Randy's Ramblings - Content, motivations, and recent threads

[BOHNTR]

I miss the days when we just hunted and didn’t have to justify or explain ourselves to others. Remember when you introduced/referred me to Mike Ellig many years back? That was back in the Moosie days……sometimes wish we were still in that time.

Keep up the fight, Randy. Your integrity will take you far.

 

[Big Fin]

May I ask if you have ever made any public comments in regards to other "convicted" hunting influencers?

I'm usually not one to make a big announcement when people demonstrate their own stupidity. Their actions speak for them, so it usually doesn't require me to make public comments.

Yet, in this case, I made an exception. The owner of Wild Game Innovations, one of the largest sponsors of the Outdoor-Sportsmans Group TV platforms, was busted for poaching an elk in Wyoming. The network refused to take any action.

So, I made the post below. Being on the network at that time, you can imagine the shit storm it caused when I tagged the network in my post. They got inundated. The post was shared over 1,000 times, all of which had the network tagged in it. The President of the network called me and we had a long discussion. I rambled off all the other law breakers his network was promoting. He claimed he had no idea.

He knew, or some of his key people knew. But, they had personal service and promotional agreements with a lot of the folks who plea bargained their way to lesser chargers. Nugent, Brackett, Ritz, and the list was much longer.

Suffice to say, the network and I parted ways later that year. Enough media had covered the poaching incident that I didn't need to add to that. What the media was missing was the complicit actions of the network continuing to air Busbice's shows and keep their relationships with the other list of game violators. There was a lot of ad dollars coming from Wild Game Innovations and the network hoped it would all blow over. They did drop those shows a few weeks later.

Link here if you care to read the comments - https://www.facebook.com/randynewbe...d-to-air-hunting-content-on-/814032048765164/

 

[Caseknife]

Randy, thank you for the very insightful explanation of your business, explains a lot. Keep up the wonderful work for wildlife and continue to inspire folks to do the same.

I am on a couple other hunting forums, as are many, and wish that some of those folks could see this thread, may not change their myopic views but hope it would.

Keep up the good work.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

I'm usually not one to make a big announcement when people demonstrate their own stupidity. Their actions speak for them, so it usually doesn't require me to make public comments.

Yet, in this case, I made an exception. The owner of Wild Game Innovations, one of the largest sponsors of the Outdoor-Sportsmans Group TV platforms, was busted for poaching an elk in Wyoming. The network refused to take any action.

So, I made the post below. Being on the network at that time, you can imagine the shit storm it caused when I tagged the network in my post. They got inundated. The post was shared over 1,000 times, all of which had the network tagged in it. The President of the network called me and we had a long discussion. I rambled off all the other law breakers his network was promoting. He claimed he had no idea.

He knew, or some of his key people knew. But, they had personal service and promotional agreements with a lot of the folks who plea bargained their way to lesser chargers. Nugent, Brackett, Ritz, and the list was much longer.

Suffice to say, the network and I parted ways later that year. Enough media had covered the poaching incident that I didn't need to add to that. What the media was missing was the complicit actions of the network continuing to air Busbice's shows and keep their relationships with the other list of game violators. There was a lot of ad dollars coming from Wild Game Innovations and the network hoped it would all blow over. They did drop those shows a few weeks later.

Link here if you care to read the comments - https://www.facebook.com/randynewbe...d-to-air-hunting-content-on-/814032048765164/

View attachment 385663

Thanks for the link and yes I'm sure it caused a shit storm but sometimes that's needed. I commend you for doing so.

I hope you will consider speaking out about the Lampers case should he be found guilty, letting the stupidity of others speak for themselves only goes so far. Especially in today's world when people such as yourself have such an impact on the hunting public and in particular with how your words and actions can influence hunters in particular the young guys and gals just getting into the sport with no family members to guide them.

I honestly despise the fact that what goes on via social media has such a profound impact on so many people but I guess that's just the way it is.

 

[PoleX]

Randy, for what is worth I always got the sense you were an account that enjoyed hunting and wanted to share public land DIY hunts with the average man(before it became so common). I think the educational aspect of your videos is what drew me to them. Moving from the Midwest to Bozeman, not having a clue what I was doing, your content helped me understand some of the basics with respect to all things western hunting. I think you drew a large amount of “followers” because of this. Since the early days of FT I’ve noticed an even larger emphasis on conservation and public lands. The only content I listen to or watch anymore is conservation related. I think a lot of folks have a distaste for any hunting content because it’s flooded the web and has made it more difficult to draw tags and hunt non crowded spots(selfish reasons). I fall into that crowd but also recognize the need for good “influencers” that advocate for the right stuff. So for that, I’ll say thank you for being one of the good ones and staying true to your core values/mission. As far as worrying about others, I tend to be in the live and let live camp. You shouldn’t have to answer for other men’s poor decision.

