Why are hunting numbers down so low?

[jcabin]

I was looking through my annual digest the other day and was shocked at how low the numbers have dropped off since 1990.

For example, woodchuck hunting has gone down, from 1990, 1,299,647 hunters to 123,204, in 2007-08

Crows down from 355,492 in 1990 to 39,579 in 2007-08.

For some reason the digest is only listing small game numbers and not big game, but you can see the trend.

What factors are making people stop hunting?

[Poonie]

Many things are causing hunter numbers to drop off; Lack of huntable lands due to posting and development, the economy, The cost of licenses and then the seeming lack of game, parents who are not introducing their children to the sport because they themselves weren't introduced to it, kids just not getting into hunting because their time is occupied by other interests(ie- sports, video games, no mentors, etc). The list goes on......

[LisaA]

Many things are causing hunter numbers to drop off; Lack of huntable lands due to posting and development, the economy, The cost of licenses and then the seeming lack of game, parents who are not introducing their children to the sport because they themselves weren't introduced to it, kids just not getting into hunting because their time is occupied by other interests(ie- sports, video games, no mentors, etc). The list goes on......

Bold mine. Every time I go to my favorite gun shop and see parents with their children, I smile. We need more parents to show an interest in their children, rather than putting them in front of computers or TVs.

[Kaos]

Bold mine. Every time I go to my favorite gun shop and see parents with their children, I smile. We need more parents to show an interest in their children, rather than putting them in front of computers or TVs.

For me it's part economy. I don't have the cash to go buy another rifle/shotgun that is 'OK' for hunting in PA. I've never hunted before and would do it, but if I cant do it with the guns I have...I'll pass.

[jaron3]

I think that another reason is that pretty much from birth it's pounded into kids heads that guns are bad and that they should never touch them. They kill people. That puts fear into them about guns. It is so much easier to instill fear into children than it is respect.

In some cases one or even both parents hunt and never expose their children to it. Maybe it's a social thing? They don't want the kids to go to school and tell their friends that mom and dad kill Bambi and Thumper.

My daughter is fascinated with wildlife and I assume that my son will be too when he gets older. I think that's step one. After that it becomes a personal thing for the kids to decide. But they will be exposed to both shooting and hunting. I refuse to push my kids. I've seen too many kids (when I was a kid) pushed so hard that they simply stopped enjoying the sport they were in. I was always told that when it stopped being fun it was time to switch. Switch either to something else or the way things are being done.

My way of thinking may not be the best way. Every parent is different and they raise their kids their own way. This is just my 2 cents.

[Dredly]

Here are my thoughts:

1. Rifle season is very short at 2 weeks and no sunday hunting means most people either have to use vacation or they get 2 days in the woods... not nearly enough time

2. No hunting land left that isn't public

3. Army of orange pressure on land makes hunting uncomfortable for most... I would rather sit home then attempt to be in the woods with the army of orange

4. Its expensive to hunt and if you don't butcher your own it isn't really economical to hunt vs buying hamburger in the store

[wis bang]

Most of the places I small game hunted are now filled w/ McMansions.

I took up Turkey hunting in the spring to get more use put of my license than just deer.

[God's Country]

Most people are just not involved with outdoor recreation these days unless it involves wheels and gas. And those that enjoy hiking, skiing and such largely have no interest in hunting.

The current hunting population is dwindling. They're old. Younger people, even those that have grown up around hunting, just have no interest in it.
My neighbor has two sons and neither one hunts. He introduced both and neither picked it up.

Those of us that still hunt are losing our friends that hunt. Licenses are expensive, time is at a premium, the herd is smallest in the rural areas and largest where there is no land to hunt.

I happen to enjoy just being outdoors.
Sitting in a tree stand during a nice autumn morning up some mt. hollow seeing any wildlife just doing what they do is as much fun as bagging a nice buck.

Last year near the last couple days of bow it was sunny and warmish and a small black bear sat down about 30 yards away ate his fill of black cherries, and past out in the warm sun for an hour. How many people have ever experienced that?

Fun is where you find it. Today fun is playing video games, and twittering (whatever that is).

Sadly I see no way to reverse the trend. Even if hunting opportunities were like they were 40-50 years ago it means nothing if people choose to spend their time and money on different priorities. Look at how many people are on this forum and own many guns, but have no interest in hunting. If you can’t get gun enthusiasts to hunt than IMO it’s a lost cause. Times change.

[Brown-Bear]

I hunt becuse the last 4 generations of Williar men have been hunters as are my brothers and I. Numbers are low now becuase ours is the last generation that knows what to do when the cable goes out, or how to get by w/o the internet, or that the rain will not cause pneumonia, nature is not dirty, the woods are a great place to play. Our generation is the last one that knows how to entertain themselves without electricity.

I certainly try to teach my daughter these things and I hope she will pass this to her children as well. But who knows.

[MontCo Alex]

3. Army of orange pressure on land makes hunting uncomfortable for most... I would rather sit home then attempt to be in the woods with the army of orange

I saw this a few times...WTF is the "army of orange" or "orange army"...google was no help

Personally, I have been interesting in hunting but never got around to it. I'm from the suburbs (exurbs really) and none of my family or friends hunts.

I started too look into it about a year ago, but learned it was really complicated. There are tons of seasons that overlap with different rules, it's sort of ridiculous and I'm sure people make mistakes all the time.

I would love to just pick off a rabbit in my backyard with a .22, cook it up and have a nice dinner, but it doesn't seem this is legal. (it would be safe, there are no other houses behind my house, just woods and fields. In fact someone owns the woods there and hunts deer there.)

It just seems like a lot of trouble to get into. Embarrassing safety classes with little kids, buying a rifle that's legal, then learning how to find/stalk an animal while hundreds of others are doing the same thing in a short window. If you find and kill one, you have to learn how to field strip it, and transport it home (I don't think I could get a deer into my Audi A4 lol).

Oh and make sure you don't do anything wrong, because if you break the rules twice even accidentally, now it's a 1st degree misdemeanor and you can no longer own firearms (that legislation passed right?).

If it was like the good old days where you could just walk outside one afternoon and come home with dinner that would be fine. But there is so much planning and time involved I'm not surprised license sales are down. But we also shouldn't just look at license numbers...there are tons of people who hunt on their own land without licenses, even though it's illegal (it is right?).

The rule changes people propose seem like good ideas. Expanding the seasons and allowing Sunday hunting would be great. The semi-auto thing is sort of politically toxic. If you allow it, and then someone get hurt it's going to look bad. I'm pretty sure that most of the states that allow semi-auto always allowed it, and didn't change it back from being banned.

Maybe I'll get into it if I meet someone who's into it. But on my own, its too complicated without some rule changes.

-Alex