humor
Turkey Hunting State of Foolishness, Other Curious Observations
For followers of old school turkey hunting, infantrymen, lieutenants of the 10th Legion, a casual take on the current generation of local pro’s, and outspoken Facebook warriors. It is a chuckle to have a poke at the far too often overly animated foolishness of what is currently promoted, especially in social media, outdoor shows and turkey hunting TV shows.
Disclaimer: The following is to poke fun at in its entirety solely aimed at able bodied industry media, internet pro’s and TV show pro staff. Some among our ranks do not have the physical ability, taken for granted gifts from our maker to get on a ridge waging war on gobblers at a most physical level. Personally, those that get out there despite many difficulties have my admiration, respect, and support. Blinds, decoys are ideal for those afflicted, youths, have a definite role and a useful purpose. Good setups still apply.
- “Decoy Selfies” Maybe epic and appropriate for a snow goose hunt as the time and effort to create exquisite and effective patterns in cut corn fields might qualify for artistic copyright protection. It might not attest to the world at large your abilities that you need a week’s wages worth of plastic, foldable fabric to entice a two year old gobbler in range.
- “Long Range Shots” When you pull the trigger on what appears to be a black dot on your $25,000 8K HD Prosumer camera or you need a lens longer than your manhood and a diameter to match your slate call to fill up the frame you might want to switch to a rifle. It will be our little secret to not mention in public the half dozen long beards you crippled or dusted the mites off of last week. At least you got some excellent ‘B” roll for intros and scenic footage.
- “TSS or go Home” The latest must have… Why use a $2-$3 shell that flattens them at 40 yards when you can spend $8? Just how dead is dead? Please donate all your free cash to noble charities. Those that shoot at close and personal distances can actually kill a gobbler on his own terms in a good setup.
- “Reaping and Fanning” Really digging the filmed misses from being too close and chaotic gun handling when the gobbler rushes the fan/decoy nearly spurring you in the jewels. Educational to show the public how you can point your shotgun in all the wrong directions and walk away from it. We do appreciate the challenge over a calm, smooth squeeze in taking the shot. What could go wrong?
- “Dirt Nap Selfies” Who thought this was a great idea to start with? Not really a good look. Precursor to bestiality? Turkey love? We’ll just stop there on that one.
- Half hour TV show with roughly 12-18 minutes of hunting related footage, of which is endless mentions of products and sponsors. You do not have a show, it’s an infomercial, an extended commercial, interrupted with…. Commercials. I’ve seen it done where you can actually tell a story without naming every company that gave you product in alternating paragraphs. You can also take a series of hunt pictures other than obligatory commitments without it appearing as a floor display at Cabela’s.
- “10” Circle” What turkey nogg’n other than from prehistoric periods would you ever need to cover that as a target? If a gobbler closes the distance needing that big a pattern, I’ll need a bigger gun, maybe a bazooka or fragmenting ordinance. Since when are we wing shooting turkeys in flight regularly? 3” covers point of aim rather well. At what point did we focus on penetration-punching thin air?
- “Resurgence Of Customer Call Makers” Split observation as there are many with decades of excellence of artistry, improving and building upon their craft. A look on Facebook and Ebay would suggest that $200 worth of tools from Amazon, China and the finest lumber from home depot and you can achieve snobbery elitism in 3…2…1 Instant gratification without effort.
- “Face Painting” We’re not talking Navy Seals or sniper ops. If it’s your girlfriend, love of your life, yes we are accustomed to the practice. Let’s face it we enjoy women looking their best in hunting photo’s, on camera. Guys can pull off the sleep deprived two day stubble as the rugged look. If it’s your bro, fellow hunting partner, you have a girlfriend. A $4 facemask works.
- “Old School $$ Envy” $2,000 custom antique shotgun, $200 micro polished choke, $8 shells, $400 box call from the 70’s, designer head to toe camo in original tree bark (very pricey) Sits in a blind with $600 worth of plastic and a strutter decoy out in front. Total old school as they tell it and writes a 3,500 word story on each and every epic battle in the “deep woods and ridges”
- “Covered up in decals and patches” You spend boat loads of money to have the latest 3D HD ultra-permanent dyes in your camo gear, camo clad guns to only cover them up in branding/product decals in the most brightest colors. We have names for that; smart, pragmatic hunter is not among them. Also see: “All Product, No Story”
- “Victory Dance” We understand you finally outsmarted the most evil turkey this side of the Rocky Mountains. A deep humbling respect for your quarry might not be the message here, no matter what the script on the teleprompter says or how much you say it on ‘B’ roll.
