In recent months, I have joined a number of online social networks for hunters. I was not exactly sure what to expect, but almost immediately one very positive thing happened—I made contact with a lot of interesting people who share my conviction that hunting is the center of all things that really matter.
One site that I found really interesting is www.huntersnetworks.com. At the NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix, Ariz., this past May, I got a chance to meet the founder of the site, Arjun Reddy. Turns out that Arjun was born in India, and in moments we’d launched a far-ranging conversation on everything from tiger hunting in the old days to the importance of the Second Amendment today. Here’s a look at a hunter who doesn’t just visit social network sites—he created one.
Q: Arjun, give us some personal background—growing up in India, coming to the U.S., your education, career, etc.
AR: I was born and brought up in India and am the elder of two brothers. Our family business included a farm and rice mills. These were located in the districts, which are rural areas outside the main cities. In those days the districts in India were very remote places and there was hardly any basic infrastructure or facilities whatsoever.
Growing up in India was a wonderful experience. We did not have many material things compared to kids nowadays. If someone went abroad they would return with a few cassettes of the American Top 40, and that would be a prized possession. A pair of Levi’s jeans were worth their weight in gold! India was a truly third-world country back then, and I did not see a TV set until I was 13. But I had lots of friends and spent a lot of time shooting and fishing and exploring the countryside.
When I was 16, my father tragically died while saving a friend’s son from drowning. Being the eldest male member of the household, I had to take his place and started running our farm and looking after our other family affairs. I managed to get my B.A. degree and went to England to try for an MBA, but I did not like rainy, cold weather. I missed the outdoors, my friends and family and returned to India.
About a year after I returned, I was seated around a campfire one night with a friend and our farm manager when we were attacked by 16 armed communist terrorists. Based on their previous experiences, when they had attacked remote farms and looted and maimed and even killed landowners, they probably felt that we were another easy target.
Having lived under the constant threat of attack by these terrorists, I had decided that if they showed up at our farm, I would put up a fight. Unfortunately, due to strict Indian gun ownership laws, I was armed very poorly with only a .32 Colt pistol.
In the first few moments they shot dead our farm manager and my friend where they sat around our campfire. The bullet that was intended for me missed by a few inches and hit the side of the front door of our house as I ran for cover. My initial return fire with the Colt accounted for two of them. Once inside the house, I got to a .375 H&H rifle and fired back with it—which caused them to call off their attack and flee with their dying comrades.
After this incident, it became too dangerous for me to continue to operate the farm. We knew it would only be a matter of time before they returned in greater numbers. The closest police station was 20 miles away over jungle roads, and there were no phones in those days. We therefore had no option but to abandon the farm and walk away from a property that had been in our family for three generations.
After this incident, I left for England a second time to seek my future. There I joined forces with a friend, and we started a business importing different products from India and selling them in the U.K. We then came up with the idea to develop an Indian beer brand to supply to the thousands of Indian restaurants spread across the U.K. Cobra beer was born on a friend’s kitchen table, and we started selling the beer from restaurant to restaurant from an old car! In 1996, I sold out to my partner and moved to the United States, where I joined a friend in his software company. [Note: Cobra beer went on to become the largest selling Indian beer brand in the U.K., with sales last year of close to $50 million.]
Q: Give us some background on your hunting experience—how you got started, brief examples of memorable hunts, and hunts you still dream of taking.
AR: I grew up in a family of hunters. Even my grandmother was very fond of hunting, and as a child I remember she would let me handle her unloaded .22 rifle under her supervision. My father was a very keen hunter. In those good old days of hunting in India he shot more than 20 tigers and close to 50 leopards, as well as countless other species of big game—almost unimaginable by today’s sportsmen.
I was fortunate to grow up in this environment and spent my early days shooting birds and rabbits with an air rifle. We ate everything we shot, and as a young boy I accompanied my father on quite a few trips where I was exposed to hunting big game.
When I was 11, I was with my father on a hunt for a leopard that had been killing our goats and sheep, and that was my first experience of hunting dangerous game. I shot my last leopard in Namibia three years ago and it brought back many memories from that first leopard hunt so many years ago.
I have been fortunate to hunt big cats, bears, pigs, antelope and deer, and to me every animal is a trophy. I also enjoy hunting waterfowl, turkey and other birds, as well as fishing and shooting sporting clays.
I recall hunting moose in Vermont with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time. Although we hunted hard for five days, we did not even see a moose. On the second to last day of the season, a friend who had accompanied us and was playing guide had to return to work. My girlfriend and I decided to give it our best effort and the next day, which was also the last day of the season, we were successful in shooting a moose. It was her first hunting experience and I had to leave her alone in the middle of the woods with the moose while I went for help. We got engaged on that hunt.
For our honeymoon we went hunting in Africa. Within the first hour of my first African safari I shot my first African big game animal—an elephant! Talk about jumping in on the deep end.
Q: What led to the idea of a social network for hunters? What was involved in getting it built and launched?
