By Alex Comstock
Lately, I've taken notice to something alarming within the deer hunting community. Every time I see it, I cringe, and it's something I've wanted to write about for some time now, but I haven't found the right words to phrase it. I've decided that it's time to go for it, and shoot from the hip, but I'm going to attempt to explain it in the best way that I can.
The hunting community is tight knit, and small. Based on the percentage of Americans that deer hunt, there is a really a small number of us. If I had to guess, there's probably more anti-hunters in the world than there are deer hunters. Except right now, I don't think anti-hunters are as much of a problem as what I'm going to try and get at. And that's hunters that bash other hunters. It's the guy/gal that sits at their computer, and attacks fellow hunters from behind a keyboard about how so and so shouldn't have shot a small buck or complaining about how they'd be able to shoot a big buck too if they owned great property. It's tiring to see all of the negativity online, and within social media. And quite honestly, it's not needed.
When I first started this website, I knew I wanted to write about things that I was knowledgeable about, and topics that were important to me. I don't want this blog post to turn into a rant, but with that said, I think there are things that need to be addressed that most people just don't talk about enough.
Social Media: For the most part, I love social media. Social media allows me to promote this blog, it more or less is the reason I'm employed, and there are a lot of positives to it. But, it gives some people power that they don't use in a positive way. Almost like cyber bullying, a person can sit back and comment on photos or start fights on Facebook or Instagram that are simply unnecessary. If you are a hunter, WHY on earth would you ever feel the need to comment on somebody's picture of a buck they just harvested telling them that's not good deer management if you think it's too small. What really makes me mad is when people feel the need to project what they think is right on to everybody else. Everyone is entitled to shoot what they want, and that's what makes hunting so great.
What else is remarkable to me is when somebody posts a simple question in a group, and it turns into a blood bath. For example, somebody might post a question about broadheads, asking what people like, and what they would recommend. That should elicit simple answers such as "I've been shooting rage for years and love them" or "I've found my muzzy's have been dependable for as long as I've hunted." But instead, one person will comment about how they like rages, and the next will comment back talking about how rage's suck so much, and nobody should ever shoot them. And then a big argument ensues. Think about what the original person who started the thread is thinking. Not only does their question not get answered, but the stupid, senseless argument is just a big waste of time. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.
"The High Fencer": This is another one that really makes me shake my head. It usually goes something like this. A big wig hunter will post a picture of their giant buck, and instead of everybody giving them congratulations, I'll scroll through comments and see "high fence", "If I owned that property, I'd shoot big bucks too!", "You're not even a good hunter, you just have good land!" In most cases, I'd wish people would do their homework. Most of those hunters that own a lot of land, and can manage it how they want have worked their way to that point. They've put in their time over decades, and are now reaping the benefits of hard work. They weren't just born in the middle of a giant farm filled with booners. At the core of this problem is jealousy. And that's just my opinion. If you want to be shooting giant bucks, or own a lot of land, work hard. Work hard for a long time, and maybe one day you can reap the benefits as well.
Trespassers/Thieves: I'm not sure if this category is part of this whole topic, but I'm going to include it anyway. If you're a hunter and are intentionally trespassing or stealing from another hunter, I've got one question - what is wrong with you? As hunters, we should all be supporting one another. When I see a trail camera or treestand on public land, I usually wave to the camera, and mark it as a spot to not hunt in the immediate future. When it comes to private land, there are times you may make an honest mistake, and cross a property boundary and end up on someone else's property and you notice that a trail cam captures your photo. Don't steal it! Either leave a note apologizing or figure out who the landowner is, and go talk to them and let them know what the deal was. We all make mistakes, but don't turn a good honest mistake into stealing something, it's just not right. There are enough anti-hunters out there stealing treestands and trail cameras, hunters should have other hunters back, and not be adding to the problem.
What We Can Do About it: Support other hunters. Be positive on social media. If you disagree with somebody, don't start an argument, but be willing to give your take on something, and listen to what others have to say. It's not going to change overnight, but through being positive, and supporting other hunters, we can start to reduce the amount of bashing. It's really a simple concept.
