Future of Hunting Isn't Looking Too Good

[J.Baker]

Shared this on our Facebook page the other day, but thought I'd share it here as well for those who don't use the Face Book.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/why-we-are-losing-hunters-and-how-to-fix-it

[Sled]

Interesting article, but also one that glosses over the fact that pure and simply put, there is less opportunity to hunt because places to hunt are getting scarce. You have private landowners that either do not allow hunting, or have figured out they can make a buck by leasing hunting rights (as is their right), and that puts everyone else who can't pay for a lease or own land on public lands, which are crowded. IMHO, it's accessibility to hunting grounds that is the major factor, and I'm not sure how to fix that.

[scootergisme]

Some family members and I used to least 5,000 acres in central Oklahoma. Deer and turkey everywhere. When the land owner passed away, his son raised the price so high that we could afford it. My brother-in-law and I used to lease 640 acres a couple of miles from my house. Again, when the land owner passed away the price went from $500 a year to $4,000 a year. We paid the $4,000 a year for a couple of years and then he realized that he could get more. Since we lost the leases, I am now just a fisherman who still likes to shoot.

[Wayne Nixon]

Also here in Arkansas most of the Timber Companies and some private land owners require you to purchase insurance, this is expense on top of what you are paying to lease. Everything keeps getting higher!!

[yobuck]

Also here in Arkansas most of the Timber Companies and some private land owners require you to purchase insurance, this is expense on top of what you are paying to lease. Everything keeps getting higher!!
Much of that can be attributed to all the billboards along the highways.
"Injured? call Michael Cohen." lol
Everybody has a story, and for sure those who own the land have plenty of them also.
It's not just the hunting folks, I mean just where is little Joey supposed to ride his dirt bike when all the farms have houses on them?
Or how about this one.
Hey, my buddies and me got 12 four wheelers, and it's gettin so we got no place to go on weekends to run them.
How many of us today think a fun time at the local range or shooting spot is when you and your bud's can burn 1000 rounds and watch stuff fall over or blow up?
Fifty years ago we had hunters, lots of them, but little by little it became much more than just hunters.

[Robinhood]

I'm not sure of what your trying to say Buck but I agree.

[wbm]

I know exactly what you are trying to say yobuck and I agree.

[Bigbuckdn]

Heck it not just hunting it’s hunting, fishing outdoor life in general
Its not just loss of land and loss of interest it is a loss of a way of life
So many hunters that I know in their 30’s and even 40’s look at me like I have 5 heads when I talk about going to camp staying there for a week or 10 days things like that. Experiences that you remember for ever, going on hunts and having a great time yet not getting a deer
T.V. Hunters have everyone convinced to just step out and kill a deer and that is what it’s all about.
An entire way of life is dying, heritage loss
Trophy Hunting is winning the battle followed by the loss we speak of and the overal death of hunting

[Sled]

Heck it not just hunting it’s hunting, fishing outdoor life in general
Its not just loss of land and loss of interest it is a loss of a way of life
So many hunters that I know in their 30’s and even 40’s look at me like I have 5 heads when I talk about going to camp staying there for a week or 10 days things like that. Experiences that you remember for ever, going on hunts and having a great time yet not getting a deer
T.V. Hunters have everyone convinced to just step out and kill a deer and that is what it’s all about.
An entire way of life is dying, heritage loss
Trophy Hunting is winning the battle followed by the loss we speak of and the overal death of hunting

I've had some really great times in my life, but of all the different things there's not much more fun than deer camp. The comradery, the poker, the stories, the coffee and cooking outdoors in Dutch Ovens.... oh yeah, and the hunting. I miss it, but haven't been in years.

[yobuck]

Heck it not just hunting it’s hunting, fishing outdoor life in general
Its not just loss of land and loss of interest it is a loss of a way of life
So many hunters that I know in their 30’s and even 40’s look at me like I have 5 heads when I talk about going to camp staying there for a week or 10 days things like that. Experiences that you remember for ever, going on hunts and having a great time yet not getting a deer
T.V. Hunters have everyone convinced to just step out and kill a deer and that is what it’s all about.
An entire way of life is dying, heritage loss
Trophy Hunting is winning the battle followed by the loss we speak of and the overal death of hunting
Well 50 years ago we didn't have shows like that on TV. We didn't have facebook or youtube either, and everybody wanting 15 minits of fame.
Mind you there are some good things to be learned also, but most often it's just the watch me be an expert type stuff.
Videos can easily be edited to present about what ever the poster wants you to see, and not see.
Hunting especially, isn't always a pretty thing to witness, and in many cases listen to as well as it takes place.
But that all aside, there are many places where nothing has changed but the desire and attitude of people toward hunting.
When I was young, we had a camp within about ten miles of where the present one is located. In the early 50s, the corrupt elected officials of that time, decided that 300 + hunting camps and a few homes in the most isolated area of the state didn't count for much.
So they confiscated them and gave the land to a private corporation to develop nuclear powered jet engines. Of coarse nobody knew about the nuclear part until the whole thing went bust about 6 years later. No doubt due to the graft demands of the polititions.
Anyway, now what to do with 50.000 acres of land, vacant land now that all the camps were gone. So it became what is now known as the Quehanna Wilderness Area. Day use only, and surrounded on all sides with many many more acres of public owned land and Game Commission owned land. Only problem is there are no longer enough hunters to fill very many of the once many camps that existed there. And as for deer, since I was there both then and now, yes there are less as for numbers, but fact is there were far too many back then. But as for quality, it has never been better in my lifetime. There isn't a doubt in my mind that a willing and able hunter could kill a nice buck every year, so long as the weather cooperated in a week of hunting. But we for the most part no longer have many hunters, what we have is a bunch of *****ers who complain about no Sunday hunting and ARs not being legal. Well we didn't have that back when those 300 camps existed either, and It took over 8 hours to get there then from places like Philly.