AR: Having been a passionate hunter all my life, I have always been keen to meet and interact with fellow hunters and learn more about their experiences, the different animals they hunted, and the hunting available in different locations around the world. When I first moved to New York, I joined the local chapter of Safari Club International, and in time I served on that chapter’s board. That is where I saw first-hand the challenges faced by pro-hunting, conservation organizations to get people to join their ranks, as well as create an atmosphere where individual hunters can interact with other hunters, make new friends, and discover new hunting opportunities.
Thus, when I was first exposed to a large general social network like Facebook, it immediately occurred to me that an “open social network” exclusively for the hunting, shooting and conservation world might have great potential.
Being in the software business and understanding the technology that was required was very helpful in developing the necessary platform and integrating the various features. As I said, I joined a friend’s software business after moving to New York, where I gained hands-on experience and knowledge working with many companies for whom we built websites. My expertise is on the business end of things, from starting with an idea/concept, researching it, handling the marketing, funding, website architecture, and overall management.
While I had a pretty good handle of how to get the website off the ground, what was much more difficult was researching the idea itself to see if there would be an interest from actual users. After all, there are only so many people that you know! You can call all your close friends and pester them to join your network, and when that’s done you can go trouble them again to get their hunting buddies to join. However, the true test was passed when other hunters started joining on their own accord and kept coming back. We have one user named “Moosecaller” who has succeeded in building a network of more than 1,000 friends!
Q: What do you think hunters get out of the site?
AR: First and foremost, I would like to make it clear that HuntersNetworks.com is not an organization that is in competition with other organizations—we see ourselves as a service provider. We are an “open social network,” without any formal rules and with absolutely no agenda to promote, other than of course to support hunting, shooting and conservation.
Individual hunters can use our comprehensive search feature to locate and communicate with other hunters anywhere in the world that might belong to the same organization or have similar interests. They can find out about new hunting opportunities and get answers to questions from their fellow hunters. They can find hunts for sale, view photos of other hunters’ trophies, and learn about various big game animals and birds from around the world. They can learn about different hunting areas and get local knowledge simply by talking to a fellow hunter who lives in that area. Hunters can also find special deals on last-minute hunts and get news on various rules and regulations that pertain to them.
Individual outfitters and hunting guides can post their hunt reports, as well as hunts for sale, and prospect for new clients. Companies can use the network to introduce and promote their products to their core market, as well as obtain valuable feedback from their users. Organizations can use the network to create a public profile and generate awareness amongst their own members about certain issues, as well as recruit new members. They can post their latest news, developments and other initiatives. The “groups” feature also allows an organization to create a mini-network for their members within the framework of the overall site.
We provide all the necessary tools, but ultimately what an individual user gets out of joining HuntersNetworks.com is entirely up to them.
Q: What is gun ownership like in India today? Can an average citizen own a gun?
AR: India has always had a licensing system for gun owners. As India is a republic made up of 28 states, the rules and regulations and the ease of owning a firearm vary greatly depending upon the state and the local political conditions at the time. Generally speaking, without the right contacts, obtaining a gun license is no certain thing. Unless you are a registered competition shooter, you have to be 21 years old to apply for a gun license.
Broadly speaking, there are two categories of arms licenses, a state license and an all-India license. A state license allows you to carry your firearm only within the state for which the license was issued, whereas an all-India license allows you to carry your firearm anywhere in the country.
The average citizen can own a maximum of three firearms, including a rifle, pistol, shotgun or muzzleloader. No civilian can own an automatic rifle of any kind. It is extremely difficult for the average citizen, even with connections, to get a license to own a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun or handgun.
During the course of a year, an individual can only purchase a fixed number of cartridges for each caliber on your license. Typically, the limit is set at 50 cartridges per caliber. When any ammunition is purchased, it is recorded on the license with the number of cartridges purchased.
During any state or national elections (which are often times of violence), every civilian by law has to deposit their guns in a local armory; this can be for up to two months at a time running up to the elections. The entire population is disarmed and defenseless when they need firearms most!
Q: How do you feel about the gun rights we enjoy in the U.S.?
AR: The only reason that I am alive today is because, when forced to, I was able to defend myself with a gun. I am therefore an ardent supporter of gun ownership and the right to bear arms. When compared to any other country in the world, undoubtedly gun ownership in the USA is the standard for the rest of the world.
The Second Amendment provides the necessary framework to legal gun ownership, however, every gun owner should be aware of the constant threats that they face by those who are always looking to ban or curtail the freedom of gun owners. They should never take their gun rights for granted and should unequivocally support the NRA.
I believe that education on guns holds one key to the future of gun ownership in America. The general public should be educated (classes and free seminars for students and adults conducted by local law enforcement, local gun clubs, or other qualified individuals) about guns so that even non-gun owners can learn the basic differences between different types of firearms, how they operate, and what purpose they are intended for. Even a very short basic course can help a person get a better understanding of the subject matter, and they will learn to respect a gun for what it is. Hopefully they will then be able to distinguish fact from fiction when they are exposed to biased media reporting or when faced by anti-gun advocates.
For more information on what HuntersNetworks has to offer, visit www.huntersnetworks.com.
