Where are the hunters? Good question. I think dubePa nailed a lot of the reasons. I also think that many hunters don't move as much as they used to, I know I don't. Better clothes keeps me warmer, a bigger belly slows me down and makes me less likely to move, more posted ground means less room to roam and lost hunting places (ie. they quit instead of finding someplace new).
Priorities change for folks too. A buddy of mine provides a perfect example. As a kid, he went to camp with his Dad, brothers and other family. He hunted the first 2 days and then the Saturdays. Eventually his Dad and one brother died, the camp was lost and he joined us at the farm. This year, he hunted opening day, decided he needed to be at work on the 2nd day (new computer system coming in), skipped the first Saturday due to the rain, and went to NJ for a wedding on the last Saturday.
I know we used to have 4-6 vehicles parked along the Twp. road and the hunters would walk down into the top end of the local Beagle Club grounds. This past season, not one car. I'm not sure if the club posted their ground, limited it to members only or what but nobody was hunting in that area. The neighbors hunt but mostly from tree stands. No groups or individuals out moving about.
How do you keep a 13-14 year old motivated? Folks need to get out of the flipping tree stand and put some ground under their boots. Get a couple of buddies and make small drives, (and put Jr. to work once in a while) hike the hills looking for deer. Explain the lay of the land to Jr. and how the deer will use it. Let him (or her) ease up and peek around the corner of the logging road, if they get spotted and only see a tail waving, it's a lesson that will stick. Show them deer sign, let them figure out what and where the deer were doing. In other words, don't just sit there, be an active participant.
My Dad used to drag me all over the country around home, we sat for opening day but after that, we were on the move. A couple of miles around the neighborhood in the AM was normal, sometimes a trip to the 'mountains' where he hunted as a kid was on tap.
