DON'T GET HUNTED (ONLINE)
Article by SCI
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – fall hunting season. There’s nothing better than enjoying the great outdoors while harvesting the wildlife of your choice: deer, antelope, turkey, pheasant, the list goes on and on. Well, there is one thing better – bragging about it. The best way to show off your hunting prowess in 2016 is to prove it, with a photo. A photo posted to social media, to be exact. Before you post your favorite hunting snapshots on the internet, please take a moment to read our social media tips.
Weigh the Pros and Cons
Did you shoot a limit of pheasants? Post that photo, especially if the majority of your friends support your pastime. Did you shoot a lion? Take a moment to think about how your friends will respond. Lions, elephants, zebras, and all those other “charismatic” animals tend to evoke a negative respond from the anti-hunting public. While ideally you’ve followed our previous advice on making your photos private (read our tips here), realize that anything you post online has the possibility of being seen by anyone and everyone. If anti-hunters took your photo and turned it into a meme, would you be able to deal with it? If anti-hunters start targeting you and harassing you online or at your place of employment, would you be able to deal with it? If so, post away.
Post “Smart” Photos
Now that you’ve decided to post a hunting photo to social media, be sure you choose a good photo. It’s important to stage your hunting photos. No, we’re not talking about those little tricks where you sit four feet away from your kill and reach those arms out, giving the illusion of a much larger animal. We’re talking about making sure your take looks as peaceful as possible in your post-shot photoshoot.
Clean up the blood. No one wants to see any gore, even if it is a natural part of hunting. Rotate the animal so that the entry (or exit) wound is not front and center.
Tuck in that tongue. Children get scolded for sticking out their tongues. The same can be said for hunting photos. If the tongue is out, throw out that photo!
Honor the animal. No one wants to see your foot on the shoulder of your dead critter. Take the time to ensure the animal looks as peaceful as possible and honor the hunting experience with a body position that even grandma would approve.
Share the Entire Experience
Even better than the expected end-of-the-hunt-trophy-picture are the photos that show the entire experience. Are you hunting with dogs? Post of photo of your four-legged friends in their element. Are you sitting in a tree stand for hours on end, mad at the squirrels for making all that racket? Post a photo showcasing the beauty of Mother Nature. Every photo tells a story. As hunters we need to make sure we are sharing the ENTIRE story, not just the end result.
One Last Thing
Send us your 2016 hunting photos! We’d love to feature you on our Facebook page. You can submit your photo using the “Message” feature on our SCI Hunter Advocacy Facebook page (here) or you can email it to hunteradvocacy@safariclub.org. We’ll never publish your last name, but we love showing off our members and their experiences. Happy hunting!
