Barriers for new hunters? (Poll)

[Hnthrdr]

Sure, it doesn't bother me. Happy to help them as well.

Doesn’t bother you at all? Do you want your kid to draw out the unit that will not be named more than 3 times in his life? It went from 0-what is it now around 3 points, watch it continue to gain popularity and go to 5, it’s headed that way. I will say I for one am not a huge fan of that.

I need to edit this, i am genuinely asking you are one of the nicest and most helpful guys I know, heck first time we met you were trying to give me broadheads to use. I guess it just gets annoying me a little that I’m getting pushed to fewer and fewer areas to reliable draw or even otc hunt for that matter. I have lost 3 reliable units in the last few years to them just turning draw and lots of draw units are creeping up. Don’t want to be a detractor from someone trying to start but I’ll be damned if I want another guy to just compete for tags with… catch 22 for sure

 

[sndmn11]

Doesn’t bother you at all? Do you want your kid to draw out the unit that will not be named more than 3 times in his life? It went from 0-what is it now around 3 points, watch it continue to gain popularity and go to 5, it’s headed that way. I will say I for one am not a huge fan of that.

It's not to 3 yet, I think a few years from it at least. Yeah I am ok with it. Colorado has so much opportunity I've only applied out of state to try and hunt for pronghorn does. You've branched out quite a bit from the unit and had a lot of success, probably had a lot of fun and saw some new country.

I just don't buy into the concept that I deserve more than any other hunter, and that a good hunter can't have success regardless of what others are doing.

 

[TWHrunner]

This was your first comment What tradition are we talking about? The tradition of men hunting which is as old as time. So you have more right than other men? Because you started at a younger age please tell me what do you possess in your constitution that gives you more right to public land than someone else?

Your post is off topic to the OP anyway you are just an angry fudd online using social media to express your opinion

Actually I’m not angry at all. I’m calling it out like I see it. Does your “constitution” allow me that right? Or is it only a privilege to little boys like you who decide when to grant it? Well, either way I can sure can call out a little punk like you when I see one. If you think my post is off topic then you can’t read or don’t understand how grown ups write. It’s past your bedtime, son.

 

[Mattys010]

Well dang, that’s too bad. You could always come to Washington, bear season opens August 1st. OTC tags, you can get a 2nd tag if you fill the first one and there’s a black bear behind every fir tree.


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Thanks for the tip, I’ll look into it!

 

[Dos Perros]

I voted for fear. People are afraid to try. People are afraid to fail.

 

[Rich M]

I thought this was a pick all that apply.

Biggest barrier is getting a tag, second is not knowing what unit applies to their hunt strategy.

Ive found western deer and antelope hunting to be easy. Getting the opportunity (tag) is the hardest part.

 

[MallardSX2]

I voted for fear. People are afraid to try. People are afraid to fail.

I think they are secretly afraid of bears. lol

 

[MallardSX2]

For me, it’s money and time. I feel bad dropping $10k on a trophy hunt when I could dump that into our investments or daughter’s college fund.

You might be one of the only people on here who has admitted to that. lol

I swear half these guys would sell their children to go on hunts.
The other half puts hunts on their credit card and drives their family deeper into the financial pits of hell.

I have never seen more financial irresponsibility than I have with big game hunters. Life is full of choices, I guess. lol

 

[Jbxl20]

I think knowledge.
I watched a guy shoot a mule deer while wearing hey dudes and blue jeans. packed it out a mile in a pillow cases and a Walmart backpack.

 

[Jethro]

For me, it’s money and time. I feel bad dropping $10k on a trophy hunt

You might be one of the only people on here who has admitted to that. lol

I swear half these guys would sell their children to go on hunts.
The other half puts hunts on their credit card and drives their family deeper into the financial pits of hell.