Conclusion: At the end of the day, there are enough issues caused by non-hunters in the hunting realm. We've got bigger issues to be dealing with such as public lands transfers, people wanting to ban guns, and then there are other issues that need to be addressed such as CWD, EHD, and others. Deer hunting should always be something enjoyable, and everybody has their own goals with it. Lets support one another, and stop bashing others. With all of the other aforementioned issues, hunters bashing other hunters shouldn't even have to be discussed. Whether you think about it or not, it can hurt people, and cause people to not want to hunt. That should never happen as we need as many hunters in the world as possible. One person at a time, we can start to change things.
By Alex Comstock
Now that the 2019 deer season has concluded, it marked my fourth season self-filming my hunts. Self-filming is by no means a walk in the park, and you truly have to understand what your goals are that come with it before you set out to try and do it. When I first started, I wanted to just have fun with it, which if that’s your end goal, then all the power to you. But I quickly realized I wanted to become enamored with it, and turn it into creating content and so forth. So, I started a YouTube channel, and here we are a few years later, as I ultimately turned filming and photographing into my full-time job, even though a large majority of that is based outside of the hunting world. But, I still run a YouTube channel, and kick out videos weekly. With that, I’m going to link to a YouTube video which explains this blog post in it’s entirety, but if you’re not able to take the fifteen minutes to watch, I’ll run through it quicker here as well.
By Alex Comstock
Over the last year and a half or so, I’ve started using Vortex Optics. The first piece of Vortex I was able to get was the 10X42 diamondback binoculars. And ever since, I couldn’t have been happier. Before my Vortex binoculars, I had never owned a pair of quality glass, and I eventually knew it was time to get something that was quality, but at the same time I didn’t have the budget to spend a crazy amount of money. Eventually that lead me to Vortex. Today, I want to go over a quick and simple review of the 10x42 diamondback binoculars and why I like them so much.
By Alex Comstock
Recently I got the chance to review a few products from BioLite Energy, and let me tell you, this kit of products is pretty cool. Coming from a hunter’s perspective, I’ve found these products to not only be beneficial for being outdoors, but they’re also great to keep in your home in case of an emergency. With that said, let’s jump into what these products are, how they perform, and how you can put them to use.
By Alex Comstock
If you’re not familiar with #VelvetFest, it’s a kick off to deer season started by our good friends over at Exodus Trail Cameras. #VelvetFest is meant to help get people excited about deer season and summer scouting. Velvetfest runs from June 12th to July 12th and there’s a lot more than just simply getting excited about summer.
By Alex Comstock
If you haven’t heard of the TV show MeatEater, you’re missing out on one of the best hunting shows out there. It’s such a great show, in large part because of the infectious personality of host, Steven Rinella. Rinella in my opinion, is one of the best public advocates for hunting for a variety of reason, and he is able to articulate about hunting so well. He shows not just the hunt in his show, but everything that goes into it and what comes after it. That includes the butchering, packing out meat and cooking it. But today, we’re not talking about his show MeatEater. What we are talking about though is Rinella’s film that was recently released, “Stars in The Sky: A Hunting Story.”
By Alex Comstock
In 2019, there’s more people than ever consuming not only whitetail content online, but high quality whitetail content. In today’s world, there’s a ton of places on the internet you can find great deer hunting content and in this blog post, I wan to focus on YouTube. YouTube is mainly where I consume all of my video content and there’s a lot you can learn from and enjoy on YouTube. With that said, here’s what I would consider as five of the best deer hunting YouTube channels out there.
By Scott Spitzley
When it comes to connecting and engaging young children into the outdoors, there may be some uncertainty as to where to begin—it is in my opinion, overlooked.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife national survey conducted every five years, our hunting community is declining, despite the population increase. I can only speculate that this is attributed to modernization as well as a lack of interest in hunting, especially amongst our younger generation.
