Hunting and social media

Hello? (Quote; My argument starts with the fact that, in much of the US, public-land hunting is so overcrowded it’s no longer worth it) He should get off his device and get out in the woods and he'd realize that his statement is untrue. In fact, since the current generation would rathe play video games than enjoy the great outdoors there's more room than there was a dozen years ago.
 
Hello? (Quote; My argument starts with the fact that, in much of the US, public-land hunting is so overcrowded it’s no longer worth it) He should get off his device and get out in the woods and he'd realize that his statement is untrue. In fact, since the current generation would rathe play video games than enjoy the great outdoors there's more room than there was a dozen years ago.

I’m sure over or under crowded public lands depends a lot on where you are and when you’re there. I’ve witnessed both.


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I agree with it all. Social media is a cesspool of toxicity and has created an epidemic of depression and anxiety. Public lands around me are totally packed with wannabes that are searching for likes. Many don’t even eat the frickin meat, they just want the bone. Hunting is becoming a rich man’s game and might already be there. My kids will not even have a chance to hunt unless I provide a place for them to go.

We need fewer toolbags on social media and youtube chasing fame and parasitizing the passion we all hold in such high regard. The best way to accomplish that is to unfollow them and live life in the real world. And plant some trees


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While I didn't read the entire Article I read enough to see where his thoughts were, and that I see and agree with a lot of them.

I see it not only on Public Hunting Grounds here in Florida but also on our Fishing Lakes. See a guy post a video of a Lake you know and like to fish because not many know about it and BOOM that weekend it is blasted with boats and anglers. And will continue to be for a few months.

Here most Public Ground you can hunt only by getting drawn for a Quota Permit. On some they them open it to everyone after the first 9 days, but on others its either you get drawn or you don't hunt.

Then there are the Open Grounds that get flooded with people every day. Stands get stolen. Stands get hunted in. Stuff gets stolen from the vehicles in the Parking areas. It's insane.
 
Dad always said the only thing you can be sure of is nothing ever stays the same. While I agree SM is in many ways a scourge of todays society. And of course I say that while on this great site on SM. While I like old school certainly, spending a lot of time hunting long bow stalking. But I do know this, in some way we have to learn how to interact our children/grand children with their technology and creating love of the outdoors. It can be done even if I do cringe at times with my own family while we hunt but yet have in their hands some electronic gadget. We can whine as much as we want, but time and technology moves on. Doesn't mean we can't intergrate the two. But then I'm just an old mountain man so according to Midler, I don't know crap. Merry Christmas my friends!!
 
What I see here in Oklahoma is that some will get the bug to try it based on social media and will go buy the gear and hunt a couple weeks and then have a selling everything post...it takes more work than many newbies want to put in. With trail camera, especially cellular trail camera usage trespassing has dropped tremendously. Back in the late 90’s and early/mid 2000’s we had a lot of trespassing. Now it is all but non existent except for the mushroom crowd. Hunting here in Oklahoma seems to be on the decline from an eyewitness observation but I know a lot of our private land ends up in Texan leases but it all evens out because the younger gen seems to have zero interest here...
 
I learned a long time ago that I need to quit worrying about other people's motives for doing things and concentrate on doing what I feel are the right things for my maker, my country, my land and my family. After all, if you read the "Good Book," that's what we are all put here to do for the life we have been given. This forum and another similar forum are the only forms of social media that I even use, and I only do that to share information with like-minded people. I must admit, however, that I do get excited at harvesting a mature buck and enjoy posting the pictures and telling the stories to those of you who I know will appreciate it. But, I think that is more from the excitement of seeing a plan come together and seeing at least some reward for a lot of hard work.

I do think that social media for the most part has gone crazy. I can't believe how many people feel that they need to be posting every move in their life on places like Facebook, etc.... I don't need to know every time someone passes gas or scratches their rear end.

Merry Christmas everyone. This is a great forum for the right kind of hunters - and those devoted to improving the land and improving the sport for future generations. Keep up the good work.
 
It started long before facebook. My dad and I would watch an Eastman hunting movie in the local theater - yes, back in the 60’s, they actually showed hunting movies in movie theaters - and we would plan an out of state hunt. There are lots of other reasons for the over crowding of public land - decreasing availability of hunting land in general, lease fees and leasing of land in general, declining wildlife populations, expendable money, and others. No doubt, modern social media exacerbated the situation.
 
