Safest Year Ever- Congratulations Hunters

[CharlieNY]

Last season was the safest one ever for New York hunters. Congratulations to everyone and let's keep up the good work!   https://bigfrog104.com/new-york-state-hunting-safety-record/

[Doc]

I wonder how this record safety number stacks up as a percent of hunters and current actual hunting hours. The hunting safety numbers seem to improve as each year goes on, but then so does the decrease in hunter numbers. I'm sure no one has really done that kind of study, but I suppose before we start patting ourselves on the back because of our safety record, we really should know the rate at which hunters have declined. Each season I also keep wondering about actual hunting hours spent during the seasons. When it comes to deer hunting, it seems to me that each successive season (including opening weekend) seems to be getting quieter and quieter. Also after opening weekend, it seems like hunting activity drops off dramatically. A lot of the more popular days also seem to be getting to be 1/2 day events for many hunters.

So it would be interesting to see if there is any correlation between improving safety records and diminishing numbers of hunters and hours afield.

The above thoughts are assumptions and are only based on my own personal observations in my own limited hunting area and are not based on any official studies or statistics. Also, I don't believe there are any official studies or stats regarding this kind of hunter activity versus  season safety numbers. So it is still just an opinion (and you know what they say about opinions....lol). But I just thought I would throw a little twist on how to view these record safety numbers that we are all so impressed with. What do you all think? What do your observations tell you?