothers because it is interesting to see Matt involved with meateater even though he doesn't agree with what they are doing. Maybe that will change in the future or maybe not. My guess is that Matt would not have much to do with meateater if Steve wasn't his brother.

 

[Billinsd]

written by a person who is in essence suggesting their personal sense of aesthetics be used as the basis for broad-based policy decisions.

This is EXACTLY what I thought.

 

[Rob5589]

I can understand completely the selfishness of wanting to use public land for yourself and not have to compete with anyone else in it, I also understand the frustrations of point creep and tag allocation.
What I don't understand, is why people will sit back and complain about the attack on hunting, trapping, firearm rights, ect from legislatures while high recruitment of new hunters and gun owners would help normalize these practices and make them less prone to destruction.
The good ole days are right now for many of us, things aren't going back to the way they were in the 80s or 90s, and it's my belief that if we don't include people outside our circles the decline will continue until many of the things we enjoy right now are little more than a memory.

I'll respectfully disagree with the bolded. There are plenty of current hunters that disagree with trapping, and baiting, as well as those that have no interest in firearm legislation because it doesn't affect (yet) their hunting guns. I would say new hunters are less likely to support trapping and baiting than older hunters. Trapping especially isn't very common any longer so less are exposed to it and/or have a skewed view of what trapping actually is.

 

[SDHNTR]

We absolutely need hunter recruitment. We absolutely do not need social media.

 

[lyle_destroys]

I'll respectfully disagree with the bolded. There are plenty of current hunters that disagree with trapping, and baiting, as well as those that have no interest in firearm legislation because it doesn't affect (yet) their hunting guns. I would say new hunters are less likely to support trapping and baiting than older hunters. Trapping especially isn't very common any longer so less are exposed to it and/or have a skewed view of what trapping actually is.

This is true, but even if 1% of new hunters support spring bear hunts, trapping, baiting, then it's better than letting the older generation die off without passing it on. Often all it takes is a good example set for someone to take interest in something.

 

[JFK]

My son is 2 years old and this topic literally keeps me up at night sometimes. Control what you can. Show them how to fish/hunt and give them a worldview based in conservation that supports these activities. You don’t need to broadcast what you do or look for validation. That’s the most important thing we can do. We need the next generation.

 

[JFK]

Personally, I think was a questionably written article, written by a person who is in essence suggesting their personal sense of aesthetics be used as the basis for broad-based policy

Who doesn’t do this? It’s a guys opinion. We are all one position of influence away from implementing our personal opinion.

 

[kentuckybowman]

someday folks will realize that these hunting companies are not promoting growing the sport because they love the sport, they are trying to preserve a level of customer base.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Interesting that his brother feels that way since Meat Eater is responsible for recruiting more hunters than any organization or campaign over the last three years.

Couldn't disagree more with the article and several of his premises are thin at best. I'll continue to participate in R3 and youth events. Short of being with my daughter when she got her first deer, being out with new hunters on their first hunts is infinitely better than me being alone and taking an animal.

Truly feel sorry for someone that is so consumed about themselves.

Hunting isn’t a social event for me. Its an escape from all the crap I have to deal with on a daily basis. I enjoy being out in the mountains by myself or with my son. Its not even about me killing something, I just hate seeing a bunch of orange on the mountain. Not to mention most of these new hunters think they are long range experts because they went and bought a 6.5 creedmoor. I have seen too many times newer hunters lobbing lead at an elk herd at 800 yards. I would rather have them stay home and play call of duty than be on the mountain with me.

 

[mmw194287]

If there were twice as many hunters next year, that would benefit the influence of hunters at the polls. It would--in many ways--be good for hunting. If there were twice as many hunters next year, hunting would offer less solitude and less opportunity. It would--in many ways--be bad for hunting

I think the article ultimately asks us to think critically about the idea of something that's pretty much viewed as an unquestioned good. Things can be complicated--that's okay.

 

[Traveler]

If there is an increase in hunters that adopt hunting long term as a hobby/lifestyle and advocate, vote for hunting i am all for it. However, I think there is too much hunter increase that are one timers, hunters that won’t prioritize hunting in advocacy, and too many dude bro / I did this thing hunters to make it worth it. Commercialization of activities generally results in short term interest.

 

[grfox92]

Matt and Steve don't see eye to eye on this. Steve is Meateater Matt is not. "Meateater" is just willing to post an article showing the other side of the debate.

I can see you dumping on meateater for commercializing hunting but they are all about promoting hunting.

Steve has said that Matt is not happy about what Meateater does.

