Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Have you seen a big increase in hunting activity this season?

Are you seeing a big increase in hunting activity this fall?


I’m seeing and hearing a big increase in hunting activity here now. Distant gunfire “pops”, local “bangs”, I actually saw poaching taking place. Don’t recall seeing this much activity ever. NE NM.

I never see boot prints the places I hunt.

Just the opposite here. Hunters are getting older, deer camps up north are being sold off, people are losing their hunting areas on private land and younger guys don't hunt as much. I don't want to see other hunters, so that trend is just fine with me.

I was expecting a down turn just because of the economy. But haven't yet seen it.

About normal around here.

I expected more people to try to offset the cost of meat with hunting this year but I haven't heard many shots in my area.

Maybe the cost of hunting ammo slowed things down as well.

It's been like that for going on 3-4 years now out west...

I can buy a lot of beef for what I spend hunting every year. And beef is 100% success rate. LOL

Isn't NM like AZ in regards to almost all tags being issued in the draw? If so, maybe more people in the woods tagging along anf helping but the limit on tag allotments mean more animals aren't being taken, legally...

Ymmv

Maybe...our little market frequently has empty shelves in the meat department. They had to switch to completely local farm eggs because the major distributor can't reliably obtain eggs.

Sometimes the 100% success you bank on isn't always going to be available when you are in need.

Ymmv

Truer words Never Spoken!

I refuse to add up what it costs me to hunt, I stop at my quad for $15,000.00! lol

Buying beef is less expensive and as you put it, "beef is 100% success rate"

Cheers ~

No, about the same. I've gone years without seeing another Kansas rifle deer hunter afield.

Bird hunting is another thing altogether.

Way down here from what it was 15-20 years ago. Land access has become a lot more scarce.

I've not seen more hunters but the game processors say their numbers are running high for the last couple of seasons. Maybe the existing hunters are making sure they fill the freezer a bit more regularly these days.

Not so far. Rifle season opens the 22nd. Usually the first two days on my WMA are busy, then it’s back to mostly just me. Hunted two days of early antlerless, don’t think I heard any shots on that property, maybe a couple across the river.

In S.E. Wis. there are less bow hunters than the last 2 yrs. Up in N.W. Wis. here seems to be more, but there still is not too many.

Seems to be way down in western PA. The Last 7 or years you wouldn't even know it was deer season. I only know of one other guy that hunts squirrels.

Does not seem to be many bow hunters this year, with the baiting ban alot of guys just quit. Deer numbers are down also. Iv been out a few times and not seen a deer yet.

Idaho is extremely crowded and overrun because of too many OTC tags. I see very few local folks and incredible amount of Washington state RV's camped out and at trailheads.

Yes it's picked up as our state population grows and too many OTC tags. There's lots of demand and getting less and less resource. It's time this state cuts back on non res otc tag numbers and raise resident tags some to offset dept costs.

Yes, to the poster above. I know a woman that hunts elk and she told me it was. $34.50 for an elk tag. That is incredibly cheap. However that was 7 yrs ago or so. Heck , we pay $24 for a deer tag and the DNR sais there are too many. It sure seems true that more are going out west cause many states have low deer numbers. North west Wis . has so low of deer numbers , that I walked 3 miles grouse hunting last weekend and did not see a single deer droppping. I saw almost no tracks , not one rb but a few scrapes in 3 miles. My son also walked a bit and saw nothing for deer sign. it is so bad that the wolves moved out. You know it'd bad when that happens.