A Conversation on Stewardship: Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland on Media, Mentorship, and the Future of Turkey Hunting
- Justin Campbell
- Mar 3
- 3 min read
By Justin Campbell | Equalized Outdoors Newsroom
The conversation didn’t start with policy, advocacy, or even turkey tactics.
It started with connection.
On a recent TikTok Live, Equalized Outdoors, George’s Boy Outdoors, and Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland, of Mossy Oak, came together for what was promoted as an open discussion on turkey hunting. What unfolded was a candid exchange that revealed a deeper tension—and opportunity—within modern conservation culture: how the resource is discussed, who is welcomed into the space, and who is trusted to help carry it forward.
“The Way People Get Their Information Is Different Now”
Early in the Live, Strickland addressed criticism surrounding the growth of events like the NWTF Convention and the rise of digital-first creators in the outdoor industry. His response was measured and direct: the medium has changed, not the passion.
“They’re not tuning in Sunday night at seven o’clock anymore… the way people get their information these days is different.”
The comment framed the tone of the entire discussion. This was not nostalgia versus progress. It was stewardship versus gatekeeping.
Strickland made it clear that growth—even crowded rooms, unfamiliar platforms, and new voices—is not a threat to turkey hunting. In his view, it signals that the resource still resonates.
“Everybody wants them in the club. So I say, let them in the club.”
Experience Without Condescension
Throughout the Live, Strickland drew on decades of experience—filming for national television, hunting public land before turkey populations rebounded, and watching entire eras of outdoor media rise and fall.
Yet the tone was never prescriptive.
When discussing tactics, he emphasized mindset over gear, patience over performance, and decision-making over calling ability.
“It ain’t what they got in their mouth or what they got in their vest. It’s what they got between their ears.”
The message was clear: mastery in the turkey woods is not built on equipment alone. It is built on discipline, adaptability, and perspective.
That distinction shifted the conversation beyond how to kill a turkey and toward how to think like a long-term steward of the resource.
Representation, Curiosity, and Respect
One of the most meaningful moments came when Strickland spoke candidly about why he initiates conversations with hunters who may not fit traditional molds.
He described his approach as curiosity, not optics.
“I’m not trying to be pretentious… it’s interesting to me how people ended up where they ended up. Who lit that fire?”
Rather than framing participation as novelty, he framed it as story. The outdoors, in his view, grows stronger when those stories are shared and understood.
Advocacy Without Posturing
As the discussion turned toward habitat pressures, predator management, and population cycles, Strickland returned repeatedly to one theme: responsibility without panic.
He acknowledged the realities facing wild turkey populations while rejecting alarmist rhetoric.
“If it’s legal to hunt, it’s not going on the endangered species list. We’re gonna fix it.”
The emphasis was not on outrage, but on action—habitat work, mentorship, participation, and steady leadership.
It was in that context that he made a pointed remark about the need for clear, grounded voices willing to advocate on behalf of wild turkeys at higher levels—spoken half in humor, fully in sincerity.
The Takeaway From a Conversation with Ronnie Cuz Strickland
The significance of the conversation is not who appeared on the screen.
It is what was modeled:
Intergenerational respect without hierarchy
Growth without dilution of values
Advocacy without ego
Inclusion without spectacle
For Equalized Outdoors, the Live reinforced a simple truth: stewardship is not about volume. It is about clarity.
Not every moment needs to be loud.It simply needs to be genuine.
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