Members vs Visitors

It has always been like that. I've seen days recently with over 1,500 visitors. A lot of reasons for it. But google searches are a big, big part. Our software is supposed to filter bots out of that number, but, bots get craftier every day.

- DAA
 
William Suter said:
It looked like we had 8 members on line and 128 visitors. I've seen this a lot in the past. Why don't they join?
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What separates the lurkers from the posters? Who specifically posts?

People with a product or business related to predator hunting would sign up to participate a bit while advertising what they are selling is 1 type. Another type is an experienced predator hunter who enjoys interacting and sharing with other hunters. Another would be greenhorns wanting to learn this game coming to ask questions.

If there isn’t a lot of activity then the businessmen might look elsewhere for places he can target larger amounts of potential customers. As far as the experienced predator hunters go, I’m not sure. For the greenhorns I would think you need alot of instructional stuff that is also entertaining. I just watched an EXCELLENT video on here, consistent content like that will bring in greenhorns in my opinion.

If more greenhorns with $ come, maybe more businessmen types will start showing up looking for their $ or clicks. With a little more overall volume maybe some of the experienced guys will start coming too. Just my opinion.

The easiest way to get more volume would be to target the rookie hunters. But nowadays young people like videos and don’t want to read more than a few sentences. The info has to be to the point, easy, entertaining, and fresh. Can’t be the same stuff over and over
 
Newpond0 said:
The info has to be to the point, easy, entertaining, and fresh. Can’t be the same stuff over and over
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Spoiler... Predator hunting is checkers. Not chess. There is nothing new under the sun. It IS the same stuff, over and over. Equipment is the only thing that changes, and for the most part, daytime calling at least, is irrelevant anyway.

Greenhorns are looking for "the one thing" they can buy, or for a few, perhaps learn. But, it doesn't work that way. And the way it works is pretty dang simple.

- DAA
 
I've been a member here for a long long time. I was pyscodog for many years up until the new format started then I changed my name. I know years ago when I got home from work, I would get on here and spend hours chatting about this and that or visiting with Rustydust or Ackleyman or even get into a squabble with WInnyfan (RIP). You could start a post and it might go on for hours. Now you start a post and its like watching paint dry. Just wondering what has happened and what it will take to get it going again. They say all things must come to an end. I hope Predator Masters isn't one of those things.
 
Social media has the masses and that is the current trend. Guys in their 30s and under grew up with phones and social media and are exposed to it on a daily basis versus forums. As long as the operating bills are paid i think we will be around for awhile. We do have our squabbles and difference from time to time but there is a heck of a lot of knowledge in this forum and there's generous people willing to share.

Quality members contributions is what will keep us alive, not quantity.
 
You want "drama", cruise over to 24HR Campfire. LOL, they thrive on it there. Great site if you can put up with the insults and nasty comments. I think the A-holes of the world gather there.

But here, Predator Masters, has always been a pretty good place for helpful people and information even if your not "hardcore". You can ask questions and generally get a good answer even if they have been asked several times in the past. Sometimes conversation gets a little heated but that's not very often. makes for good reading when it does. LOL!! I've been known to stir the pot on occasion.
 
DAA said:
Spoiler... Predator hunting is checkers. Not chess. There is nothing new under the sun. It IS the same stuff, over and over. Equipment is the only thing that changes, and for the most part, daytime calling at least, is irrelevant anyway.

Greenhorns are looking for "the one thing" they can buy, or for a few, perhaps learn. But, it doesn't work that way. And the way it works is pretty dang simple.

- DAA
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I’ve seen your videos Dave and you are very very good at what you do out there. You make it look so easy and light, like a star athlete who makes things seem effortless. But for a greenhorn like myself it has been much more like chess than checkers. I would suspect a lot of new hunters give up.

Here’s some rookie examples: what way to play the wind? I can find threads in here saying calling into the wind, crosswind, and calling downwind are the best. Medic joe says his angles are the best. So they all should work, no? But a rookie calls and gets nothing at all. What happened? Why doesn’t it work? Where do he go wrong？

To locate or not? Some say just hunt it. Some say locate. So they both should work, no? A rookie try’s both and they don’t work, what’s going on? Was it something else? If so, what？

Calling the cover vs calling the open vs calling inside the cover? There’s threads on all of them being the best. But a greenhorn tries them and gets nothing again, why?

Why is it that you and Tim can clean up? Are you hunting 100 days a year and just giving highlight reels? Is it simply just a numbers game more sets=more kills? What is the complete thing that you are doing to get that success? From start to finish. I haven’t found anything explaining start to finish and I’ve spent a lot of time researching this past year

Edit: here is a boxing example of some film study.
Real analysis and things explained. To the point, detailed, in video form. Not just a greenhorn watching a fight and trying to figure it out by himself and copy it without first knowing the game. These kinds of videos can attract new posters
 
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Newpond0 said:
Here’s some rookie examples: what way to play the wind? I can find threads in here saying calling into the wind, crosswind, and calling downwind are the best. Medic joe says his angles are the best. So they all should work, no? But a rookie calls and gets nothing at all. What happened? Why doesn’t it work? Where do he go wrong？

To locate or not? Some say just hunt it. Some say locate. So they both should work, no? A rookie try’s both and they don’t work, what’s going on? Was it something else? If so, what？

Calling the cover vs calling the open vs calling inside the cover? There’s threads on all of them being the best. But a greenhorn tries them and gets nothing again, why?

