Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is Hunting Dying?

A 2017 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that nation-wide, participation in hunting has dropped from 14.1 million hunters to 11.5 million. Only 5% of Americans 16 years old and older actually hunt, about half from 50 years ago. Total annual hunter expenditure declined by 29% from 2011 to 2016, from $36.3 billion to $25.6 billion. That means less money for state fish and wildlife agencies. In response to the declines, there is a national movement underway called The Three R’s to recruit, retain and reactivate hunters and fishermen. A survey by Responsive Management finds that lack of free time, family and work obligations, and lack of access the most common reasons why people give up hunting (from an article by James Swan in The Outdoor Wire).

Hundreds of thousands of North American waterfowl hunters have disappeared since 1970. This poses a threat for the future of hunting and conservation, said Tom Wiest in an article. We need more waterfowlers, and so do the ducks. Duck hunters buy federal duck stamps, an important funding source for waterfowl conservation. Delta Waterfowl published a special report in their magazine in the spring of 2017 that there were 2.03 million active U.S. waterfowlers in 1970, and only 998,600 in 2015. The steepest declines have occurred since 1997, despite high duck populations, longer hunting seasons and liberal bag limits. Canada’s waterfowler numbers have fallen even more drastically, peaking in 1978 at 505,681 and declining to fewer than 170,000 today.

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Too time consuming and delayed gratification.

As to the header - yes...

If the older hunting generation, which is us,,,, would take a young hunter under our wing and teach them how to hunt and take them hunting we could slow down the losses.

Wish it was in Tn

seems more and more every fall, trespassing issues way more than 20 year ago. Dumbasses galore! Thanks to duck dynasty, michael waddle and his walmart legion of "deer thugs". lol

Larger parcels continue to squeeze out available larger huntable areas.

Probably the same number of hunters, just less private land opportunities.

Having said that, there are a satisfactory amount of public land here in TN. And surprising those public areas are seldom crowded.

Turds just want to hunt someone's private propert that backs up their shîtty mobile home.

I don't know if it's dying, but it definitely isn't as popular as it used to be. I think one reason for that, especially here in my part of the country is the lack of places to hunt. 25 years ago, I had permission to hunt on more land than I had time to hunt. Not so today. That land has either been sold or is now leased out. I know some people who have quit deer hunting, because they don't have a place to hunt anymore.

Also, when I was growing up, most rural kids hunted, as it was a tradition. There are fewer kids growing up in rural areas today, and that has taken a toll on new hunters. Also, the cost of hunting as increased, and that's probably had a slight affect as well.

Then, you have your politics playing a part, as it has become politically incorrect to shoot Bambi. Also, people don't depend upon wild game for food as they once did. I think there are a number of factors that come into play for the drop in the number of hunters.

That's probably going on everywhere. I know it is here where I live.

maybe, maybe not. For several years I took a neighbor lad hunting. His Dad used to hunt, but 'no longer has time'. The young fellow was interested at first, and was successful, but the lure of his buddies company and the censure of hunting by his peers, girl friend, teachers and so forth just killed it for him.
He gave back the rifle and hunting knife I gave him, telling me he would not be needing them in the future.

Unfortunately it is. Especially small game hunting. Millenials and younger just want electronic gadgets. I bet an old vintage LC Smith won’t be worth $100.00 in 25 years. Our crop of younger Dads at church are a joke. Very little true male behavior among them. Not a one of them has an interest in taking their kids hunting. I volunteer to take them, with very few taking advantage of the offer.

^^^

You have an influx of snooty, doctor and lawyer types from nashville with their tree hugger wives and hemophiliac kids that never go outside. They def won't let anyone "KILL" wildlife on their land.

And they'll raise a stink if they know youre hunting the adjacent property, because they enjoy feeding the starving animals of north america.

Yep.

Give it another 50-75 years and things will look vastly different.

People do their hunting at WalMart's meat counter now.

Sadly, yes..

My friends of NRA Committee has noticed a distinct shift on interest from hunting arms to tactical stuff and handguns. We tried recently to auction off a pretty nice Whitetail hunt and got very little interest. Access is another obstacle. Many landowners have gotten stingy with granting hunting permission. You better know someone darn well to get access. The Piedmont of N.C will soon be just one big housing development anyway. Everyone is in a hurry to sell off Ma and Pa Kettle’s land to buy a place at Holden Beach.

This is just a bunch of personal observations.

First off, I was the only person my age that I knew that actively hunted back when I started in the early 80's. The guys who got me into it were all in their forties or older. I didn't meet folks my own age that were hunting until I was several years into the sport.

When I started hunting in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, Opening Day of Deer Gun Season used to be a dawn to dusk fusillade. I have hunted my farm in KY for 18 seasons now. The Opener is far quieter than it used to be, and the days after Opening Weekend have rather sparse shooting.

I have raised 2 of my 3 sons to hunt and shoot. Of their friends, no one else hunts actively. A few went when they were kids. #3 son and I were talking about this very subject last night. He said that a lot of his friends ask him about coming hunting, but when they hear about the license and tag fees, and the Hunter Education requirement, they shut up in a hurry. He said they have totally unrealistic ideas about hunting. My observations:

1) They think you can shoot anything anytime.
2) They are appalled at the idea of waking up at 4 to hunt at 6
3) Hunting in sub-40F temps and rain leave them cold
4) The idea of gutting and cleaning makes them squirm
5) They conflate the military and hunting.

Where public land is not easily accessed the costs to lease property or be in a hunting club can shut out younger people. Paying $3000 or more for a place to hunt is rough if your getting started and money is tight or is needed to be saved for a house , kids and cars.

Less hunters my ass.

What a crock of bullschit.

It may not be dying but here in Michigan hunting license sales have been in decline for years. The reasons are many and complex, be it social, economic, or otherwise.

I agree. I work in a large gun shops (4000+ gun sales a year) and almost no one looks at our hunting guns. Also, nobody wants "fun guns" anymore. They don't want a standard 10/22 for plinking. They want the takedown, flash hider version in case they have to "bugout" (don't get me going on that). They don't want a Ruger Mk4 or S&W Victory. They want the M&P22 so it sorta replicates their "carry gun". I have nothing against plastic/black guns. I got my first Glock in 1994. But I've also bought a CZ457 Varmint and laminated Remington Model 7 in the last year. Even the hunters want "sniper rifles", though their longest shot will be 100yds in Michigan.

Like yeah... aren't guns like really really dangerous?