-MJ
© 2019 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Social Media A Great Tool For Hunters?
There are several ways one could hit the ground and run with this. Anti-hunting advocates vs hunters are one aspect of social media online to dive into. You might win the hearts and minds of non-hunters with principled ideas, rational behavior, any and all of the great things we love about our impassioned time-honored way of life. As to the anti-hunting crowd, you might find other more constructive things to do. Rational, sound logical reasoning falls on deaf ears of those unable to think beyond the propaganda, the overhyped irrational emotional responses. It is a telling picture to see such unhinged individuals crying and screaming in the streets. As a hunter, you can be assured of outbursts of pure rage against a legal activity, an instinctive natural way of eating and surviving as further back than biblical scholars can find as well as scientists who chronicle the story of evolution.
My thoughts for today’s wanderings lead me to social media vs hunters. A recent post concerning ‘real’ women hunters vs camo bikini-clad wanna-be female pro staffers gave me pause as to why with all the great attributes of instant communications do some within our hunting community subscribe to the worse attributes of social media that are typically displayed by our anti-hunting foes?
To those of us that lay claim to bearing some semblance of adult-like behavior, enjoy the company of fellow hunters, and not suffering sociopathic tendencies there is much to enjoy and take advantage of Facebook, Instagram, and any other of the choices of online communities to connect with each other.
I’ll lay claim that I barely squeak by in fitting it with the ‘normal, socially adjusted group.’ In doing so I will list what I think are the main positives associated with the online experience.
• With a little effort and time, online one can quickly seek and find like-minded hunters to any level of specialty that you want to hook up with. My passions are turkey hunting, and deer hunting, archery, rifle/shotgun/pistol shooting. Easy to find folks that share my interests. Many friends and friendly acquaintances can be made. If you singularly focus on hunting with 1800’s era flintlock firearms wearing only period-correct clothing you are in luck as you will find your tribe.
• As with news in general, anything outdoor-related, happening in the world down to your hometown can be learned that week, much of it the day that it occurs. New products, records broken, Changes in seasons and regulations, weather conditions.
• Sharing of stories, sharing or pictures afield soon after returning home or in the field as it happens. Facebook a post that you sunk your 4×4 to the axles while getting your elk out will rally the troops to your rescue. You can blame your truck and swear profusely on live Facebook for additional effect.
• Social media can be a great tool for researching your future hunts, outfitters, things to see and do on your next adventure. Personal contacts give you a much better insight.
Personally, I love having such great friends online (whom I have spent time with in hunt camp), to learn their stories, to share mine. Same with pics from successful hunts or the scenes so breathtaking you just have to capture it. Facebook has been great to meet up on hunts, meet up while traveling. I try to learn from what other successful hunters do and share amongst us. I enjoy seeing the pics, especially those that took the time to make a great pic in respect of their quarry. As much as I like the efficiency of the online experience and at any hour. It does not replace what you get from a phone call or time shared together. I view social media as a useful tool to embellish my experiences that I have with those I have had the privilege to spend time with but do not live close enough to see frequently.
What is it with some of our ranks that are compelled to eat our own? The downside of the social media experience is the emboldened behavior of keyboard trolls that lack social graces that help us all get along. I’m not going to distract with a lengthy discussion on sociopaths or anti-social behavior. Is it reasonable to put up with such ill-mannered, fragile egos or those bent on tearing other fellow hunters down? It takes only a single picture of a record book deer or a monster gobbler to attract the worse responses. Even pictures of kids after a successful hunt will gain uncivil responses. I expect that from the anti-hunting zealots, not fellow hunters.
I’ve been accused of “eating our own” by opposing turkey hunters over my position on reaping or fanning methods despite clear reasoning on safety issues and what I regard as unreasonable risks in many (not all) turkey hunting scenarios. Even after consistently acknowledging how exciting the method is, I am labeled an elitist for my opposition. There are many forms or styles of hunting that I do not participate in or find alluring. As such I read those stories and enjoy the after-hunt pictures like I do others. On matters of safety, I am not one to compromise. As to what bow you use, or what specific caliber bullet you shoot, whether you sit in a blind all day or hunt ridges as I may do, I don’t have the urge to criticize you because it may not be my preferred choice. Let’s skip that nonsense and tell me of your epic story.
With the prior blog posting I saw this morning concerning female hunters or huntresses as mentioned, it causes me to comment on where this comes from, the source if you will. The frustration that is becoming more visible within our ranks does come from the over marketing, the overzealous behavior of prostaff, huntresses, TV hunting shows, game call companies, and the list goes on at the irritation of the hunting community, a market segment they are hoping to gain an audience with.
