Is hunting a dying pass time?

[4thdimension]

It isn't a pass time for me. It is a way of life. I grew up around hunters. Opening day of deer was more important than Christmas. Every hunter I spoke to in Pike and Monroe Co. agreed that there were hardly any hunters out today. Even state game lands were deserted. What gives? My only thought is that hunting has been lost on the "next generation." Sure there is more woods and game for me but it's a shame to see hunting dying off.

[God's Country]

In Pa it's been dying since the 80's.
The weather is really looking poor this week, so considering most people travel to hunt, that probably isn't helping.

Try and mentor a hunter. We need to do more if we want to save the sport.

ETA:
The PGC hasn't helped much. They are stuck in the 50's with their Fudd mindset. Pa always seems to be the last to change on all fronts. Our firearm season nèeds to change. It no longer acomodates the lifestyle of many would be hunters.

[ar15jules]

I am mentoring a late 30s new hunter this year as well as my 14 year old daughter. Doing what I can to keep it alive.

[Emptymag]

[bogey1]

Yes it is , and I'm part of the reason.

[4thdimension]

In all seriousness I am heart broken to see how things have changed. I need to get involved. People can learn a lot about life hunting. Someone needs to get the kids away from video games.

[wanneroo]

Dunno I heard about 30 shots from all directions today. Seems busy up here.

[Pilot321]

Living in Colorado spoiled me I guess. I grew up deer, small game, and bird hunting in PA. Pheasants were plentiful, and bucks were there to be had. I haven't hunted in PA in several years, but the last times I did, I saw nothing for days on end. Yes, it was still nice to take my gun for a walk. There is something truly American about walking in the woods with a gun. It is a free feeling, like no other. We have to get kids out of their devices, and into the woods where they belong.

[SevenMilePete]

It isn't a pass time for me. It is a way of life. I grew up around hunters. Opening day of deer was more important than Christmas. Every hunter I spoke to in Pike and Monroe Co. agreed that there were hardly any hunters out today. Even state game lands were deserted. What gives? My only thought is that hunting has been lost on the "next generation." Sure there is more woods and game for me but it's a shame to see hunting dying off.

There sure were a lot of fishermen out today. Fifteen years ago, I would be the only one on the creeks around Erie on first day. There were many cars at every location I stopped today to fish for steelhead near Erie.

[free]

It isn't a pass time for me. It is a way of life. I grew up around hunters. Opening day of deer was more important than Christmas. Every hunter I spoke to in Pike and Monroe Co. agreed that there were hardly any hunters out today. Even state game lands were deserted. What gives? My only thought is that hunting has been lost on the "next generation." Sure there is more woods and game for me but it's a shame to see hunting dying off.

My dad is into hunting. Tried to get us interested in hunting. Here is how our hunting days always went:

Wake up way early in the morning, typically 3 or 4 am or some shit. Drag ass out of the house, one eye open, in the dark, in the cold, and make some long ass drive out to the middle of nowhere (typically sleeping along the way). Get wherever the hell we were going around sunrise and spend the next 30 minutes or so getting our shit together, as I wondered why my sister never had to do this crap, instead getting to sleep in a nice warm bed until whenever Her Highness decided to get up and watch cartoons. Then spend the next several hours wandering around in the woods, seemingly lost and bored witless, all while having to do my utmost to keep from making any noises that would scare away whatever poor bastards we were supposed to shoot, be they deer, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits or otherwise, despite the fact that they always seemed to have advance notice of our arrival and having already executed their evacuation plans.

After five or six hours of walking around and never seeing a god damned thing I was supposed to kill, we ended up back at the car - tired, hungry and wishing that we had encountered a bear that saw us before we saw it. Then spend the next few hours in a smoke filled car, with dad's window down an inch but not being permitted the luxury of getting any fresh air of my own because another window down would "create a cross breeze" that dad found objectionable for some reason. Finally, arriving home between 2 and 4pm and not having eaten anything all fucking day, my hunger abated due to general fatigue and sleepiness, just going to bed for the rest of the day, hoping to never have to repeat the experience.

Yeah...I can see why today's kids are not signing up for that, given any choice in the matter.

P.s: similar story for fishing