MeatEater should consider renaming itself “CompanyEater.”
That’s because the Bozeman, Mont., company just announced its most recent acquisition of a hunting-interest brand — one in a jag that’s continued steadily since 2019.
Hunters know Dave Smith Decoys (DSD) for its namesake products and the attention to detail it imbues them with. As MeatEater described in a press release announcing it acquired the company, DSD renders “uncompromising commitment” in its specialty decoys in the turkey, waterfowl, and deer categories.
“We have a track record of bringing trusted brand partners into the MeatEater fold and helping them expand their products and reach,” MeatEater founder Steven Rinella said in the release.
“I’ve been using DSD for a bunch of years. Their decoys are high-quality and look more realistic than anything on the market. When we had the chance to introduce even more people to this exceptional brand, we jumped at it.”
It’s the most recent such chance his company has jumped at — First Lite came under the MeatEater umbrella in 2019, FHF Gear joined in 2020, and Phelps Game Calls came over in 2021. It’s also brought content creators into the fold, like the whitetail-focused platform The Element in late 2022.
Dave Smith Decoys Reassures Mission
DSD promised to maintain its priorities as a company while building its outreach in conjunction with MeatEater.
“Maintaining the quality of our products is a top priority to all of us while simultaneously promoting hunting in a positive light to preserve our hunting heritage,” DSD co-owner Brad Cochran said in the release.
The company’s top leadership will evidently remain on board. Greg Hogan, co-owner and manager of operations for DSD, teased new product releases soon, which figure to expand its line of “Advanced Crosslink Elastomer” (A.C.E.) decoys from its Oregon-based plant.
Finer details of the acquisition, such as financials, were not available as of this writing.
