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

[Doc Holliday]

Someone's been drinking some haterade

 

[Gobbler36]

Yep
Pretty much have been saying this since Randy Newberg and all the other YouTubers started the demise of western big game hunting. Agree with the article whole heartedly. All the BSthat hunting isn’t going to be around unless we have more hunters is total shit

 

[pyrotechnic]

Yep
Pretty much have been saying this since Randy Newberg and all the other YouTubers started the demise of western big game hunting. Agree with the article whole heartedly. All the BSthat hunting isn’t going to be around unless we have more hunters is total shit

Man....there'd be 1770 less social media posts about hunting if you'd decided not to participate.

 

[Rob5589]

A lot to digest there. My opinion, that also was talked about on a recent Stickbow Chronicles podcast, is that social media posts have lead to the belief that everyone shoots a huge bull or buck with regularity. And there are some guys like that but, based on percentages alone, most of us mortals eat tags more often than backstraps.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

My favorite part of the article, "My brother Dan has joked about developing an internet-enabled rifle scope that automatically uploads kill shots to a hunter’s social media feed."

I'd say the root cause is decreasing habitat, decreasing public land availability and private land monetization that's concentrating hunters. Social media is probably a factor in that as well but I'm not convinced that people posting grip and grins on Instragram is the main reason the woods are feeling more crowded than they have in the past.

 

[Rifleman86]

I agree with him that social media has made people completely unwilling to admit, discuss, or even acknowledge the “bad” side of hunting.

If you hunt long enough, lost and wounded animals will happen. Post about it online and watch the wrath and judgement of others come down like the hammer of Thor. Regardless the circumstances get ready to be roasted.

Unless you are a psychopath nobody wants to wound an animal. We do our best to take ethical shots, but shit sometimes happens. It can be a real kick in the gut, even for experienced hunters. It’s no wonder hunters have a well earned reputation for being assholes to anyone new getting into the sport.

 

[JeffRaines]

Damn Matt has BDE!

I like and 100% agree with the article. Anyone who doesn't is obviously part of the "braggers". You can't deny that the entire article is 1000000% true.

I'm all for hunting - but I hunt because I enjoy doing it. Not because someone else enjoys me doing it. I like the meat. In fact, I've killed many animals since making this account - feel free to read my post history and see I've posted ZERO pictures or stories.

Why?

Well... while I value the resource we have here when it comes to gear info and other stuff, honestly, the people who are important enough to me to see the pictures and outcomes of my hunts are all people I can show in real life - people who I call friends and family... who I share a dinner table with every night or on holidays. People who I go to the bar and share drinks with. People who I work with.

For the record, I don't blast it in peoples faces. If they ask how a hunt went, I'll show them pictures if they want to see... I'll tell the story if they want to hear it, but I don't give locations and unless they pry for more its usually just a "yeah it went well" or "nah I didn't see anything" and its left at that.

On top of that, yeah most of hunting social media/shows are bullshit. Randy Newberg is a BIG one. I'm sure I've mentioned it in a prior thread, but watching one of their spring bear hunts where they remark that "anyone can do a hunt like this"... then you look up the exact area they're hunting and its all private land. Yep, anyone with deep enough pockets/connections can have a hunt just like this!!!

 

[Wingnutty]

Gotta say I agree with him. Brave article. I’m as guilty as many for grip and grinning. I also agree with that hunting in the west is too crowded and too trophy driven.

Influencers have been both good and bad for hunting but to be sure they have caused the rapid decline of hunting quality in most areas of the west.

We eat it up and in return s*** all over what we love.

 

[AnnualRye]

My favorite part of the article, "My brother Dan has joked about developing an internet-enabled rifle scope that automatically uploads kill shots to a hunter’s social media feed."

I'd say the root cause is decreasing habitat, decreasing public land availability and private land monetization that's concentrating hunters. Social media is probably a factor in that as well but I'm not convinced that people posting grip and grins on Instragram is the main reason the woods are feeling more crowded than they have in the past.

I had not heard the term "adult onset hunter" preceded by a pound sign, or "hashtag" as the kids call it, until recent "trends" on social media made it vogue.

People can deny social media and YouTube accounts are culpable all they want, but I've been a member on hunting and fishing forums for about 18 or so years, and it wasn't until FB, Twitter, Instagram and monetized hunting YouTube channel usage became more widespread did I see and encounter an uptick in people and vehicles sporting the same clothes, packs, gear, window stickers etc crowding the woods and doing what they see "influencers" doing. I have to believe what my eyes, ears and instincts are telling me is true based off my observations. It's no coincidence.

 

[Lawnboi]

Liked the article and agree with a lot of it

#Wildlife pimps

 

[SWOHTR]

No one cares about what you kill and forget in a year or so anyway.