By Alex Comstock
The last couple of days I have gone over my budget friendly and recommended products that I came across at last week’s Archery Trade Association Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Today, I wanted to highlight three rather unique products I noticed, and then let you make your choice on what you think of them.
By Alex Comstock
Yesterday, I went over three budget friendly products from the ATA show last week. Those particular products I thought were the best if money is a top concern. Today, I wanted to go over my recommended products that I came across at the ATA show regardless of price. These four stood out to me above the rest.
By Alex Comstock
Last week I attended the ATA show in Louisville, Kentucky and as always everyone is always excited to see what products are coming for the upcoming year. This year, there didn’t seem to be many buzzworthy products, but I’m always looking for those smaller, budget friendly products. Below I will go through three of my favorite products from this year’s ATA show that won’t force you to take a big hit in the wallet.
By Alex Comstock
As a hardcore bowhunter, deer season truly never ends. We’re doing something deer related every month of year. But during the actual time of year when we can shoot deer, everything gets intensified. For months during the fall, we spend hours upon hours in a treestand or blind, and when we’re not in the field, odds are we’re looking at the weather, maps, etc. It’s non-stop and can sometimes end up being a mental grind, especially when we get to this time of year. Here are three reasons deer season can end up being a mental grind and what you can do when the grind hits you.
By Alex Comstock
Public land is a great thing in the hunting and outdoor world, no doubt about it. But sometimes, when you hunt public land, you are going to deal with people that just don’t quite get it. Unfortunately, some hunters don’t understand ethics or respect others. I wish everyone did, but it’s a sad fact, and it can put you in a uncomfortable position. So how do you handle sticky situations? That’s the goal of this blog post.
By Alex Comstock
If you aren't a member of the Quality Deer Management Association and you love deer hunting, it's time to look at becoming a member. Whether you own property and want to learn how to manage it more efficiently, are a public land weekend warrior, or somewhere in between, there's a lot to be learned from being a QDMA member. Here are a few specific reasons why you should consider joining today.
By Alex Comstock
The term "Trophy" buck. What does it mean to you? I'd be willing to bet that it's different than what I consider a trophy, or what your friend considers a trophy. Yet, the phrase "Trophy Hunting" often is associated with deer hunting negatively, and I don't like that. But, at the same time I think it can sometimes be partially our fault as hunters. I believe we ought to explain to people what we mean by trophy hunting, and that just because someone says they are a trophy hunter doesn't mean they only care about antlers and not anything else.
By Tyler Jones
Having toured in a band for nearly 10 years, I find traveling easier than most, I guess. All the time I hear, “I wish I had the guts to just go like you do,” and I’m thinking, “I wish I had your paycheck.” I feel like I’ve been tough for some time now, but I think I’m also just plain callused because since age 18, I’ve never known what it was like not to scrape by. The lifestyle can be stressful, however it also has a freeing quality to it, and because I have chosen to live this way, I’ve been forced into learning how to travel and hunt out of state on a slim budget.
By Adam Crews
As a kid, I always remember my dad and his yellow legal pad with his “To-Do List” penciled at the top. He's the hardest working person I know and he always has a plan. If anyone had the right to tell me my priorities were wrong, it was him. He may not admit it, but he gets stuff done, and it’s all because he has a plan.
By Alex Comstock
"The quality of being great, distinguished, or eminent" - the definition of greatness. But does that hold true when it comes to deer hunting? I've pondered this a time or two. When you hear someone claim they want to become a "great" deer hunter, what does that even really mean?
By Alex Comstock
As I sit here and type this, I'm thinking hard about exactly what deer hunting has taught me, not only about animals, wildlife, and as an outdoorsman, but as a human being. When deer hunting is one of the most important things to you in life, you'll inherently spend a lot of time working at it. In turn, deer hunting will actually teach you a lot about life, and it's my baseline on how to be successful. Don't believe me? Well here's five life lessons that deer hunting has taught me.
