2019 Gun and hunting TV channels

and the shooting sports industry

INTERNET TV GOES BALLISTIC
Who says hunting and shooting are unpopular? Our sport has had
12.8 billion views on YouTube, more than 20 hunting and shooting
channels are over the 100 million views mark, and one channel has
hit a billion. Hats off to Greg Kinman of Hickock45. In a public space
like YouTube, that’s an incredible achievement.
YouTube is now the go-to place for hunting/shooting TV viewers. In
the USA, Outdoor Channel claims to reach around 6 million viewers.
Any YouTube channel with 150,000+ subscribers and a regular output
of films will reach more viewers. And lead times on films can be hours
on YouTube compared to months on the cable/satellite channels,
which makes YouTube the obvious place to launch products.
YouTube has wobbled over the last 12 months in its corporate
attitude towards guns and even hunting, but all the channels it
banned it has brought back on request. A free platform with a near-
global reach such as YouTube means there has never been a better
time to be hunting and shooting TV broadcaster.

Top ten European hunting channels, by SocialBlade ranking

RANK NAME DESCRIPTION
1
st
Potterek81 Hunting Large game hunting in the Polish forests. No obvious sponsorship deals. Running 14th in
the trade 500.
2nd Ekip isi Kerim Gunes Hunting the giant wild boar of Turkey around central Anatolia and the Black Sea coast.

3rd Fieldsports Channel Weekly long-form TV show about hunting and shooting, Fieldsports Britain, as well as
spin-off shows. Sponsored by most major companies in the world of hunting/shooting.
4th The Shooting Show Operated by the publishers of Sporting Rifle magazine in the UK, The Shooting Show was
originally made under contract by FieldsportsChannel. Sponsors include Browning.
5th Hunting Wingshooting, foxes, boar and fishing dominate this Ukrainian channel, which leads on
hunting. It is in the market for brand advertising, currently featuring Ukrainian advertisers.
6th Serval Channel A hunting DVD maker from Hungary that has successfully made the jump to YouTube. Part
funded by an online shop at Serval.hr. Running 48th in the trade 500.
7th Hunter World Russian channel, based in Estonia, covering hunting and fishing in the Baltics, mainly showing
boar, elk and dogwork. Clear advertising rates. Running 51st in the trade 500.
8th Ahmet Kolağasıoğlu Ahmet is a TV producer on Turkish hunting TV channel Av TV. No sponsorship.
9
th
Kristoffer Clausen Norwegian pay TV channel’s promos on YouTube, run by the popular TV personality.
Visit HuntersDVD.com. Running 68th in the trade 500.
10th RoeStalker Mainly deerstalking films in Poland by Scotland-based solo filmmaker Greg.
Supported by Patreon. Running 70th in the trade 500.

Top ten American hunting channels, by SocialBlade ranking

RANK NAME DESCRIPTION
1
st
Kendall Gray Kendall Gray is 18 and even inspires a fan group called #graygang. Based in Kentucky, the
channel’s popularity blew up after his video “A Trappers Worst Nightmare...” went viral.
2nd DeerMeatForDinner Sport in and around Florida, heavy emphasis on fishing and cookery, but also whitetails and
alligator hunting. Sponsors include Bowtech. Visit DeerMeatForDinner.com
3rd Ultimate Night Vision This is a hybrid shop/editorial channel, which provides evenhanded info about night vision
and then sells night vision units. Visit UltimateNightVision.com
4th Flair Andrew Flair is a young lad into bass fishing and duck hunting, based in Kansas.
Sponsored by Dux Waterfowl Co, Toyota and affiliate links. Running 12th in the trade 500.
5th LunkersTV Young man into bass fishing and deer/predator hunting. Sponsored by own-brand goods
and affiliate links. Running 13th in the trade 500.
6th Keith Warren All kinds of hunting, including bow, rifle, bear, deer, wingshooting. Sponsors include:
Freedom Munitions, Timber Creek Outdoors and Liberty safes
7th LakeForkGuy A few hoghunting videos but mainly bass fishing in Texas.
8th MeatEater All kinds of fishing and hunting, sponsors include by FirstLite, Federal, Vortex, Yeti
9th Born and Raised Outdoors Elk bowhunting. Paid for by its own shop + sponsors: FirstLite,
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Running 42nd in the trade 500.
10th Hushin Casey, Eric and Bmack are devoted to hunting and fishing the Western states of the USA.
Sponsors include Hoyt Archery, Weatherby and Vortex optics. Visit GetHushin.com

