THE RUT REPORT Issue #4
Why this matters more than you think
I want to start somewhere different this week.
You already know what happened to me. One night my page was there, 1.7 million of y'all, and the next it was gone. No warning. No phone call. No person to talk to. Sixteen years, wiped out by something I couldn't see and couldn't argue with.
Turns out I'm nowhere near alone.
The New York Times just ran a whole investigation on this. Meta's got computers making just about all the calls now on who gets banned — something like 95 out of every 100 first decisions are made by a machine, not a person. And when you're wrong, good luck. Folks with nearly a million followers have watched their accounts vanish, never even told which post supposedly broke a rule, and then their appeal gets denied in a couple days by the same kind of computer that flagged them.
There's a lady in the story, an English teacher, damn near a million followers, gone overnight. They said "fraud and deception." She's teaching people English. She said, and I quote, "I'm just an English teacher." Sound familiar? I'm just a guy who hunts and fishes.
Now, Meta says their new setup makes fewer mistakes than the humans did. Maybe so. I'll let you decide. But over 60,000 people have signed their names to a petition just asking Meta to explain the bans and let a real human look at the appeal. Sixty thousand. That's a lot of people who feel exactly like I did that night on the couch.
Here's my point, and it's the whole reason this list exists.
Nobody can suspend this. No computer decides whether you see it. It lands in your inbox every week because you asked it to, and that's a promise a Facebook page could never make me.
So here's my one ask. If you've got a buddy who'd hate to lose track of me when the next ban comes down, send him to therutreport.com. That's how we make sure they can never split us up again.
Alright. Off the soapbox. Let's get to it.
— Dwayne
CARRY REPORT
Gun safety, tactics, and conceal carry.
This week I'm sitting in my truck, because that's where a lot of folks put themselves in a bad spot without ever realizing it.
Start with how you drive. I'm a defensive driver, always have been. When I'm stopped in traffic I leave room in front of me — enough that I can see the mirrors and pull out if I need to. Same idea works for protecting yourself. I've watched too many videos of people getting boxed in and robbed in their own vehicle, trapped where they can't move. Leave yourself a little space. Leave yourself a way out. You call it paranoid. I call it the world we live in now.
Next thing. A weapon does you no good if you can't reach it. Know your state laws first, always — but wherever it's legal for me, I keep mine where I can get to it easy, right down at my side. Doesn't matter that you've got it if it's buried in the console when you need it.
And here's the one I want you to really hear. If I get pulled over, for anything, a tail light, whatever — I roll my window down, I turn the truck off, and I set my keys up on the dash where the officer can see them. Then before they even ask, first thing out of my mouth is, "I have a weapon in the vehicle." Hands in plain sight. That officer, he or she, they appreciate that more than you know. It tells them you're not a threat, and it keeps a routine stop routine.
A little planning ahead keeps you out of most trouble before it ever starts.
Know your state's laws — and if you're traveling, check every state you're passing through. Some of them are wild. Don't get yourself in a jam and say Full Rut told you to. I'm telling you the opposite: check.
THE RUT REPORT
Getting ready
I'm 56 now. I'll just say it.
It gets harder to stay in shape the older you get, but bow season doesn't care how old you are, so this is what I do. I get out at Full Rut headquarters and I work — push-ups, squats, a little running, and then I shoot.
And I shoot long.
Now here's the thing. Am I going to shoot a deer at 65 yards? No. Most of the time bow hunting whitetail here in the West Virginia woods, I won't take one past 30. That 30-yard circle, that's death, that's my range and I know it cold. But I practice way out at 65 anyway, because when you train long, the close shot gets easy. It builds confidence. Come season, that 30-yarder feels like a chip shot.
One more tip for the fellas who've had to back off. A lot of guys went to crossbows over shoulder trouble, and I get it. But before you do — just turn your weight down. I can pull 70 pounds. I shoot 59. There's no medal for pulling more than you need. Turn it down, stay comfortable, keep shooting the bow you love.
Whatever you can do, do it. Just keep at it.
ON THE WATER
Quick one this week — the river's still giving it up. If you're just joining us, go back to Issue #2 for the fluke and the Ned rig. Both still working, and there's not many summer mornings left before the treestand calls. Use 'em.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
This week we honor our Gold Star Families.
These are the mothers and fathers, the husbands and wives, the sons and daughters who lost someone they loved in combat. They gave what no medal can repay, and they carry it every single day.
We haven't forgotten. We never will.
THE LAST LAUGH
My wife asked me why I keep a loaded gun by the bed.
I told her, "In case of intruders."
She said, "What about the twelve fishing rods in the garage?"
I said, "In case of intruders that fish."
Wear the brand
Full Rut hats and shirts — $25 at fullrutnation.com
NEXT WEEK
More from the woods and the water, and we keep the Carry Report rolling.
Got a buddy who'd hate to lose me? Send him to therutreport.com. And hit reply — I read every one.
See you Friday.
— Dwayne