You likely view hunting videos on your phone, laptop and smart TV, and YouTube is probably one of the top sites you visit to find this content.
Some content providers such as Born and Raised Outdoors (175,000 YouTube subscribers), Hushin (367,000 subscribers), Midwest Whitetail (107,000 subscribers) and The Hunting Public (352,000 subscribers) have become household names in the outdoor industry. However, the purpose of this article isn’t to talk about these mega influencers. Instead, I want to shine a light on five lesser-known YouTube hunting channels.
According to Bernie Barringer, host of the Bowhunting Road, which is included in my list below, it’s not easy to drive enough traffic to a channel to earn money from YouTube.
“YouTube will not monetize a new channel until it has 1,000 subscribers and 40,000 hours of watch time in one year,” he said. “And most channels never make it. A tiny fraction of them do. Last rumor I heard was that there are about 10,000 hunting YouTube channels right now trying to reach the monetization number. Less than 1% will make it. But some make it big.”
Keep in mind the production quality of the following content providers can’t rival that of the industry giants. Many of the videos produced by the hosts below are self-filmed, and their budgets are small. Even so, the content is entertaining, informative and often inspiring.
In alphabetical order, here are five of my favorite YouTube hunting channels that might not be on your radar.
Bowhunting Road
Host Bernie Barringer’s fast-growing Bowhunting Road YouTube channel focuses on black bears and DIY public land whitetails. In fact, I can’t think of a better channel for how-to info about black bear hunting, and this includes those planning a DIY black bear hunt or booking an outfitted adventure. (21,800 subscribers, 285 videos)
Close Proximity
With an emphasis on woodsmanship, host Jordan Barnes of Close Proximity self-films his whitetail and wild turkey bowhunts. The extensive playlist for his channel includes annual journals dating back to 2018 for deer, and 2019 for turkeys. The 2021 turkey journal is planned to begin in mid-March. The videos include links to the gear used, plus helpful how-to nuggets that you can implement during your own bowhunts. (4,850 subscribers, 91 videos)
Do It Yourself Hunter
This channel is for hunters who pursue public land whitetails and wild turkeys on their own time and dime. Do It Yourself Hunterhasn’t been on YouTube long — April 2020 — but the host, Jeremy “Frog” Aron isn’t new to producing hunting content. In fact, he has been filming hunts since 2002, and in 2003 his show was on the Outdoor Channel. Aron recently added a young man, Daniel Lemmon, to the channel to help with filming and editing. The videos feature a lot of whitetail hunting in the Southeast, but the hosts also travel to prime deer destinations such as Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota. (6,650 subscribers, 60 videos)
Mitchell Payment’s Moment of Truth TV
Remember pre-pandemic when hunters from the United States could travel to our friendly northern neighbor Canada in pursuit of various big game? Hopefully those days will return sometime in 2021. Until then, you can dream about moose, mule deer and massive Canada whitetails by watching Mitchell Payment's Moment of Truth TV. The host carries a bow on the majority of his hunts. This video, which has more than 1.5 million views, features the only successful moose hunt from a treestand that I’ve ever seen. (6,040 subscribers, 53 videos)
The Element
The hosts of The Element are two hunting buddies, Tyler Jones and K.C. Smith, who live outdoor lifestyles with an emphasis on conservation. Their focus is on the Midwest and Texas for public land whitetails. That said, they also target hogs, elk and turkeys in various states. The hosts produce a decent number of gear reviews, which include honest and insightful pros and cons. In terms of production quality, this YouTube channel takes a back seat to no one, even the big players. (12,900 subscribers, 307 videos)
