Unfollowing Hunting Social Media Will Make Hunting Better: Matt Rinella Essay

[TheTone]

I'm not a Bomar fan but you might do some fact checking.

"Bowmar not only shoots stuff at unethically long distances, he's also a convicted poacher."

"October 26, 2021

ORDER granting 76 Motion to Continue Trial as to Josh Bowmar, Sarah Bowmar, Bowmar Bowhunting, LLC. Jury Trial continued to 4/18/2022 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 4, Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse, 111 South 18th Plaza, Omaha, NE before Chief Judge Robert F. Rossiter Jr."

going to make it through another fall avoiding the hammer and maybe a spring as well

He’s also a talented inventor of products that already exist

 

[wapitibob]

Come on, that push top solvent dispenser sitting in every nail salon for the last 100 years was different.

 

[HighUintas]

Those outdoor life editors in that response article are total turds and are completely missing the whole point/argument M. Rinella is making.

I agree with M. Rinella. We can't endlessly increase hunter recruitment and expect it to be "conservation". And social media/commercializing of hunting just straight sucks.

I deem rokslide to be ok because it helps me survive living in a city and helps me learn.

Also, I sent a picture of my single harvest for this year through text to my buddies and family back home, an archery doe, hanging in my driveway in the burbs ready for me to butcher it, because I was proud to be able to finally get some meat after a tough hunting season. I was definitely bragging haha

 

[TheTone]

Come on, that push top solvent dispenser sitting in every nail salon for the last 100 years was different.

I preferred inventing rattling antlers

 

[AZ8]

I think one thing Matt didn't touch on is just that- how the monetization of hunting has caused these idiot influencers to push the envelope more and more to get the most followers and likes. Bowmar not only shoots stuff at unethically long distances, he's also a convicted poacher. Would he, that Muley Freak douche or the Fear No Evil idiot have poached if it weren't for insta-cred? Probably not. These are all experienced hunters who know very well what they were doing, and even with evidence of them committing a crime being produced at a hundred frames per second, did it anyway.

Yeah, people used to make cave paintings of what they shot, but it was never this narcissistic. Social media is designed to be poisonously addictive, and these people are its waste products. I think there's a very serious comparison to be made between these influencers who set up a camera, remove their shirt and then do a staged river crossing and that chick who did a photoshoot at her dad's funeral. If you spend your entire year investing thousands of dollars and god knows how much time and effort tuning your gear to make the most ethical harvest possible on an animal you respect and care for deeply, and then some dickhead influencer flings an arrow at it from over a hundred yards away, wounds it and then deletes the video because that was all it was worth to him, it is impossible not to be disdainful.

IMO, this public shaming is exactly what the world needs. Maybe if the companies who provide the free stuff see that a lot of hunters are judging them for the company they keep, incentives for this behavior might start to dry up.

Poaching is a whole different dynamic that probably needs its own thread. It’s a psychological disconnect that 99.9% of us can’t understand.

Probably one of, if not the most infamous poacher, Kurt Darner, achieved his fame in the late 70’s into the early 80’s long before TV shows and the internet. Record book listings and magazine stories were the flavor back then.

What’s common, it’s still about stroking their ego for fortune and fame. We just notice it more now with Social Media.

 

[FLATHEAD]

How long till we're putting in for squirrel tags? quail?, rabbit?
Cause there aint enough to go around.
This is why I've been hunting less glamorous critters.
And no, I aint saying which ones.

 

[Actual_Cryptid]

How long till we're putting in for squirrel tags? quail?, rabbit?
Cause there aint enough to go around.
This is why I've been hunting less glamorous critters.
And no, I aint saying which ones.

Nothing unglamorous about hunting booger cats and snallygasters, and so far the ammo cost is nil!

 

[3forks]

Also, I sent a picture of my single harvest for this year through text to my buddies and family back home, an archery doe, hanging in my driveway in the burbs ready for me to butcher it, because I was proud to be able to finally get some meat after a tough hunting season. I was definitely bragging haha

I don’t think this kind of thing is really the problem, and I think there’s only a couple of people who have posted in this this discussion that have a hard time differentiating between someone sharing a pic of their kid with a buck and influencer posting to gain followers or sponsors.

Trying to explain to some why social media has had a detrimental effect on hunting and what is a commercialized post versus a post some guy makes to share with his friends reminds me of when the Supreme Court was trying to define the difference between art and pornography… I‘m paraphrasing, but one of the justices said something to the affect of “I know it when I see it.”

 

[FLATHEAD]

I lived in Central FL. for 16 years.
Did quite a bit of freshwater fishing and one of my favorites were Big Bluegill.
The state actually has Fish Management areas on old phosphate pits.
There was one in particular that was loaded with Big Gills.
At least until they posted on the Fish and Wildlife website that this
phosphate pit was in the top 10 Bluegill places in the state.
Didnt take long, place was wiped out!!!
Was good while it lasted.

