The Controversial Takes on Modern Day Hunting Community: A Discussion with Matt Rinella on Lone Star Outdoor Show

This is super complex. Even as the founder of a hunting/fishing media platform, I don't have a black and white take. It's full of nuance, even down to saying hunting pressure has risen. This is true for some species and states, not at all for others.

But after thinking about this for about a week, I think Matt's views on diminishing our industry and our share of hunters is dangerous. We have litigation and lobbying power because of the value of our industry. There are flaws in the commercialization of hunting, but it's also a strength.

I may be on their show soon to debate the topic. I imagine we'll find we agree on many things. Regardless of the disagreements or agreements, I think the conversation is healthy if it's getting hunters to think about their individual impacts on this thing we all love.

@Derek

Very well said. Much like you, I agree with some of way Matt says, but not everything. I will admit that at first I thought I disagreed with most everything he says, but the more I listen to him, and the better he gets at communicating his beliefs, the more I realize that he is making some good points and having conversation about things that need to be talked about but no one seems to be. I look forward to seeing where all of this heads and I think there is good that can and will come from it. At the end of the day though, I still don't 100% agree with Matt, but that's ok and doesn't prevent people and groups working together.

@Derek I think he’s forcing creators to think about the impacts of their content, which is the best positive to come from this so far

@Brad absolutely. And he's shedding some light on access issues. I don't agree with his socialist opinion on how it should be handled, but he's still having conversations about it.

@Derek socialism is a strong theme in his ideals. I dont know if he realizes it or maybe he doesn’t care but Cable mentioned it on his episode with him.

@Brad I need to check out Cable's episode for sure.

Matt made a very interesting point on one of his episodes. He said something along the lines of what if your tag superceded land owners. Basically meaning if you have a tag for a specific animal, that was greater than property lines. I'm not saying I agree with this, but it does lead to some very interesting thoughts. I'd be lying if I said it didn't seem like a great idea, but I also know why it isn't possible and probably shouldn't be in a lot of cases. But, after all, the North American model of conservation states that the people own the animals. Doesn't say anything about the land.

@Derek a property owner’s deed supersedes the right to hunt in my opinion. My property, my access. The idea that someone could hunt my land without permission is treading into the socialist territory

@Brad I agree. I just think it's an interesting point that leads to some good conversation. There are some states that have laws that trend closer to this idea. States such as North Dakota and Maine where unless the landowner specifically posts their property as private, then the public can hunt that property. At the end of the day, the landowner still has the final say, as they should, but I would be very interested in finding a way to make more rules,laws, regulations and incentives that trend more in that direction.

@Derek I’m fine with posting laws and retrieval laws. Tons of nuance in that.

@Jake Smierciak I’m with ya. GoWild was started because I sucked at whitetail and turned to online to help me learn. I couldn’t really find anything so, here we are. I think social can be a great tool

@Brad I agree 100% I worked hard and made decisions that were tough to be able to own land and there should be benefit to that both grazing and hunting. I don’t own the wildlife on my property but but no one else should have the right to come on my land and hunt that wildlife while it is on my property. I am all low fence and dont pretend to own the wildlife and am well aware that they they travel where they want and neighbors have just as much right to take them if they cross on to their property as I do. But for someone with a tag to think they can trespass to take an animal of my property will be an issue.

@Chuck yeah I agree. I heard Matt’s take on this in the show and he says he puts signs up that say “trespassing allowed” which I think is cool. But it doesn’t mean everyone has to do that. I am not sure I would do that either, as it likely has some liability to it.

@Brad that’s great if he wants to do that he warned that right when he paid for that land. Huge liability issues here in Texas. I have to pay property taxes and pay to keep the property in good shape and roads maintained etc. so for someone to feel like they have the right to hunt that land “just because” I take issue with. If the game off that land helps feed my family should those same people be able

@Chuck you and I are eye to eye

@Chuck (we really need to be able to edit responses to posts😂). To come and take food out of my refrigerator? I know I am blessed differently and am provided way more opportunity that others and I hope I do a decent job sharing that with others but don’t believe I owe them anything.

@Brad 💪🏼👊🏼

So…. There’s not enough space here to cover the nuances and rabbit holes one could go down. But I’ll say this as a nobody, not someone trying to brag or make it about himself. These are just facts. In the last 5 years, to keep it relevant and illustrate a good sized time frame, I’ve been able to harvest 11 deer, 7 turkeys and piles of ducks and geese. Some were on land I own. Some were on private land where I have permission. Some were on public land. None were on land I lease, because I can’t afford to lease land at all. I’ve spent hundreds of hours scouting, e-scouting and forming relationships. Matt appears to me as lazy, selfish and intentionally controversial by being the Yin to his brothers Yang (Steve has his own shortcomings like the rest of us though). The hunt for access and managing that access is far more intense than the act of hunting itself. He wants gravy. Sorry dude, life isn’t fair…

@Mike I feel like his problem is a western problem, and doesn’t speak for all of us. My deer on public here have been way more pressured than my private hunts (different deer population so it’s not good data). I’m doing the show next Monday. We’ll see where we land.

@Brad I hear ya. 3 of the kills I mentioned above were out west where I had to put 10-12 miles a day on my boots. As soon as I got past the crowds, I got into animals. If you want something bad, you can do one of two things. 1) bitch about the obstacles or 2) identify and overcome those obstacles. I normally wouldn’t waste the time listening to people focus on number 1, but I’ll be watching for your debate!

@Mike my biggest confusion is the tags are set. If you want to complain about opportunity pressure from demand, that makes sense. But the number of hunters on the land is set and limited by the state out west.

@Brad exactly. The only obstacles I’ve found that you can’t get around are the ridiculous differences in license fees from residents vs nonresidents. I get it on state lands, but it’s insane on federal land. The other is the frustration from the non hunting recreational presence that has increased tremendously since the pandemic. And they’re accessing those lands for free. That would be a more productive argument for him to pursue in my opinion.

@Mike your either going to find a way or an excuse

@Chuck you should sell T shirts with that 💪👊

@Mike I stole it from a pod cast but man it rings true!