Deep Thoughts from a Simple Man - One Year of Archery Hunting Industry Lessons Learned
Casey Rash
Techy Outdoorsman | Security Aficionado. Outdoors & Adventure Lifestyle. Semper Fidelis. Psalm 119:73
Ok, deep thoughts may be a stretch... this is an impromptu writing about a few things I've learned over the past year regarding my involvement with a new product to the archery hunting industry.
I started helping Jim & Jana Salaki with the Blood Trax product (bloodtrax.com) about a year ago. I offered to help because I wanted to; I researched it out and asked a boatload of questions and came to my own determination that I fully support what they are trying to bring to the industry. It's just smart. Though we haven't seen a ton of growth, here are a few things I've learned in a year:
The majority of archery hunting industry folks we've engaged express genuine care for upholding a positive public image of bow hunting and bow hunters at large. Blood Trax is centered on this principle as well as making a conscious effort to make, and promote making, ethical hunting decisions.
Personal contacts and social media acquaintances, both in and outside the hunting industry, resoundingly praise the concept of the Blood Trax insert/nock system.
There are sharks out there and you will encounter them.
What is and is not accepted in the archery industry hinges entirely on whether one of a handful of industry influence personalities gives "it" any attention.
Blood Trax is behind the industry acceptance curve because it is new. No one has done exactly this before. There have been loosely similar attempts, but there's a reason those faded out. This is different. Jim got it right.
Haters gonna hate. People will literally jump at any opportunity to blindly criticize without even taking so much as a minute to google what they're talking about, much less actually conduct any research about a given product/topic.
We have ground to cover, but we aren't quitting. The widespread use of Blood Trax can only have a positive impact on the public image of our craft - killing animals for food with our bows. We are doing what we can to reasonably respect concerns of "the antis" while maintaining the way we live.
I don't know if you remember me or not, but we were part of the same battalion and were on the same deployment a few years back.? Regardless, I had no idea that you had posted any original writing until I stumbled upon it just now.? A lot of people just post links to articles and whatnot, so I wondered if I was just going to see some more of that, but no, this is really you and your writing.? I can hear your voice in it.? I've never read anything you've written before, but I must say that I'm impressed with these initial efforts and hope you keep it up. As for Blood Trax, I can't truthfully say that I'm much of a hunter, but I know a couple of people who hunt for elk and deer.? Now that I've read your article and know what Blood Trax is, I'll have to mention it to them.
Sales and Marketing Manager, State R3 Lead @ Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife | Outdoor Recreation
8 年Casey, I can appreciate your concise summary here, and I concur with many of the points you make. The hunting industry in general can be fickle when it comes to new products. Many consumers are leery of gimmicks or exaggerated claims. As they should be. And competition is at an all-time high amongst manufacturers, resulting in lawsuits and bad blood. To top it off, there are many well-known "personalities" who don't really know what they are talking about, yet they influence the masses through a TV spot or in printed media. There is an abundance of false, skewed, and otherwise inaccurate information out there. Unfortunately, all this falls directly onto the shoulders of the average consumer trying to make informed decisions. My point to this entire comment? Keep going. Focus on providing value. Iterate on the design to perfect its performance. Test, iterate, re-test and share the results with your audience. And if it doesn't really provide value, be bold enough to admit and turn the innovative juices toward the next idea. Authenticity rules, and I believe that transparency and demonstrating value to consumers trumps all the industry drama surrounding new products. Good luck in year 2!