doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Not hunting anymore you say?

I have appreciated this thread; both the humor and the insight.
Here in Alberta we have millions of acres of Provincially owned land open to hunting - yet our hunting fraternity has shrunk in size year by year and the age of the hunters has increased year by year. Access to private land upon request is often but not always granted. We have an abundance and diversity of wildlife, liberal seasons, ready access for most and generous bag limits. The quality of hunting is 'superb'. Today our Provincial Government has announced "Provincial Hunting Day" to be celebrated annualy on September 22nd. I have not yet heard of any negative response although it is expected. I applaud our Government for taking such action. Hunting is an inherent component of my life. I would be much poorer if I was by health, circumstance or legislation deprived of participating. Promotion of the activity as healthy, wholesome and proper we will gain better public acceptance however we are ill prepared to answer the criticism of the antis who tend to be more articulate and frankly desparately committed to the cause of abolishing hunting as a recreational activity. In general we need to better prepare our response. Still this is a GOOD day in Alberta one of diamonds and not stones.

I too share the concern about drop in hunter numbers, although around here you would never know- you can stand in line for 15 minutes to buy a hunting license. But, this is Texas, and like the commercial says, we are a "whole other country"...

If the antis can turn hunting into a "rich mans sport", then we lose the end game. How to fight?

1) make sure there is access to good quality, huntable land for all who wish to participate. Either public land, or private land leased by the state. This require legislation, lobbying, letter writing.

2) raise kids who think "out door sports" when recreation opportunities do crop up. Hunting fishing shooting. This can be hard, although I must say my oldest daughter is more concerned about "gun fit" than she is "prom dress" fit. I hope to keep it that way.

3) encourage and educate kids about hunting and the outdoors- perhaps through school curricula. If they dont become huinters, at least they wont swallow hook line and sinker the anti shibboleth "hunting is bad".

A few ideas - not exhaustive.

Regards

GKT

I believe the loss of hunters (and fishermen) is a combination of all the above factors. But a factor I didn't consider is in this rather amazing USFWS demographic study of intiating kids into hunting and fishing. The study includes the reasons for dropping out of hunting/fishing after initiation.

The top reason cited for dropping out is lack of time. Anybody with kids will understand.

http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2001_recruitment.pdf
note - the above link is rather big PDF file.

Today's endless procession of organized children's activities is very different from when we grew up. How many of your kids leave the house with a baseball mitt on their bicycle hoping to find a pcikup game at the local field, and say "I'll be back before dinner". Darn few.
In this day of organized everything, we need to "organize" the hunting/shooting trips with the same fascist fervor of the Soccer Schedulers.

However, the kids are becoming armchair hunters. How many kids hunt on the internet? Play hunting games?

I agree with Mr. Tag. The hunting minority is also the ageing baby boomers. We need to recruit our kids into hunting, fishing, and trapping. Trade in the kid's I-pod and video games for a shotgun and fishing rod, and get them off the couch and outside instead of heading for a life of obesity, diabetes, and an early death. No one can effectively speak for conservation and traditions from their armchair.

Opportunity is also key to the future of hunting. Lots of people don't hunt anymore because it is getting harder to get access. A lot of this is due to changing attitudes about hunting, landowner liability, and bad behavior by a few hunters who ruin it for eveyone else. We as hunters, need to be courteous to landowners (even if you are a local and never felt you had to ask, ask the landowners anyways). We also need to be organized and join a local fish and game club or national organization.

Lastly, your state fish and game departments and federal agencies are experiencing a lot of turnover in the ranks as the older biologists are retiring. In many instances, those positions are being cut due to losses in license sales or are being filled by conservation biologists, not fish and game biologists. What's the difference? Conservation biologists care more about ecological issues and less about land management and wildlife habitat that help support our fish and game populations. Their philosophy is more in line with The Nature Conservancy rather than habitat management. Where is this coming from? The Nature Conservancy for sure, but it's also coming from our state universities and colleges who are abandoning fish and wildlife curriculum and starting up degree programs in conservation biology. These programs are attractive to students who have never hunted or fished in their lives,and may even have a philosophical or ethical problem with these activities. Wanna rub some salt in that wound? As more and more positions in state and federal management agencies are filled with these people, guess who is paying for their salaries? You. That's right - your license dollars, duck stamp, and habitat stamp dollars are paying the salaries for people who have no intention of managing habitat. Therefore, get more involved with these agencies and demand some accountability on habitat management programs. It's your money.

My wife and I run a B&B for bird hunters here in NW Kansas. There are thousands of acres to hunt on at no fee, but we still see a decline in hunters. I have had cancellations for this season, reason given, Cost of getting here. With fuel prices so high and going higher, a lot of folks either cant afford it,or just balk at feeding the bloated oil company profits. I feel fortunate that I can walk out the door, and hunt quail pheasants and prairie chickens. huntersbb.com

I wouldn't worry too much, as hunting and collecting tends to be a older chaps chase. In my teens I shot/hunted, then came college, marriage, jobs, children and a whole host of other things.
No time then, nor money for the finer pursuits - until now!

Lowell
Same lifestyle, except I did't amass enuf $$$ to buy to buy the farm (so to speak), so I retired to far northern Wi where there is plenty of land to hunt. Only problem being, it is too rugged for my worn out body. Not like the more pastoral areas I hunted as a child.
Mike B.

It looks like a wave of anti-hunting propaganda (AHP for short) has a delayed effect, hitting hardest about 20 years since it was launched. Yet, after a while, it stops being "news", and is bring gradually dropped.

As it happens, however, a curious counter-effect takes place. Before AHP, hunting was percieved by the public as norm, during AHP non-hunting is perceived as something new and juicing, a sort of revolutionary thinking, a fashion, attractive for the newness sake alone.

After AHP, when passions have settled, non-hunting is the norm in the general public's eye. This, however, makes hunting attractive again, hunting means defying the norm, just as non-hunting used to be. As a result, there are grounds for another rise in interest towards hunting.

I say "grounds" because I believe a surge to hunt is a genetic thing, it might be enhanced or suppressed by social/cultural beliefs (myths perhaps is a better word), but initially you either have it or haven't. And if it's inside, it will find its way out, sooner or later.

Here's an example. When I was starting to hunt, about 1990, I didn't know anyone my age that hunted. Even kids from families with longtime hunting traditions were mostly interested in the miraculous new entertainments like VCRs. This possibly resulted from the AHP wave, which started in the early 70s, and was possibly worse tan in the rest of the world, because it was the governments's policy, and with zero free press the pro-hunting groups hadn't a chance to voice their opinion.

At that time it looked like hunting would be dead in a decade or so. But the decade passed, and we witnessed a resurgence of interest towards hunting. Each year more and more kids and middle-aged guys are saying "I'm not sure I'm gonna like hunting, but I sure wanna try!". At least, that's what I see. And, anti-hunting bits have long since made the national news. But a very positive coverage of President Putin's hunting trip just did.

I hope that the ill-structered and incoherent text above will serve as proof that hunting will come pon top again, some day.