The New Hunting Industry

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ihookem
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby ihookem » Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:48 am

Honestly, I am surprised the last few yrs how many bow hunters are on public land near my house during the bow season. More and more are using crossbows however. Some of them are older guys but many are much younger than I am and I'm 56 yrs old and still using a compound and will till i cant pull back 50 lbs anymore . I am amazed how few hunters are out there after the first week of gun season, muzzleloader season. The pressure sure is changing, that is for sure. As for the original post about people trying to make a buck by changing their words from Leases, food plots, and blinds to Mobil, climbers public land ETC. is nothing new. Also, for the guys who hunt 5 states and put their hunts on video to make money and try to become a celebrity, I have no respect for them. I watched just a few hunting shows, maybe 5? The last one was a woman, climbed a tree, not sure how long she was up there but could not have been there more than a few hours and she had a huge buck. She went up to it and was so excited making a laughing / crying/ whining type noise . If you could not see the vid but only heard the sound, you would think she was having the wildest orgasm on earth. That was the last time . Seems noone likes these shows but someone is watch ing them . As for the money they spend, I detest them for spending that kind of money and acting like they are good hunters when they just go from one private ranch from Iowa, to Kansas, to illanois, to Texas and show off their " good bucks" . As for me, I need to fill my wifes and my ROTH , and my SEP to retire someday. That is $19,000 per year every year , plus property, and income taxes, home , auto , and liability ins. adds another $12,000 and a bunch more for tools, car repairs, and add another bunch for tithe . I made $52,000 last year and $40,000 the year before so there is little left over for a $5,000 deer hunt. I only hunt public land and it is not very good in S.E. WIs. My best days are avr. days for a good piece of private land in central Wis. private land , DOnt get me wrong, I am not jealous, I have the money to buy a huge chunk of good deer hunting land . I refuse however cause I NEED TO RETIRE SOMEDAY, and a deer , even a big buck is not worth the price these people pay. And one more thing, my treasure is not on this earth, it is in heaven with my savior where my reward will never be taken away or lost or stolen.


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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby gunner24 » Wed Jan 29, 2020 4:39 pm

headgear wrote:
NorthStar wrote:The new people is who I am most worried about. I consider myself somewhat new and in hindsight, weeding through the BS hasn’t been all that difficult. But I think being a member of the Beast has helped tremendously with that.


Let's just say there is a big gap between talking the talk and walking the walk, unless you have prime land then it doesn't really matter. Most guys just can't hang and don't want to put in the work. Any newb can login and repeat everything they read here by applying it to the woods consistently is a different world, especially on public. From what I see in my little corner of the woods is overall hunter numbers dropping a bit, guys who use to hunt a fair bit don't hunt as much and the casual hunters seem to be more of the norm. That leaves a whole lot of space for guys on the beast to get after it. The other side is why worry about that you can't control, every now and then I run into a guy or a group focused on the same area as me. Knowing their pressure is around helps me, I can adjust my tactics to hunt around the pressure. Talked to a few guys last year and we were all kind of after the same two bucks working an area. The plan for next year is to focus more on early season when they aren't out in the woods as much or at all and maybe find some of those overlooked spots both of us were missing last year. Use other hunters to you advantage instead of thinking they might get the buck you are after.


Yes, this is spot on. If you know what you are doing you will be chasing the same bucks as other hunters that know what they are doing in your particular piece of public. I always take the time to talk to people I run into on the public I hunt or I’m scouting. I’m pretty good at reading people and I can tell pretty quick if they are legit or not. I’ve made a few good hunting pals over the years, we will even share photos of the same bucks we are hunting with each other and some useful info. It sure is an addicting game we play.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby perchsoup » Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:08 am

Boogieman1 wrote:Just gonna be honest..... I’m kinda torn with the movement. What’s good for the hunting world and what’s good for me doesn’t always go hand in hand.

I am perfectly fine with guys challenging themselves and leaning toward the public or knocking on doors route. But sadly, don’t see any difference atleast in my area. Lease costs certainly haven’t lowered in cost. Canned hunts get more abundant and pricey each year. In all honesty the only thing I honestly witnessed is guys hunting high dollar private who are normally used to being a nobody with avg 140”-150” bucks. Now claiming there roughing it “hunting public” when it’s not the case at all.

