Retired English teacher Greg Kinman has one of the most popular firearm-related YouTube channels in the world with more than 7.5 million subscribers. If that surprises you, it’s likely because you know Kinman as Hickok45, one of the hottest figures in the shooting sports since Annie Oakley.

On Tuesday, Kinman, joined on video by his son and business associate John, announced that a new YouTube policy is making up to 95 percent of Hickok45 videos inaccessible to his fans.

“Some of you may have seen that YouTube changed their policy on gun videos on June 18, and we were not aware how much that was going to affect us until very recently when we talked to our Google rep,” John Kinman said on the video. “And you may notice that our videos posted since June 18 have been removed.”

The reason, according to Kinman, is because his channel, as well as many other firearms related channels, is sponsored by gun companies or companies that make and market firearms accessories.

“Essentially the new policy that pertains to this video and what the problem is here is that all sponsorships from companies that are either firearms companies or companies that deal in firearms accessories are a complete violation of YouTube’s policy,” John said. “Any videos posted with sponsorships of that kind post June 18 will make your channel subject to being completely terminated. And any video before that is subject to the video itself being terminated.”

In fact, the new policy will make the vast majority of Hickok45 videos no longer available to the public.

“As you know, we’ve had sponsorships like that almost the entire time we have been doing this,” John said. “So, it pertains to probably 95% of our content. So, we are at the risk of losing everything and having to almost start from scratch. Hopefully, something can be done and we can figure out a way to keep rolling.”

Greg Kinman expressed dismay that YouTube would make such a big change after allowing such content since he started his YouTube career way back in 2007.

“All these things that were perfectly fine for what 15 to 20 years all of a sudden are horrible,” Greg said.

Greg also said that fans should make sure they are subscribed to Hickok45 Clips and Hickok45 Talk, along with the main channel.

“That may be the only way we have to communicate with you moving forward,” John said. “But we’ll see what happens. We’re trying to be optimistic. And we hope that we can keep giving you guys the content that you like to see.”

Of course, Hickok45 won’t be the only YouTube channel affected by the new policy, as many gun-related channels have industry sponsor. We’ll look at the widespread ramifications of the new rule in an upcoming follow-up story.

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49 COMMENTS

  1. Color me shocked that the Google cartel would come up with yet another way to censor legal, entertaining, family-friendly content on this platform. It’s time for YouTube (presently a wasteland of culture rot and AI generated chaff) to go away. We are a long way from the repository of fun, informative content that YouTube was in its heyday.

  2. Rumble should focus on getting better so people will actually use it. It needs to be more than a place to go when you’re banished from YT.

    • This video inspired me to check out Rumble again, and yeah – it’s still in pretty sad shape. For gun content it looks like it’s mainly just people squatting on the big names like Garand Thumb and Admin. Right wing politics seem pretty well represented though…

      • Right wing politics rings like assault rifle, gun violence, etc. Amazing how people can hear concocted sht often enough they begin using it without a second thought…such trickery is rampant.

        As for utube it is not worth spit because the garbage running the show has a problem with free speech and hearing truth. I like Mr. Hickok and always tip him with a thumbs up click which is what everyone needs to do to help decent folks like him.

      • The problem with rumble is the interface stinks. Especially on iOS. And zero response to requests to customer support.

    • Rumble is great on its own. It is a great platform, but losers continue to insist on enriching Google, which censors all the time. Not much sympathy for those who finally come into Google’s crosshairs.

  3. what youtube constitutes as family friendly content and advertisers is wild considering i have gotten ads for all sorts of sexuality related stufff, not to mention any action movie is far more violent. there needs to be a reckoning on section 230. if YT is going to editorialize they can have liability too.

  4. All these guntubers danced with the devil instead of promoting alternatives. Not sorry for any of them.

      • Florida Kracker, your post was funny as hell, made me laugh out loud, but I had to mellow your response. Let’s not talk about other people’s moms and their alleged professions, please.

    • A lot of them, including Hickok45, did promote alternatives years ago (like full30), but very few people followed them over there.

  5. very hypocritical of YouTube. are the going to remove all of the movies they charge to see on YouTube TV that have guns in them?

    • It’s not just about YT. Google (parent co. Alphabet) controls most all advertisement (man in the middle) and have been putting pressure on companies who might want to post commercials across all conservative web sites. Web sites were also using Fakebook, example Full30, Fakebook deplatformed, another advertising avenue dried up.
      Here is a play on a movie quote; these bolsheviks are out there! They can’t be bargained with. They can’t be reasoned with. They don’t feel pity, or remorse! And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!

      • wouldn’t be surprised if they fed most sear ch engine rankings to themselves too.

    • Accessibility and availability. Essentially convenience and with that increasingly being removed for normal content there may be an increased shift to other platforms. Or people will remain in place so see what happens I guess.

      • Sorry, I don’t need to enable a company like Google, who loves to censor conservative and pro-gun views. They stopped the truth from coming out during COVID-19 and supported government lies. Sorry, you feel like you don’t care who your views support. Don’t complain now, when gun videos start disappearing.

        • I think you missed the point. Hickok 45 vids are informative and entertaining and a lot of people enjoy watching them. I could be wrong, but I think YouTube is the only place you can see them.

          Google/YouTube don’t give a shit if you don’t watch his vids, it only hurts Hickok 45.

  8. Guy ghosted me years ago for pointing out how corrupt the NRA is, then he finally admitted that the NRA IS corrupt, and yet still didn’t unghost me.

    Zero fornications given.

