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Recruiting

Moderators: Swede, Tigger, Lefty, Indian Summer, WapitiTalk1

Recruiting

Postby Tigger » 11 15, 2017 •  [Post 1]

I met a really nice guy at Cabelas last night who was staring longingly at the Sitka rack. before long, we started chatting about his first ever elk hunt next year. I told him the 2 things he MUST do is join Wapiti Talk and buy Elknut's Playbook! I hope to see him here before long....

Have you folks been successful in recruiting folks to WT? This would be my first.

On the other hand, I know I have personally accounted for 6 Playbooks being sold. I am doing better on that front! I have also gotten a few folks to buy Wapiti River elk calls. I have also helped out Lyn with Clip-Shot some.

Come on people, give back to the people that make this board possible by helping to sell some of their products. I gotta believe none of these guys are getting rich off of their outdoor products, so do what you can!

Hey RJ, the WT corporate jet is now a few years old. You might want to either upgrade or add a second one. I think it was Indian Summer who spilled the pickle juice in it last summer.
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Swede » 11 15, 2017 •  [Post 2]

When I get to talking to someone about hunting, I try to see where they are at and learn about where they are at or going in their hunting plans. I don't try to sell them something until we have communicated some and I think it could be shown as beneficial to them. It is the same approach with inviting people to Church. Just like inviting folks to Church, people will say yes just to shut you up. At least you are trying to do the right thing Tigger. It may work, but my success so far has been minimal and I have visited quite a few hunters. Occasionally they speak out when they see the W.T. bumper sticker. That is a good opportunity to talk about the forum. Still I have no idea if any have registered here.
I don't try to sell the Playbook. It is very rare that I try to promote the tree stand book. I was gone 40 days hunting this Summer/Fall. I did not have one on the trip. If the people come here for the camaraderie and information, they will see what the sponsors have to offer. Just an opinion of coarse.
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Re: Recruiting

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 11 15, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Umm, heck ya! I had a great elk hunting father who I learned a ton from but the information that is available now is incredible if one knows where to find it. I constantly tell folks about our meager Wapiti Talk forum, tell folks about Elknut's information and where to find it, and tell them about old Swede's TS book whenever the opportunity presents itself. I mean really, is there anything better than helping somebody shorten their elk hunting learning curve? Many of our members (and the fine folks I talk to every day in the Army), didn't have the luxury of growing up or living in elk country and are very appreciate of a good direction to start in to learn about this thing we love called elk hunting. I sure wish some of this stuff was around when I was cutting my elk teeth, it would have resulted in many more bull noses hitting the dirt!
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Lefty » 11 15, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Generally it is hard to start a new passion. Others must have an interest , then give them good information.

Joining the forum, I think my hat sparked more interest. Really. The Wapiti hat.
Had a few guys at Cabelas Sportsman's and at church ask about the bumper sticker.

Now the Playbook, And Elknuts CD's have been loaned out. ( and returned).
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Swede » 11 15, 2017 •  [Post 5]

The dilemma I see here is similar to the one I have getting people interested in serving the Lord in Church. It takes getting them to the point where they trust what a person has to say, and then showing them you can improve their situation. Befoe they come you have convince them the forum has something to offer more valuable than the alternative they have been engaged with. I have talked to a number of people I thought were on board, but I never see them.
With every fiber I say thank you for promoting my book, but if sales are any indicator of success, it is not working. I could do more to promote the book, but have not been willing to make the investment. I am skeptical it would pay.
What I have been trying to do to promote the forum is to keep it busy with interesting and even provocative threads. I believe the best way to advance the forum is to have good hunters posting and sharing something worthwhile. We have a number of great people here. That is our asset. Tigger is excellent. Roosiebull is one of the best, on and on the list could go. We have excellent sponsors. I believe they are key to advancing the forum. As people come around they will tell their friends. Friends telling friends is the best advertising.
RJ, I think you are on the right track by keeping the forum relevant and allowing deeper dialog than a bunch of groupies. Elk hunting is bigger than any clique as we see on other forums. BTW: Just how fast is the forum growing?
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Tigger » 11 16, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Swede, I hear what you are saying. You aren't going to get a guy who maybe, just maybe will one day tag along on an elk hunting trip. It has to be the right guy at the right time. The guy in Cabelas, I really felt he might join. Time will tell. He was thirsty for info.

I do love your thought provoking threads. For many of us, elk hunting is more than just hunting elk. although I don't tree stand hunt the mighty wapiti (because I grew up TS hunting whitetails and I want to do it different for elk), I should get your book as it will undoubtedly help my whitetail pursuits. Did you happen to see the buck I shot on the meat pole thread? Shot it out of a tree stand! You would be proud!

RJ, I am not enthused about your lack of comment on adding another jet to the WT fleet. I thought it was a great idea and if I could borrow it to go get Swede's book it would cut out the shipping costs....
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Swede » 11 16, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Tigger, I admit I have not been paying enough attention to the meat pole and missed your fine buck. It is a little late, but congratulations. Your involvement on this forum is extremely valuable. I say that about you and others. Good discussions on subjects people are interested has to be key for folks that keep checking in or joining. I know boring is no good, but I can push the other end to the limit too. We are not all alike and the forum will never appeal to everyone. Just like Church, there is a reason there are several houses of worship in town. The other day I was talking to a hunter I met in town. I thought he was very likely to join, but neither he or his wife ever wrote down wapititalk.com. It was just like inviting people to Church. They smile, agree and even ask questions, but once you are out of sight your words are gone.
BTW: I started my tree stand adventures based on what I had read about Whitetail deer hunting. It has evolved and morphed a lot, but still the basics of setting up where you can shoot game are the same.
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Tigger » 11 16, 2017 •  [Post 8]

How do I go about getting one of your books? In MN, we are limited in the acres we can hunt. Right now, we own or have access to about 740 acres. Roughly half of that is farm field. Others in our party have claims to some areas (we all share but we all have our "main" spot). I am lucky in that I have one of the better spots but anywhere on the place a nice buck can be shot. I have only hunted this farm for a mere 36 years so I am still learning about deer movement! I spent about 40 hours in a tree this year and a good part of that was thinking about where stands should be and which direction I should be facing. I changed my direction on the same tree this year and it may have been the difference in shooting the buck I did.

You can lead a horse to water.....
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Re: Recruiting

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 11 16, 2017 •  [Post 9]

Tigger wrote:How do I go about getting one of your books?


Tigger, there's a link for the TS book on the right side of the page here... right under the Elknut books.
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Re: Recruiting

Postby Swede » 11 16, 2017 •  [Post 10]

Tigger wrote:I spent about 40 hours in a tree this year


I think I got 40 hours in before lunch break. I ended up with about 250 hours tethered to a tree while sitting on my perch. Am I out of my mind here, but I actually miss going out already. Heck, I started missing my stand time by the time I unloaded the truck and put them in the basement.
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