This is correct l, Steve has been talking about Matt's position on this since the beginning of MeatEater. Nobody is flipping the script here.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Gabrielarchangel]

I am trying to figure out where I fit here. I've been hunting for 10 years. Started at the age of 39. I am originally from the Caribbean and did some dove hunting as a teenager with a neighbor. I hunt Squirrel, rabbits, whitetail deer, elk, wild pigs and also do some fishing. I personally contribute money directly to conservation groups as the BHA, TRCP and RMEF even though I do not live in the west. Am I that guy that Matt Rinella doesn't want on his neck of the woods? I have never posted a picture on social.media of the animals hunted because it's a personal thing for me. I eat what I hunt and do not really care about antler points but if I can get a nice animal I will hunt it. How am I the bad guy? Because my dad didn't teach me to hunt? Because I have learned by trial and studying? I am not trying to diminish what he says and he may be right in the end. I can guarantee that the passion I feel for hunting and how I feel when I am the woods pursuing an animal is real and I don't think is less then Matt's just because I started later in life and don't live in the West.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I am trying to figure out where I fit here. I've been hunting for 10 years. Started at the age of 39. I am originally from the Caribbean and did some dove hunting as a teenager with a neighbor. I hunt Squirrel, rabbits, whitetail deer, elk, wild pigs and also do some fishing. I personally contribute money directly to conservation groups as the BHA, TRCP and RMEF even though I do not live in the west. Am I that guy that Matt Rinella doesn't want on his neck of the woods? I have never posted a picture on social.media of the animals hunted because it's a personal thing for me. I eat what I hunt and do not really care about antler points but if I can get a nice animal I will hunt it. How am I the bad guy? Because my dad didn't teach me to hunt? Because I have learned by trial and studying? I am not trying to diminish what he says and he may be right in the end. I can guarantee that the passion I feel for hunting and how I feel when I am the woods pursuing an animal is real and I don't think is less then Matt's just because I started later in life and don't live in the West.

I'd say just don't worry about it. If you joined Rokslide just to post that then you are probably worrying too much about what was said in an article.

 

[hutty]

I grew up in a non hunting family, outside NYC. I have been hunting for almost 30 years. Been fortunate to hunt out west, down south, canada and africa. Been actively involved in multiple conservation /hunting orgs for the last twenty years. In a nutshell, hunting is part of who I am and my DNA.

I have gotten way more from hunting then I'll ever probably be able to give back. The places I've traveled, the people I've met, the things I've seem , the memories created, and the animals I've pursued.

With as much as hunting has given to me, I will do all in my power to show that to others in the hope they get to experience just some of what I've gotten from hunting.

While I respect someone else view and opinion, I truly feel sorry for someone who is so self absorbed with themselves.

 

[hutty]

Nice rebuttal from Outdoor Life

https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/hunter-recruitment-rebuttal-meateater-opinion/

 

[hutty]

I participated in an adult mentor hunt sponsored by MD DNR and the NWTF. Strory was published in the July/August issue of Sports Afield. I defy Matt to tell me an R3 event like this is evil in someway.

First Shot

The wind was calm, and the only noise was from the rain pounding down. I checked the weather app again. The rain should have already left. So much for modern technology. I sat back down in the stand, watching the mosquitoes being held at bay by the Thermacell.

I whispered to Mat, huddled beneath the tree umbrella, “Keep your eyes open. With all this rain they will be hard to see. They call them marsh ghosts for a reason.”

As I scanned the flooded patch of Loblolly pines, the silence was suddenly broken by several bugles. Mat turned his head and mouthed “What was that?”

“That’s a stag letting the ladies know he’s here. He’s out in the marsh and he sounds close,” I whispered. “He may come this way.”

A minute later we heard the distinct chirp and mews of the hinds. Mat’s eyes grew large and he spun around in the stand, squinting through the rain. And there they were, three hinds making their way towards the marsh and the bugling stag.

“There they are, about 50 yards to our left,” I hissed. “I’m going to try and get them to stop.”

A sharp whistle stopped them, but they were partially obscured by some Merkle bushes. Mat scanned frantically with the scope, desperate to find fur in the crosshairs. But the hinds grew restless and slipped out into the marsh to join the still bugling stag.

“I couldn’t find them in the scope,” Mat said, upset with himself. “I hope that isn’t our only chance today.” He fixed his binoculars on the spot where the hinds had been, willing them back.

“Don’t worry, it’s your first time hunting and those hinds are tough to see,” I offered. “That’s why they call it hunting.”

Mat and I were hunting the elusive Sika deer in Maryland’s Dorchester County through a program called First Shot, a mentoring program aimed at recruiting new adult hunters. Looking at declining license sales, Maryland allows first-time adult hunters to buy a onetime apprentice license. After completing an online safety course, the apprentice hunter can then hunt with a resident hunter 18 years or older. The idea is to engage adults who may be interested in learning about hunting by pairing them with an experienced hunter.

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) along with staff at Maryland’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge came up with the idea of organizing and allowing the hunts to take place at the refuge. Eager to see the program succeed, Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources,the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and Young Life Farms also stepped in to help.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 as a refuge for migratory birds. Comprised of 30,000 acres of tidal marsh, mixed hardwood, loblolly pine forests, managed freshwater wetlands and crops. Blackwater serves as a resting and feeding area for migrating and wintering waterfowl on Maryland’s picturesque Eastern Shore. It also harbors a large population of sika deer, one of the quirkiest and most elusive big game species in North America.

Japanese sika deer were introduced to Maryland in the early 1900s when a local resident named Clement Henry released 6 deer on James Island in the Chesapeake Bay. As the herd grew, deer migrated to the nearby marshes. Today, that herd numbers around 12,000, centered primarily in Dorchester County on Maryland’s lower eastern shore. They represent the only huntable free-range sika population in the United States.