I have never seen more financial irresponsibility than I have with big game hunters. Life is full of choices, I guess. lol

A $10k trophy hunt isn't necessary for a new hunter to experience western hunting, which this thread is about. Actually not necessary for anyone, new or experienced. I do a trip each year with 1-3 other guys, and if I added up any 3 of those combined it would be less than $10K.

 

[doc holiday13]

lack of knowledge and human nature

I'm highly observant and still learning animal behavior. Been in the woods since I was 1/4 size of my current height. There is a lot I don't know. My wife is an herbalist so she generally tags along on squirrel hunts and points out things that I've seen a lot of but never knew their purpose. So now she give me photos of things she wants me to harvest for her when I'm in the woods.

Human nature. Venturing into the great unknown is difficult. Without the knowledge, you have very little idea of what you're doing other than carrying a weapon into the woods. So EVERYTHING you learn will be through your own baby steps and willingness to take next 'logical' steps. There is a lot to learn. Even gutting a rabbit can be daunting

 

[Tl15]

A $10k trophy hunt isn't necessary for a new hunter to experience western hunting, which this thread is about. Actually not necessary for anyone, new or experienced. I do a trip each year with 1-3 other guys, and if I added up any 3 of those combined it would be less than $10K.

By the time I pay for travel, lodging, guide service, and taxidermy, yep, you’re up there at $8-10k because I don’t have anyone to split cost with. For me, the proposition is $10k for a great elk hunting experience with high success probability, or, put it in my IRA and let it marinate at a conservative 6.5% for the next 30 years. It’ll compound itself up to $75k that I can give my daughter to help get a bigger home for her family when the time comes, or pay for healthcare if God for bid one of us gets sick in retirement.

Can you do it for less? Sure. But when you realistically will come up snake eyes because you are completely foreign to the environment, even at $3-4k you’ve basically lit cash on fire. It took me more than a couple of seasons to get comfortable, confident, and knowledgeable with our white-tail and hog hunting here. I can’t afford that kind of learning curve to do western hunting solo.

 

[Tl15]

You do realize that guide service, taxidermy, and hell even lodging is all optional right?

I think you probably replied before I posted my edit to the post

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Youtube and social media are the biggest barriers to entry. They "advertise" hunting to people but they do absolutely NOTHING to actually mentor/teach someone how to hunt.

Social media, Youtube, smart phones, etc have also ruined younger people by giving them zero attention span and a strong desire or expectation for instant gratification/success. Neither are likely if the person who mentored you was The Hunting Public or Born and Raised Outdoors on Youtube and youre accustomed to spending 3 hours or more a day looking at your phone.

 

[Tl15]

Youtube and social media are the biggest barriers to entry. They "advertise" hunting to people but they do absolutely NOTHING to actually mentor/teach someone how to hunt.

Social media, Youtube, smart phones, etc have also ruined younger people by giving them zero attention span and a strong desire or expectation for instant gratification/success. Neither are likely if the person who mentored you was The Hunting Public or Born and Raised Outdoors on Youtube and youre accustomed to spending 3 hours or more a day looking at your phone.

But what is your proposed solution to that? Who does an out of state hunter used to a completely different environment, style, and species get taught or mentored from? For most of us, that’s a guide or if you’re lucky, a friend you make on a forum that is willing to help you out assuming you can afford the cash and time to get there year after year to learn and the seasoned veteran doesn’t get tired of you slowing them down like a kid. So here in the real world, that leaves online resources.

Not trying to start an argument, but I think an equal, or even greater amount of effort in the discussion of barriers should be how do people passionate about the hunt help overcome them to keep it alive and expand the community. Without doing that, the pressure on legislators eventually dies and access, protections, and conservation dollars wither and die. At the end of the day, in my jaded eyes, it all circles back to dollars and votes.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

But what is your proposed solution to that? Who does an out of state hunter used to a completely different environment, style, and species get taught or mentored from? For most of us, that’s a guide or if you’re lucky, a friend you make on a forum that is willing to help you out assuming you can afford the cash and time to get there year after year to learn and the seasoned veteran doesn’t get tired of you slowing them down like a kid. So here in the real world, that leaves online resources.

