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

[AZ8]

great article, how I long for the days when there were no tag draws and "hunting software".

…..and no internet.

 

[Alchemy]

So in what light does he view his brother?

 

[Ozarkansas]

I agree with his main points but disagree with a lot of specifics and felt like the whole thing was pretty elitist. There is a gradient to social media and guys posting pictures so that their buddies can follow along shouldn’t be lumped in with people trying to build a following and get rich. The article also had a kind of “private land bad, public land good vibe” that I dislike.

 

[cnelk]

Maybe Rokslide’s influencer Tony Trietch will chime in and tell what he does with his meat and trophy antlers?

 

[cod007]

great article, how I long for the days when there were no tag draws and "hunting software".

…..and no internet.

Yep, and I’d even opt for back to no cell phone days. Even tho most on here can’t remember those days on account of being a young’un.
Rinilla’s article was spot on. Modesty is a thing of the past. In Your Face seems to be glamorized nowadays. I hate it.

 

[JeffRaines]

I agree with his main points but disagree with a lot of specifics and felt like the whole thing was pretty elitist. There is a gradient to social media and guys posting pictures so that their buddies can follow along shouldn’t be lumped in with people trying to build a following and get rich. The article also had a kind of “private land bad, public land good vibe” that I dislike.

if a person is only your friend on social media - are they really your buddy? Not in my book.

Edit: to clarify - I’m not trying to start shit or anything. It’s your life and a free country to do what you wish. From my point of view, I don’t have any “buddies” that I’m not real life friends with, or at the very least texting/phone buddies. The only people I care that see my photos and outcomes of my hunts are those people. If I’m posting on social media the only reason I could think to do it is so other people could see and gawk over the animals or be impressed and that’s honest. I’d be willing to bet 95% of the others who post their kills and hunts on social media are for the exact same reasons although they will give another reason.

 

[Newtosavage]

Absolutely brilliant article. I hope it represents a paradigm shift in the thinking of most hunters. Hopefully it isn't too late to reverse the trend. Judging by the number of mommy's boys on here asking for free spots, there's a lot of reversing to be done.
And Free Range American showed their true character when they took the article down. Must have him them right in the feels.

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Most hunters don't follow other hunters, or anyone else, on social media.

 

[Newtosavage]

We've opened Pandora's box, and I don't think there's any closing it now. Social media has ruined hunting, just like it's ruined pretty much everything else.

Ruined hunting? Social media has zero effect on me once I hit the woods. This is only an issue for those who think it's an issue.

 

[Maverick1]

I don't care if he makes understanding the draws easier, most could use the help. I've helped anybody that asks and will continue to do so. I've also run into him in the field and he didn't throw a fit, far from it actually.

Must not have been too bad, you went out for dinner!

 

[Randy Newberg]

Good discussion here. I’m glad Matt is willing to say these things. There’s a lot of value in what he is saying and even more value in forcing those of us with platforms to think about all of this. I think the fact that he’s Steve’s brother gives his message even more power. When Matt did his demonetize/de-something else gig about a year ago, I found that to be a helpful discussion, also.

Since my name came up in this thread, I'll jump in and give some thoughts of a guy who has some of these platforms, knowing it might just make for a bigger target.

For me, I would get rid of FB, IG, and YT in a second if those were not the primary distribution channels of our society and thus, for communicating the WHY of our platforms – To promote self-guided public land hunting and create advocates for that cause.

Right now, those are the primary media outlets of our day, replacing a lot of the role previously served by TV, print, etc. Just how it is.

I have IG and FB for our platforms. I have a social media firm that runs those for me. I have no interest in them, so I hand it off to a professional firm. I do have monthly meetings and weekly calls with them to determine what we schedule as the message, the images, and I’m really keen to see the results of each. Me and my crew run the YouTube part of our distribution. I run the podcast part by myself.

The results from our IG, FB, and YT content are interesting to follow. We break all our content, whether videos, social, or whatever, into four categories; 1) entertainment, 2) information, 3) education, and 4) advocacy. When we examine what people watch and engage in, the content with animals and filling tags get many, many times the amount of engagement as does any other content category.

Even with the lower engagement in the other three categories of our content, my crew knows we will continue to do a heavy emphasis of food, information, education, and advocacy. Those are critical parts of our WHY. If people continue their habits of engaging in those at much lower levels, it doesn’t matter to me. It is part of our plan and we will do it.

As for clicks, likes, etc. None of that means squat to me. It has no bearing on what I do, what I post, and surely has no impact on my relationship with our sponsors. They support us because of our public land and conservation message/work. If any of you who do subscribe to our IG, FB or YT have unsubscribed, I completely understand and I don’t blame you one bit.