As to huntresses, I have only a few brief observations. I know many women who hunt, have been for many years, and as hardcore as any male hunter, I have shared camp with. I find that female hunters, in general, to be more conscientious, more deliberate in their shooting, less likely to take risks. In that, they show the concept of huntress in a very good light. I am pleased to see more moms and their kids join our ranks as well as single women. Always welcomed in any camp I may attend. The whole thing with sex’d up camo pinup models that appear to be pampered, fully catered huntresses is to be expected in the old marketing model that sex sells just about anything. In my opinion, I think that once you take away all the pampering, the glamor shots you are left with little of the experience of being self-sufficient and being immersed in the turkey woods is lost in favor of a thong. Some of the same mentality applies to male celebrity hunters who are known to be lost themselves without a fully catered hunt.
It is nearly impossible to watch a thirty-minute hunting show without it being saturated with commercials and the storyline constantly pulled back at every turn to hawk a product. As a medium for hunters to learn from, to enjoy, it fails miserably as a nonstop infomercial in the guise of a hunting show. It is a business model that compromises the viewer’s enjoyment over ad space sold.
As with the over-marketing that is rampant with TV shows it is just as much a part of the dialog that occurs on Facebook, Instagram, and others. With that comes the emphasis of who has the most likes, the most Facebook friends. It has become so absurd, to the point it was posted on Facebook that a hunter made the claim that they were a better hunter because they had more likes? Difficult to wrap any logic around that. Having reached the 5K limit on Facebook, I have yet to enjoy that arousal of “better than thou hunter” that I am told about. I worked at it over a long period of time to broaden my base of possible readers of books I have published and will publish in the future. Efforts with my keyboard help make that happen, what abilities or skills I do have in the turkey woods are from lessons learned from time afield, from hunting with others, and for me, it has been many hours over many seasons.
The competitive nature of some of us produces an unhealthy interaction, focused on numbers, not people. I am concerned with being a ‘good hunter’ as I believe you are. I am also concerned with being a ‘better hunter’ when compared to myself five years ago. Whatever measure you wish. If we all strive to be good hunters then may our freezers be full. Is it not fair, a good thought that we all try each day to be better as people, as hunters?
What I see occurring in the realm of social media is the parallel, the concept of TV ratings becoming a parameter in which we measure ourselves on Facebook, Instagram, or any of the other social media offerings. Would I lose the love of family if my friends list shrunk or likes on my posts dwindled away?
There is the danger in that should you make a mistake, honest or deliberate, it is known in such a short time by all that is nearly unmeasurable. Bad news travels fast. Commit a game violation and your hunting buds will know more about your case than you do before you return home from your trip. Poach a record book elk and by tomorrow you may be a Facebook featured post!
For those that believe a picture is worth a thousand words, it is, for the most part, a truism until one pulls it up in photoshop, and modifies it to suit ego or other less than admirable purpose. A game contest is useful for exposing such less noble attributes in hunters that sport overblown egos. Posting on social media has taken these lesser ideals and supersized them as you might expect. I’ve seen lots of turkey hunters holding up their gobblers with a bent elbow and claim 25-28lbs all day long. I have witnessed far too many gobblers that weigh no more than the average 18-19 pounds to know what the girth of the bird appears as, and span of the wing butts to know that in only a few cases does the bird actually match the claimed weight. Only in a few select areas of the country, is the average weight much higher. Such heavyweights appear as if another subspecies in the turkey woods when accurate. Deer are often posed and angles chosen to appear much larger. Photoshopping antlers is not uncommon.
Other ill social media acts include ‘borrowing’ other hunter photos for product ads or photoshopping to appear taken by another hunter. Unless the deed is executed by a skilled person excelling in photography and lighting theory as a background it is all too easy to spot where edits were done. For the more sophisticated edits, a few applied filters and exposure adjustments reveal the modified pixels.
The sins of boasting, false storytelling (ok for fisherman though) hoax photos are an offering of the dark side of social media. In of itself, it is not new, but the modern-day equivalent is much faster in producing it. The false perceived pressure of having to achieve more friends, more likes, more hits, more web traffic comes at the expense of impressing profiles of people you have never hunted with, shared a beer with, or even met on the street. In the end to fall into that trap side steps real friendships, and causes one to miss the sheer joy of time spent in the hunting grounds of their choice.