As far as Public land around here goes we have a lot of it! I have friends who hunt it and kill their deer...they tell me the hunting after opening weekend is great. There is a hunters camp on one of our larger public areas and back in the early 2000’s if you don’t have at least a tent up in a spot at least 3 weeks before you aren’t getting a spot. This year it was about 1/4 full. I feel blessed I grew up in the times of trapping and taking the hides to the fur market in the middle of town which was also a flea market and from hanging out at the deer check stations to see what all was brought in...it was nothing to see a deer strapped to the top of a car or on a flatbed and there wasn’t any complaining from PETA or the Sierra club types. It was just life...now hunting is almost a dirty word and you have to hide that you even do it in most company...
 
I learned a long time ago that I need to quit worrying about other people's motives for doing things and concentrate on doing what I feel are the right things for my maker, my country, my land and my family. After all, if you read the "Good Book," that's what we are all put here to do for the life we have been given. This forum and another similar forum are the only forms of social media that I even use, and I only do that to share information with like-minded people. I must admit, however, that I do get excited at harvesting a mature buck and enjoy posting the pictures and telling the stories to those of you who I know will appreciate it. But, I think that is more from the excitement of seeing a plan come together and seeing at least some reward for a lot of hard work.

I do think that social media for the most part has gone crazy. I can't believe how many people feel that they need to be posting every move in their life on places like Facebook, etc.... I don't need to know every time someone passes gas or scratches their rear end.

Merry Christmas everyone. This is a great forum for the right kind of hunters - and those devoted to improving the land and improving the sport for future generations. Keep up the good work.


Perfection ! I have nothing to add…
 
My observations say that hunting for bragging rights vs hunting to enjoy the great outdoors reflects mostly on two things, how old the person is, and how they were taught, rather than being a generational thing like this guy makes it out to be.
When I was a youngster it definitely was very important to me to shoot a buck so that I could let my buddies know and get compliments, now it's not nearly as important.
 
Many years ago I read a article by one of the top outdoors writers of the time. I can’t remember exactly which one it was, but the article
got a lot of attention.

Basically, he made a point that all hunters go through phases.

The new hunter just wants to kill something, anything legal.

After a time, just killing something isn’t important. Most hunters start being selective and want at least a decent buck.

Eventually the hunter gets to the point that just being in the woods and observing nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the office, is more important. If a really nice buck should show up, he’ll take a crack at it.

I say there is a fourth stage. The final stage is the hunter begins to really get into perpetuating the sport and nurturing the animals he loves to hunt.

When I began hunting at age 12 in PA, I was lucky enough to take a spike buck on the opening day. In my family, it was for food. Nothing got wasted. I didn’t even see another deer during the rifle season for three years. I did, however spend a lot more time in the woods and
gained a lot more respect for the animals I was looking for. Food was not my driving goal any more. I just wanted to be in the woods.

I used to carry an old camera that a friends dad fixed up for me. He was a professional photographer. I wanted a camera that didn’t click every time I took a picture. He modified a Minolta camera I had so it was silent. Still have it even after it quit working. I carried that camera because my friends would always ask if I had seen anything. When I told them I passed two legal bucks, they laughed and told me I was full of it. So, I would just pull out the camera and show them. They thought I was crazy, and still do, 50 years later.

We cannot legislate integrity into hunters. It has to come from example and experience. Even then, if the person doesn’t want to grow, nothing we do will change them. Today many people are just following the crowd. Until the next fad comes along, they will be here so we have to lead by example. Some will never change, some might. Nurture the ones that ask questions.
 
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My observations say that hunting for bragging rights vs hunting to enjoy the great outdoors reflects mostly on two things, how old the person is, and how they were taught, rather than being a generational thing like this guy makes it out to be.
When I was a youngster it definitely was very important to me to shoot a buck so that I could let my buddies know and get compliments, now it's not nearly as important.
Agree. I've never been into the big antler thing. I hunt a top trophy area, but let the big ones , when they show, pass for the younger family members. Truth is give me 100# doe or spike that I'll enjoy eating.
 