As to Matt’s comment that nobody shows the ugly parts of hunting, misses and wounding, I think that is mostly correct, with some exceptions. We, and a few others, show it all, the good, the bad, the misses, the hits, and what the outcome is.

When I was on TV, the network tried everything to get me to not air a NV archery mule deer hunt from our very first season. They did not want “no-kill” episodes. I told them I was paying them for airtime and so long as the episode was delivered to their specs, according to the contract, they had to air it. Eventually, they aired it. The next year, we had three or four no-kill episodes. Just how it happens for us. Since then, we’ve had many of them. Hell, this season, I was on five hunts of my own. Two no-kills. Just how it goes.

Our fourth year, I hit a bear in Alaska and I didn’t recover it. I felt terrible. I sent it to the network, and again, they advised me against airing it. I aired it. It showed the reality of me somehow effing up a 280 yard shot that I should have made. We’ve shown every miss and the few instances where an animal was not recovered. We don’t show shots of finishing off an animal if a follow up is necessary.

I get a lot of heat when we air those episodes that have some messy outcomes. Some don’t like that it is shown. I think an unrecovered animal is a painful part of hunting that will happen sooner or later, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. So, we show that and try to reconcile the feelings that come with it.

I have no false hopes that I’m the best elk hunter, a mountain athlete, or whatever. I have friends who are top-end predators, whose skills remind me how below average I am. Hell, I’m an aging CPA with a bum liver who drives a desk for a living. I’m not too worried about impressing anyone. My goal is to tell a story of what happened, sometimes a good outcome, sometimes not. Hopefully something folks can relate to.

I hope Matt continues to make these points. I agree with a lot of what he says. I think a lot of value comes from these discussion and Matt is good at pushing them forward.

Some who have social media accounts or other media platforms might point out that I’m in a different situation and thus I will look at this discussion differently. This endeavor doesn’t pay my bills, rather has cost me a few hundred thousand of my own dollars that I’ll likely never get back. So, I operate how I feel is best for our WHY and I don’t really give a damn about likes, shares, money, gear, or whatever.

I’ve spent 14 years doing this, between TV, podcasts, videos, forums, and other platforms. Before that, I spent 15 years volunteering on these issues and realized me and/or my little non-profit groups were never going to have a large impact on public land policy, access, conservation policy, etc. That is why I started these platforms. Maybe someday I’ll make some money at it, but not at the expense of doing it how I want and what I think is best. Money is not why I started it, not why I’ve done it, and not why I will continue to do it. And as such, there’s a lot benefit to me and our message by engaging in discussions such as this. I suspect my personal situation likely gives me more reason (than other content producers) to agree with Matt and many of the comments I’ve read when scanning this thread.

These threads are always helpful for me as I consider what we do, how we provide our messaging, and what we can do better. It is why I have a forum and it is why I drop in on Rokslide a few times each week when I have coverage. And why I am a sponsor here. Rokslide is a social media platform, the same as my forum is. I feel a lot better about a social media platform like Rokslide run by Ryan, Robbie, Jordan, and the crew than I do FB, IG, or YT.

Appreciate folks having this discussion. I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve made some mistakes and I’m sure I’ll make some more. Following discussions such as this gives me a lot to consider and think about as we plan, produce, and distribute our content, whichever of our four content categories it falls into.

 

[Zappaman]

It's all "Horn Porn"... really. Never going to go away and I'm not against putting a pic of a buck shot up online. But the whole "promotional" video thing is something else I don't care for (personally).

But I will say that when I took a youth hunter out last year (to track the deer he gut shot) I busted his ass (tracking in driving rain for two miles-- to the end of the fence). When he reached for his phone I told him "no phones" and I truly doubt he'll make a hunter. Sad, BUT if your more interested in you "image" than your hunt, then I got not time for you.

This is why to this day I don't watch "hunting" shows because they are the "soap operas" of the hunting world-- don't give a f***. Go out and hunt, learn on your own (or from people THERE helping you in person) and share with family and friends AFTER the deer is down (or hung-up for that matter). I have a great friend who is a national TV hunting "personality"... love him like a brother. Just not my cup O' tea!

 

[WKR]

Appreciate folks having this discussion. I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve made some mistakes and I’m sure I’ll make some more. Following discussions such as this gives me a lot to consider and think about as we plan, produce, and distribute our content, whichever of our four content categories it falls into.

Randy i have to say I do watch and enjoy your content,however I do sometimes wonder how "ethical" it is to harvest more than you and your immediate family can eat in a year. Can you give us your thoughts on this?

 

[Ozarkansas]

if a person is only your friend on social media - are they really your buddy? Not in my book.

