How does NYS count hunters......or do they actually attempt to do so?

[Doc]

Do they count every license purchased as being a different hunter? I actually have a whole bunch of licenses all by myself. Am I being counted as a whole bunch of hunters. My personal observations over the years From the time I used to stand out by the road waiting for the school bus, to today, I think I have seen an absolutely huge drop in the hunter activity. Does anybody ever make an attempt at calculating how many hunters there really are left? Has anyone plotted the decline over the decades? Is anyone trying to predict how long it will be before hunting is not an effective wildlife population control? It seems there are places where that is already the case. Is anyone looking down the road to figure out what to do when hunting can no longer keep wildlife numbers under control? They'll always be able to manipulate season lengths and bag limits, but there may come a time when even those measures are not enough. So, how good of a handle does the DEC actually have on the dwindling number of hunters, and what are they trying to do about it? Anybody have any insight into this subject?

[airedale]

I have to think as far as hunter numbers go the amount of licenses issued is probably the best indicator. Everything is computerized with software tailored for the job so being counted more than once is not much of an issue.

Data can be searched out showing the number of licenses issued year by year showing the downward trend.

One of the biggest differences I can readily see from years back to current times is the huge decline in small game hunting. When I was a kid everyone hunted small game. That is where we got our feet wet and ended up getting the hunting bug.

Way too much emphasis on deer hunting with a lot more posted land and seasons that are too long.

Add in anti hunting rhetoric, humanization of animals, gun control among other things. 

Startup cost can be a factor. The people that have money will be able to hang in for years to come, for the average working stiff the future not so good.

Al

[First-light]

I agree on the small game hunting. We all have relatives that have a license to hunt but don't. Those are the beaters that add up. But we use the tags. Look last year we had 7 doe tags and only 4 were used. We killed a few bucks but the neighbors cleaned up. Hunting will always be here but the DEC needs to address future issues. I for one believe out of state hunters should be in the draw for doe tags. If you think about growing bigger bucks start there. These guys shoot any legal buck to bring home. Thats ok with me cause they spent more money to hunt. Let them take some doe maybe the little bucks live? 

[boo711]

16 minutes ago, First-light said:

I agree on the small game hunting. We all have relatives that have a license to hunt but don't. Those are the beaters that add up. But we use the tags. Look last year we had 7 doe tags and only 4 were used. We killed a few bucks but the neighbors cleaned up. Hunting will always be here but the DEC needs to address future issues. I for one believe out of state hunters should be in the draw for doe tags. If you think about growing bigger bucks start there. These guys shoot any legal buck to bring home. Thats ok with me cause they spent more money to hunt. Let them take some doe maybe the little bucks live? 

My brother and nephew come in from California every year for opening week of deer season. Buy their license the Thursday before opening day after they get into town. They both have gotten doe permits for at least the last 5 years. If they don’t fill them they sign them over to other members of the family or the hunting group

[Grouse]

10 hours ago, Doc said:

Do they count every license purchased as being a different hunter? I actually have a whole bunch of licenses all by myself. Am I being counted as a whole bunch of hunters. 

I don't understand this statement.  I assume you have only one firearm hunting license every year.  The bow license is issued as a separate license, but the SS# info is the same as the hunting license if you have a gun license.  The rest of the license tags are just permits to allow ML, Doe, turkey, etc.

I'm sure DEC counts hunters based on how many unique SS #'s they have in the license data base.

 

[Grouse]

11 hours ago, boo711 said:

My brother and nephew come in from California every year for opening week of deer season. Buy their license the Thursday before opening day after they get into town. They both have gotten doe permits for at least the last 5 years. If they don’t fill them they sign them over to other members of the family or the hunting group

That's the way it should be.  NY handles the desire for having bigger deer around with antler restrictions, and put the AR laws mostly in the Catskills.  Fewer deer hunters use those zones because they just want to be able to kill a buck.  They don't hunt for antlers.

 

[Doc]

10 hours ago, Grouse said:

I don't understand this statement.  I assume you have only one firearm hunting license every year.  The bow license is issued as a separate license, but the SS# info is the same as the hunting license if you have a gun license.  The rest of the license tags are just permits to allow ML, Doe, turkey, etc.

I'm sure DEC counts hunters based on how many unique SS #'s they have in the license data base.

 

Yeah I guess that's probably right. I guess the problem is that I just don't understand the system that they use. I do understand the importance of the DEC recognizing the seriousness of the hunter decline. The whole management system of wildlife depends on always having an adequate number of hunters. You have to wonder if that will always be the case, if the numbers keep going in the direction that they are going. 

[RangerClay]

Too funny, I was thinking about this very topic earlier this morning.  I remember my first opening day in 1981.  It was central Madison County and my dad had to wait what felt like forever to cross Rte. 20 because the stream of cars and trucks full of hunter was so long.  When daylight broke, the gunfire was constant.  Now I'm lucky if I even see a car.  Lower deer numbers mostly to blame for the lack of hunters nowadays.  They can say records kills all they want and it's B.S.  There are less deer and less hunters.

[GreeneHunter]

I used to hint state land in Schoharie County and it sounded like a War Zone opening day , now barely a shot every hour or so !   I'm pretty sure DEC has a handle on the Hunter Count by the Tags sold , but who knows !

[fasteddie]

Yeah , I also recall parked cars all over the hunting areas and seeing so many Red and Red&Black plaid hunting coats in the woods . Also the 5 shot barrage noise from the shotguns . You could pretty much tell which way a deer was running from the sound of the shots . Seeing hunter's vehicles parked near hunting areas is far and few between . No idea how the DEC gets a count . Maybe they use A.I. .

[Doc]

I have a lifetime hunting and fishing license, and every year I get a an armful of licenses without sending or requesting anything. When I kick the bucket, will those licenses keep on coming and will the DEC continue to assume that I am alive and hunting such that I will always be counted among the active hunters? I doubt that my wife or whatever survivors will be thinking of contacting the DEC to tell them I've croaked. How do they account for this kind of situation?