While I personally don’t care and can smell crap when I step in it. I sadly feel newcomers expect false expectations. Much YouTube and tv are no diff than Sasquatch or Monster hunters with “real world footage”


I think in some way the masses view this trend toward mobile public land hunting as the new "fad diet" of getting their big buck. I believe the work involved will weed most of them out. I'm still not posting my stuff on the internet to see how many "likes" I can get or company I can find in the woods.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby rfickes87 » Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:49 am

I really enjoy this movement. I can remember about 6 or 7 years ago, I couldn't find anything I could relate to on TV or the web. It was all Lee and Tiff, etc. I was always buying new equipment and gadgets I saw advertised on the outdoor channel. I was typically an underachieving hunter looking for answers and willing to try new ideas. Then I found Dan and the Beast in the summer of 2016 and at first it felt like I was cheating, it seemed so easy. I began scouting and hanging cameras and seeing big slobs in their beds during that first summer of scouting. I thought my first beast season was going to be so easy, I literally was thinking about where to hang this buck head on my wall at home while I was in stand on opening day. But once I actually started hunting I had my worst year ever hunting by trying to follow Dan's tactics. I never shot a deer that year, which was horrible for my standards. That off-season I reflected many times on what went wrong and I realized I had cut so many corners and didn't really listen to everything he had explained. I only heard what I wanted to hear. After that first year things have flip flopped for me. I've spent so much time and put in so much effort than ever in my life and after 4 years I'd safely say I started consistently killing nice bucks now...

B/c of all that, I don't believe this new "Fad" is some easy thing that's going to change public hunting going forward and have much impact at all. Anyone wanting instant success will move onto the next big thing. And even now as of today, we think Dan and THP are so popular b/c we see it and live it daily but I can tell you so many of my hunting buddies have no idea who Dan or THP are. Maybe 1 in 10 guys where I live know them. Makes me realize we beast hunters are still very much a minority IMO.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby HunterBob » Thu Jan 30, 2020 8:08 am

I hear the concerns, yet if it wasn't for the Hunting Beast and some of the newer shows that detail hunting on public land, I wouldn't be an avid hunter now. I didn't grow up in a hunting family or know anyone who hunted at all. Didn't get into it until my mid-thirties (am 38 now) and had no idea what I was doing. Have learned so much from everyone on this website as well as the Hunting Public. Now I am trying to figure out my own areas from my own experiences after hearing about what has worked for others. I think I would have given up already if it wasn't for someone else showing me the ropes and for me this happened online. I would love less competition with mobile hunters, yet it would be hypocritical of me to criticize the very sources that have helped to make me into a hunter.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby elk yinzer » Thu Jan 30, 2020 3:34 pm

rfickes87 wrote:I really enjoy this movement. I can remember about 6 or 7 years ago, I couldn't find anything I could relate to on TV or the web. It was all Lee and Tiff, etc. I was always buying new equipment and gadgets I saw advertised on the outdoor channel. I was typically an underachieving hunter looking for answers and willing to try new ideas. Then I found Dan and the Beast in the summer of 2016 and at first it felt like I was cheating, it seemed so easy. I began scouting and hanging cameras and seeing big slobs in their beds during that first summer of scouting. I thought my first beast season was going to be so easy, I literally was thinking about where to hang this buck head on my wall at home while I was in stand on opening day. But once I actually started hunting I had my worst year ever hunting by trying to follow Dan's tactics. I never shot a deer that year, which was horrible for my standards. That off-season I reflected many times on what went wrong and I realized I had cut so many corners and didn't really listen to everything he had explained. I only heard what I wanted to hear. After that first year things have flip flopped for me. I've spent so much time and put in so much effort than ever in my life and after 4 years I'd safely say I started consistently killing nice bucks now...

B/c of all that, I don't believe this new "Fad" is some easy thing that's going to change public hunting going forward and have much impact at all. Anyone wanting instant success will move onto the next big thing. And even now as of today, we think Dan and THP are so popular b/c we see it and live it daily but I can tell you so many of my hunting buddies have no idea who Dan or THP are. Maybe 1 in 10 guys where I live know them. Makes me realize we beast hunters are still very much a minority IMO.


You make some excellent points here. I've been hunting public all my life in a manner very similar to many beasties. I have seen a lot more pressure lately but I think it's more due to yellow signs, internet mapping, and improved mobile gear. Very, very few truly get it.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby gsquared23 » Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:18 am

NorthStar wrote:Not disagreeing with you and I feel like this topic is still being misunderstood. Public land hunting is great! Most content and products designed for the mobile hunter right now are great! All I am saying is that the old hunting industry is catching on to this new fad and as a result, I need to start applying a new level of caution. Some of the new podcasts and social media content I have been reviewing lately have me believing that people are trying to exploit this trend.


