A Very Uncomfortable Discussion About the Reality of Modern Hunt Culture
If we, as hunters, objectively asked ourselves what the actual reality is of hunting culture based on the actions taken by the majority of hunters, what would we find?
Next Question…
What are the chances that some of us are just speaking into an echo chamber full of ideals that mimic our own when it comes to what hunting is and what it isn’t?
For those unfamiliar with what an echo chamber is, here’s what Wikipedia describes it as;
For example - Are those in the hunting industry who promote doing conservation, integrity, and setting a good example of what hunting is and isn't merely just speaking into an echo chamber full of people who agree with those ideals but who do not actually represent the majority of the hunting culture?
But who is the real majority? The ethical and law-abiding hunter or is it those who knowingly operate outside the bounds of the law and ethics?
In This Article
Questioning Modern Hunt Culture and How I Found Myself Here
At some point in the last few months, those above questions popped into my head. They rolled around in there for a while until I had to write them down to send off to a few folks. I needed to get them out in the open to discuss what the actual no-nonsense percentage is of hunters who ACTUALLY keep ideas like conservation, ethics of fair chase, integrity, and “setting a good example” at the forefront of their minds throughout the season and throughout the year.
I’m talking about those who allow ethics and integrity to guide their day-to-day life year after year and season after season. People who, when fair chase or ethics comes into question, choose the route of an unfulfilled tag versus a notched one.
All of these questions made me begin to question the reality of the world that I personally live in when it comes to hunting. I asked myself how many hunters I personally know or have known who do the right thing at all times no matter what. Who not only set the example but who is the example for what hunting is rather than what it’s not.
The question of my own hunting realities brought me to my final question of “what does this mean for us long term?” If the reality I think I’m living in isn’t the actual reality of the majority of hunting culture after all, then where are we 20-30 years?
Questions like these might rub people the wrong way, and I hope you know me well enough by now to know that I’m not one to post make a fuss just to make a fuss. I’m the last person who wants to argue or defend a point because, honestly, I’m terrible at it.
I’m also not here to create divides or teams. By Land was originally created to bridge gaps between groups of people, not further them. I’m here to start the conversation. To ask the sometimes difficult questions and better understand the world that I myself am a part of.
This is a loaded piece of writing and I sincerely encourage you to offer your thoughts in return in the comments or by emailing me directly at emory@byland.co.
If you’re a non-hunter or think this episode won’t apply to you. Think again. Take whatever you’re into and substitute it in for the topic of hunting.
One last thing before I continue, please understand that I’m not trying to SOLVE anything here. Not everything can be solved right here and now and not every question has a clear-cut answer. I know we live in a society now that is used to immediate everything but in this case… it’s just not possible. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Get used to big issues taking a long time to work themselves out.
Consider this entire article a thought experiment. A sort of jumping-off point for a good conversation around a campfire, over a cup of coffee, or a glass of whiskey. When you’re done reading, discuss it with a friend or your favorite hunting buddy. Start the conversation and be willing to ask super uncomfortable questions so you can learn.
How Many Hunters Actually Do The Right Thing In The Field?
I was pretty bummed out when I realized that I couldn’t think of more than one or two people who I could put into that category that I personally know. By Land has no doubt allowed me to meet a lot of really great people with similar values and I think the vast majority of them really do set the example we’re hoping for, but life before By Land? Yeah…slim pickings’
It’s actually a little embarrassing thinking about how few people I’ve known who always do the right thing in the field and I felt a little bad thinking about all the experiences I’d had with them in the past in the elk and deer woods over the years. It makes me very uncomfortable, to say the least.
EXPERIENCING BAD ETHICS
When I was a teenager and barely able to drive, I call a moment when a group of guys I was with had a bull going crazy down below us bugling its head off. It was out of season for elk hunting, but for some reason, they had decided that if this bull showed himself, they were going to shoot it.
I remember feeling numb when the rifle was pulled out of its case. I was outnumbered at the time and the youngest of the bunch so I didn’t have much say in the matter, but I’ll never forget that feeling.
Thank God nothing happened that day. The bull never showed himself and we went on our way shortly thereafter, but I felt gross. I was so young at the time that I remember feeling like I never again wanted that feeling of not being in control when hunting or in this case, simply having a good day in the woods.
