The Gatekeeper Mentality in Hunting: A Critique of the Meateater Podcast

Pictured: The buck I shot 39.74 miles from where Matt lays his head and 36.32 miles from where my great-grandparents are buried.

@Brad - I listened. I am not shocked.

I’ve had a lot of folks asking me what I think to (since, you know, I founded an outdoor social company). I have that show queued up. I’ve read his rescinded article and so far I disagree with most of it. I’m expecting more of the same from this show. The thread from @Cody was super interesting to see everyone’s takes.

Very well said and very good insights @Rachelle. I agree @Brad, it has been interesting to see different people's takes on it.

Well said Rachelle. I hunt public land in wisconsin for deer and it is all.our property . It's crowded but if you can adjust your game there is room for all.

I think it’s a good analysis Rachelle. We all have our favorite spots and “Home Turf” that we like to hunt and try to keep and protect for ourselves, but by no means does that make it “Ours”. I think we all go through stage’s of development as hunters, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I went through that stage as well at some point and was mad at the world every time someone posted up my favorite areas and unit numbers on social media. While I still don’t think it’s a good idea and don’t understand why people want to give away all their hard earned information, I’ve learned to let it go, to each their own. No need to be stewing in that resentful state of mind all the time. At the end of the day, it’s part of what makes being successful on public land that much more rewarding. We need all the hunters, and their voices we can get, in order to defend our way of life if we want it to continue. At the end of the day, it all comes down to knowing and being confident in that if I am willing to work harder, hunt smarter, put in the time…I will be successful. Anyone else who is willing to do the same, more power to them and much respect given. If we cross paths hunting in the same area, hopefully we can work together, respect each other, and come up with a plan to where we can still both be successful without getting into a fight over who has more of a right to be there.

@Rachelle very well-spoken, on all points. The one thing from your post that really resonates with me is that if we don't represent what we love in a positive, and respectful way hunting will be represented by the negative, and disrespectful through default. Thank you for your well -spoken words.

"Evil thrives when good men do nothing." There is a time and a way to communicate publicly about hunting. It needs to be done tastfully and above reproach.

I've heard enough about what Matt's been doing that I don't feel I need to subject myself to actually listening to the podcast but I agree with everyone else. We need to stay engaged and it needs to be done tastefully and respectfully otherwise we will lose.

Out of curiosity I had to go listen to it. And while I’m listen to it while processing a buck I shot I must say this guys an idiot. And should have got the boot of the show as soon as he started the topic. In my opinion if you shoot an animal that feeds you and your family and you’re proud of it, then post it and be proud. Watching or listening to an influencer has nothing to do with over crowding. What it does for me personally is allow me to see gear that has been field test so I don’t have to waste money on trying different things as well as teaches me new tactics that can benefit me in providing for my family. Any new hunter that wants to learn and get into hunting has every right to do so and unless they are poaching, no one has the right say other wise. I could go on but I got to get back to influencing this deer in the freezer.

The advent of Big tech/social media has forever changed the communication landscape of the world. If sharing my harvests online makes me a bragger, then so be it. I happen to live in a state that is REALLY overcrowded, and I only hunt public land. So when I do manage to harvest my target buck, you better believe I’m proud of my accomplishment and want to share it with others. Other motives for sharing publicly include, but are not limited to:

Encouraging others

Showing people that YES THEY CAN!!

Educating other hunters on what works for you, how to succeed, care for game, avoid mistakes, etc. Bottom line, I’m sure there’s many other motives besides bragging

I have a lot of disjointed thoughts on this. First I'm extremely skeptical that someone who wasn't going to be interested in hunting suddenly decides to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on gear, tags, gas, etc. JUST because they saw some hunting influencer get likes on Instagram. Second, I doubt crowding is as big a problem as it's made out to be. Maybe places that used to have no one now have people, but that doesn't mean every place is overrun. I live in Phoenix, metro area of 5+ million. Every year I hunt birds and javelina and deer within 45 min of my front door... because I live in the middle of the city that means 35+ of those minutes are driving through developed areas and then a few more miles to hunting grounds. I've never seen another hunter anywhere. IF there's a problem with overcrowding maybe we should blame it on the public (state) land that gets sold and developed and the family farms that have turned into subdivisions or holdings of industrial agriculture for forcing hunters into smaller and smaller areas rather than speculation that it's because of media and social media.