Not trying to start an argument, but I think an equal, or even greater amount of effort in the discussion of barriers should be how do people passionate about the hunt help overcome them to keep it alive and expand the community. Without doing that, the pressure on legislators eventually dies and access, protections, and conservation dollars wither and die. At the end of the day, in my jaded eyes, it all circles back to dollars and votes.

Well, having gotten my personal start in the 80s i find it simple. Find an actual mentor then once you yourself have become proficient become a mentor. That is how hunting has proliferated for millennia.

Phones, social media, etc have also had the paradoxical impact of isolating people despite how it appears on the surface. There are people who have hundreds of followers, even thousands, and follow many many many accounts on various platforms, active in forums, etc but once it comes down to brass tacks and they want to take a hunting trip they go alone because they dont actually have anyone to go with them.

It wasnt always this way and i feel bad for young people nowadays who truly feel (probably no fault of their own) that their phone has everything they need in lieu or actual human interaction. On a large scale i DONT have a solution for this issue. But on a small scale i dont allow my 10 yo access to ANY social media, smart phones etc even though many of his fellow 5th grade classmates now spend hours a day alone at home watching useless Tik Tok and Youtube videos. He cant relate to those kids which may hurt him now, at least with those kids, but i have no doubt will pay positive dividends for him down the road.

 

[Tl15]

Well, having gotten my personal start in the 80s i find it simple. Find an actual mentor then once you yourself have become proficient become a mentor. That is how hunting has proliferated for millennia.

That’s the heart of my dilemma as a Texan that dreams of a great elk hunt. Where do I get one of these mentors? Then there are tag draws that limit access. Sure, you can get OTC tags in some places, but what if your mentor doesn’t hunt there? You’re kinda screwed at that point. Like I said, realistically, unless you’re, “from ‘round here.” as we’d say here, it’s just not really practical. That’s how we ended up with the canned hunt industry. For most of us, we’ll get there once, maybe twice in our lives if you’re relying on a draw. It’s human nature to want to walk away with a filled tag.

It sucks, but that’s just how my personal calculus comes up. I could be wrong, and if I am, I’d love to be shown an alternative so I don’t have to wait until I’m 55 to finally get there.

 

[ddd-shooter]

But what is your proposed solution to that? Who does an out of state hunter used to a completely different environment, style, and species get taught or mentored from? For most of us, that’s a guide or if you’re lucky, a friend you make on a forum that is willing to help you out assuming you can afford the cash and time to get there year after year to learn and the seasoned veteran doesn’t get tired of you slowing them down like a kid. So here in the real world, that leaves online resources.

Not trying to start an argument, but I think an equal, or even greater amount of effort in the discussion of barriers should be how do people passionate about the hunt help overcome them to keep it alive and expand the community. Without doing that, the pressure on legislators eventually dies and access, protections, and conservation dollars wither and die. At the end of the day, in my jaded eyes, it all circles back to dollars and votes.

I don’t want the community expanded.
It’s already hard enough to get access and tags.

 

[Lytro]

I don't think any of the reasons in the poll are legitimate. There are so many resources available today that it's never been easier to make a western hunt happen. I don't see money being an excuse either because you can always find ways to budget, save, or make extra money if that's your barrier.

The only excuse I will buy is a permanent mobility/medical issue. If anyone has any other excuse, they just don't want to do it bad enough.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Load up the truck, bring a buddy, OTC unit, throw a dart at the map and go have an adventure. You dont need to hike 18 miles back into the brush to kill an animal.

Worse case scenario, you are going to see some neat country and have a good time. Maybe you only kill a 12 pack or maybe a grouse. Who cares. At least you got your feet wet, and will have a better idea on what to do next time.

Pretty much exactly how i was going to respond.