Trophy State of Mind poaching in Montana

[goosegetter79]

Just clarification, not defending by any means. He got caught for trespassing, but still hunted in season with the proper tags? I only got through one article so far.

He also pled guilty Sep. 2nd for unlawfully obtaining a Montana resident license.

[Bob33]

Greed for animals, money, and fame got the better of him.

What a terrible example of hunters he is, when he could have been a role model.

[h20hunter]

I'd like to add this little nugget.............

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,162801.0.html

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Quote from: Mr Mykiss on October 31, 2014, 10:37:24 AM

There for a second I forgot you were my idol...




You havent looked very hard for an Idol if you came up with me lol

[jackelope]

It's interesting how Matt Alwine had such an alpha presence on the Forum.

I would say he successfully cultivated a certain mystique that was attractive to weekend warriors like me. He was "the man" (or one of them) when it came to hunting, it seemed, but I guess he never really grew up. I don't care how stealthy he was or how good of a shot with a bow, he is nothing more than a poacher. A wildlife thief who turned a buck by taking us all for suckers.

And to think he can be back out there after just 4 seasons...Ugh.

John

Not sure I would characterize his "hardly ever here" presence on the forum as "alpha".  Respected maybe for being a very succesful hunter with his own pretty darn cool TV show.
Too bad that's all been flushed down the tubes now.

[10thmountainarcher]

I like to think most people are legit hunters that work their butts off like blrman, coach, and rtspring.

Didn't Rtspring poach a two point a couple years back and lose his rifle?  For some reason I seem to remember there being a thread about it somewhere.   


As for Matt... He's from Springdale where Deer season is year round and you get respect for being an expert shot from the hours of 8:00 pm to midnight.

Nope, he was accused but in court he was found not guilty if memory serves me right.

[CAMPMEAT]

How did Matt get his show etc and what did he do for a real job ?

[CoryTDF]

I know that the pressure to get footage can be very intense. Every sponsor expects you to deliver. That is what they paid for. Outdoor shows can run up to $100,000 per quarter to air. I have dipped my toe in the outdoor film industry and I understand the overwhelming demand that can be placed on you from sponsors. It's funny when people have money involved they seem to forget that it is still hunting and nothing is a guarantee. All that seems to be forgotten and it comes to the point where your dreams are going to die if you do not produce.

What Matt did was wrong. Dead wrong. He negated every positive message that was ever passed on through his show. Though he may not remember me I have met Matt a few times and my impressions of him were that he is bit of a narcissist. Fame and success can do that to just about anybody. The ideal personality would remain humble and make every effort to not let it go to their head. Unfortunately, most people are not able to do that. When everybody you meet tells you how amazing you are at some point you will start to believe that yourself. For all of you who feel like that would never be you..... it's easy to say that when your not in the one with the fame.

I have worked with some of the biggest names in the waterfowling industry and I have met some great guys and some guys who I detest, Chad Belding, is a prime example of a person who more than believes his own ledged. It can happen to anybody, fame brings out different parts of everybody, sometimes they are not the good parts.

I cant help but to feel that we as the audience are not part of the problem as well. We elevate these people to unrealistic levels. We treat them as hunting gods and forget that often times it really has more to do with a person having a large bank roll than skill. Anybody could kill 400 inch bulls and 165 inch whitetails if they had the right amount of money. That is what guides are for. This is no secret. This is a general statement as Matt does have skill, don't take that away from him. He just made poor choices and hopefully learned a lesson in ethics, morality, and humility. The point is that if we the viewers were happy watching "ACTUAL" hunting in which sometimes the hunter is unsuccessful the pressure would not be as high. The demand for constant success from both viewers and sponsors can quickly become overwhelming and lead to hosts making poor choices like Matt has done.       

There are some VERY good hosts out there who have remained humble and who use the fact that they are famous to hold themselves to a "HIGHER" standard and that is they way it should be. As a host, if you want to believe the ledged of greatness that people create for you, you must live and hunt the way they believe you do.

  

     

[CAMPMEAT]

I'm happy you mentioned the Chad Belding idiot, I cannot stand him or his shows..