Why is it that you and Tim can clean up? Are you hunting 100 days a year and just giving highlight reels? Is it simply just a numbers game more sets=more kills? What is the complete thing that you are doing to get that success? From start to finish. I haven’t found anything explaining start to finish and I’ve spent a lot of time researching this past year
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I see that from a new hunter's perspective, all of the above seems much more complicated than it really is. The terrain/cover has a lot to do with the different techniques used by different hunters in different locations. For instance, I hunt flat mesquite country. There is native brush w/some roller chopped areas (which, within a year have 2nd growth springing up randomly), some clean grassy pastures and some senderos, two tracks, power lines, etc/cutting through. Joe's hunting has been on rolling farmland sectioned off w/roadways. He can spot critters from a long distance and observe their habits/responses better than I, especially in the winter time when everything is white. (It almost never snows down here)
Night vision allows visibility of critters, I would never know were nearby. Dave hunts (God's country) a wide variety of mountainous desert, etc. Almost everyone has fox, we do not. Some hunt private property w/little hunting pressure, others heavier pressure.....different tactics..............
Different terrain calls for different techniques, thus the many differences in opinions you are seeing here. The trick is to take it all in, try what you think will work in your terrain and sort out that which does not. Some techniques are universal no matter what, such as using the wind to your advantage, approach and remain silent to your stand, movement on stand is detrimental.
Personally, I like to approach stand either slightly cross, or directly downwind since my approach is usually concealed by brush, I place the call within 50 yards and hunt either into the wind or cross wind w/visibility down wind of the call and visibility to that downwind area. There is no always or never, especially hunting brush country where the brush/visibility often dictates the setup. I usually hunted with a partner and he would set up to watch what I couldn't see. Few opportunities to hunt in the brush itself other than an occasional water hole within the brush where you could take advantage of the brush lines across the opening. Take advantage of clearings by sitting in corners and watching the brush lines that converge at that corner, if that makes sense. Coyotes will take the path of least resistance to get to the call and you can often catch them exposed along the heavy brush.

A great place to get opinions from all over the country is the PREDATOR HUNTING 101 , especially the early threads which have some great maps showing different layouts and techniques used to take advantage of terrain features, wind directions, etc. and apply those techniques which look reasonable to the terrain/conditions where you hunt.
 
hm1996 said:
I see that from a new hunter's perspective, all of the above seems much more complicated than it really is. The terrain/cover has a lot to do with the different techniques used by different hunters in different locations. For instance, I hunt flat mesquite country. There is native brush w/some roller chopped areas (which, within a year have 2nd growth springing up randomly), some clean grassy pastures and some senderos, two tracks, power lines, etc/cutting through. Joe's hunting has been on rolling farmland sectioned off w/roadways. He can spot critters from a long distance and observe their habits/responses better than I, especially in the winter time when everything is white. (It almost never snows down here)
Night vision allows visibility of critters, I would never know were nearby. Dave hunts (God's country) a wide variety of mountainous desert, etc. Almost everyone has fox, we do not. Some hunt private property w/little hunting pressure, others heavier pressure.....different tactics..............
Different terrain calls for different techniques, thus the many differences in opinions you are seeing here. The trick is to take it all in, try what you think will work in your terrain and sort out that which does not. Some techniques are universal no matter what, such as using the wind to your advantage, approach and remain silent to your stand, movement on stand is detrimental.
Personally, I like to approach stand either slightly cross, or directly downwind since my approach is usually concealed by brush, I place the call within 50 yards and hunt either into the wind or cross wind w/visibility down wind of the call and visibility to that downwind area. There is no always or never, especially hunting brush country where the brush/visibility often dictates the setup. I usually hunted with a partner and he would set up to watch what I couldn't see. Few opportunities to hunt in the brush itself other than an occasional water hole within the brush where you could take advantage of the brush lines across the opening. Take advantage of clearings by sitting in corners and watching the brush lines that converge at that corner, if that makes sense. Coyotes will take the path of least resistance to get to the call and you can often catch them exposed along the heavy brush.

A great place to get opinions from all over the country is the PREDATOR HUNTING 101 , especially the early threads which have some great maps showing different layouts and techniques used to take advantage of terrain features, wind directions, etc. and apply those techniques which look reasonable to the terrain/conditions where you hunt.
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Thank you HM. In fact I drew out diagrams in my notebook of your setups for calling the cover and pipelines in my notebook and tried them on my last sets, your setups are what I’m committing to using this year.

Ive read the predator hunting 101 thread a few times….lots of great information in there! but it also reminds me a bit of a trailer for one of the western movies someone named in the thread. It was a Lee Marvin film, he was a cowboy and the cowboy lifestyle/career was over everyone moved on and he refused to…gonna be really tough to consistently bring in large amounts of new (probably younger generation) callers and keep them interested on that 16 pager…it’s a changing world how people choose to get their information
 
I don’t want to be misunderstood. Having recently done my hunters course and got my daughter to do her hunting course, I saw a lot of young people there. During my course the instructor said most of the people doing the course won’t last, they don’t know what they’re doing and by the 2nd year of putting in all that money and getting skunked they quit.

For me, I never had a mentor except for you guys. It’s you guys who’ve taught me what I know so far, and I genuinely appreciate it. I would hate to see this place wither away.

Having experienced trying to learn hunting at this time, I have a perspective on what these new hunters are going thru and where they are going to try get their information. Just trying to share that perspective so it may help this forum, the people who have been there for me when I had nobody who was willing to share and teach me, that’s all.
 
Hang in there. None of the experienced hunters got there overnight. I ran a competitive rifle program for local gun club for years, and in my experience, many of the newcomers would watch the old timers shoot and expect to pick up a rifle and be competitive. A very large percentage would get discouraged and drop out when they couldn't beat that old f*** on their 2nd or third match. That old f*** didn't get where he was overnight, neither will the newbie. Those that stick it out, learn more by trial and error, with a bit of encouragement and mentorship from the old f***, and if they stick it out, will someday be successful. Same with hunting.:)
 
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