For the latest ranking and more detail, go to Fcha.nl/ranking

Top ten hunting channels Down Under, by SocialBlade ranking
RANK NAME DESCRIPTION
1st Bolt-Action Productions Steve Robinson from Victoria has been putting in the hours and takes the number one slot
from TarraDarraBros. Usually unsponsored, his films cover deer hunting, varminting,
kit reviews and cookery. Running 25th in the trade 500.
2nd TarraDarraBros Nick and Caleb Fry were the hottest property in the world of hunting YouTubers.
From South East Queensland, they cover all kinds of hunting sports, with one of their
bowfishing films at 40 million+ views. However, they have been inactive for a year.
3rd Hunting with Stu Stuart Laughton specialises in feral hog hunting from quadbikes in New South Wales.
No obvious sponsorship. Running 53rd in the trade 500.
4th MountainEdgeNZ Mark Hamilton is based on South Island, New Zealand, home to great red, chamois and
tahr hunting. His website is MountainEdgeNZ.co.nz
5th Steve Lee I Like Guns Even putting out only half a dozen films in the last year, Australian singer, hunter and
gun activist Steve Lee still brings in the viewers. This is a gun channel with some hunting.
6th Waikaramoana Professional outfitter offering deer, wild boar, duck and pheasant shooting, trout and deep
sea fishing in New Zealand. Contact Tony on tlolaiy@gmail.com
7th NZWildThingsq Shaun Monk self-films his hunting adventures in the New Zealand back country.
Contact shaun.monk@xtra.co.nz. Running 186th in the trade 500.
8th Clay Tall Stories Musician, hunter and backwoodsman Damon Ward makes charming films about himself
and his family on the north coast of South Island. Supported by Patreon.
Visit ClayTallStories.com. Running 192nd in the trade 500.
9th Hogs Dogs Quads Bryce and Matty and their hounds enjoy hunting adventures across the Australian outback.
Sponsors include dogfood comnpany Dogpro and ATV accessories company Austraco.
Visit HogsDogsQuads.com.au
10th Josh James Kiwi Bushman One of the most engaging characters on YouTube, Josh James makes hunting,
bushcraft and fishing videosin New Zealand. Supported mainly by his guiding business,
visit EcoRafting.co.nz. Running 257th in the trade 500.

Top ten gun channels, by SocialBlade ranking

RANK NAME DESCRIPTION
1st Demolition Ranch Homemade explosions more than guns and a firm favourite. Back up to number 1 after either
making videos private or YouTube strikes. It’s own tagline: not your average gun channel...
Sells merch alongside other top YouTubers at BunkerBranding.com
2nd Forgotten Weapons An educational channel about old guns. Running 4th in the trade 500.
3rd Hickok45 Retired teacher and former police officer Greg Kinman continues his folksy romp through
guns and shooting. Great supporter of the Sonoran Desert Institute of gunsmithing in Arizona,
his sponsors include NRA and Federal ammunition. Visit Hickock45.com
4th Taofledermaus More sciencey than other big gun channels, Taofledermaus is big on including viewer
suggestions in his videos, on the blogging channel WideOpenSpaces.com, and supports the
off-YouTube digital channel Carbon TV. Running 8th in the trade 500.
5th Iraqveteran8888 The man who has done more than any other to turn the rifle range into a TV studio,
this former army veteran is sponsored by ATI Gun Stocks, FosTech, ShootSteel.com and
Keystone Sporting Arms. For more go to IraqVeteran8888.com
6th Sootch00 Mainly gun reviews, some opinion pieces, Sootch00 describes himself as a ‘Christian
Conservative’. Sponsors include Freedom Munitions, GoingGear.com, Gunmagwarehouse,
Wheaton Arms and Maxpedition. He also has spin-off channels on YouTube. Hit by YouTube
strikes in February 2018, he also uploads at GetZone.com
7th GY6vids Hit by YouTube strikes in February 2018 - usually near the top of the list. As at 8 April 2018,
he had made all but two of his videos private. Now back in business.
8th Sturmgewehre Tim Harmsen covers military small arms and combat footage in this channel, also connected
to the weapons education site, Full30.com. Running 21st in the trade 500.
9th InRangeTV Arizona-based practical shooting channel, features military small arms among other films.
Visit InRange.tv
10th Vickers Tactical Larry Vickers, author, instructor, and owner of Vickers Tactical Inc has worked out what
YouTube can do for him. He is a retired US Army Combat veteran of Tier One Special Ops,
a firearms accessory developer and writes the VickersGuide series of firearms books.
Go to VickersTactical.com. Running 24th in the trade 500.

