It's an annual thing that I turn off the porch light and I take the wife out on a dinner date on Halloween. I suppose we are getting more.... anti-social, wanting people to stay away from our house and property, even on Halloween.... even with cute kids. Stay away!
Anyway, we drive into town and get a booth, window seat at a restaurant that is next too a big box hunting store. I see 'Soccer Moms' coming and going from the store, probably buying some wool socks or something. I make the comment to the wife... I bet 90% of the folks walking in that store have never pulled the trigger on a hunt.
...... and it caused me to do some research....
In the 80’s, right at 18 million hunting licenses sold nationwide. In 2016, only 11.5M. It’s estimated that there will be less than 10M in 2020. Hunting is a dying sport in America.
Interestingly though.... Fishing license sales nation-wide have increased every year for the past 30 years.
I don't have any awe-inspiring wisdom to share.... just an observation about the direction of our society. I am certain that a HUGE percentage on SB are well equipped with hunting wisdom, skills and experience, but 10 million hunters are.... wait for it......
3% of our national population!
Seems nearly everyone is completely happy with a proxy-killing from their local grocery store.
There are several reasons for the decline in hunting. Probably the biggest is lack of area to hunt for most people. Population growth in many places has meant restrictions and even elimination of access. There is also a change in public perception about hunting that is negative towards it. Yes, people still buy and eat meat, but most do not want to really know how that meat ends up in the store nicely cut up and wrapped for sale.
Hunting will continue to decline as an activity as our population becomes ever more urbanized and shooting restrictions multiply.
And the cijrens stay in moms basement playing COD or glued to their cell phones watching game of thrones. They wake up one day and they're 35 years old, no job no girlfreind or boyfriends, overweight and some how its the boomers and genxr's fault
Hunting? heh, I would be happy just seeing some of these kids walk the 3 blocks to school rather than taking the bus.
There is a lot of talk from the Left that shooting sports are "A OK".... It's just the AR15's that are evil.
When the number of hunters drops to 5M and then 2M.... It won't be long before they come after your 12 gauge and your .22 and your .270 Win. Their message will be..... "Hunting is no longer relevant in our society. Seriously... enough and would you please embrace veggie burgers?"
I don't intent for this thread to be turned into a gun control debate, but your response sparked this response from me.
Where is the NRA on this issue? If Drag Queens can read to our children, what about 'education programs' to elementary schools about the history and awesomeness of hunting? If we don't start educating our children.... it really is game over in short order.
My Pop and I went camping in the Angelina and Sabine National Forests in Texas for opening week of squirrel season. Together, these forests are about 300,000 acres. We counted about 8 other hunters in the two places combined. That was all.
It's really easy to count too because hunters are required to stay in designated hunters camps. There's probably spaces for 300-400 campsites. So with just 8 hunters the forests felt completely empty.
Sitting around the campfire on the first night we wondered exactly the same thing as the OP. Is this sport dying?
We're gonna go back during muzzleloader deer season. On one hand I hope it's that empty again, on the other hand I would take it as a bad sign that hunting in Texas dying.
If I remember I'll post an update after deer season.
The communists control the schools, so the kids are brainwashed every day to believe guns are bad. (In Eric Holder's own words).
"What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people, and make it something that’s not cool, that it’s not acceptable, it’s not hip to carry a gun anymore, in the way in which we changed our attitudes about cigarettes," Holder said. He later added, "We have to be repetitive about this. It’s not enough to have a catchy ad on a Monday and then only do it Monday. We need to do this every day of the week, and just really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way."
(But Fast and Furious Guns for Mexican criminals was OK).
Regarding kids not even going outside, I sometimes feel like Omega man walking around my neighborhood. Like someone blew a neutron bomb off and I was the only survivor. Cars and trucks still go by and the Illegal aliens operating lawnmowers, weed wackers etc. no kids.
Hunters are the biggest pro-natural environment people alive. I want to say no but no doubt the percentage of hunters is dropping. On-the-other-hand given the stupidity of the population for the safety of those of us that still hunt that is probably a good thing.
The reason we have any big game is the funding for habitat, re-introduction, game wardens all paid for with license and tags fees. Plus the tax applied at the manufacture of hunting/fishing stuff.
Lewis and Clark nearly starved to death crossing the great divide at LowLow Pass.
I'm willing to bet that the decline of hunting licenses has been higher in liberal/nanny anti second amendment states with little or no decline in free states.
Some hunters in less free states will hunt out of state if at all so as not to deal with the bureaucracy of the dem controlled states.
Seems to be on a decline here in north central Arkansas. Still several deer and turkey hunters but not much rabbit, squirrel or quail hunting. Lots of wild hog shooting (wouldn’t call it hunting).
