Hunting is dying out... apparently

[Diesel]

#1. Hunting space is indeed dwindling in the east as even small towns spread out. I moved to the big woods of Pa. because every one of my old hunting spots were developed or posted around my home town. Not many can make that kind of move due to work or wives. In Pennsylvania, there is a ton of public and timber land available to hunt if you make the effort and the woods are relatively empty as the numbers of hunters declines

#2. When I was in my 20's I had to decide what was the most important leisure thing for me because I could not afford the time or money to do it all. Skiing, boating, snowmobiling, rafting, canoeing, horses, motorcycles, golf and on and on are money and time sucks. I chose hunting, but others chose otherwise. Add in that many are indoor types that like watching sports, video games, or whatever that are not interested in venturing out in unsettled weather.

#3. Old age. Our gang that does bear drives is reaching the end of our days. I am one of the young ones at 67. Steep mountain sides and laurel thickets are tough on old knees and bad backs. The stuff we found fun and productive has little allure to the youngsters today. Oddly. out of 15 or so guys, only one guy had sons, all the rest had daughters. So we are not being replaced in the line-up.

There are many other factors as mentioned above and in our other discussions on the topic. It is inevitable that fewer and fewer will be to able to take up the pursuit as the country evolves.

 

[OhioState84]

Hunting is ‘slowly dying off,’ and that has created a crisis for the nation’s many endangered species

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Its hitting Ohio very hard.... almost 40% decrease in license sales in the past 20 years......... took the hunter safety course with my daughter...... it was full - with lots of boys, girls and women...... but it was the only one in the 100 mile range for all of January....... the anti's are winning...... need a grassroots effort by every hunter to get three kids involved...... then get them to get three....... we are a dying breed if this doesn't happen quickly!!!!

 

[LostArra]

Oddly. out of 15 or so guys, only one guy had sons, all the rest had daughters. So we are not being replaced in the line-up.

No disrespect intended but all 15 guys have no one to blame but themselves if their daughters aren't hunting. As a father of four adult daughters I can assure you they CAN shoot a rifle and a bow as well as any guy if someone will take the time to show them. They can also slay fish from Texas to Alaska to Florida and fill a freezer with venison. Two X chromosomes don't make you a non-hunter.



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[MtnOyster]

As bad as I hate to say it I’m afraid there are gonna be less hunters down the road, my 2 sons grew up outdoors hunting and fishing with me and at 22 and 18 they don’t go nowhere near as much as they used to, my youngest goes deer hunting through rifle season and that’s about it, I hope with a little age they can appreciate the land we own and enjoy being in the woods again the way they used to, I went through a slower Time my self but it’s always been a way of life for me to enjoy being in the woods or on the water.

The last 3 decades of kids are not as interested in the outdoors the way my generation and the others before me that grew up in the hot sun and cold winters were.......we loved it........

 

[String&stick]

I cannot speak for the east but live in Nebraska which falls in the Midwest category.

At 33 years old I have watched opportunities continue to dry up for the average Joe. Yes there are still opportunities and if you work you can find them. But I've lost 3 different properties to leases where doctors from Omaha pay $5000 for rifle season but want no one on the place the rest of the year. I offer to work or provide something at every place I've ever asked permission. Last year I knocked on 35 doors, (some people I have been doing stuff for in hopes of future permission) and was granted permission on 1 property and that's with 9 and 6 year old tagging along. 10 years ago I ran about 30% success if I was willing to do some work.

So things are definitely changing and part of it is the economy, but access is also a large part of it.

(P.s. some of our public is down right dangerous as public land in Nebraska is about 2%)

There are opportunities, but I can see where new people burn out if they get shot down that many times

 

[Diesel]

If you read closely, I said my "bear hunting" gang doing drives. My wife hunts with me and so does the other guys wives and daughters when it comes to deer, turkey and other stuff. Bear hunts are for just the guys in our world.

BTW, my wife has shot quite a few nice bucks.

 

[tdhanses]

If you read closely, I said my "bear hunting" gang doing drives. My wife hunts with me and so does the other guys wives and daughters when it comes to deer, turkey and other stuff. Bear hunts are for just the guys in our world.

BTW, my wife has shot quite a few nice bucks.

Why? Bear aren’t anything unique. My daughter will be bear hunting but spot and stalk.

 

[Diesel]

Why? Bear aren’t anything unique. My daughter will be bear hunting but spot and stalk.

Not because it is "bear'. It is because the guys want some time away from the women. There are many bear seasons in Pa. and our group does bear drives on only three days of 29, the rest of the time the women can participant if they want .

 

[tdhanses]

Not because it is "bear'. It is because the guys want some time away from the women. There are many bear seasons in Pa. and our group does bear drives on only three days of 29, the rest of the time the women can participant if they want .

Haha... that makes sense.

 

[hutty]

Youth events while good, doesn't exactly translate to new hunters. Kids don't drive, have disposable income and many cannot hunt without an adult. Exposure is good for kids, getting people who can drive, have free time and disposable income is the way to increase hunter numbers. It isn't going to be easy but we have to start somewhere.

 

[lacire]

It's more than just hunting.
Less and less people enjoy doing stuff outdoors (no WiFi)

Nearly half of Americans didn’t go outside to recreate in 2018. That has the outdoor industry worried.

For the glass-half-full crowd that makes up the outdoor industry, the results of the latest outdoor participation survey are sobering. Outdoor businesses need people to get outside, but almost half of Americans don’t venture outdoors to play. The steady decline in participation threatens not...

coloradosun.com

Not only is hunting dying out but so is my generation. I’ve had the chance to instill in my son who has been a life long hunter and he in his son and daughters a longing for hunting, fishing, conservation, and a general appreciation of the outdoors. It is more than hunting.

 

[SwampBone]

As far as hunter numbers dwindling in the Midwest what is unexpected about that outcome? Unlimited deer tags, prime farm land bought up or leased out for big money. As far as MN goes we also have one of the highest wolf populations in the US. Not to mention bears, bobcats, eagles, coyotes along with wolves affecting the fawn survival rate. The deer don’t stand a chance in this state. In wolf country you're lucky to see a deer in a week of dark to dark sits.

 

[BuckeyeRifleman]

You guys saying there are no public land opportunities in the east are full of crap, that's about the easiest I can put it

Are there public hunting opportunities in the east?

Sure there are. Including some damn good ones too.

But they are much fewer and farther between than in most of the west. There are a lot of areas in the east especially near large cities with no public hunting within a few hours drive. That’s at least far enough that hunting gets pushed out of the schedule with all the other things competing for our time these days. Those public areas that are available are often so crowded it’s exclusionary, because despite the fact there are less hunters, a larger percentage of whom are limited to public land due to fewer private landowners allowing hunting access.

You can dismiss access issues all you want, but the data backs up my point, lack of access is the number one people either quit hunting or never start hunting.

 

[Trial153]

Acess to land to hunt is the number one issue that I have heard conveyed as to why someone is nolonger hunting.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Agreed. Continual in increased competition for a limited resource has increased prices and restricted access which in turn diminishes opportunities for new hunters or those without the means. Supply and demand.

 

[Inkoosikas]

I really don’t think it’s “Dying out” in the past there were plenty of places I could go hunting without seeing a soul, now I am lucky to go 2 hours without running into someone or seeing or hearing someone. I don’t live in a very populated area or even an area that is growing in population. It just seems that more and more people are getting into it

 

[MOBE88]

Here in PA there isn’t near as many hunters as when I was a kid.