For the latest ranking and more detail, go to Fcha.nl/ranking

Top five airgun channels, by SocialBlade ranking
RANK NAME DESCRIPTION
1st AirArmsHuntingSA Matt Dubber made his name with outstanding films hunting with airguns in South Africa.
Despite the channel name, he is now sponsored by FX, and has branched out into
full-bore rifle hunting, too. Running 18th in the trade 500.
2nd Ted’s HoldOver Ted Biers in Wisconsin, USA, was the first to achieve superstar status with an airgun channel.
He films what he wants, and sometimes he doesn’t film at all. He wins benchrest competitions,
but his staple is hunting videos. Running 28th in the trade 500.
3rd AirgunGearShow Noisy, upbeat reviews and hunts by larger-than-life Giles Barry in the UK. Backed by all in
the airgun industry, especially FX. Running 69th in the trade 500.
4th Expert Airgun Reviews Based in Arizona, USA, Rick Eutsler’s in-depth reviews go alongside his airgun blog site
/ AirgunWeb airgunweb.com, supported by Pyramydair and Umarex USA among others.
5th Airgun Exploration & Run by Steve Scialli in the USA, AEAC offers reviews with the backing of all the big names
Advancement Channel in the airgun industry. Running 139th in the trade 500.

Optics company winner:

This survey brought to you by: ULTIMATE NIGHT VISION
Because you can plug a camera into it, night vision

500
makes great TV. So it’s no surprise that top optics
company is Ultimate Night Vision, with ATN in
second place. Aimpoint is in third place.
hunting/ Shooting/gun accessories company winner:

gun channels PRIMOS HUNTING

Hunting calls and accessories company

tracked Primos pips YETI Coolers for the top slot in this
hard-fought category. FoxPro Calls comes third.

Airgun manufacturer/distributor winner: 

REPLICA AIRGUNS
US airgun retailers dominate this category, with
Replica Airguns in first place, leading by a long
way from Airguns of Arizona and Pyramydair, 
which are bunched together.
The 100 million club - channels with
Ammunition manufacturer winner:
100 million views or more
HORNADY
RANK NAME CHANNEL TYPE AND COUNTRY Hornady is well ahead of the competition
in TV popularity. Federal and RWS take
1st Hickok45 Gun channel, US second and third.
2
nd
Demolition Ranch Gun channel, US
Bowhunting business winner:
3rd FPSRussia Gun channel, US HOYT
4th Iraqveteran8888 Gun channel, US The bow companies beat the broadhead
companies in the battle for YouTube dominance,
5th Taofledermaus Gun channel, US with Hoyt coming out on top by a long way from
6th Funker530 Gun channel, US Mathews and Bear.
7
th
Wranglerstar Bushcraft and prepper channel, USA Firearms manufacturer/distributor winner:
8th Forgotten Weapons Gun channel, US HOLLAND & HOLLAND
A surprise win for UK-based Holland & Holland,
9
th
NutnFancy Gun channel, US
which has just edged ahead of Sig Sauer and
10th DeerMeatForDinner North American hunting channel, US Beretta, which usually dominate this category.
11th Sootch00 Gun channel, US General hunting retailer winner:
12
th
LunkersTV North American hunting channel, US BROWNELLS
After a run-in with YouTube last year, Brownells
13th TarraDarraBros Hunting channel Down Under, Australia
is back in the number-one slot as top general
14th Sturmgewehre Gun channel, US hunting retailer.
15th The Yankee Marshal Gun channel, US
Knifemaker winner:
16
th
Funker Tactical Gun channel, US COLD STEEL
17th Miculek.com Gun channel, US Cold Steel has made TV central to its marketing
strategy and easily wins this category from
18th Ted’s HoldOver Airgun channel, US Victorinox and Gerber.
19
th
Andrew Ucles Bushcraft and prepper channel, Australia
Hunting apparel business winner:
20th Flair North American hunting channel, US REALTREE
21st Vickers Tactical Gun channel, US Realtree practically invented hunting TV as a
marketing tool, and once again it takes the laurels
22nd Fieldsports Channel European hunting channel, UK
for top hunting YouTube channel. Under Armour
23
rd
Survival Lilly Bushcraft and prepper channel, Austria and Fjallraven take second and third.
How popular is each sector?
Gun channels 56.16%
Bushcraft and prepper channels 11.76%
North American hunting channels 10.97%
European hunting channels 4.72%
Airgun channels 3.23%
Hunting channels Down Under 2.99%
Knifemakers 2.89%
Airgun manufacturers/distributors 1.79%
Optics companies 1.32%
Hunting apparel businesses 1.24%
Firearms manufacturers/distributors 1.10%
General hunting retailers 0.73%
Shooting/gun accessories companies 0.66%
Ammunition manufacturers 0.23%
Pie chart based on views of top ten channels in each sector as percentage of whole Bowhunting businesses 0.21%