Many years ago I read a article by one of the top outdoors writers of the time. I can’t remember exactly which one it was, but the article
got a lot of attention.

Basically, he made a point that all hunters go through phases.

The new hunter just wants to kill something, anything legal.

After a time, just killing something isn’t important. Most hunters start being selective and want at least a decent buck.

Eventually the hunter gets to the point that just being in the woods and observing nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the office, is more important. If a really nice buck should show up, he’ll take a crack at it.

I say there is a fourth stage. The final stage is the hunter begins to really get into perpetuating the sport and nurturing the animals he loves to hunt.

When I began hunting at age 12 in PA, I was lucky enough to take a spike buck on the opening day. In my family, it was for food. Nothing got wasted. I didn’t even see another deer during the rifle season for three years. I did, however spend a lot more time in the woods and
gained a lot more respect for the animals I was looking for. Food was not my driving goal any more. I just wanted to be in the woods.

I used to carry an old camera that a friends dad fixed up for me. He was a professional photographer. I wanted a camera that didn’t click every time I took a picture. He modified a Minolta camera I had so it was silent. Still have it even after it quit working. I carried that camera because my friends would always ask if I had seen anything. When I told them I passed two legal bucks, they laughed and told me I was full of it. So, I would just pull out the camera and show them. They thought I was crazy, and still do, 50 years later.

We cannot legislate integrity into hunters. It has to come from example and experience. Even then, if the person doesn’t want to grow, nothing we do will change them. Today many people are just following the crowd. Until the next fad comes along, they will be here so we have to lead by example. Some will never change, some might. Nurture the ones that ask questions.
I like that advice "nurture the ones that ask questions". All the possible motives and levels of satisfaction from shooting a deer pale in comparison to the level of satisfaction from taking an excited kid out to a good hunting stand.
 
I do find it ironic having this discussion on social media. We have lost almost 200,000 hunters and our deer kill is half of what it used to be 20 years ago yet areas of our state look like a pumpkin patch on opening weekend of our gun deer season. I am as guilty as anyone being on my phone while hunting and I do not have FB or any other type of social media. I would guess the breakdown of people spending way to much time on social media is like the slob hunters. Very few of them but they are the ones that you remember and name when talking about it. If people want to post what they shoot or catch good for them. Hopefully they stay hunting and bring some new people into it. The percentage of hunters is getting smaller every year.
 
I do find it ironic having this discussion on social media. We have lost almost 200,000 hunters and our deer kill is half of what it used to be 20 years ago yet areas of our state look like a pumpkin patch on opening weekend of our gun deer season. I am as guilty as anyone being on my phone while hunting and I do not have FB or any other type of social media. I would guess the breakdown of people spending way to much time on social media is like the slob hunters. Very few of them but they are the ones that you remember and name when talking about it. If people want to post what they shoot or catch good for them. Hopefully they stay hunting and bring some new people into it. The percentage of hunters is getting smaller every year.
Very true last sentence...less hunters every year!
 
I was busy out pulling game cams for the season and never finished my thoughts on this Rinella guy's blog.
I agree in general with his idea of spending less time posting big buck pictures on Facebook, but not his core reasons to no do it (if I interpreted his point correctly, as he rambles a little bit during his rant),
I don't agree at all that us "real?" hunters should keep quiet about our hunting so that less new people will go, and we who are left can have it all to ourselves with a lot more room, because we're running out of space to go hunting.
Isn't this greed and entitlement? Is he correct that there's no room for more hunters? There seems to be plenty of deer for wolves, coyotes, bears, and cougars to get a big portion of our deer herds, but he's saying that there's not enough deer to reach around for all the hordes of new hunters that social media has attracted to our sport? Maybe I totally missed his point, set me straight if I did :)
In PA in the early 2000's the game commission mismanaged and decimated our deer herd, and a fair portion of our generation of young hunters quit hunting altogether, including quite a few of my friends. Now the deer made a comeback and new people are picking up the sport. It appears to me that when there's more hunting opportunities a lot more people go, and when there's less hunting opportunities a lot of people quit.
Is anyone familiar with this fellow, cause I'm curious if there is a touch of sour grapes here, since his brother has attained a lot of fame and he hasn't...
 
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