California hates hunters. It is OK here to show hate to us. So far this year I have seen few white hunters and most were older. The younger hunters were mostly people of color and asian.
Personally, I had issue with a place. Seems like anymore you have to be part of a club or know someone who will allow you to hunt their land.
Finding someone to allow you on their land is becoming increasingly difficult because society has become lawyer happy ("I stepped in a hole on your property and twisted my ankle, so I am suing you for my hospital bill and lost wages") and of course, the other liability, stupid people with guns.
I have a fear of hunting public lands due to the latter. I honestly haven't hunted since the early 80's because of it.
I would blame urbanization (or rather young populatiom move from small and middle towns to big, sprawling metro areas in recent decades). More people living in cities, means more people living far away from hunting grounds and wilderness, so hunting and fishing is less popular as they used to be. Where do you want hunt, if nearest hunting ground means a couple hour car trip at best just to get in? What we can see today probably start in '80s and '90s when majority of population already live in urban or suburban areas, where younger population slowly lost contact with hunting and fishing in general, what we can saw today is final effect of quite long process.
Just a statistics, in 1970 in metropolitan area live 68,6% of US population, in 2010 it's close to 84%.
It's becoming like it is in Europe and the UK especially, a rich man's sport.
Land prices going higher every year, drastic and speedy uncontrolled population growth via illegals and people fleeing other states, and competition for viable private hunting leases are all leading to huge increases in the overall cost of hunting. At least that is how it seemsh ere.
You want to hunt private land you're going to pay big bucks for the bucks. National forest hunting is not too good here as there are high numbers of the pumpkin brigde every opening day. As the season progresses you have fewer pumpkins blundering around the forests but still enough to make it miserable.
Of course this is depenent on where you are in the country.
As previously stated, less and less public land. Rich man's sport indeed, in the future all pheasant hunting will probably be on privately paid estates. Deer and Elk are heading that way. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried making Trout fishing expensive and exclusive like in Great Britain but then the states would have to hire more fish and game wardens and thats the last thing states want because they would rather sink that money into BS programs.
The Libs would rather have marijuana grows and desert tortoise/Kangaroo rat preserves then to expand hunting opportunities and install/maintain Guzzlers for animals in wilderness areas....
As previously stated, less and less public land. Rich man's sport indeed, in the future all pheasant hunting will probably be on privately paid estates. Deer and Elk are heading that way.
Most everyone I know around here hunts, even the teenagers are all hunting. I won't guarantee how many of them all have hunting licenses though.....
I have seen at least a dozen of my kids HS friends post pics of their deer on FB in the last few days. Considering there are a whole 60 to 65 students total in the entire HS I would say that there is a pretty good percentage of them out hunting pretty regularly.
Myself I haven't hunted in a few years, I found it far cheaper and easier to simply buy livestock at the livestock sale and slaughter that. I trade some it off to my brother in laws and uncles etc for deer meat, elk meat, moose meat, bear meat and to my wife's mom and her boyfriend for smoked Alaskan salmon. I still get all the wild game I want without having to spend the time and money on permits, licenses and the traveling around to hunt.
Myself I haven't hunted in a few years, I found it far cheaper and easier to simply buy livestock at the livestock sale and slaughter that. I trade some it off to my brother in laws and uncles etc for deer meat, elk meat, moose meat, bear meat and to my wife's mom and her boyfriend for smoked Alaskan salmon. I still get all the wild game I want without having to spend the time and money on permits, licenses and the traveling around to hunt.
Eastern KY here and it’s declining in my area. Some diehard holdouts tho, friends and neighbors, and the few who depend on it for meat throughout the year. Fishing is dying as the places to do it are too polluted (more garbage than mine contamination) and not replenished
I struggle to find a good spot close to home. A lot of the nearby farmers rent to middle age guys/retirees coming down from the city. At the convenient spots near my home, I see their trucks twice a year; once during the rut (archery) and a few weeks later for gun season. No early/late season deer hunting, squirrel hunting and no rabbit hunting. Sometimes, I do hope it declines to make it more accessible but I know that is a selfish reason.
Here in california I see a lot of reasons for hunting tapering off. A massive upswing in rural population. Public land being bought up by liberal environmentalists. Anti gunners. Large rural properties being developed into housing. Large groups of illegals taking advantage of the sanctuary state bs and blatantly poaching without repercussions. Fires.
A lot of guys I used to hunt with have quit hunting due to these and other reasons.
20-30 yrs ago it was a passion, now I hardly go. No need, and the fun has been gone from it for awhile. I enjoy the pursuit sometimes but without the kill.
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