Why is hunting in decline?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guns Guns Guns
  • Start date Start date

Why is hunting declining?

  • It's not. Hunters fear the government and they're poaching.

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Fewer two-parent households; many women aren't interested

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Hunting is not needed for food anymore

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Hunting costs too much in a depressed economy

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Hunting is viewed as cruel.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Loss of habitat.

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Total voters
    3
G

Guns Guns Guns

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports show there were 19.1 million hunters in 1975.




That number declined to 12.5 million in 2006 and by 2025 the number is projected to be 9.1 million.




Explanations for the decline in license sales normally include increasing urbanization, demographic changes (people getting older), barriers (especially access to private land) and competition from other forms of entertainment/recreation.




http://host.madison.com/sports/recreation/outdoors/article_bfba01a2-3968-11df-a396-001cc4c03286.html
 
I think urbanization and barriers are the main reasons. The days of plentiful hunting land are gone. People learned to lease their land to hunting clubs and the fees to join are going higher and higher.
 
I haven't thought of the two-parent issue relative to this but I suppose that's somewhat of an issue. Hunting is a generational thing- Dad's teach their sons. I grew up in a dense urban environment and no one we knew hunted. But when I lived in Upstate NY, the first day of deer season the office was near empty. So it makes sense that the more the population becomes urbanized the less folks hunt. That and because people have generally gotten lazier.
 
Damn Yankee said:
I haven't thought of the two-parent issue relative to this but I suppose that's somewhat of an issue. Hunting is a generational thing- Dad's teach their sons. I grew up in a dense urban environment and no one we knew hunted. But when I lived in Upstate NY, the first day of deer season the office was near empty. So it makes sense that the more the population becomes urbanized the less folks hunt. That and because people have generally gotten lazier.
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In 2000, the Urban population was 20% and the rural 40%. Now that's 30-30. Being in an urban area makes hunting a lot less practical, obviously. However, I live in as rural an area as you can imagine, and I've never hunted, and I've never seen my dad hunt either. Nor do I really have any desire to. I can't imagine anything more boring.
 
I think the obvious answer is that their is more than one factor involved in the decline of hunting. My guess would be declining interest and lack of access. You ussually can't hunt on public lands and I know from personal experience that gaining access to private lands to hunt has become more and more difficult. A lot of that has to do with changing hunting practices. When I was a kid, you would ask a local farmer in advance of the season if you could set up a stand or tromp their fields to hunt. As long as you didn't have a reputation for being an idiot, practices safe hunting and respected their property, they were usually pretty generous in allowing you to hunt their property. Unfortunately around the late 80's hunters got smart. Those who had access to private property they didn't owned made exclusive deals with the property owners (usually farmers) to provide specific services to upgrade the farmers property in return for exclusive hunting rights. My Uncle did that on his farm. He had 40 acres adjacent to a wooded lot he owned. His neighbor, an avid hunter, offered to plow and disc that 40 acres each spring for exclusive hunting rights to my Uncles wooded lot. My uncle agreed, signed a contract and only he and his neighbor were permited to hunt that 20 acre wooded lot. I found out about this cause I asked to go deer hunting on his land in the early 90's and he turned me down due that agreement. My father made a similiar agreement with a wooded lot he owned only in this case the hunter agreed to build and maintain a cabin that my father, who doesn't hunt, could use for camping out. Again, I couldn't even hunt on my fathers land due to his making that exclusive agreement with that hunter. This practice makes it a lot harder for hunting enthusiast to get access to productive hunting grounds.
 
Mott, you make several good points. Less available land to hunt makes it tougher to get into the sport. My grandfather got me started hunting, because my Dad didn't hunt. Had it not been for some friends, I wouldn't have had access to decent hunting land until I was grown and out of the navy.

There is public land to hunt, but it tends to be overhunted and more difficult to work.
 
When I hunted I wouldn't hunt near any metro area cause there are to many freaken idiots who think that cause they spent $3,000 on a gun that think they are now Simon Kenton......those idiots get a lot of people hurt and killed.
 
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\(\(\(\/)/)/)/ said:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports show there were 19.1 million hunters in 1975.




That number declined to 12.5 million in 2006 and by 2025 the number is projected to be 9.1 million.




Explanations for the decline in license sales normally include increasing urbanization, demographic changes (people getting older), barriers (especially access to private land) and competition from other forms of entertainment/recreation.




http://host.madison.com/sports/recreation/outdoors/article_bfba01a2-3968-11df-a396-001cc4c03286.html
Click to expand...

I'm led to believe that gun ownership has gone up.
 
Liberty said:
I'm led to believe that gun ownership has gone up.
Click to expand...



You're easily led.


Hunting and gun ownership by household and individuals have declined, although fewer individuals/households own more guns, perhaps out of fear.
 
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