There was another time when I bumped into a friend of mine from high school years after we had graduated. We were hunting the same spot and I was coming down off the mountain when I saw him dragging something up to the road. I didn’t know it was him at the time but stopped anyway to give my congratulations and ask what he had shot. He told me he shot a small spike, which was legal in this unit, and as I drove away he yelled out “Emory?!”
I stopped and got out of my truck all excited to check out the harvest but as I rounded the pickup I found it was not actually a buck that he had shot. It was a doe and he was in a hurry to load it up and get out of there. Again…I was stunned. I didn’t know what to do so I just stared at him like an idiot.
Maybe this isn’t a big deal to you, but integrity is high on my list of character traits and I was immediately turned off by the whole situation. He gave me some stupid story about how time was limited for him and he wanted some meat for the freezer and I went along with it thinking the whole time how disgusting and selfish it was. Not to mention illegal.
I can think of a few more instances over my lifetime where the people I was hunting with showed some serious signs of being willing to operate in the gray area. In some cases, it wasn’t “illegal” but it was for sure unethical or fell into the category of operating outside the values of “fair chase.”
The idea that the vast majority of the people I’ve hunted with in the past had compromised ethics when it came down to it was a bit of a shocker to me once I realized it. I’m not saying I’m some perfect example but I do abide by laws and regulations and do my best to uphold the ideals of fair chase and ethics when I’m hunting. Why? Because I don’t want to have some reminder on the wall of I time when I cheated the system and did something wrong. I personally have a hard time living with myself when I screw up and I also want to go to bed at night knowing I did the right thing.
So in my tiny little world, I’ve known far more people who are ethically compromised than I care to admit. That’s literally why I stopped hunting with people and instead ventured off solo. I had too many instances of witnessing compromised ethics and I wanted nothing to do with other hunters anymore.
If that is the reality of my world, what’s the reality of the REST of the hunting world? Am I just an anomaly? Is everyone else living in a world where the majority of hunters they know are outstanding citizens of the woods and the epitome of the example? I don’t like being a pessimist here, but I’m going to guess that my experiences are not much different than yours are. I know this because I’ve chatted with a few of you about this exact same thing.
So if the majority of hunters that I have known and the majority of hunters YOU have known are willing to operate in the gray area of ethics and integrity… what does that say about what hunting ACTUALLY “IS” and “ISN’T?”
What Hunting Is and Isn’t - The Loaded Phrase
That phrase alone - “what hunting is and isn’t” - is a loaded phrase because of this exact reason. If I’m a jerk hunter who breaks the law and I talk about it on social media, blog about it, or make videos about it, I’m not going to last long. I’ll be lambasted and harassed (I’m guessing) so there’s no upside to sharing my bad ethics with the world because no brand is going to touch me with a 10-foot pole if that’s what I’m after by shooting a big buck or bull. But to be honest, I see people posting unethical content all the time and they get praise for it so I’m not sure if that’s true or not after all
So, if the only people preaching on social media are the ones with good ethics or good-er ethics from what we know of them, then who are they actually reaching? Are they just reaching 50 thousand of their followers who already think like them?
What about in-person networking or events? Some leader in the industry gets up on a stage and hits a home run about conservation and ethics to a bunch of people who paid to go to an event that already thinks the same damn things they do. Is that working when the people who they’re TRYING to reach, at least I think, are still at home doing what they always do and NOT listening to what those leaders are saying at the event going on down the street from them? They don’t want to be around “do-gooders” who are sponsored or hunt private ranches. They don’t relate because it’s not relatable to them!
This is my concern about the echo chamber. Are those willing to put themselves out there online ACTUALLY reaching anyone with what they’re trying to do OR are they just reaching people who already believe what they believe and this whole thing is just a big pat on the back (me included)?
Hell…let’s call it what it is…this website is an example of that. Am I reaching the right people with this message or am I just reaching the SAME people? If that’s the case, how the heck do I reach the RIGHT people?
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT: An exercise in a breakdown of ethics.
