Sociology and numbers of hunters

[jayhawk]

I was doing some research the other day while thinking about hunting (happens a lot), and thought about one of the possible leading causes of declining hunter numbers.

In the US, 25% of children under 18 live in single parent homes (pew research). Out of that 25%, the great majority are single mothers, and this statistic has been steadily increasing since the mid-20th century. Like many of us, my dad was the one that got me into the outdoors.

Any thoughts on how single mom households might be impacting hunter numbers?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Any thoughts on how single mom households might be impacting hunter numbers?

I was raised by my mom and she taught me how to hunt, put me in hunters safety class ect, she was an avid meat hunter due to our low income level. She was raised hunting in a very poor household and they hunted to provide, not for sport at all. She's no longer poor and no longer hunts but she's a significant reason why I am who I am today.

Single moms aren't all a bunch of meth'd out trailer whores, some of them are amazing people.

 

[Dos Perros]

I don't think it's any mystery what is going on. Read the deer hunter survey comments and see what you think.

Deer

The official website of the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks

ksoutdoors.com

 

[Hippie Steve]

I believe hunting/gathering in general has declined with the hyper consumerism and the availability of different food we have in this country. If people had less food options and understood clean meat, wildlife management, civilization and the process of sustainability, we would have more participation.

 

[Idaho_Potato]

No ill will towards anyone or single mothers, that’s a hardship I don’t wish on others. But we don’t need more hunters. We need fewer. Just take a look at the Idaho Tag sale thread going on right now. The RESIDENTS of Idaho struggle to get a tag to hunt elk in their own state. We need fewer hunters.

 

[*zap*]

The destruction of the nuclear family is hurting more than hunter numbers and is a real and present danger to our society.

 

[MuleyFever]

I would still think that a lot of those kids that have a dad that hunts will still hunt with their dad. My parents were divorced and I lived with my mom. My time with my dad in the fall was often spend hunting. If they dont have a dad that hunts they probably weren't getting into hunting either way. Kids living with their mom may also be more likely to get invited to hunt with friends or neighbors as those people may take pity on the kid without a father around. Who knows. There are so many factors that go into this kind of stuff.

 

[displacedtexan]

I'd think negligible.

Granted, it's anecdotal, but... I know significantly more people who used to hunt, than I do kids in single parent households.

And even if they have a single parent that's their mom, that doesn't mean they're devoid of male influences.

 

[displacedtexan]

The destruction of the nuclear family is hurting more than hunter numbers and is a real and present danger to our society.

No regrets over choosing my wife's health and well-being over the idea of a "normal family" from an era with plenty of issues of it's own.

And I've taken significantly more kids hunting than the average nuclear family has.

 

[*zap*]

I was really not referring to the choice of a wife's well being over childbirth.

 

[displacedtexan]

Demographic wise, we're part of it though.

People don't know why.

We regularly get people assuming we don't have kids so we have money and freedom.

EDIT- No offense intended.

 

[Boarmaster]

My grandfather travelled out west from Ohio many times to hunt muleys and antelope. Both my cuzin and I hunt. We may have got the bug from our grandfather. Neither of our fathers ever hunted big game. We never hunted with our grandfather either. I did take my dad later (in his life) on a few deer hunts and he killed some deer but never was a big hunter. Our grandmother would take us fishing. She loved the outdoors. So maybe we would be hunters regardless. Hard to say.

 

[Boarmaster]

I believe hunting/gathering in general has declined with the hyper consumerism and the availability of different food we have in this country. If people had less food options and understood clean meat, wildlife management, civilization and the process of sustainability, we would have more participation.

Heck people dont even hunt and gather at the grocery store these days. Business is booming for Door Dash delivery service. Too lazy to go out to dinner let alone hunt for food , process and cook it. LOL.

 

[Marble]

I think the premise of the first post probably has some validity. There are many more men hunting than women. And a large portion of the women that hunt do so because of their husband.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Desk Jockey]

there is probably something to the idea of a kid raised solely by a mom being less likely to hunt among other things. I have heard that it is primarily patrilineal (handed down by father) but that is probably a reflection of the gender bias of previous generations at some level.

FWIW, my ~400 person rod and gun club is 95% men, with a fairly significant age bias too. At ~50ish I am one of the “younger“ guys when I attend meetings. Also, my local USPSA and steel challenge matches are probably +80% male on any given month. We get about 50-60 shooters with 6-7 women that attend. The vast majority of them were introduced to shooting by their husband or boyfriend and attend with them.

if I am being honest, the hunting camps I attended as a kid - west Texas deer camps and Louisiana duck hunts with my dad and a bunch of redneck oilfield bubbas - and even the trips I take now - pheasant in Kansas and mountain hunting out west - are probably not super appealing to most women I know.

 

[ChrisA]

I don't think it's any mystery what is going on. Read the deer hunter survey comments and see what you think.

Deer

The official website of the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks

ksoutdoors.com

I read several comments but couldn't put together anything conclusive, what's your thought on whats going on?

 

[roadrunner]

The destruction of the nuclear family is hurting more than hunter numbers and is a real and present danger to our society.

Agree. There are bigger problems than just how single parent (moms) household's are affecting hunting.

 

[Dos Perros]

I read several comments but couldn't put together anything conclusive, what's your thought on whats going on?

One time for the kicks I read like 12 pages worth. There are some trends for sure. And the one that pops out to me the most is loss of access. Folks lose access to private they've hunted for a long time (for a variety of reasons), and then they hunt the public and it sucks, and they quit. I suppose the last part is an extrapolation since the survey only included active hunters.

Anecdotally I know lots of folks that "used to" hunt, but don't. Good split between too busy with kids and lost access to their private.

 

[roadrunner]

No regrets over choosing my wife's health and well-being over the idea of a "normal family" from an era with plenty of issues of it's own.

And I've taken significantly more kids hunting than the average nuclear family has.

Demographic wise, we're part of it though.

People don't know why.

We regularly get people assuming we don't have kids so we have money and freedom.

EDIT- No offense intended.

That's NOT what is referred to as a nuclear family. Traditional roles, responsibilities, and accountability of male and female in the family role to raise and teach kids correct principles, whether they're yours or someone else's...

 

[displacedtexan]

That's NOT what is referred to as a nuclear family. Traditional roles, responsibilities, and accountability of male and female in the family role to raise and teach kids correct principles, whether they're yours or someone else's...

Helping someone else's kids is NOT a nuclear family.

We're DINKs, not exactly by choice.