The Worst Hunting Hashtags

These aren't the worst hunting hashtags. No, the worst ones are so egregious I can't publish them. But of those that are at least passable for a family friendly website, these are the ones that we can't keep using. Some are silly, outdated, or both, and others are simply in poor taste. Don't give antis ammunition, and don't make hunters look bad. There's also no need to provoke hunters, non-hunters or anti-hunters.

So, abolish these hashtags before deer season, or consider turning in your hunting license.

#smokedhim

This is just silly. We aren't talking about cigarettes, country hams or Boston butts. This is deer hunting, and you don't smoke anything. You kill stuff. The only time #smokedhim should appear on the Gram is if you're actually smoking a hindquarter on the Traeger.

#hitlist

Deer hunting isn't a James Bond movie. And the last time I checked, there aren't any whitetails on the FBI Most Wanted list. This one gets my vote as the most cliché hashtag on the list.

#dirtnap

This is old. I think it was a hashtag before hashtags were real. It's washed up, folks. Time to retire it and find its successor.

#trophyhunting

This one gives hunters a bad image among non-hunters. We aren't apologizing for killing big animals. We like killing big animals. In fact, we like it so much that we have record books filled with many details on those dead big animals. But that's a very small part of hunting. Everything that leads up to that milli-second break of the trigger, and what comes after the shot, is what hunting is really about.

#assassin

Deer hunting is fun. We laugh. We have a good time. No one does any assassinating around here. Some animals become venison, and we eat the venison. That's it.

#gutshot

Why would you celebrate making a bad shot? C'mon. Get that garbage out of here. Bad hits happen, but they shouldn't be commemorated.

#headshot

We're not turkey hunting. The head is a terrible place to aim on a deer. A couple inches high and you cast a buck's crown for him. A few inches low and maybe the deer survives, painfully, until it starves because its jaw is busted. Taking a headshot doesn't demonstrate skill — it exhibits lack of respect.

#mydeer

Some people think just because they own a piece of land that they own the deer on it. But that's how things work in Europe, not America. Don't get mad when that record-book buck you've groomed for years steps off your land and gets shot by a first-time hunter on the neighboring property.

#highfence

I don't like high fences, but people don't use the hashtag to celebrate them. Instead, it usually shows up in the comments under pictures of giant bucks — especially the nasty-looking non-typicals. You don't know the story, so don't hate on the guy who just pulled off the best hunt of his life just because you're jealous.

#peopleeatingtastyanimals

Quit drawing attention to PETA. All this hashtag does is validate them as an organization. Don't do that. Just let their brand rot in a hole somewhere in the middle of Norfolk, Virginia.

#prostaff

Pro staff doesn't stand for professional as in professional hunter. It actually means promotional staff. If that were common knowledge, this hashtag's appeal would fade fast.

#octoberlull

If you're going to use a hashtag, at least do your research first. The October lull isn't even a real thing. Biologists have proven that deer movement - including during daylight - increases gradually through summer and fall, peaks during the rut, and then tapers off.

#groundshrinkage

You shot a deer. Don't show disrespect by saying it's smaller than you originally thought. Every deer is a trophy. The next time you shoot a little buck, slap a #bigenough on the harvest photo.

In today's world, we all have a platform to say what we think. Thank social media for that. But this increased ability to express ourselves also provides an opportunity to contribute to our community rather than bring it down with careless commentary. So yeah, it might just be an Instagram post. But you could also do some good for the hunting world with it.

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