 

[Gobbler36]

Can anyone post the article

 

[Gobbler36]

I think one thing Matt didn't touch on is just that- how the monetization of hunting has caused these idiot influencers to push the envelope more and more to get the most followers and likes. Bowmar not only shoots stuff at unethically long distances, he's also a convicted poacher. Would he, that Muley Freak douche or the Fear No Evil idiot have poached if it weren't for insta-cred? Probably not. These are all experienced hunters who know very well what they were doing, and even with evidence of them committing a crime being produced at a hundred frames per second, did it anyway.

Yeah, people used to make cave paintings of what they shot, but it was never this narcissistic. Social media is designed to be poisonously addictive, and these people are its waste products. I think there's a very serious comparison to be made between these influencers who set up a camera, remove their shirt and then do a staged river crossing and that chick who did a photoshoot at her dad's funeral. If you spend your entire year investing thousands of dollars and god knows how much time and effort tuning your gear to make the most ethical harvest possible on an animal you respect and care for deeply, and then some dickhead influencer flings an arrow at it from over a hundred yards away, wounds it and then deletes the video because that was all it was worth to him, it is impossible not to be disdainful.

IMO, this public shaming is exactly what the world needs. Maybe if the companies who provide the free stuff see that a lot of hunters are judging them for the company they keep, incentives for this behavior might start to dry up.

Such a good post

 

[wapitibob]

link in post #1, still works

 

[dr.derek]

I bet Steve is more fun to hunt with though....

 

[ODB]

I bet Steve is more fun to hunt with though....

I’ve thought about that as well. Just based on what I see with Steve on TV (now) and the conversations I’ve had with Matt, id pick Matt. I think Steve during the Scavengers era would have been fun to hang with though.

 

[GarnerAF1]

I guess the original link got closed but this one is floating around on Facebook and still works.

Honestly it’s a very well written article with some great points.

cache:RiQkq5P-uDwJ:https://freerangeamerican.us/matt-rinella-unfollowing-hunting-social-media/ - Google Search

webcache.googleusercontent.com

 

[Russp17]

I think the thing we are missing is the population has exploded in western states… since 2000 Colorado has gained 700 thousand people… if only five percent of them hunt that is 35,000 new people hunting… I agree with a lot of what Matt says but I believe population growth and decent economies are more to blame for increase in hunting pressure across western states.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sled]

I think the thing we are missing is the population has exploded in western states… since 2000 Colorado has gained 700 thousand people… if only five percent of them hunt that is 35,000 new people hunting… I agree with a lot of what Matt says but I believe population growth and decent economies are more to blame for increase in hunting pressure across western states.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's true that population growth has become a huge problem. To help control it, the deer have voluntarily contacted COVID in an attempt to make hunting in Colorado less crowded next year.

 

[JeffRaines]

I’ll say this; “conservation” is a huge buzzword for many social media hunters. If these people really are so into conservation what stopped them for going to school for a biology degree (or similar) and getting a job with a state wildlife agency or land management agency and do actual in the field conservation work?

Two words - "virtue signaling"

 

[WCB]

I’ll say this; “conservation” is a huge buzzword for many social media hunters. If these people really are so into conservation what stopped them for going to school for a biology degree (or similar) and getting a job with a state wildlife agency or land management agency and do actual in the field conservation work?

I am no fan on "influencers" at all but being a biologist or working for wildlife agencies is in no way the only or maybe even the best way to do conservation work. The main problem I see with influencers is they tout Conservation but never put in any work on their own time. Very rarely if ever do you see a post in the spring or summer of them planting anything besides food plots or improving any habitat. Had a friend that was working as a Biologist doing Big Horn Sheep studies/counts/etc. She said everyone wanted to be there on relocation/release day and post it to social media but nobody wanted to volunteer to do any of the day to day work with her (which my wife and I did). The same thing with these "influencers"...show up for the photo op and take off.

What I do see is a bunch of idiots Hinge Cutting or picking up trash a couple times a year and thinking they are Roosevelt. Or large organizations that tout "Public Lands" doing pint nights and planting 6 trees at a park.

 

[TheTone]

I am no fan on "influencers" at all but being a biologist or working for wildlife agencies is in no way the only or maybe even the best way to do conservation work. The main problem I see with influencers is they tout Conservation but never put in any work on their own time. Very rarely if ever do you see a post in the spring or summer of them planting anything besides food plots or improving any habitat. Had a friend that was working as a Biologist doing Big Horn Sheep studies/counts/etc. She said everyone wanted to be there on relocation/release day and post it to social media but nobody wanted to volunteer to do any of the day to day work with her (which my wife and I did). The same thing with these "influencers"...show up for the photo op and take off.

What I do see is a bunch of idiots Hinge Cutting or picking up trash a couple times a year and thinking they are Roosevelt. Or large organizations that tout "Public Lands" doing pint nights and planting 6 trees at a park.

Spot on in a lot of ways. I’ve personally seen the same more than enough where the photo op is the goal, not actually getting your hands dirty. I’ve never bought a single piece of Kuiu clothing but that willl change in the future in large part because of their Conservation Direct program. D like to see it have some projects beyond sheep but they’re doing more than a lot of others

It also seems Matt triggered a few influencers based on social media posts where they’re calling foul for hunters criticizing other hunters