 

[cgasner1]

About the only bad thing I can think to say about @Big Fin is he wouldn’t let me buy the pizza. Next time I’d like to. Thanks for keep everyone fighting

 

[Buschy]

Randy. I have known you about 20 years and it was 18 years ago when I saved you a seat next to me in Kingman, AZ for the NR Hunter Safety Class…”look for the guy in the green Ducks unlimited hat” you said.

The explanation you just posted, in addition to many conversations we have had about hunting and life, is why I have always looked up to you.

Just one guys opinion, but we need more “Randys” in the world. Your honestly and values are appreciated more than you know. Enjoy your next hunt and thank you for all you do!

 

[rjthehunter]

Most of us respect what you do. I don't think it's your responsibility to comment on what a different content producer is saying.

Regardless, thanks for explaining your point of view regarding the whole like/subscriber/click thing. Its cool to see a business built on doing the right thing vs just maximizing profit.

 

[Rainer]

Once again Randy is bringing in some transparency and its much needed. But man, Sitka seems to be cleaning house.

 

[rjthehunter]

Once again Randy is bringing in some transparency and its much needed. But man, Sitka seems to be cleaning house.

Agreed, it is weird. I saw a gal i know who does some social media stuff getting invited to partake in events with them now. Not sure what they're doing.

 

[elkduds]

Trust – Our only currency.

Like my CPA life, any value we can create comes down to trust. Does the potential customer trust us? If not, we’re of no value to a company who sponsors us. Trust cannot be bought. Trust can only be earned, over time and experience. Trust comes from knowledge, authenticity, and honesty. Our only currency with our audience is trust. The crew is likely tired of me talking about trust as our currency.

I’ll give an example of a recent decision made toward building/retaining trust. Sitka decided not to renew 30+/- of their 35 media platforms, when contracts came due March 31. We were part of the 30 that were not renewed. Yet, they’ve asked me to continue serving as an advisor to their Conservation Council.

As expected, I have been approached by other clothing companies who have found out that we are no longer obligated to Sitka for product or media placement. I’ve explained to them that for now, I’m not interested. And that gets back to the concepts of trust we focus on.

That is a significant gap to make up, as far as my budget goes. Some ask why I would do that. For many reasons.

Sitka makes a great product. It has served me well. They have always supported conservation in a big way. I’ll experiment with some other items from other companies. Until I find something better I’ll likely continue to use Sitka for most things. If Sitka stops their conservation support, that would change my decision.

No matter how well I might tell the story of Sitka leaving us, folks will assume it was us leaving for more money. I get why people would think I was “chasing the money,” given such is the norm in this business.

So, accepting a contract with another clothing company, lowers the trust people have in us, which lowers our value to every partner we have. It looks like we are just another one of the “money chasers.” When the basis for us to inspire our audience is trust, the financial hit of losing Sitka is less than the cost of losing trust from our audience.

We’ve never left a sponsor in our seventeen years. Some of their ad agencies have decided to move on from us, which is for reasons I understood. It’s just business and no hard feelings. And we turn down a lot of them who think that money is going to sway us. Nope, the money from a huge boot conglomerate is going to cost us credibility with the audience.

If I can continue to make a difference by helping Sitka invest their large Conservation Council funds into public land and access, that helps fulfill our WHY. Likely more so than getting paid by a different clothing company.

I have never considered Randy as one of the sTalking Heads hunting influencers. Why? All the reasons distill to this: While every other influencer is supporting public lands because that is where they do their influencing business, Randy operates this business to support and advocate for public lands and hunting them. The HT perspective starts and ends with our public lands trust, for most others it is a means to some other end, selling some product or service. Honesty, forthrightness, integrity. Nothing to hide behind, no desire to do so. @Big Fin did not have to draft the lengthy explanations that began this thread. I think he did so for the sake of transparency, to remind us of the value of taking actions consistent with your values and goals.

To me, the most important question each of us should always be asking when sifting through media content online, dueling opinions, marketing claims, even political discourse, is this simple one: Who benefits? With Randy's content, the answer is always the resource. Wildlife, the trust, our public lands heritage and legacy, NAM, public access. Much appreciated, Randy.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'll throw this out there. Take it or leave it.

Similar to politics, not everyone agrees on how things are, how they should be, and how things work.

I 100% think you are one of the best humans I've ever met from a conservation standpoint. You have real morals, a backbone, and a guiding compass that clearly drives everything FT is doing. You also have a carefully developed plan and the competence to execute it.

I just disagree with your "why". When I put all the beans on the various sides of the scale of life. I'm not convinced that exploiting wildlife, advertising adventures, and marketing experiences, is overcome by having a few more people write letters in support of public lands. However, I'll also say that, even for me, it's a damn close trade-off, and my math might be off. You, and your crew, do so damn well in the conservation space that there's a clear benefit. I'm just not sure it's worth the cost.

Lastly, I know that I never have to question your intent, you are always acting in the public's best interest, as you see it. I put a ton of faith in the info you put out. I never fact check it, because I never need to. I have faith that you're steering us, your followers, in the right direction.