UNDERDOG AWARDS Boy Scout rising quickly. It can all happen so quickly. All it takes is a
good quality viral film.
Who are the fastest risers in the last five months? With YouTube
Thanks to one film on calling foxes that has had nearly 3 million
banning some channels last year, and then rescinding those bans,
views, Bolt-Action Productions more than tripled its viewcount
there are a raft of channels who have come back to their rightful
and doubled its subscribers in the last five months. The others have
positions near the top of the lists in January after languishing at
each risen more than 1.5 million places in the Socialblade world
the bottom in August, including gun channels Royal Nonesuch and
YouTube ranking over the same period, out of a total of around 25
Miculek.com – just as there are a few unfairly languishing who may
million channels that Socialblade tracks worldwide.
yet return, such as AK Operators Union. We ignore those.
The fastest rising group of channels is the bushcraft/prepper
The true fastest risers are the ones that have put on organic weight
channels group, with David Canterbury and ThePatriotNurse from
of viewers in the last five months, and have the critical mass
the USA, Andrew Ucles from Australia, and Survival Russia from
already to deliver that sense of tribal belonging which makes being
Russia more than doubling their total viewcount in the last five
a YouTube viewer such fun. The stars here are Australian hunting
months. BC Bushcraft from Canada is also rising fast.
channel Bolt-Action Productions, German hunting channels
AufDerPirsch and Wildboar Fanatic, and Kiwibushboys NZ from In the gun and hunting industry, look out for RWS and Browning
New Zealand. Among the gun channels, James Yeager, and The Late (Italy), both gaining views rapidly since the middle of 2018.

HOW DO WE COMPILE
THIS SURVEY?
Fieldsports Channel tracks around 500 online hunting TV channels,
mainly on YouTube, with the help and permission of SocialBlade,
the industry standard in tracking viewership on YouTube. As well
as tracking subscribers and views, Socialblade scores each channel
on its potential for viewership. This score provides the main rank-
ing. This survey reflects change in channel’s activity throughout
the main Northern Hemisphere hunting seasons, August 2018
– January 2019. There is more detail on the Fieldsports Channel
website, including contact details for many of the top channels.
Visit Fcha.nl/ranking
Do you have a channel that’s not listed? Would you like to update
the description of your channel? Please get in touch with Charlie
Jacoby charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv
What is Fieldsports Channel? Fieldsports Channel is one of the
top hunting online TV networks in the world. Based in the UK, it
makes a half-hour weekly show about hunting every week. For
sponsorship opportunities, visit FieldsportsChannel.tv or ring
Charlie Jacoby +44 7850 195353 or James Westbrook +44 7718
126762

Fieldsports Channel is a hunting

TV sensation, with 100 million+ JAMES WESTBROOK CHARLIE JACOBY DAVID WRIGHT
views, 7 million+ individual Commercial director Presenter Producer
viewers, split 28% UK, 19% US, james@fieldsportschannel.tv charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv david@fieldsportschannel.tv
and 93% redblooded male +44 7718 126762 +44 7850 195353 +44 7825 388136