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Quit Expecting Every Hunter to Be So Hardcore. We Need Casual Hunters, Too

Maybe she should stop labeling hunters based on the actions of a very small percentage on social media. And just maybe while she's at it, she could write something new rather than making a few slight edits to a 5 year old article that was already published.

If that seems a harsh take just keep in mind I am 6 days into no bread, crackers, Debbies or pretty much anything good food wise.
 
Nothing wrong with being a casual hunter. It's the ones that constantly do dumb stuff like put big obnoxious blinds or ladder stands upwind of a scrape or bait pile and require you to tromp through hundred yards of bedding area to reach.
 
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BTaylor said:
Maybe she should stop labeling hunters based on the actions of a very small percentage on social media. And just maybe while she's at it, she could write something new rather than making a few slight edits to a 5 year old article that was already published.

If that seems a harsh take just keep in mind I am 6 days into no bread, crackers, Debbies or pretty much anything good food wise.
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Harsh?

I'm your huckleberry.

(And I'm on a balanced diet, for a Southern American ... LOL)

This article is the thing to expect from the current version of mainstream hook-and-bullet media.

(How many times has OL been embarrassed by trumpeting what turned out to be poacher kills?)

Her thinking/OL's take is based on the 3R model of blood-sports marketing: Recruit, Retain, Reactivate.

It has nothing to do with developing engaged conservationists or hunters who care about ethical practices or quality game management.

She found the one guy who was raised in the dark in the **** and became a mushroom. Whooptie-phuckin-doo ...

What 3R won't accept, because of the money involved, is that we don't need MORE hunters (casual or not) --We need BETTER hunters.

It's too bad that venison stew won't fix stupid.
 
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Personally, ive constantly felt exactly the opposite of all her sentiments on hunting being exclusive and elite. I think we are in a golden era where new and casual hunters have been welcomed to the table and served 5 star dinner. Are there forums and discussion on social media that fit her description- yea definitely. But is it the norm? No, absolutely not. The web is full of cork sniffing and trolling, but in all reality that’s a handful of bad actors with loud voices. By and large I find the hunting community to be welcoming and open. The author clearly never visited this site / doesn’t know enough about the content to separate contexts.
 
Jammintree said:
Personally, ive constantly felt exactly the opposite of all her sentiments on hunting being exclusive and elite. I think we are in a golden era where new and casual hunters have been welcomed to the table and served 5 star dinner. Are there forums and discussion on social media that fit her description- yea definitely. But is it the norm? No, absolutely not. The web is full of cork sniffing and trolling, but in all reality that’s a handful of bad actors with loud voices. By and large I find the hunting community to be welcoming and open. The author clearly never visited this site / doesn’t know enough about the content to separate contexts.
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Archery Talk is pretty devisive
 
Swamp Fox__On The Run said:
Archerytalk is a long-running joke.
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And why I never spend time there. And this is the thing about the internet, you can find anything out there. Which is why discussion forums are not and will never be legitimate citations or sources. They may lead to valuable content, but on their own merit are just hearsay. It’s pretty ridiculous for outdoor life to publish an article that suggest social media posts and discussion forums are representative of the hunting community.
 
Does anyone have contact info for Greg or Aaron at the hunting public? I feel like one of them would be the ideal person to write an editorial to outdoor life magazine. Their channel is a prime example of the promotion of accessible hunting content.
 
The whole social media experience is so hyped—“Hardcore,” “Extreme,” “Best Ever”—pretty much the opposite of actual hunting. The vast majority of the time, as hunters, we come up empty.


Is it hardcore to put 40 miles a year into a swamp stand that yields a big fat zero? Maybe. But you don’t see that on social media. If you did, the title would read: “Dog Tired and Emotionally Bankrupt.”


The real world is not as sexy.
 
BTaylor said:
Maybe she should stop labeling hunters based on the actions of a very small percentage on social media. And just maybe while she's at it, she could write something new rather than making a few slight edits to a 5 year old article that was already published.

If that seems a harsh take just keep in mind I am 6 days into no bread, crackers, Debbies or pretty much anything good food wise.
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Just a few days into no pumpkin season and already I'm nearly there

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- most americans aren't into casual activities where the likeliest outcome is 'skunking' (how many people would be into casual sports if 95% of the time they lost?)
- only 5-6% of americans hunt at least once annually, yet one of the biggest problems we consistently talk about is access and tag inflation. would having more casual hunters solve those problems or exacerbate them? how could we expand hunter numbers while also tackling those issues?
- i agree it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars to hunt, but there's only so many elk/moose/muleys/et al to hunt and there's always someone who will pay the price of admission.
- social media makes everything worse, we already know that; sure, comments on hunting pages are bad but have you seen the comments section everywhere else...
- we are all slightly sour grapes over the trophies and western game we know most of us will never get within 20yrds of in the wild.
 
