Do you notice less hunters now then 10, 20 yeaes ago?

[LJC]

Is it my imagination or are less people deer hunting these days . I notice alot less hunters on opening day around the areas I hunt . Don't no if that is  true for the whole state.   what do you guys think .

Also the hunters  I do see are all mostly older guys . 50S 60s 70s 

[gastrodoc]

I have noticed a huge decrease in only 10yrs.  Last opening day in Allegany Cty, you couldnt even tell it was opening day given the low number of shots.  I remember it used to sound like a warzone.  There are also fewer and fewer people at the camps compared to only a few yrs ago

[LJC]

5 minutes ago, gastrodoc said:

I have noticed a huge decrease in only 10yrs.  Last opening day in Allegany Cty, you couldnt even tell it was opening day given the low number of shots.  I remember it used to sound like a warzone.  There are also fewer and fewer people at the camps compared to only a few yrs ago

Yea hmm I hunt 5  hours from there that's pretty much telling me it's probably state wide .

[LJC]

6 minutes ago, Bill Schmidt said:

There is alot less hunters going out for woodcock in my area--Orange County. When I was in my teens and 20s- I would see so many hunters going for woodcock. I remember those older guys. Hunters would cram into the MONROE Diner for breakfast. So many of them! No longer!--now, I am the older guy-57 now .

    At a Monroe- Chester Sportsmen Club meeting many years ago when I was in my mid-30s--The president said that we need more young hunters---AS THE AVERAGE AGE IN THIS ROOM IS DEATH!!  I was probably one of the youngest at that gun club meeting.      We need more young people hunting and on the computer less.

You joke kids i notice don't even come out to play ball in the parks around here  or anything anymore there all clued  to there smartphones .  I think it's not just hunting it's any outdoor activiti looks like .

[grampy]

We have public land that borders our property. In 20 years I seen the parking area there go from cars and trucks lining both sides of the road, 40 or 50! to Maybe half a dozen on opening day! And during the week, at times, no one there at all. Partridge Run, used to be a place where there seemed to be blaze orange behind every other tree! Now, you can hunt certain parts of it and not even see another hunter!

[ApexerER]

Boy, I might have to find a piece of state land....I feel like we have to many guys on our hunting lease for how big it is and across the tracks from us there are a lot of hunters....Makes me wonder if I could find state land that is less pressured than the land I hunt....

Edited October 24, 2016 by ApexerER

[LJC]

39 minutes ago, Bill Schmidt said:

There is alot less hunters going out for woodcock in my area--Orange County. When I was in my teens and 20s- I would see so many hunters going for woodcock. I remember those older guys. Hunters would cram into the MONROE Diner for breakfast. So many of them! No longer!--now, I am the older guy-57 now .

    At a Monroe- Chester Sportsmen Club meeting many years ago when I was in my mid-30s--The president said that we need more young hunters---AS THE AVERAGE AGE IN THIS ROOM IS DEATH!!  I was probably one of the youngest at that gun club meeting.      We need more young people hunting and on the computer less.

You joke kids i notice don't even come out to play ball in the parks around here  or anything anymore there all clued  to there smartphones .  I think it's not just hunting it's any outdoor activiti looks like .

[LJC]

8 minutes ago, ApexerER said:

Boy, I might have to find a piece of state land....I feel like we have to many guys on our hunting lease for how big it is and across the tracks from us there are a lot of hunters....Makes me wonder if I could find state land that is less pressured than the land I hunt....

At Least Where I Go There Are  Less hunters But Still Plenty To MaKE the Deer  Spread Out  On Those Public Lands Anyway 

[greg54]

It used to sound like my old Marine Reserve weekends playing war games, but those days are long gone. Last year I heard maybe 10 shots total up until 9 a.m. and then very quiet. And there was hunter breakfasts everywhere...Earl's Diner on Rt. 16 in Chaffee was packed with hungry hunters on their way to their hunting spots. Never see those times again I'm afraid, the hunters just aren't there any more.

[rob-c]

Yep way less , heck I can remember when one would drive around and see deer hanging in trees, garages galore. Not so much anymore. 

[Arcade Hunter]

32 minutes ago, ApexerER said:

Boy, I might have to find a piece of state land....I feel like we have to many guys on our hunting lease for how big it is and across the tracks from us there are a lot of hunters....Makes me wonder if I could find state land that is less pressured than the land I hunt....

I am thinking this too... I am paying for a lease ant it is obvious that this area is super high pressure... its tough to even see a deer after gun season opens (9N)  Ill hunt 9H during gun instead.  Most of the 9H property near me has all changed hands over the last 10 years and no one is allowed to hunt it anymore.

[Arcade Hunter]

Earls diner was great!