I realize this article is a little dark, but sometimes we have to go to the far reaches of the darkness to ask the tough questions so we can find out where the line actually is. If you never explore, then you’ll never know. If ships never sailed the Atlantic, they would have never found other lands and we’d all be stacked on top of one another in Europe somewhere thinking the world is flat when in REALITY it is NOT flat. Exploring ideas and possible realities is where we find the truth.
Enter my thought experiment on how long it would take for conservation efforts, integrity, and ethics to break down in a controlled space.
Hypothetically, let’s pretend Emory wins the lottery and can buy himself a ranch of 100 acres or larger. It’s prime wildlife habitat and the kind of place dreams are made of. It’s the ideal Garden of Eden. I buy the land with the intention of managing it myself and only allowing myself to hunt it and harvest its goodness.
Whatever I decide to do on that land, I do it alone because I want to ensure that things are done the right way. From the proper way to harvest game to controlling fires, and trash. Whatever you can think of, I’m in control of it. Everything is going swimmingly and life is great, but after a few years of this Eden experience, I decide I’m getting a little lonely and would like to share this incredible place with people.
I don’t want to open it up to everyone at once, but I do want some company so I choose one or two people each year to join me on my property. I don’t get to pick and choose who they are. It’s a lottery system - names go in a hat and are pulled out. These newcomers will have access to everything I have access to with the catch being that I give them a list of rules to follow and abide by. They agree, sign off on the rules, and they’re off and running.
Each year I do this. Adding people bit by bit making sure that each time I do add someone to the mix, they’re following the rules I set forth from the beginning.
The question is this; How long would this last before someone breaks a rule? How long before someone builds a fire when they shouldn’t? Shoots an animal they shouldn’t shoot, leave a piece of trash on my ranch, or decides it’s not important to dig a cat hole when nature calls? Realistically, how long can my Garden of Eden last before people begin doing the wrong thing? Even just SLIGHTLY wrong?
I don’t know the answer to that question and maybe you don’t either, but I think you get the idea here. Maybe it’s 10 people or maybe it’s 100. Regardless though, I think we’d all agree that EVENTUALLY, someone is going to do something unethical and selfish on my property where I made very clear what the rules were and which they agreed to in the first place!
If at some point people are going to think selfishly on my property by not following my simple rules then what the heck does that say about public lands? You and I have both seen what it’s like out there. I was up in my local National Forest this past summer and drove by a camping spot I’ve used in the past and saw a trash pile so big that you’d think someone had gathered all the trash from the entire national forest into one spot. I would have needed a dumpster or two to haul away all that trash. And that’s just from people camping on the weekend off the side of the road in a National Forest.
TRASH ON PUBLIC LANDS
The stories are endless and they span the spectrum of a wrapper on the ground and human waste to poaching. The more I consider the ACTUAL reality of the world I live in, the more I actually wonder if the VAST majority of people are doing the WRONG things out there rather than the RIGHT things
Whether they know it or not, they’re doing it wrong. And I’m sorry, but you can’t convince me that people don’t instinctively know that it is wrong to leave a pile of trash behind at their campsites, jump a fence to shoot an animal on private property, or kill something outside of regulated seasons. Yes, mistakes DO happen, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. These are intentional deviations from regulations that are done on a selfish and lazy level because no one is there to stop them from doing it and because that’s the way THEY were taught to do it. If they weren’t taught to do it then no one damn well told them otherwise.
And don’t think this doesn’t just happen in your local forest. Remember those images of National Parks piling up with trash because people apparently didn't know what to do when they saw a trash can overflowing because budgets have been cut and there’s literally no trash services in place to take care of it? It’s not hard to put your trash in your own trash bag and haul it away with you, but somehow this is something that the MAJORITY of people struggle with and I can’t for the life of me figure it out.
Change is only attainable with people looking to be educated and who are WILLING to change. A lack of education is one thing and you can create programs for that I suppose, but I'm wondering how in the heck we’re supposed to reach people who don’t WANT to change. Who doesn’t WANT to abide by the rules and regulations of hunting because in the long run it’s likely not going to benefit them by doing so?
For those who continue to operate inside the gray area of ethics, conservation, fair chase, and whatever else you can think of - following the rules actually hinders their lifestyle so again, why would they WANT to change? Following rules and regulations aren’t always fun. It often makes life harder, but these things are in place for a reason, right? Not for your benefit, but for the benefit of everyone as a society.