Made up social media problem/cry for attention. The public lands near me have never been more packed. Between the gear, onX, and all the educational tools like youtube and now AI, it's never been easier to get into hunting and quickly succeed.

The push we need to make as a conglomerate is figuring out how to make more private land accessible. I think the North American Model is deeply flawed in todays circumstances. I think we also need to look t how to make small game hunting great again. If there is any point to be made from this article's premise, it's that. The lack of accessible small game hunting close to home cuts hunting recruitment deep.
 
Her premise is wrong. No one is expecting that. This website and hunting beast are the sites I go to for knowledge and advice (even if I don't take it) and I have never seen what she is talking about around here or hunting beast. Sometimes, those articles are inflammatory on purpose for views.
 
We are so incredibly blessed to have the public land we have in this country, but we don't have an infinite supply. Anyone who has watched this for 20-30 years has seen how quickly the game has changed, mostly for the worse. It's gotten much easier in many senses, yes, sure we collectively know a lot more, we've improved our attitudes about some things, but the overall experience has degraded because there is more demand than supply of good opportuntities.

The #publicland industrial complex has reached maturity. Hunting in that sense is not an experience that can scale significantly. We should have seen that 30 years ago. The solitude is the point. The points games out west are completely absurd. The crowding in the midwest and east is getting worse every year anywhere near where people live.

Hunt quietly, folks. Clout is enemy #1 here, that's why we're here.
 
elk yinzer said:
We are so incredibly blessed to have the public land we have in this country, but we don't have an infinite supply. Anyone who has watched this for 20-30 years has seen how quickly the game has changed, mostly for the worse. It's gotten much easier in many senses, yes, sure we collectively know a lot more, we've improved our attitudes about some things, but the overall experience has degraded because there is more demand than supply of good opportuntities.

The #publicland industrial complex has reached maturity. Hunting in that sense is not an experience that can scale significantly. We should have seen that 30 years ago. The solitude is the point. The points games out west are completely absurd. The crowding in the midwest and east is getting worse every year anywhere near where people live.

Hunt quietly, folks. Clout is enemy #1 here, that's why we're here.
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It's not just out west. I have 8 general gun points in Florida and still haven't pulled my quota hunt of choice to maybe shoot a 120" deer
 
elk yinzer said:
We are so incredibly blessed to have the public land we have in this country, but we don't have an infinite supply. Anyone who has watched this for 20-30 years has seen how quickly the game has changed, mostly for the worse. It's gotten much easier in many senses, yes, sure we collectively know a lot more, we've improved our attitudes about some things, but the overall experience has degraded because there is more demand than supply of good opportuntities.

The #publicland industrial complex has reached maturity. Hunting in that sense is not an experience that can scale significantly. We should have seen that 30 years ago. The solitude is the point. The points games out west are completely absurd. The crowding in the midwest and east is getting worse every year anywhere near where people live.

Hunt quietly, folks. Clout is enemy #1 here, that's why we're here.
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Absolutely agree. Solitude and a one on one "battle" of wits with a wild animal is the point. I want to get in, get the animal, or have it win, get out and leave no trace whatsoever.

The very nature of social media is to sell you something. Whether that something is a toothbrush, a lifestyle, or the latest imminent disaster that only your $$$ can solve. It's like the old adage in newspaper and TV...If it bleeds it leads. Now its just piped into your face 24/7 from a little screen (if you let it).
 
The points system is ruining hunting. The ability to pay to play is ruining hunting. If hunting needs to be limited it should go to draw where everyone has an equal chance every year. The price to enter that draw should be reasonable. I want my 3 young boys to experience hunting this country but the price tag is getting too hard to swallow.

If you have to be “hardcore” to spend thousands on the point system just to be able to steadily hunt this country, call me casual.
 
Swamp Fox__On The Run said:
Her thinking/OL's take is based on the 3R model of blood-sports marketing: Recruit, Retain, Reactivate.

It has nothing to do with developing engaged conservationists or hunters who care about ethical practices or quality game management.
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So, I have to address this part a little. I am actually friends with the editor and yes she has been and I assume still is a R3 supporter. But she is also very much engaged in developing conservationist. While I havent hunted with her, hunting conversations make it pretty clear she cares about promoting ethical hunting and game management. That said, there are articles that make me scratch my head because they dont always seem to match up with the person I know her to be.
 
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