I think we just differ in how we use social media and that’s okay. Most of the accounts I follow on Instagram or am friends with on Facebook are real people I like and want to stay in touch with, but maybe only 3-6 of them are people I regularly talk to on the phone. I like when they post updates about their lives, whether it’s hunts or something like a pregnancy announcement. I also follow some accounts that definitely deserve the criticism leveled at them in this article, I just think Mat Rinella painted with too broad of a brush.

 

[541hunter]

Randy i have to say I do watch and enjoy your content,however I do sometimes wonder how "ethical" it is to harvest more than you and your immediate family can eat in a year. Can you give us your thoughts on this?

In my freezers I currently have 2 elk and 3 deer. All the animals in my freezer were killed in the last year by myself, my wife and my oldest son. This is probably enough meat to last us 2 years. Will we be hunting this spring and next fall, you bet. We help provide some meat for parents, grandparents, great grandparents, siblings and the occasional neighbor. Not an ounce goes to waste.

I also do not only hunt for the food. Food plays a large role in it, but I also partake in other forms of hunting that have no food component.

All that said I have no social media other than this and firmly believe that it has corrupted society as a whole.

 

[Gobbler36]

I don't care if he makes understanding the draws easier, most could use the help. I've helped anybody that asks and will continue to do so. I've also run into him in the field and he didn't throw a fit, far from it actually.

Bet you did, well that’s not what I’ve seen on some episodes, but best of luck to ya bub.

 

[AnnualRye]

Ruined hunting? Social media has zero effect on me once I hit the woods. This is only an issue for those who think it's an issue.

Yes, ruined hunting. Directly and/or indirectly. I don't have a social media account on any platform other than forums where I go to to learn, seek help and provide help if I'm able. I used to, but what I saw on a daily basis from "hunters" (and other people, too) turned me off from it. It is self-serving, self- promoting garbage by-and-large.

To me, the content does not fit into my ethos. It has commercialized something that was sacred and cherished into just another means to an end for someone to get attention, fame, money and adoration at the expense of taking an animal's life. It's distorted the reality of what a "trophy" is and reduced it to be simply defined by the size of body, antler or horn, rather than the experience, story, location, difficulty and effort it took to harvest the animal. Not everyone on social media, no. That would be hyperbolic to say. But I don't think it's a stretch to say it's more prevalent than you seem to believe it is, and that it's had a detrimental impact on the sport. Look no further than many peoples' comments in this thread.

 

[Randy Newberg]

Randy i have to say I do watch and enjoy your content,however I do sometimes wonder how "ethical" it is to harvest more than you and your immediate family can eat in a year. Can you give us your thoughts on this?

It would be unethical to harvest meat that goes to waste, for sure. Last year I had an elk, some grouse, and that was it. This year I have a pronghorn, a moose, and a mountain goat. In both years, I could have shot an elk and a deer. But, we hunt the hell out of them in Montana and in neither case did I feel I needed to shoot a deer or elk, for any reason, either filming or for food. So, those unpunched tags are in the big pile of others.

In some years I am lucky and take a few more animals. We eat it all. I also have friends and elderly neighbors I've been sharing with for 20 years. And, we have editors and others in the office who don't hunt. I, and others in the office who do hunt, share a lot with them.

To your point, I've never taken more than me and my immediate family, along with my few neighbors and friends I share with, could eat. I always have a lot of meat around, but after sharing a lot of the moose and most the mountain goat with friends who want to try it, odds are I will be out of meat pretty early this spring.

I get your point and agree with it. I've never had a season so successful that I/we couldn't eat what I've taken.

 

[Sled]

while being against monetization of hunting, trophy hunting and generally everything flat brim....i put newberg in a different category. his youtube and podcast are the only hunting shows i can tolerate. they just have a different non-braggadocios vibe. it seems down to earth with more respect for the game we hunt.

i'm sure people have been drawn to the sport by what he's put out there but that's reality. if i had to stop watching to lose the other "horn porn" guys i would.

 

[cod007]

I wouldn’t know the name Randy Newberg from Adam nor have I ever heard or seen his videos. But the answers/comments I have seen him add to this thread I can appreciate. I can’t find much in his comments that are concerning. Thx Randy for your comments.

 

[dreamingbig]

I took Instagram off my phone 3 weeks ago and I am not missing it. I have never had Facebook itself. I am sure I will miss out on some cool things but I am loving not having the distraction. I thought it would be a cool way to positively promote hunting but big tech has determined hunting isn’t approved and thus my efforts weren’t being see by many anyways. My goal for 2022 is to hunt more and post zero. I know how to scout so I will be fine!


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