By Alex Comstock
In this day and age of hunting, with numbers continuing to fall, especially with the number of deer hunters, I think it's important we reach as many "non-hunters" as possible to explain the intricacies that people may not understand about hunting. Deer hunting is such a multi layered activity, and there's so many different levels to it. I think sometimes people get it misconstrued and think we only shoot big bucks for chess pieces on the wall, or that we don't respect whitetail deer.
By Alex Comstock
As a hunter, you are inevitably going to be asked at some point in your life why you hunt. It might be someone challenging you, or it could be someone that's genuinely interested in hunting who wants to understand where you come from. It's actually pretty compelling to me. As a hunter, we're in the center of everything that has to do with hunting right? We live it and breath it everyday, and sometimes it can be hard to see it from the perspective of someone who has never hunted a day in their life. So if you were to take and try to explain to them why you hunt, how would you put it? It can be a unique conversation, and here's my attempt at how I would explain to someone why I hunt.
By Alex Comstock
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the declining number of hunters in America. The numbers are slightly alarming, and as hunters, if we want hunting to prosper, we need to be recruiting more people to start hunting. One organization that is making a big difference when it comes to recruiting new people to hunting is the Quality Deer Management Association.
By Alex Comstock
In our latest Q&A, I interviewed two professional photographers in Steven Drake and Sam Soholt. It was one of our best pieces on WhitetailDNA (you can read it by clicking HERE) and it inspired this blog post. It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately, and that's the declination in the number of hunters. We'll be having a more in depth piece coming soon about the declining number of hunters, and what we can do about it, but one thing I wanted to bring up now was the fact that we as hunters need to make sure we're portraying hunting in a positive light at all times, and not just focusing on the kill.
By Alex Comstock
I've been thinking recently about how big bucks make people do things that are pretty crazy and dumb. And I'm not talking about in a good way. Not the crazy and dumb where you sit all day in a tree in single digit temperatures. I'm talking about about the crazy and dumb where people steal, trespass, poach, etc. all because of one thing - big bucks. Big antlers and giant bucks are awesome, no doubt about it, but when they start dictating you, or cause you to do illegal things that you otherwise would never think about doing, that's when it becomes a problem.
By Alex Comstock
A good attitude can go a long ways. It can even affect decisions you make, and ultimately the results that you have in a particular aspect of your life. No matter what it is, attitude can play a big role, and have a larger impact on things than you may think, and deer hunting is no different.
By Alex Comstock
Are you looking for the perfect excuse to get out for a weekend of shed hunting? Well, I think this is the perfect opportunity! Whitetail Properties is putting on their annual #Shedrally, which is the world's largest shed hunt again this year. #Shedrally is an organized shed hunt, meant to bring together people all over the country out in pursuit of antlers. This year, #Shedrally will be held on March 10th and 11th.
By Alex Comstock
This time of the year I tend to spend a lot of time in deep thought about all things to do with deer hunting. From tactical to the path our country is on as it pertains to the hunting world, and everything in between. Lately, I've been spending a fair amount of time thinking about the developments of our hunting industry and some things that people may be overlooking.
By Alex Comstock
In today's hunting show realm, the digital side of it continues to grow larger and larger. For me personally, I don't have cable TV, and therefore I consume all of my hunting shows via the internet. There's a ton of online shows out there, and a lot of different places you can go to consume online hunting shows. Today, I wanted to run through some of my favorites, and some websites you can go to in order to watch these.
By Alex Comstock
This past year I started using a new tool for hunting, and it's been something that's been game changing for me. OnX maps has literally changed the way I scout, look at maps, identify public and private land, and ultimately hunt. OnX is something I'd strongly recommend to anybody, whether you hunt public land, or own your own property, and here's why.
By Alex Comstock
A couple weeks ago, I picked up the Mathews VXR from my local archery shop, Custom Archery & Outdoors. Randy, the owner of the shop set it up for me and tuned it, and within an hour, Randy had transitioned all of my accessories (rest, sight, stabilizer, etc.) from my Triax to the VXR and I was shooting great. It was a seamless transition and now after shooting it almost everyday for over a week, I wanted to give you my first impressions, because I’ve been absolutely blown away by this bow.