What Is the Future of Hunting?
Where are we in 20-30 years if the MAJORITY of people continue to knowingly do the WRONG things in the field and continue to make a BAD name for hunting in their communities where it really matters? Let’s be honest, one bad apple CAN actually spoil the pot and PERCEPTION IS REALITY.
Like I mentioned earlier, we can tell ourselves all day long that “that’s not what hunting is,” when some jerk does something distasteful or unethical but for the purpose of THIS thought experiment, I’m going to push back on that sentiment because I think there’s a really good chance that the reality is that - THAT IS WHAT THE MAJORITY of hunters are doing AND as a result, that’s what hunting IS. Maybe that’s not how YOU are, but that’s not that matters here for the time being because you might not be the majority.
And if that’s the case, we have a huge problem on our hands because those who want to take hunting away have the only REAL leg to stand on.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I think we as hunters - the ones who are trying to give hunting the right name, need to be willing to at least CONSIDER what the reality of hunting culture really is. To those of you who are going to push back on this and are squirming in their seats, I get it, I’m right there with you.
But, just ask yourself this; if you’re yelling at the podcast right now saying “ EMORY! You’re WRONG! That’s not what hunting is!” Are you saying that because YOU and your tiny world think that’s what hunting is OR is it because you actually believe that the overwhelming majority of hunters do the right thing when no one is looking?
I sincerely hope that the majority of hunters out there ARE doing the right things at all times in the name of simply doing the right thing, but I just don’t know if that’s the case. I think a lot of people struggle with integrity and in the cancel culture world, we live in I don’t know where that puts us a few years down the road.
The US is a democratic nation, right? Does that mean that laws and regulations are put into place by majority votes? So what if what I’m saying is right? What if the MAJORITY of hunters are doing the WRONG things in the field and making a bad name for hunting to the point where the MAJORITY of the Nation at some point down the road decides that hunting no longer has a place in our culture and votes it out of existence. You might say that’s not possible, but don’t kid yourself. Anything is possible when people think you’re doing the wrong thing, that you’re a problem, and they have a majority vote.
We can play the semantics game all day long about how big money wouldn’t let that happen but don’t underestimate the values of the majority. Again, if the MAJORITY of people in this country decide that hunting isn’t an effective way to manage game populations and that killing wild animals is no longer a necessary activity in modern society then it WILL get snuffed out one day. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but one day it could actually happen.
HUNTING FILMS AND THE NEW HUNTING NARRATIVE
What I find interesting is that for years now I’ve been watching the hunting industry attempt to change the narrative by whatever means necessary. From my perspective, the most noticeable has been through high-quality imagery - be it film or stills - because it’s easy to distribute. When it started happening I sincerely thought that THIS was the way hunting would begin to be portrayed correctly. And it IS portrayed correctly - to those who identify with THAT version of hunting.
To those who DO NOT identify with storytelling and epic mountain hunts or that kind of thing, they just laugh it off and go back to how THEY hunt. See how this works? And truth be told, the majority of these “epic hunting films” are actually just marketing videos made by brands who want to sell their products. Yes, there are wins all around, but the REAL win is seen when a brand is featured as a sponsor in one of these films and viewers buy into the idea that they too can hunt an epic hunt so they buy whatever is shown. Ethics are rarely a topic of discussion, instead, they’re often in the fine print of the story after the brand gets its moment of fame.
For years now efforts have been made to share with the world what the “real” hunting story is but I don’t personally see anything actually changing because of it. If anything, it’s forcing people to make bad choices in the name of shooting their own epic adventure or posting a “trophy” to the “gram.” Even “professional” hunters or social media influencers with thousands upon thousands of followers who MAKE these epic videos are caught doing the WRONG things. It happens all the time and these are apparently the pillars of the community? These are the people who are pushing the narrative of what hunting is and isn’t? They can’t even help themselves when it comes down to it!
I see social media posts talking about shooting a coyote in the face because it’s a predator and predators are bad. And season after season I continue to see grip and grins with a million hashtags, and product mentions, but NO story about HOW the hunt unfolded or WHY that animal is so important to them. I see videos of unethical shots taken at animals and stories of wounding animals that are unrecoverable.