[Travis98146]

I can relate to all of the above. I started hunting in an area in 1964 and watched the number of hunters increase exponentially. Over the years the deer population decreased. The type of "hunter" changed also. When I started, it was mostly still-hunting, now there are a few "hunters" and a whole lot of "road hunters" (even though it's illegal) and "jack-lighters". The timber company changed things by cutting and re-planting but started charging a permit price to use their land. I bought my last license 3 years ago and hung up my rifles. It hurt to do so as I'd lived the hunting heritage for over 50 years and I still miss every bit of it. I have an adult daughter who hunted with me and an adult grandson who would like to learn to hunt but I taught her and probably won't be able to teach him for lack of location. My daughter and I still sit and remember the days of our hunts. I have a post in Off Topic about "Can't turn back the clock".

[Bigbuckdn]

I've had some really great times in my life, but of all the different things there's not much more fun than deer camp. The comradery, the poker, the stories, the coffee and cooking outdoors in Dutch Ovens.... oh yeah, and the hunting. I miss it, but haven't been in years.
Those were the best of times

[ragsflh]

ok and texas.its all about greed.used to have lots of fishing place till lawyers,drs find out.pay big lease amounts that no one else can pay.glad we have lots of lakes.same as hunting.same guy cant pay big leases.

[scootergisme]

ok and texas.its all about greed.used to have lots of fishing place till lawyers,drs find out.pay big lease amounts that no one else can pay.glad we have lots of lakes.same as hunting.same guy cant pay big leases.
Amen!

[gbflyer]

I was in the guided fishing business for several years. Most of my customers were also hunters. I agree that the classic outdoorsman/outdoorswoman is aging out as the article states. I believe there are plenty of new outdoors type people who would love to go hunting and fishing. And they would be good allies. Most have plenty of money. The problem is that they just don’t have time, the catch today when the “plenty of money” statement is thrown out there. People are obsessed with their bank book and retirement accounts these days. Hope there is something left for them to do when they retire with their millions.

[Travis98146]

There will be, Flyer. They can subscribe to the Outdoor channel and say "I could have done that".

[Charleslv]

OK I volunteer as a hunter safety instructor and have encouraged many kids to go hunting but the truth is we are completing against every sports league, PSAT, SAT test during the first weeks of October and online entertainment. Not to mention if the parent don't hunt the kids don't. What is sad in the last few years my classes have been mostly men over 35 getting into hunting for the first time. And that is the rub. They have no idea on how to hunt out west SO they go out and fail and find they came extremely unprepared its usually one and done.

Now I mentor some hunters each year. SO far this year I have skinned and packed out 4 deer 5 elk in 4 western states on the weekends about half came as a call ok I went where you said and now I have this animal on the ground and have no idea what do.

We need to teach the complete skill of hunting but not sure how we would do it if no one is mentoring new hunters.

So if you hunt and don't mentor new hunters maybe you may part of the problem. Just a thought.

The funniest was a guy I encouraged to go hunting drew Elk tags. He asked me some good spots and ya hew was successful. However when I got out there I found out he shot the elk 5 miles in a wilderness area (No big deal right) except all he had was a pocket knife and one of those nice little light weight tactical Camel backs and some MTN Ops. WHat he did not have is quality knife for process the game, a real backpack for game hauling, game bags for the meat. So me and two friends and few lamas showed up in about 6 hours and got his elk out but I hear stories like this all the time and this could end a new hunters experience.


OK I am done rambling.

[Robinhood]

Good stuff Charles

[J.Baker]

OK I volunteer as a hunter safety instructor and have encouraged many kids to go hunting but the truth is we are completing against every sports league, PSAT, SAT test during the first weeks of October and online entertainment. Not to mention if the parent don't hunt the kids don't. What is sad in the last few years my classes have been mostly men over 35 getting into hunting for the first time. And that is the rub. They have no idea on how to hunt out west SO they go out and fail and find they came extremely unprepared its usually one and done.

Now I mentor some hunters each year. SO far this year I have skinned and packed out 4 deer 5 elk in 4 western states on the weekends about half came as a call ok I went where you said and now I have this animal on the ground and have no idea what do.

We need to teach the complete skill of hunting but not sure how we would do it if no one is mentoring new hunters.

So if you hunt and don't mentor new hunters maybe you may part of the problem. Just a thought.

The funniest was a guy I encouraged to go hunting drew Elk tags. He asked me some good spots and ya hew was successful. However when I got out there I found out he shot the elk 5 miles in a wilderness area (No big deal right) except all he had was a pocket knife and one of those nice little light weight tactical Camel backs and some MTN Ops. WHat he did not have is quality knife for process the game, a real backpack for game hauling, game bags for the meat. So me and two friends and few lamas showed up in about 6 hours and got his elk out but I hear stories like this all the time and this could end a new hunters experience.


OK I am done rambling.

Now we all know who to call now if we put down an elk or mule deer in Nevada and want help packing it out. :p

I've seen some of the same thing here in the Buckeye state, though minus the being out in the middle of nowhere and our game's a bit smaller than elk. Few years back I had a guy wave me down while I was driving down the road (still had my orange vest on) and ask me to help him field dress his deer because he had never done it before. Last year I saw a guy at the old check station/carry-out with a gut shot deer in the bed of his truck that hadn't been field dressed. Would have loved to have seen the look on the meat processors face when that guy showed up at his door with that mess.