I’d amend this just to say “no one cares” - about anything other than themselves, for the most part. I’ve been thinking a lot lately and think that one of the biggest lies a person can tell themself is just how important they are - case in point, social media platforms.

 

[ODB]

Overall a well-written article; a bit of drama. Matt must have some education.

Personally I loathe the term 'influencer' it's the product of social media narcissism and self-aggrandizement, the 21st century in a nutshell.
Mixing hunting with ego means trespassing, 650 yard shots, suffering animals, deadheads, festering broadheads found in hindquarters in '22. Some of those things have always been a reality, but now they may be an epidemic. (sorry)
Where and when I grew up 'influencer' in essence meant Dad, and in some cases mom too.....or maybe additional insight from a best friend.

Those were better times.

And Finch, you are right: no one cares.

I predict there will very soon be a strong pushback on “influencers”. The game is played, people know ambassadors are simply paid shills and there is a building intolerance of bullshit. What I’ve noticed is a strong convergence of language, pictures, ideas from social media and things are getting more alike than they are different - stale. No matter how many fancy words people want to use in a post or that they, “…feel that persistence in a world that is often frought with a thousand temporal intangibles builds the resilience we need to shed our outer, calloused selves and let bloom our inner spirit that strives to be in harmony with nature…” at the end of the day, they are just selling shit.

And if there is anything we need less of, it’s shit.

 

[zacattack]

Social media has led to so many problems. My students can’t even talk to each other in class. But you put them on fb, ig, ticktock and they are the kings of the world. Problem is they don’t know how to cope with all the downtime in between. Same with hunting/fishing all the good stuff is on display for the masses but the 99% of the rest of the time is not. We all just seek the highs and rush. It’s literally a drug.

Duck dynasty blew up duck hunting, but then everyone got frustrated cause there were a million neck beards on every square foot of water. People will get frustrated and move on to the next big thing.

 

[ozyclint]

I've done my part, never been on FB, Instabro, Twatter, etc, etc.

forums are my thing, sites dedicated to a certain topic without all the other distractions.

 

[Broomd]

Social media has led to so many problems. My students can’t even talk to each other in class. But you put them on fb, ig, ticktock and they are the kings of the world. Problem is they don’t know how to cope with all the downtime in between. Same with hunting/fishing all the good stuff is on display for the masses but the 99% of the rest of the time is not. We all just seek the highs and rush. It’s literally a drug.

Duck dynasty blew up duck hunting, but then everyone got frustrated cause there were a million neck beards on every square foot of water. People will get frustrated and move on to the next big thing.

+1 to the social media insights, as a former teacher agree 100%.

And your Duck Dynasty analogy is a good one.
Back in the day we had Redford's "A River Runs Through It".. a film which essentially ruined the peace and solitude for much of the West and fly fisherman everywhere. The problem is that wasn't a short term fad. Some watersheds still suffer from overuse and over-harvest, incidental kill etc.
Redford, Costner, Ford, etal can all lock their ranch gates and catch 'cut's till their arms hurt.
You and I? !

 

[crich]

I predict there will very soon be a strong pushback on “influencers”. The game is played, people know ambassadors are simply paid shills and there is a building intolerance of bullshit.

Its an issue with society not just hunting. These people have become celebrities and society loves to drool over other people and their lives. It will never stop.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

There’s a pretty big difference from those that use this forum to discuss gear and issues, as opposed to those who use this forum to beg for hand outs (i.e. “Not looking for anyone’s honey hole, but tell me where to go”), and social media influencers using their platform to promote themselves and gain sponsors/followers.

Exactly!

 

[FLATHEAD]

I can honestly say I've never posted a photo of any of my kills on any social media/internet,
I DID post one of my son's first Turkey and YES, I was bragging.

 

[Poser]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I have had similar thoughts for years.

New hunters strongly benefited from a mentor prior to the internet or you had to be highly motivated reading books, magazines, boots on the ground, etc.

Internet serves as a mentor on steroids that is available to anyone willing to put in some screen time. This opportunity, which is new in human history, has absolutely increased the amount of people in the field. One can ascend from kindergarten to grad school in a few years. Especially those that put their boots on the ground.

Case in point. A very good friend of mine from high school, who has never hunted big game, is now very interested. His source of inspiration: MeatEater shows.

I use this forum for gear and general discussions. Never posted an animal I harvested. Tight lipped about where I hunt because I don't trust the internet. I don't ask for honey holes!

BUT....I would be negligent if I didn't think I benefited from the internet, on a myriad of levels, regarding hunting. I don't have a mentor and the plethora of information at my disposal absolutely helped.

Something as simple as elk calling. Try learning that without a mentor or online videos.