[Buckmaster7600]

In my area I don't see less hunters if anything more. That being said there is less shooting but I think that is part of the changing times and almost everyone I know is more selective on what they shoot. One thing I can guarantee is that there is way more bow hunters now than there was 20 years ago.


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[The_Real_TCIII]

I see WAY more hunters and I see them later than ever before. I cant believe the number of hunters that hunt the late season now, especially the last day

[LJC]

10 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

In my area I don't see less hunters if anything more. That being said there is less shooting but I think that is part of the changing times and almost everyone I know is more selective on what they shoot. One thing I can guarantee is that there is way more bow hunters now than there was 20 years ago.


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I noticed more bow hunters last 3 , years in a row  in my area but this year I noticed a big drop off . For some reason . I think it has something to do with how much advertising bow companies spend to get people motivated to get into the sport probably

[The_Real_TCIII]

6 minutes ago, LJC said:

I noticed more bow hunters last 3 , years in a row  in my area but this year I noticed a big drop off . For some reason . I think it has something to do with how much advertising bow companies spend to get people motivated to get into the sport probably

The weather has been pretty lousy this bow season

[LJC]

7 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

The weather has been pretty lousy this bow season

True could be weather also 

[Jeremy K]

It's hard to say ,it seems like there is more hunters because it's easy to find fellow hunters on the Internet but I don't really know many other people who hunt. As far as kids getting into anything we did growing ,forget that ,I never see kids out building bike jumps or playing football or anything outside,you just don't see them outside anymore.

[GreeneHunter]

I see less hunters than years ago . I used to rely on the Pumpkin Suits to do most of my driving , although most were trespassing and I was a lot further up a tree then ( out of sight and bullet trajectory LOL)!

[DanD]

I'm right there with most of you. I have seen a massive drop off in hunters in the past 5-10 years in NY and PA. I used to run into 5+ people every day in both NY and PA. Now I'm lucky to see one person that isn't a family member. The opening day roar of gun fire is nothing more than a few shots here and there. I also rarely see hunters in their 20s/30s. Everyone I do run into are in their 50s/60s and talk about the way hunting used to be with seeing 10-20 deer every day.

[chas0218]

2 hours ago, gastrodoc said:

I have noticed a huge decrease in only 10yrs.  Last opening day in Allegany Cty, you couldnt even tell it was opening day given the low number of shots.  I remember it used to sound like a warzone.  There are also fewer and fewer people at the camps compared to only a few yrs ago

Depending on the season. In the southern tier gun central NY (8Y, and 8X) it is like WW3 when the sun comes over that hill!

2 hours ago, LJC said:

Is it my imagination or are less people deer hunting these days . I notice alot less hunters on opening day around the areas I hunt . Don't no if that is  true for the whole state.   what do you guys think .

Also the hunters  I do see are all mostly older guys . 50S 60s 70s 

My parents property (8F) I see very few bowhunting but gun season still hear quite a few shots during gun season but these shots all sound like they are coming from the same properties every year.

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by chas0218

[Doc]

What I am seeing is that the number of bowhunters are increasing, and the number of gun hunters are decreasing. And the changes are significant. Not only are gun hunter numbers diminishing but their dedication and endurance is diminishing. We have a lot of 1/2 day hunters, and a lot of 1 or 2 day hunters that tire of the activity real quick. At least that is the way it is in my Ontario County hunting area.

[Lawdwaz]

20 hours ago, LJC said:

Is it my imagination or are less people deer hunting these days . I notice alot less hunters on opening day around the areas I hunt .

On Opening Day of deer season I'm in the woods unless I kill a buck. I have no idea how many people are hunting.............

[fasteddie]

I used to see many cars/ trucks parked along the field and woods edges while driving to a hunting spot . It has become a rarity . We would also get several hunters coming into the north end of my SILs property but not anymore and there are few cars spotted on Country Club Road in Geneseo . 

Three guys have leased the property west of my SIL's . I never once saw anyone on that property and no shooting over there . 

Years ago , during gun season , we would hear all sorts of shooting around us . That has ceased . I also used to be able to get a deer between 9:30 - 11 am when hunters would get antsy and go back to their vehicles to take a break or just get up and walk the woods . That would get the deer moving . This no longer happens as no one is out there . 

[Northsox65]

In My Opinion, there are a lot less hunters now than there were in the 70's and 80's, I remember hunting not far from Fletch in 3-rivers and there would be hundreds of cars/trucks opening week, use to hear gunshots all day and many deer dragged out of the woods, Thanksgiving was the same with deer drives and many deer hanging in front yards,,,,,,I drove up there a couple years ago and I think I counted 15 cars on the whole WMU. Sad!