The Pandemic Effect, by onX Hunt

[alecvg]

Along those same lines, I see much more of an "In your Face" attitude among younger hunters, gotta wear the T-shirt with the pic of the big whitetail with blood dripping from the "whack 'em and stack 'em logo printed on it, hunting and gun stickers all over your truck with the big lug tires and lift kit to get you into those places that only you know about (or maybe just be the guy dumb enough to drive into) get everything you do on social media so everyone is aware of how hardcore your hunting abilities are than the other guy etc. None of which helps the image of the sport, but a mentality that has been created by televised commercial hunting meant to advertise products & latched onto by those that know no other source of information. It's not just the younger generation that buys into this mentality, I see plenty of old fat guys that attempt to fit into the "hardcore" mold too, with much of their hunting being from the truck window.

So then the question becomes who is the best representative for the sport & will be followed by younger hunters? For me when I was young it was the old guys that I was fascinated with, I still know hunters in their 70's, 80's and even a couple 90's that are hunting whitetails in late fall and living out of tents using open sighted classic guns etc. I think it's pretty awesome and they are still my heros. These days it seems like the younger generation views the "old" guys as the enemy to virtually everything they stand for not knowing how many of these gray haired hunters grew up meat hunting with one round in a single shot rifle, running a trapline, trained their own hunting dogs, and truly lived from the land out of necessity rather than hobby, life experience, or to gain "followers".

You have really a short period in the history of the human race where hunting went from a way of life for survival to "my friends gotta see this!".......that's alot of distance between the two extremes to try to get those group into agreement and understand each other in such a way that can keep the sport moving in a positive direction

While I don’t disagree with what your saying, or your sentiment; I don’t think the need for attention, decals, shirts etc is a new thing. I think there has always been a subset of young, and sometimes older hunters who are/act that way. I also think a lot of young hunters always have been/ are a little immature and grow out of that phase. Social media certainly seems to highlight it though.

 

[Coldtrail]

While I don’t disagree with what your saying, or your sentiment; I don’t think the need for attention, decals, shirts etc is a new thing. I think there has always been a subset of young, and sometimes older hunters who are/act that way. I also think a lot of young hunters always have been/ are a little immature and grow out of that phase. Social media certainly seems to highlight it though.

I'll agree with that, I should have clarified that I see the clothing, stickers etc being used in conjunction with a similar attitude being used in social media posting of harvested animals for a even greater "in you face" attitude. That being said, Ted Nugent has been doing it for years and there are politicians and outdoors groups that worship him....so I might be way off base?!.

Interesting observation on all this is the sound of crickets on this thread regarding the entire subject.

 

[Collins10jm]

Interesting article

 

[Rich M]

I sympathize with your last statement but also try to understand that some of us new hunters have no option except to learn from youtube and social media (including this forum). Of course that dependence doesn't give anyone an excuse to be disrespectful in the field.

You tube is not a good teacher for new hunters. Half the stuff on it is pure crap. Some is great hunting, yet a lot of video folks parrot ideas. I hardly watch it due to the bs.

In my limited western hunting i found that 40 years of eastern hunting gave an advantage in filling tags as the other guys tried to outrun eachother in stalking game. Why im saving points instead of “just hunting”. Want to do a more selectfully chosen diy and am done with the shit-show that folks call hunting these days.

I do feel for the newbies. It takes years to learn to hunt and a video is not gonna shorten that lead time.

 

[Buglady97]

Great article funded by onX Hunt. I’ve seen just about every topic in the article argued on this forum. Here’s the data to both support and disupute those debates:

https://www.onxmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2022/01/onX_Hunt_Research_Report-1.pdf

@Jordan Budd

It's disturbing to think of all the inexperienced hunters out there that may not be taking their safety seriously along with disrespect for property owners rights, regardless of what their "app" says.

 

[Forsythe]

I’ve enjoyed reading some different view points here and enjoy the respect displayed. I agree technology/gear/social has changed the game and made entry very easy. This is generally a good thing but has exacerbated the problems with access, pressure, poor ethics and opportunities to harvest. Is the silver lining that more people are engaged in the discussion of fixing the problems? These aren’t new problems. I hear Arizona has a state specific program for “hunter safety” and you can get a bonus/preference point for taking the class. Should more states incentivize ethics classes by making it a barrier to entry (I.e. require it, like hunters safety) or incentivize it (ie bonus/preference point to new hunters). I think required education/discourse would solve a lot of problems.