Buckle up for this one, I STILL see videos of “kill shots” that I personally don’t understand to this day. In fact, it’s almost as if the “kill shot” has become even MORE popular now that we have optics that can capture the moment so clearly. I just don’t understand it. Maybe one of you can hit me up and explain how a kill shot benefits hunting in any way shape or form.
On one hand, you have these famous hunters making high-quality mini-documentaries about their hunts talking about how “heavy” it feels to take the life of an animal and how “it’s not about the horns” yet they’re whooping and hollering the moment an animal goes down and they expect it to register for NON-hunters. The number of videos I’ve seen of animals rolling down mountainsides is beyond my own comprehension. Is that part of hunting? Yes. Does it add to the story? No. Not at all whatsoever. I believe it detracts from it.
Filming kill shots and dying animals lacks class and only gives the non-hunting public a sour taste of the final moments of a hunt. And yet, video after video comes out showing an animal’s final moments when in their own words “the killing isn’t what hunting is about.” But I challenge that sentiment BIG time.
If a picture is worth a thousand words and you’re filming something in 24 frames per second then showing a “kill shot” says a hell of a lot about what the focus is, doesn’t it? If “killing” isn’t the storyline and it’s NOT what hunting is about then why are you so damn focused on it? All I’m saying is be careful what you ask for and what you put into your videos because one day you might wake up in a society that doesn’t value what YOU value and when that happens, it’s going to be a sad day for you because the majority just voted your enjoyment out of existence.
That’s a very long-winded way of saying I guess I’m not seeing anything changing inside “hunt culture” after all these years. At least not on a scale that is noticeable to me anyhow.
This is why I’m afraid we’re all just speaking into an echo chamber full of the same ideas that echo back to us and make us feel good.
My concern is that those who publish content online with the intent of trying to change the culture they’re a part of (me included) might ONLY be reaching the ears of those who ALREADY believe what THEY believe. I personally don’t think that an Instagram account that has an apparent 50k followers is reaching the people they’re hoping to reach That’s just showing that 50k people might, and I say MIGHT, share similar values as yourself and thus are willing to follow you. I think the hope would be to reach people who NEED to be reached in a way that speaks to their own values as a person.
What sucks is that you and I both know that for every positive account working dedicated to offering a new narrative on the values about what hunting is and isn't, there are equal, if not more, accounts and channels that host unethical content with thousands upon thousands of viewers and subscribers.
I have spent countless hours examining this topic and could continue to drone on and on about this while exploring every tiny little crevasse of it, but for the sake of both you and I, I’ll end it here with where we began and allow you to take it from here.
Final Thoughts
What IS the truth about what hunting culture is and isn’t? Are the VAST majority of hunters who take to the field DEDICATED to following the rules and regulations while upholding ethics and fair chase OR are the vast majority the ones who bend the rules and disregard those values.
For those of us who do hold hunting in SUCH high regard that we do everything in our power to uphold the values of ethics and fair chase- are we doing our part to reach those who NEED to be reached OR are we just finding ourselves locked in an echo chamber thinking that we’re getting somewhere when in reality all we’re doing is talking to ourselves in the mirror because we refuse to explore the actual realities of hunting culture?
Like I said at the beginning of this article, sometimes you have to explore some uncharted territory to learn more about where you’re from and where you’re going. I know I’m not perfect and I know you aren’t either. I would never expect perfection. What I do expect from those I spend my time with is reflection, sincerity, and humbleness. I expect a willingness to identify when they’ve screwed up and the ability to find a way to avoid that going forward.
I also recognize that this article kind of ends abruptly, but that’s partly on purpose and partly because I’m still exploring this myself. I said in the beginning that I’m not here to answer the question or offer the solution. I’m here to pose the question so that WE as a society can navigate it together. Sometimes you don’t need to always have the answer and I think that’s totally okay.
If this article has sparked any sort of thoughts that you’d like to share in return, PLEASE DO! You can reach me at emory@byland.co OR simply leave a comment below.
My hope from this episode is that you have these kinds of thought experiments with your inner circle and begin to identify what YOU can do to help bring the change you want to see with your subculture of whatever it is you do.
