Decrease in Number of Hunters

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

You guys have done an excellent job of hitting the nails on the heads. In a study I did when working for NSSF, I and my research partner Paul Erhardt identified the "mega-trends" leading to the decline of hunting:

 

1) Suburbanization/urbanization

2) increased competition for declining leisure time

3) Liability issues

 

#3 requires a bit of explanation...private land gets posted because of legitimate fears of lawsuits. I bought 35 acres a while back and my lawyer made a compelling case to post it, which I did. bTW, miscreants tore down the signs and removed fences to access the property. Sigh.

 

Wolf Bane

SASS13557

 

 

I have the sense that alot of this depends on where you are. I live within 30 miles of Boston, but there are huntable public lands within an hours' drive of my house, and huntable farms within walking distance (if I could just get permission from some farmers). We have a booming deer population, and "suburban hunters" (mainly bow hunters) are in demand for reducing deer populations in suburban areas. There is no doubt that hunting as a recreational activity has fallen off; here, there is a fair amount of social distaste for gun sports, legal restrictions on gun ownership and use, and encroaching development. We have no rifle season, with hunters limited to bow, shotgun and primitive weapon (muzzleloader) seasons. My biggest problem has been trying to find someone to teach me where and how to hunt; like earlier posters, I came to gun sports later in life, and have no mentors in my family or among friends. This is tough to pick up on your own. Maybe the NRA needs a "Take an old Fart Hunting" program.... Funny how many of us seem to think we need to go elsewhere to hunt; I saw an earlier post about "no deer" in GA, yet I went to GA to take my first deer 3 years ago. The grass is always greener, I guess.

 

As for Wolf Bane's 3rd point...MA (and several other states) has a recreational liability statute - if a landowner allows the public to use his land for recreation without charge, he is immune from liability, unless he acts willfully, wantonly or recklessly. Such a law might help open up some more land in states without this protection.

 

 

LL

[Ghost, SASS #50125]

As for Wolf Bane's 3rd point...MA (and several other states) has a recreational liability statute - if a landowner allows the public to use his land for recreation without charge, he is immune from liability, unless he acts willfully, wantonly or recklessly. Such a law might help open up some more land in states without this protection.

 

 

LL

I would really hope some Texas representatives and the TDW see these posts. A law, such as the above would go a long way to increase hunting in Texas. I know landowners who post their lands for the only purpose to avoid lawsuits of liability.

 

Ghost

[Dalton Masterson, SASS #51139]

I have hunted since I was a very tiny kid. I remember sitting in the truck, while mom, dad, grandpa, and my uncles all sat out by the road shooting doves. Then I got a bb gun, and was also allowed to "try" to hit them, on the wing of course. That grew into a favorite thing to do even to this day. Problem is, I dont have a good place up here in Nebraska, like we did in Kansas.

 

Then it was squirrel and rabbit hunting. I got a .410 one year, and chased after rabbits and squirrels anytime there was snow on the ground. I never shot the ones on our property, as they were "protected". When I got my .22, I learned to really stalk and still hunt, which helped me later on deer. I still love to squirrel and rabbit hunt, but again, Im in Nebraska, and there is not a lot of habitat here close by.

 

My deer hunting started with me at a young age as well. I was probably 9 or 10, and they would send me in one end of the creek bottom to try to push the deer out of the other end in a drive. Now our drives are not what you hear about in other places, with 10 people sitting around waiting, but with just mom and dad, and maybe grandpa. Lots of escape routes left for the deer.

 

I remember the first year I got to shoot a deer. I was 16, and I got to skip school on opening day. I still have the slip from the school telling my parents I skipped. It even has the reason printed on it.

 

Now I am 37, my wife hunts deer with me, my mom and dad still go, and we are still hunting the same land, minus a few sections that became leased or off limits for one reason or another. We hunt the land we have left hard, but all on foot. We dont drive on the grass, wheat, etc. We dont chase deer with our "coyote hunting rigs" and shoot out draws with .22s. We dont own 4-wheelers or wear designer camo. We hunt the land responsibly, only take out what we need, and always get permission.

Its the same land that my great grandpa hunted on, and my grandpa, and also my mom hunted on as a little girl. And this year, my 18 mo old son Wesley walked through the grass with my wife, helping my mom drag out her deer. I will hopefully instill the same values into him.

 

NOW, if I could only find the same type of place to hunt in Nebraska, where the fields are plowed up to the edge of the fenceline, and everything is mowed, and geese and ducks hunting property has so much monetary value...

[Dalton Masterson, SASS #51139]

Sorry for the long winded above post.

 

Kansas has the CRP/MAP program, which pays landowners a little bit to allow hunting access. When you look at the map, where I deer hunt in NW Kansas, there is literally thousands of acres available for people to hunt. Free. Buy your license, gas, shells, and some snacks, and go hunt. You dont need to call the landowner. You can be out of state (remember that license). And most of the time, I rarely see anyone else when I am hunting on it. Opening pheasant is usually packed, but after that.... Most of the land is CRP enrolled grassland, milo fields, wheat stubble, etc.

 

Nebraska has a similar program, but there is hardly anything enrolled in it around here. There is 1 tiny sliver of a section that might be 1/4 mile long in my county that is enrolled. Most of the rest of it is in the East and the Western part of the state.

 

Try to get your states to adopt a program based on Kansas' program. You might be suprised at what opportunities are available if they did.

DM

[WymoreWrangler SASS 46187L]

Dalton, if you ever finish my flashlight holder, call me and I'll take you pheasant (I don't want to call it hunting this year, not a lot of birds). I could probably scare up a few rabbits too...

[DocDisaster # 45431]

I plan on hunting everything I can when I move to Montana.

 

I have hunted in Florida and in South Carolina, but do not hunt regularly.

 

Doc

[Barterin Bill]

A couple of people posted that they wanted to learn to hunt. If you can't find someone to go with (which can be hard to find). I would suggest get a .22 and find a place to hunt legally. Try stalk hunting for squirrels. While you are in the woods try to spend time looking for deer sign. Squirrel hunting is just an excuse to be in the woods to look for deer sign. You'll know when your ready to get out the big gun. Try not to go during deer season, because a lot of deer hunters get upset if you are walking around where they are hunting. There is also a much higher chance of getting accidently shot if deer hunters are in the woods. Small game season usually starts before deer season and lasts until well after deer season. You can pick up a lot just paying attention to your surroundings while in the woods. I like to find a good spot with a lot of hardwoods and just sit and watch.

[Lone Dog, SASS #20401]

Hunting in Texas has become a rich man's game. I'm too poor to pay the outrageous fees. 95% of Texas is private land. Most of the public hunting is downstate, too far away.

 

Ever since chronic wasting disease reared its ugly head, I'm scared to eat venison anyways.

[The Original Bad Bob]

We have lots of public land here in Florida for hunting... too many rules and regs, but at least there's some acerage to comb through. No shortage of wild hogs, we have three hogs to every one deer.

 

I've not shot a deer in 12 years, and I hunt a little every year for them. I've killed a few hogs though, and a lot of small game.

 

Squirrel actually tastes good if you cook it right!