I understand your point and agree with it. The industry has changed their “professional hunter” and have disguised him as a regular 8-5 joe like the rest of us that hunts public land when he can and still has success. They are trying to capture the market that has moved away from being interested in HUGE texas ranch hunts from a shooting house and large heavily managed farms in the midwest (realtree and drurys for example). But it is a farce. Our “common joe” hunter is just another hired gun still using stupid catch phrases (we GOT IT DONE!!) and giving rehearsed performances all while hunting every day of the season in multiple big buck states, an advantage that few of us actually have.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby NorthStar » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:37 am

gsquared23 wrote:
NorthStar wrote:Not disagreeing with you and I feel like this topic is still being misunderstood. Public land hunting is great! Most content and products designed for the mobile hunter right now are great! All I am saying is that the old hunting industry is catching on to this new fad and as a result, I need to start applying a new level of caution. Some of the new podcasts and social media content I have been reviewing lately have me believing that people are trying to exploit this trend.


I understand your point and agree with it. The industry has changed their “professional hunter” and have disguised him as a regular 8-5 joe like the rest of us that hunts public land when he can and still has success. They are trying to capture the market that has moved away from being interested in HUGE texas ranch hunts from a shooting house and large heavily managed farms in the midwest (realtree and drurys for example). But it is a farce. Our “common joe” hunter is just another hired gun still using stupid catch phrases (we GOT IT DONE!!) and giving rehearsed performances all while hunting every day of the season in multiple big buck states, an advantage that few of us actually have.


You just summed up my opinion on this perfectly! Not sure if this is good or bad? I think people make a good point that once reality sets in, success through public land hunting will be too much work for most people.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby Racks&Beards » Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:26 am

I guess I don't watch enough hunting TV to see these fake "common joe's"....which is fine by me :lol:
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby NorthStar » Fri Feb 07, 2020 6:29 am

Racks&Beards wrote:I guess I don't watch enough hunting TV to see these fake "common joe's"....which is fine by me :lol:


I am doing my best not to name anyone but there is someone that has a podcast and writes for magazines that is starting to annoy me a little. So its not just TV...
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‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby Racks&Beards » Fri Feb 07, 2020 6:36 am

NorthStar wrote:
Racks&Beards wrote:I guess I don't watch enough hunting TV to see these fake "common joe's"....which is fine by me :lol:


I am doing my best not to name anyone but there is someone that has a podcast and writes for magazines that is starting to annoy me a little. So its not just TV...


Did said podcast host just release a book too?
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby AndreSaavedra » Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:07 am

In my opinion harvesting deer on managed land is not hunting, It's deer farming, next they will tie the deer to a conveyor belt.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby Archivist13 » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:23 pm

I'm going to say something that is probably not going to go over well, but It is honestly what I think. While I enjoy THB and THP and think they are doing great things for the hunting community, especially in relation to public land hunting, I think we also give them to much credit. We live in a bubble of what we surround ourselves with. We assume everyone else is influenced by these things. I bet that it is actually a very small percentage of hunters that are all that influenced by what we consider our community. Most don't get that involved. I would call us the 1 percenters in the hunting club. Most people aren't going to public lands to hunt because of what they see on YouTube videos or podcasts. They are going because they have been locked out of private hunting areas that they have hunted for most of their life. The average hunter can't afford to hunt private land anymore and are seeing their access disappear, thus the movement to public land hunting. Those people that have hunted the same traditional piece of private land and are not being pushed out due to the landowner realizing that they can make money off of leasing their land now are the real driving force. Though public lands are important and need to be saved and promoted, we need to realize why these new hunters are showing up there. A few see the challenge like us, most are simply looking for a place to hunt. I don't think they are all that influenced by the industry, Beast Hunting, or THPesque shows. Just my two cents.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby Racks&Beards » Sat Feb 29, 2020 2:16 am

Archivist13 wrote:I'm going to say something that is probably not going to go over well.....


I'd say you're pretty right on with that take. I don't actually run into many other hunters on the public areas I frequent, but even when I do I've never seen another hunter carrying any kind of mobile setup...and I come across a lot of ladderstands, pre-set lock ons, and climbers left attached (and usually cable locked) to trees. If I was to guess, the vast majority of hunters across the nation primarily watch, and think shows like Drury's, Lakosky's, Bone Collector, Heartland Bowhunter, etc... are the "only" way it's done. That's not to throw any shade at those folks and their hunting styles whatsoever though, just that they are still at the top of the popularity chain when it comes to hunting media and influence overall. A simple look at their follower counts on FB & IG shows that. I would also guess that even out of all of the people that watch youtube channels like THB, THP, DIY Sportsman, Catman, etc... only a small portion of those people actually practice those hunting styles.
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Re: The New Hunting Industry

Unread postby Archivist13 » Sat Feb 29, 2020 6:29 am

"I don't actually run into many other hunters on the public areas I frequent, but even when I do I've never seen another hunter carrying any kind of mobile setup...and I come across a lot of ladderstands, pre-set lock ons, and climbers left attached (and usually cable locked) to trees. "

Yep, same experience here. I have never seen someone with a mobile set up either, but seen all the other things attached to trees like you said and ground hunters. Not saying their not out there, just not very common.


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