 

[Coldtrail]

I’ve enjoyed reading some different view points here and enjoy the respect displayed. I agree technology/gear/social has changed the game and made entry very easy. This is generally a good thing but has exacerbated the problems with access, pressure, poor ethics and opportunities to harvest. Is the silver lining that more people are engaged in the discussion of fixing the problems? These aren’t new problems. I hear Arizona has a state specific program for “hunter safety” and you can get a bonus/preference point for taking the class. Should more states incentivize ethics classes by making it a barrier to entry (I.e. require it, like hunters safety) or incentivize it (ie bonus/preference point to new hunters). I think required education/discourse would solve a lot of problems.

This is an interesting angle, look at organizations like Mountain Pursuit in Wyoming that believe that the non-resident is an inferior being. I'm all for some of their ethics awareness and obviously in some cases the sport could use some cleaning up and less reliance on technology as they appear to support. but to imply that by being a resident that you somehow possess greater skill and ethics than a non-resident......that's a pretty tall order. Maybe standards could be set that would create almost like a resume for being a "qualified non-resident" to hunt certain states? Things like; do you have any fish/game tickets, are you a hunter education instructor?, life experience? I don't know but I like the idea of a hunter being rewarded for leading a responsible hunting life along with a motivator for younger hunters to get involved in different activities to improve their "resume" to hunt another state and improve the sport at the same time.

It's tough to work through this, I have a long list of places that I never had to worry about competition, since technology took over I see people EVERYWHERE! some are good folks looking for more challenging opportunity, but others are on the other side leaving their $hit everywhere (literally) and being poor stewards of land they do not own. Young hunters beware......unless you plan to be independently wealthy and buy a nice piece of heaven, you will want to start working on this issue.

 

[richyrich408]

Awesome read!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[SopfCA]

Great article funded by onX Hunt. I’ve seen just about every topic in the article argued on this forum. Here’s the data to both support and disupute those debates:

https://www.onxmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2022/01/onX_Hunt_Research_Report-1.pdf

@Jordan Budd

Interesting article. Thanks

 

[robby denning]

Interesting article. Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Abolt2]

The increased pressure frankly has made some areas un huntable. First time in 32 years i witnessed two younger hunters trespass then argue with the landowner when caught. Then proceed to walk 25 yards passed me making more noise than a herd of elephants and all by 0630 on opening day. These guys appeared to be early 20s, so Gen Zers? Talking and staring at their phones the whole time they walked by me so don’t see how anyone involved (me, them, or the landowner) had a positive experience.

More numbers isn’t always a good thing guys. More “conservation money” is worthless when the QUALITY of the hunts erode. In some spots it’s just been terrible to the point i won’t hunt certain areas anymore and that’s after 3 decades afield. So how is that a positive to drive hunters looking for quality hunts away in favor of just packing public lands to the point no one is enjoying it much?

Sorry, i’m looking forward to things returning to how they were and new hunters taking to the field because they’re being mentored by hunters not Youtube, social media, and spurned on by boredom.

True! Good point.

 

[katdaddy2013]

Interesting read. I love wild game meat and that has been my motivation since 1980. Can't eat them horns

 

[BasinBuck]

Interesting read. I love wild game meat and that has been my motivation since 1980. Can't eat them horns

Same. I grew up hunting and only started again during the pandemic- mostly because my wife and I love deer meat and want consistent access to it. Now don't get me wrong, I love hunting and being outdoors in general, but if I didn't care for the meat I wouldn't be doing it.

 

[UCFJed]

Love to see data in hunting!

 

[Flatlander5]

I think that technology has given people a sense of security, maybe a false sense. I see people who are hunting because they want the meat, and I get it, I want it too. I think modern advancements in ultralight backpacking gear has made it easier to get in the back country but I find those newbies checking out long before the season is over. If you can't embrace the suck of the hunt you're gonna fail, no matter how good your equipment is.

Also, I think social media personalities with huge followings give people a false sense of reality. Granted, lots of these guys and gals were grinding it out long before social media was a thing. I think now when they have a following and lots of non-hunters who are thinking about getting into it, they're seeing them harvest multiple bucks and bulls over a season and are thinking wow I can do that! They aren't realizing that these socialites they follow are hunting large tracts of private land with animals that haven't seen but a few if any hunters. They are working with guides whose job is to know where the animals are. So these new hunters are going into a Colorado OTC hunt with a real warped sense of reality.

I don't think this will be sustained and I foresee point creep pumping the brakes in a couple years.

 

[huntincoues]

Interesting read.