My opinion is that social media is a great tool for hunters, especially for myself as an outdoor writer/author, as with all things it is neither perfect nor the end of all things in communicating with one another. To understand it and to use it at face value is a very useful way to keep track of and share with all those that you care to include. As we refute those with less than good intentions we make it a better space to share these bits and pieces of our daily lives.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Upside Downside Of Being An Outdoors Prostaffer
Whether it be a fishing or hunting focused position, the coveted position of “Prostaff” is banded about in many circles and generally sought after as highly desired postion. It’s no surprise as who could deny the attraction of making a living or at least a part time income doing the very things you love and would otherwise shell out your hard earned dollars for. Viewed by many as a “win-win.”
There are many subtleties and even more perspectives of this relationship when given the company’s side of it versus the prostaffer’s view. To complicate and muddy the waters even further you have varying degrees or levels of companies and that of prostaff. In each case, and where I assert are the pitfalls, are the compromises made to gain tangible items rather than having a “this is a business” perspective. Again, the love of the outdoors and emotional connection is what is exploited and complicates the issues of prostaffing that plague the outdoor hunting and fishing industry.
Hanging with your homies with matching hats and shirts, swapping hunt escapades, and downing adult beverages sure is memorable fun, and where many friendships are made. However unless the outdoor company you represent, whether it be a game call company, sporting goods manufacturer, TV show, or guide service is something more akin to a club, or a hobby by the owner(s), a level of commitment and professionalism is expected. On the flip side, you have companies that range from multimillion dollar conglomerates down to grossly underfunded wanna-bees with so called business plans (if they actually have one). With such love for the sport you have lots of competition in the prostaffing space. This sets up an interesting dynamic of high interest, overhype in a much diluted market. There is money to be made, but it requires good business sense, a quality product/service, and well executed marketing plan. Having been in the industry for many years I have worked for a large distributor, quality product manufactures, a few game call entities and an unfortunate wanna-be category company.
On the upside, a good company will expect you to conduct yourself as educated, well spoken, and professional. This is universally true for all walks of life. This means professional in your personal life as well as not acting poorly on the sales floor at your local Bass-Pro, Cabela’s, or local sports show. Personalities sometimes come into play, even so be the bigger person. Professionalism does not make exceptions because the other guy is a certified jerk. I left a well-known company for their tolerance of another staffer who qualified as “certified jerk.” Not something to be associated with if you want a long career. Remember as a prostaffer you are always in the critical eye of the public while you represent the company. You are assumed that you belong in your position, to be knowledgeable and professional.
There are some companies that just want a warm body in the store. Being on the other side as a customer, when I walk up to a staffer and have specific questions on their product, I would hope they could tell me more than what I can gleam off of the company website. Do what you can to value add your position. Those who make the extra effort get noticed by future employers as well as appreciative customers. Taking this approach builds your brand, adds to your marketability, and value.
Better companies will compensate you by monetary means either as a 1099 entity or as an employee, sometimes with direct value in their product. Keep in mind that the company should know what it all takes to have you standing there at a show or store, and on your end what it cost you in expenses to do the same. compensation should cover your expenses and your time providing service. If it is an internship, this can be a golden opportunity to prove yourself and gain valuable insights that you cannot learn in school. In many cases you can transition to a professional prostaff position or as a direct employee.
Pitfalls on the prostaff side- the industry is saturated with game call companies, tv-video shows, guide services, etc, that are loaded with hype, grossly underfunded, to the point that basic business practices/expenses are ignored. This is where many friendships are exploited, and where the industry fails. For all the long hours in the field, or endless road-trips, countless shows, or hours spent on the computer, spreading the word, etc., you get maybe a hat, shirt, sometimes a free meal. Taking a look at it in a neutral perspective, many of these tasks are paid positions in other vocations. Even at minimum wage, folks that get caught up in this are donating or being taken advantage of for thousands of dollars’ worth of work. Much of this is predicated on helping a friend, or promises of a piece of the company, or a free hunting trip, you get the idea. Recently I got burned on this very same situation by a long time so called friend, and the hours lost add up to thousands of dollars of professional services rendered. The warning signs were there, but because of a longtime friendship, I ignored them.
Even in the very best circumstances, as an outdoors professional you want to be professional on the business side as well, not just your conduct. If a company is worth working for, get it writing. Establish the specifics and be sure that the expectations are clear on both sides. Work agreements/contracts and non-disclosure agreements are common place among companies that have solid business practices, and look to avoid these problematic issues. In the end this approach will have you doing something that you truly love, and your business interests taken care of properly. As the saying goes: “Work at something you love, and you will truly never work a day again the rest of your life.”
© 2013 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
RSS - Posts