    • Hey cgray, just for yours and other poster’s mental edification, the filters on this site are aggravating to the editors as well. Doesn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason to why some comments are held in pending for review and others simply go live. I’m addressing it with my tech people again next week. Maybe because you said “fornications” is the only thing I can think, yet I’ve seen other posts with f bombs slip by. Makes no sense I agree. But it was not a malicious decision on any moderators part. Jesus, we don’t have time to sit here and read every comment made and decide whose thoughts we like and whose we don’t. Most of you should be fairly intelligent adults who can sort ideas out. However, in your bitch rant follow-up posts that were caught in pending where you went f***ing ballistic because your precious words laced with f bombs were slipped into moderation purgatory, yeah, I’m deleting those, for the obvious reasons you and I know. But it’s all good. I flipped out on a rental car guy yesterday because my car wasn’t ready. We all have those old guy moments. Have a delightful weekend and thank you for visiting TTAG. As they say at Chik-fil-a, “my pleasure.”

  9. Scott Adams has his podcast via Rumble studio every day and it works just fine. It’s simulcast to locals.com, youtube and X.

  12. LOLOL

    That d*bag Yankee Marshall will be laughing his a$$ off. He HATES what he calls “sellout” gun guys.

    • I never understood the hate for people that get sponsors. As long as you disclose your relationship prior to a review, it’s fine. It was actually a good thing because making money can be an incentive to have content in the first place. More content means more eyes watching which means more people being made aware of real information instead of MSM talking points.

      • You’re absolutely correct Dude. Nobody is going to do this stuff on a regular schedule for free. And 99 percent of the audience out there doesn’t want to pay. I know I’d rather not on the sites and platforms I visit. Advertising is the answer, so yeah, people getting mad about ads and sponsorships clearly haven’t really thought it through. I doubt most of the people who complain go to work and tell the boss, “no, don’t pay me this week, it’s just a pleasure to be here.” Even a website like ours costs tens of thousands of dollars to keep operating each month, yet nobody pays a dime to come here. Ads, sponsorships and affiliate links are the only way to make it work.

      • it’s called capitalism. Selling ads in exchange for information. Hickok45 is an EDUCATIONAL YouTube channel. And his channel along with thousands of other channels are all about education.

        Education in whatever the subject matter is. And the soc.ialis.ts pro.gress.ive is naturally anti-education in all its forms.

        And they hate capitalism.

  13. C&Rsenal are sponsored by Ballistol. I hope they aren’t affected as Ballistol is a much improved WD40. If it wasn’t for the sponsorship I wouldn’t have known about this excellent product.

    • Only a history illiterate would use Ballistol – if yournot a do it for me pantywaist youd make your own like I do out of Massingill and used ATF. It also has other uses if you can use your brain

      • ATF, Fluid Film (lanolin).and occasionally Lucas assembly lube with moly are pretty much all I ever have used most of the time other than sometimes bulk cleaning in Dawn dish soap and hot water.

        That is until recently when I found a full spray can of Rem Oil with teflon in my dad’s gun stuff when I was going through it now that he is gone. It’s Okay stuff but I probably won’t miss it when it is used up. People waste money on boutique stuff when just about any motor oil or ATF will do. Fluid Film is like magic keeping rust away in tough environments on any metal tool or ornaments.

        Another handy thing is sometimes Barkeeper’s friend as a polish on non blued or non fragile.finished alloy surfaces for caked-on gunk and hard-to-reach cosmoline especially in tight tolerance pivoting parts using a Q-tip.

  14. The internet is dead and monopolies killed it, letting a few companies control 90% of the internet traffic was a mistake enabled by lazy retarded politicians
    Hell back in the day you could straight up blare Johnny Rebel music, the most racist music known to man, actual free speech and freedom regardless of what it was, now places like youtube are gulags where the DEI dept at google dictates what you may or may not see

  15. You guys still on YouTube, FB, etc… You’re playing with snakes. Don’t complain when you get bit.

    • Snakes gonna Snake.

      Guntubers are all a bunch of grifters deep down. I guess it is better than getting a real job.

  17. YouTube’s goal is to get rid of ALL gun content on there platform. It has been for years. The YouTube gun community has been on borrowed time for years.

    The day is going to come where every single video on YouTube with a gun in it will be taken down. Even educational videos. Only Hollywood and the media will be allowed.

    • Likely.

      “Come a day there won’t be room for naughty men like us to slip about at all.” — Captain Malcolm Reynolds

    • Absolutely. Just knowing how Google entrusted government lies during COVID-19 should be enough warning not to deal with such an evil company.

  18. The Hickock45 team always whines that nobody is on.Rumble but Russel Brand has a half million followers or some such and is doing okay financially after getting deplatformed everywhere else.

    Hickock45 did a halfassed job of creating a Rumble presence and got halfassed results. That’s the long.and the short of it. Nobody to blame but themselves.

    I like watching them and they seem like a nice father and son team but the fact remains they are just Video grifters. They make entertaining content but they are spoiled by sucking on the golden YouTube teat and will keep sucking there until the day it runs dry. I don’t think they really understand how they got where they are now and can’t replicate it again somewhere else because of that fact. Poor John is eventually going to need to go out and get a real job soon for the first time in his adult life. Such a pity.

    Anyhow, Life is good.

  19. I don’t do a good job of keeping up with stuff like this.

    I’ve watched videos on yubertuber over the years and heard about demonetizing and deplatforming but keep seeing new folks o there.

    If I was going to start a channel, what should I do? Rumble? Full30?

    I visited these sometime ago but they weren’t as easy to navigate as YT.

    Do guntubers make money on YT if people watch their videos?

    Will industry reps sponsor videos not on YT?

    Easiest thing would seem to be for YT to stop being fascist dicks.

    Makes my head hurt.

    • Well kid’s Hickok45 & son just posted a “hopeful”video about coming to “an agreement”with Youtube. I love you dude’s with “yer makin’ Google rich” diatribe. RU using google right now? The whole thing is corrupt not just fakebook or Youtube. Get over yourself😀

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