[CoryTDF]

I'm happy you mentioned the Chad Belding idiot, I cannot stand him or his shows..

[Fl0und3rz]

Sad.  Hopefully he can make the best of this and educate on ethics and respect for property rights.

Highly doubtful! He's been doing it for multiple years and this slap on the wrist is more than likely not gonna stop him! Hell who knows the charges and everything may have been worse, he may have taken a plea and confessed to save his ass a little.

Wouldn't have guessed it... He seemed like a good dude.

 

It seems like there are many who know him better than I did.  I thought maybe he could have just got caught up in the moment.  It appears now that he may have gotten caught up in a lot of moments.  It is sad to see such a figure be associated publicly with the noble sport of hunting, where we constantly stress the importance of ethics and abiding to laws. 

At least this can be used as a negative example about what hunting in not about.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

That's real sad.

[Gringo31]

Another link..

http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/-Trophy-State-of-Mind-host-sentenced-for-Montana-hunting-violations/35331956

[Taco280AI]

Don't know the guy, never talked to him, but wonder how many people knew about it going on and didn't care or looked the other way...? Had been going on for a long time, wasn't some innocent mistake.



Whatever the case is hope he can come back from this for his family's sake. Not in terms of hunting or having a show, but having a legit profession for his kids to look up to and respect. Too bad his family wasn't worth doing the right thing for, now look where he's at.

[cbond3318]

I know that the pressure to get footage can be very intense. Every sponsor expects you to deliver. That is what they paid for. Outdoor shows can run up to $100,000 per quarter to air. I have dipped my toe in the outdoor film industry and I understand the overwhelming demand that can be placed on you from sponsors. It's funny when people have money involved they seem to forget that it is still hunting and nothing is a guarantee. All that seems to be forgotten and it comes to the point where your dreams are going to die if you do not produce.

What Matt did was wrong. Dead wrong. He negated every positive message that was ever passed on through his show. Though he may not remember me I have met Matt a few times and my impressions of him were that he is bit of a narcissist. Fame and success can do that to just about anybody. The ideal personality would remain humble and make every effort to not let it go to their head. Unfortunately, most people are not able to do that. When everybody you meet tells you how amazing you are at some point you will start to believe that yourself. For all of you who feel like that would never be you..... it's easy to say that when your not in the one with the fame.

I have worked with some of the biggest names in the waterfowling industry and I have met some great guys and some guys who I detest, Chad Belding, is a prime example of a person who more than believes his own ledged. It can happen to anybody, fame brings out different parts of everybody, sometimes they are not the good parts.

I cant help but to feel that we as the audience are not part of the problem as well. We elevate these people to unrealistic levels. We treat them as hunting gods and forget that often times it really has more to do with a person having a large bank roll than skill. Anybody could kill 400 inch bulls and 165 inch whitetails if they had the right amount of money. That is what guides are for. This is no secret. This is a general statement as Matt does have skill, don't take that away from him. He just made poor choices and hopefully learned a lesson in ethics, morality, and humility. The point is that if we the viewers were happy watching "ACTUAL" hunting in which sometimes the hunter is unsuccessful the pressure would not be as high. The demand for constant success from both viewers and sponsors can quickly become overwhelming and lead to hosts making poor choices like Matt has done.       

There are some VERY good hosts out there who have remained humble and who use the fact that they are famous to hold themselves to a "HIGHER" standard and that is they way it should be. As a host, if you want to believe the ledged of greatness that people create for you, you must live and hunt the way they believe you do.

  

   

I agree with most of what you said here and can definitely see the point of view but would say someone to make a choice to break multiple laws while in the public spotlight and under such self imposed exposure would certainly, in my opinion, make the same decision as the average Joe behind the shroud of the everyday nobody.

[h20hunter]

This will be a question for the mods......

Now that a guilty plea has been entered I think there is no doubt about guilty/not guilty of the charges. I've seen one sponsor go away for less than professional behavior and this far exceeds that.

Has his sponsorship been removed? Is a ban in order for this? If you think about it, for a what....$25 dollar fee to be a sponsor....you can reach around 14,000 possible clients on here. That's a lot of opportunity to sell your poaching dvds.