Though tiny in stature, sika are actually members of the elk family. Females, called hinds, range from 40-70 pounds. Males, called stags, weigh on average only 90 pounds and have antlers up to 15 inches. In the early fall, their shrill bugles can be heard rising from the area’s marshes and forested wetlands – habitat the native whitetails largely avoid. Primarily nocturnal, the sika is best hunted in the early morning or late afternoon.

Our hunt began over the summer, when 21 mentee hunters were randomly selected from over 60 applicants. As a mentor hunter, I was paired with Mat, and reached out to learn a bit about him and find why he became involved in the program.

An ethical vegetarian since age 11, Mat said he always felt that it was wrong to raise animals just to kill them. In later years he went strictly vegan. Then, he said, it just kind of clicked one day on a trip to Cape Cod when he saw a group of wild turkeys: they are a renewable food source, and they looked delicious. Eager to educate his four-year-old son about land management and the responsible use of natural resources, he began searching for a way to get better connected to nature.

“I realized that hunters think and care most about protecting the environment,” Mat said. “I believe it’s critical that people who think hunting is negative or offensive begin to change their view.”

A week before the hunt, volunteers, staff, mentors and mentees met up for a mandatory daylong session on deer hunting basics. Topics included whitetail and sika biology and behavior, hunting and social media, scouting, why people hunt, conservation, tracking and tree stand safety. The eager new hunters had dozens of questions.

The morning of the hunt brought rain. Mat and I donned our rain gear and hip boots for a wet 20-minute hike to our stand. Later that morning, after the three hinds disappeared into the marsh, Mat remained focused. Throughout the morning we heard shots to our south and two shots from a hunter nearby. We stayed in the stand until 11 am, and as the rain subsided decided to head in for lunch. On our way out we ran into Zia, another mentee who it turned out had been the source of two nearby shots. She emerged from the marsh in waders with her mentor Trevor, dragging both a hind and a stag onto the trail. Their smiles said it all.

As we joined the other mentees for lunch, the table was abuzz with stories from the morning hunt - animals seen, shots taken, success and failures. It was like any other hunt camp at lunchtime, with the exception that these were all brand new hunters. Eating a sandwich, I sat and talked with some of the diverse group of mentees to find out what drew them to the program.

Many had always wanted to learn to hunt but didn’t know anyone who hunted. Some grew up in families that were anti-hunting and anti-gun. Some of the women even had friends and family say they were crazy to want to hunt, that they were too girly.

Others had reservations about joining the program. They had heard hunting was an old boy network that doesn't want outsiders. They didn't look like the hunters they saw on TV and in the magazines. They questioned if mentors would really want to spend the time and effort with new hunters. Others told me there was simply so much information about hunting available that they didn't know where to start. All expressed their thanks for the opportunity to learn from hunters with experience.

As Mat and I headed back out for the afternoon hunt I asked him what he thought about the program.

"I have to be honest, I’m usually hesitant about any program run by the government,” Mat said. “But this program makes me reassess. You have the federal and state government, nonprofits and volunteers all working together. Its way beyond my expectations.”

The rain had stopped as Mat and I headed back into the marsh, opting for a different afternoon stand. Passing bald eagles and skirting muskrat dens, Mat was keyed up for the afternoon hunt. Though we heard several stags bugle through the afternoon, none came close enough for a shot. Then, as the sun set over the marsh, we heard a deer approaching through the marsh grass. Mat got ready. With the light fading, I could just make out the shape of a hind.

“There's one, quartering towards us, about 50 yards,” I whispered. But as he searched through the scope, the wind swirled and she was gone.

We readied our gear in the stand as darkness fell. Mat was dejected. He had his heart set on a deer. We started our hike back to the truck beneath a moonless sky, sika stags bugling around us. I was disappointed for him, but knew from all I had seen that another passionate hunter had just joined our ranks. I offered a concession, unwilling to see his season end without success.

“Would you be interested in coming out with me for late season muzzleloader hunt for whitetail?” I said. He paused for less than a second.



“Let me know when and where and I’ll be there.”

 

[AlaskaMark]

The Outdoor Life rebuttals are spot on, thanks for posting that Hutty.

 

[MattB]

Yep thanks. I read that totally wrong...my error. I read that he wanted people to join those organizations but didnt pay attention to why he wanted people to join them. My bad.
He wanted people to join those organizations and to help "shape their priorities".

Basically...join the organizations and tell them not to recruit people so he can go into the mountains with a film crew of 10 people that meateater recruited and shoot animals and sell sponsors. Win win...less hunters in the mountains and more public ground to hunt!

I dont think we need more people sitting on their couches watching hunting shows...we need more people outside living their own hunting shows!

Next RMEF banquet you go to make sure to spend an extra 25% to make up for the lower number of new hunters recruited! Less money coming into banquets means less public land to have to yourself...

Matt wants the additional public land that more hunters and their dollars can help conserve. He just doesn't want them out there competing with him.