 

[geetar]

Randy you turned a lifelong love of hunting into a way to share it with others and encourage them to do it on their own. That's a whole lot different from people who produce content on public land just for the pure sake of monetizing it. There is a lot of " influencers " out there who if it stopped being profitable or they stopped getting attention they would probably move on to the next thing that got them noticed or kept them from having to work a normal job. Those are the " influencers " I dislike. You're not that guy. Nothing but respect for what you do.

 

[44hunter45]

About the only bad thing I can think to say about @Big Fin is he wouldn’t let me buy the pizza. Next time I’d like to. Thanks for keep everyone fighting

You still eating pizza after Portland @Big Fin?

 

[44hunter45]

The Sitka thing is disappointing. Having "converted" a few years ago, I have too much invested now to jump. In all honesty though, I'm set up for quite a while.

I'll throw this out there. Take it or leave it.

Similar to politics, not everyone agrees on how things are, how they should be, and how things work.

I 100% think you are one of the best humans I've ever met from a conservation standpoint. You have real morals, a backbone, and a guiding compass that clearly drives everything FT is doing. You also have a carefully developed plan and the competence to execute it.

I just disagree with your "why". When I put all the beans on the various sides of the scale of life. I'm not convinced that exploiting wildlife, advertising adventures, and marketing experiences, is overcome by having a few more people write letters in support of public lands. However, I'll also say that, even for me, it's a damn close trade-off, and my math might be off. You, and your crew, do so damn well in the conservation space that there's a clear benefit. I'm just not sure it's worth the cost.

Lastly, I know that I never have to question your intent, you are always acting in the public's best interest, as you see it. I put a ton of faith in the info you put out. I never fact check it, because I never need to. I have faith that you're steering us, your followers, in the right direction.

I think there is some pyramiding that may not be in your math. I know that since I have been "activated", I too have spread the gospel of public lands. Being a "person of faith" I kind of hate that last sentence, but it fits. I spend a lot of my time in the faith community talking about stewardship vs dominion, protection vs exploitation. I call them "WWJM" (mine) or "WWJL (log)" discussions. Many in the church world have not thought too deeply about this stuff. Others have been taught Dominion is the only doctrine. (That is that God gave Adam - no pun intended- and his descendants dominion over the earth to exploit.) They respond well to hearing there is a third way without giving up their faith. Randy has given me the tools and drive to have those discussions. So I think there are ripples in the pond.

You also have to add the value of not just the "conversions", but the body of resources in terms of content and education.

I've met Nugent, I've met Primos, I've met a bunch of these types over the years. None of them remember my name. I admit it is usually in the context of BHA or something, but Randy always seems too. Matthew too. That is a rare gift. Very few people in the world have the ability to project that you are the most important thing in the world for that moment of contact.

The other piece of the equation for me is the friendships Randy has brokered as collateral to all this. Some just here on HT, others IRL. These have become friends of the highest quality. The kind of friends who support you through the storms of life. Some of those have expanded my geographic experience and hence the list of places I love and defend.

I am no sycophant, but praise where praise is due. My leadership style is praise in public, correction in private. When Randy and I disagree, it will be a private discussion first.

 

[OverlordBear]

Bigfin,

Thank you for giving us a peek behind the door to see how some of the sausage is made. I knew you were a good guy for two reasons, one you are visibly shaken when stuff goes wrong and have cut your tag on archery hunts. And you took the time to teach me (us) the complete gutless method on that Montana hillside. I have been following and learning from you as an adult onset hunter without a real life hunting mentor ever since. I give you kudos for being so transparent when nothing requires you to do so. Your public land advocacy is worth the costs of less opportunity from the “influence”, I truly believe we would have lost this last round of public land transfer had it not been for the Hunt Talk crew. Furthermore, I think your example helps put pressure on everyone else to be more ethical and honorable than they might otherwise be, as well as set the standard to keep conservation going even though it is always inconvenient and hard work. I also appreciate having this place to come to read mostly honorable and fun comments and stories about life and hunting. Your work has been greatly appreciated by myself and many others so thank you for the time and effort.

Best of luck,
OB

 

[El Jason]

The Sitka thing is disappointing. Having "converted" a few years ago, I have too much invested now to jump. In all honesty though, I'm set up for quite a while.

You could put it in a yeti cooler and burn it.

 

[El Jason]

Thanks, Randy, I appreciate all you do.

 

[44hunter45]

You could put it in a yeti cooler and burn it.

Looking for one of those orange ice cream swirl coolers Randy use to use. Orion was it? How quickly we forget.

Time marches on. Stuff don't last, friendships do.

 

[44hunter45]

Looking for one of those orange ice cream swirl coolers Randy use to use. Orion was it? How quickly we forget.

Time marches on. Stuff don't last, friendships do.

@El Jason - I could switch to KUIU and go wound a bunch of bighorns. There are things I do not forget.

Or was that Kryptek? I forget....