The world is always changing. Out with the old, in with the new. Gear reviews, critiques and advertisements. They’re everywhere, sometimes it’s hard to read through the BS. In this regard, sometimes I wish there weren’t so many options, but I also really enjoy new gear that makes my days in the field more comfortable.

What’s getting more and more difficult to understand though is this idea some have that social media is just a personal place to pat oneself on the back for all the field accomplishments achieved in recent days or hours. When did it become so important to share every little detail of our hunting excursions with the rest of the world wide web? And more importantly, when did we stop teaching our young people to be humble and have respect for others as well as hard fought efforts to ensure a future for our hunting heritage?

Well, now you’re probably wondering where this is leading.

While getting ready to head out to hunt ducks last weekend with my family, I stumbled on an IG post that caught my attention. It was short, had action, and excitement, everything a successful IG post is supposed to have. What I saw though really rubbed me wrong. It was 15 seconds of crane hunting. The cranes had come set on top of a blind, several shots rang out, and cranes came raining down. Perhaps it was the “in your face” part that got me as one crane cartwheeled down out of the sky just about landing on the guy recording.

Now, as a bird hunter, I know that feeling of excitement well when everything comes together and several birds end up going home with you at the end of the day. The video though was tough to watch, especially the sprawling wings, long neck and legs of the once graceful crane as it came careening down. Curious what others thought, I scrolled down. The first few comments were thumbs up from other hunters, then the angry emoji’s came out, and negative comments started filling the page. It was pretty clear these were nonhunters that had never seen that before or even considered what it’s like when a crane hunter successfully harvests a bird of that size.

I ended up exchanging a few comments with other page visitors. Not sure if I made any impact or just emboldened others to keep posting these types of videos. I’m just left wondering how their backgrounds might be different than mine.

Me, I was raised in a family where hunter education was of utmost importance. Then I myself became a hunter education instructor some 20 years ago. After working in government and private industry these last 25 years, I have seen all sides of the hunting issue from the hardcore anti-hunters and their passion displayed openly when wolf control measures were being proposed, to hardcore hunting proponents who won’t be swayed to ever stop pushing for healthy harvest worthy populations. What’s really important though is the realization that 90% of folks are somewhere in the middle.

As hunters, we have to recognize that America is urbanizing as we speak. The support for harvesting your own wild game is not as strong as it was just 20 years ago. Many city folk actually think they can go to the grocery store to get meat so that no animals have to suffer…

We really do need to stick together here and be vigilant in our protection of our hunting heritage. Now I’m not proposing censoring or banning any hunting posts, pictures or videos. To the contrary, I love seeing a successful hunt play out for others. Because I personally know the sacrifice it takes to achieve success, and the excitement that comes over one when the bullet, arrow or BB hits the mark, I get it. But let’s keep it classy.

Put yourself in a nonhunters shoes. I don’t want to sugarcoat anything, but I also recognize the kill is easier to watch if it’s at a distance. If there’s a story behind it, even better.

So what do you all think? I’m curious in feedback here. Personally, I have dedicated hundreds of hours trying to promote hunting, hunting safety and our hunting heritage. I have donated time and money to multiple conservation causes and I want to see a future for sustainable harvest opportunities across all 50 states.

So how do we keep up the good fight though when a single social media post, done in poor taste, can turn dozens of people against this activity we cherish?

I know we all have different tolerances, and we certainly come from different places. But one thing we can all do is to avoid rubbing death in the faces of non-hunters. Like I hinted above, the kill is not the best part of any hunt. The accomplishment of success however, that’s something totally different.

Hopefully we can all come together on this. In light of everything else crazy going on out there, if we can just keep focused on the goal of filling our freezers, and sharing the best moments (tastefully) with the world wide web, maybe, just maybe we have a shot!