Desert Hunter

It's been a year since the first letter appeared on the front page of DH asking manufacturers to end their financial support for Predator Masters and exposing the admin for the scoundrels that they were/are. Since then, Renaud is history. Whether you give credit for the ouster to the two smugsumbitches or the dirty3, it doesn't matter. The Frog is dead!

Is PMS a better place in the hands of Leon Rogers / Jeff Mock / Barry Stewart? Probably not. They continue to baffle the average newbie with their bullshit, ban or blow off any knowledgable hunter who can tell shit from Shinola, and sell ads to the salesmen. Without any proof, it appears Mock is selling more ads for more money than ever before. So one could actually argue that Charne/Bosinski is partially right (that was painful), and that Dan/GZ/Weasel/Nikon/Reeves won the battle but lost the war. The frog is roadkill, but PMS remains a stain on the sport. Your own Vietnam, guys. The change in ownership at Predator Masters did, however, reveal that external forces CAN have some effect on that shithole. In the end, no one was happy with Renaud at the helm, not the mods and not the advertisers, and in the long run it's doubtful that the three who steer the place now are any better. So if your company continues to donate to PMS, consider not renewing that ad. Wake up. Advertising there may sell stuff to new guys, but it really pisses off some of the sport's veterans.

Several statistical links have appeared in recent months (thanks weasel and nikon) - many showing that the active membership there is more like 500-800 and not the advertised 40,000 that is used to promote ad sales. Weasel and Nikonut were the best sources of information about the inner workings of the site, like mods clinking on ad links 30-40 times per day each, but some of my membership has seen fit to run them off. That was a mistake in my opinion. Information is power, and hacking the next set of heads off the PMS medusa has just been made more difficult. Dave and Tom know they screwed up and were trying to make amends. Reeves is an ostrich, with his eyes on the "high road" but his head buried firmly in the sand.

The summary banishments at Predator Master continue. So beware. If you post here or ANYWHERE else, you're not "riding for the brand" according to Barry (who makes Martin Short look like Yakima Canutt) and you will be banned from PMS.

Looking beyond the cash Mock has solicited, what about the swag? With greed-driven merchandisers apparently choosing to focus on the first-round puppies and ignoring the sport's bulldogs by donating as much or more than the status quo ante Monster, I bumped the New Mexico Raffle and Bingo Act to the top in the Forum Section. It's raffle season again. It really is time to take a long hard look at the permit and tax filing requirements and how PMS abuses them. You make your own interpretation of those rules, but it appears that even if they did fit the requirements, file for the permit, and pay their taxes, their raffle IS for profit and it ISN'T open to the public. So if you've been banned from the site and you can't buy a raffle ticket, it's probably an illegal raffle. There's nothing new there, but manufacturers contributing to this SNAFU would rather burn their integrity if they can make a few bucks. Blame it on the economy.  Fuck your dollars. Quit lying to yourselves. Tell the truth.

The odds of winning at the PMS raffle are pretty good even if the mods are skimming the best stuff (weasel probably deleted that post too). No one goes to their hunt. It wouldn't take more than 3 or 4 of us to outhunt the whole PMS clustershtup. Maybe DH needs their own table at the banquet? If we wear camo, no one can see us.