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

[Uptown Redneck]

10 hours ago, Doc said:

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.

I think a lot more people have either too much more to do, lack the patience to sit in the woods all day waiting for a deer to show itself, I know I do, or have simply found more excitable ways to spend their days. One has to be admit sitting in a stand can get boring very quickly 

Edited October 25, 2016 by Uptown Redneck

[LJC]

2 hours ago, Uptown Redneck said:

I think a lot more people have either too much more to do, lack the patience to sit in the woods all day waiting for a deer to show itself, I know I do, or have simply found more excitable ways to spend their days. One has to be admit sitting in a stand can get boring very quickly 

Thats,why I only stay in one spot for no more then 2,3 hours max then it's spot and stalk time  or some times I start hunting small game it's not like I need the deer meat it's all for fun anyway for me. 

[Trial153]

More bowhunting, less regular season hunting. Still way way more pressure then any of the other states I hunt regularly.

[Napping in the woods]

I really depends on where you are.  In the Orange/Ulster/Putnam/Dutchess areas its variable, due in part to the lack of private property access, blah, blah, blah; but go to Stewart on a Saturday in gun season and 50 cars are lined up with 2+ hunters in each one.  I grew up in Southwestern PA, and still hunt there.  Hunter numbers there are way down same there and the same with Central PA.   I think a couple of things are coming to a head at the same time:

1. Many kids are way more involved in organized activities than ever before, and parents seem to be at the mercy of their kids schedules....yes, electronics also play a role, but I know a 19 year old boy/man (feels weird calling him a man now) and a 15 year old girl who drop everything when I call and say "I'm heading out <insert place and date>, want to go?"

2. Some folks get dejected now because there isn't a wall-hanger behind every tree.

3. The rules keep changing and I have first hand knowledge of folks getting fed up to the point where they just hang 'em up.

4. Hunting, and practicing, takes a commitment to relationship building, the tools of trade, and the toys...oh, the toys!

5. Hunting is more difficult now due to changing forest conditions (no more clearcuts) and the weather is also changing a lot...snow on opening day is a rarity anymore!  This takes a bit more understanding of your prey, which some may find difficult to comprehend.

6. Access to private land is hard to come by.  I didn't always feel safe walking onto public land, but I do now.

just a few observations and anecdotes to contribute to the discussion, nothing scientific or "credible" here, so please don't blast me for any of them.

[DirtTime]

I agree somewhat that access to private land is harder to come by, but, there are thousands and thousands of acres of public land very accessible to hunters.

I think the decrease in hunters depends on what part of the state you are in. The other is loss of interest in the outdoors over all. Fewer and fewer people camp. hunt, or fish.

Hiking is huge these days, as well as mountain biking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing.

I also put a blame on social media. Sorry, I have said this before, it's very hard to get the younger generations involved in anything that might take their attention away from cell phones and other devices. 

[Nomad]

I sure notice fewer , my eyes are getting old .

[LJC]

4 hours ago, Napping in the woods said:

I really depends on where you are.  In the Orange/Ulster/Putnam/Dutchess areas its variable, due in part to the lack of private property access, blah, blah, blah; but go to Stewart on a Saturday in gun season and 50 cars are lined up with 2+ hunters in each one.  I grew up in Southwestern PA, and still hunt there.  Hunter numbers there are way down same there and the same with Central PA.   I think a couple of things are coming to a head at the same time:

1. Many kids are way more involved in organized activities than ever before, and parents seem to be at the mercy of their kids schedules....yes, electronics also play a role, but I know a 19 year old boy/man (feels weird calling him a man now) and a 15 year old girl who drop everything when I call and say "I'm heading out <insert place and date>, want to go?"

2. Some folks get dejected now because there isn't a wall-hanger behind every tree.

3. The rules keep changing and I have first hand knowledge of folks getting fed up to the point where they just hang 'em up.

4. Hunting, and practicing, takes a commitment to relationship building, the tools of trade, and the toys...oh, the toys!

5. Hunting is more difficult now due to changing forest conditions (no more clearcuts) and the weather is also changing a lot...snow on opening day is a rarity anymore!  This takes a bit more understanding of your prey, which some may find difficult to comprehend.

6. Access to private land is hard to come by.  I didn't always feel safe walking onto public land, but I do now.

just a few observations and anecdotes to contribute to the discussion, nothing scientific or "credible" here, so please don't blast me for any of them.

In westchester and Putnam we get alot of guys from new York and long Island 

If not for those guys there would be hardly any hunters around here . So the public lands still get hit hard down here you have to get up to the  Catskills to really get away from it really and even a little farther then that even . Some older guys i no 60s 70s actually think it was better hunting when you had 100 cars lined up on the side of the  road in the public lands I hunt  because the deer had to just keep moving all day long and not go Nocturnal because of all the hunters in the woods there was   less places for them to hide . 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2016 by LJC

[Tughill Tamer]

Up here in the northern tier there are deffinetly a lot less hunters than there used to be so its not just a southern tier thing, all the more reason to mentor a youth they are the future of hunting.

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[LJC]

7 minutes ago, Tughill Tamer said:

Up here in the northern tier there are deffinetly a lot less hunters than there used to be so its not just a southern tier thing, all the more reason to mentor a youth they are the future of hunting.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
 

Yea,it's kind of sad to see  funny because I here gun sales are up but sadly that's because of all the fear of are  curupt  moronic government trying  to take are gun  rights  away . Just so they can be even more curupt and moronic then before know doubt . 

 

[Core]

On 10/24/2016 at 1:17 PM, The_Real_TCIII said:

The weather has been pretty lousy this bow season

You got that right. Compared to last year parts of this season have been tropical and then it's also rained too much.

[The_Real_TCIII]

2 hours ago, Core said:

You got that right. Compared to last year parts of this season have been tropical and then it's also rained too much.

Its definitely kept me out of the woods. Id rather stay in good graces with the family and use all my time in the next couple weeks

[Core]

17 hours ago, Uptown Redneck said:

I think a lot more people have either too much more to do, lack the patience to sit in the woods all day waiting for a deer to show itself, I know I do, or have simply found more excitable ways to spend their days. One has to be admit sitting in a stand can get boring very quickly 

I just personally won't do it. The drop off in activity during the day by deer is profound (even during the rut it is less than sunrise/sunset, no doubt) and although I can get a couple hours after sunrise or sunset, if I tell my family I'm gone all day and I know the odds of a deer coming under my stand are virtually nil during the day anyway I just won't do it.

Increasingly people are spending time indoors in front of screens. Kids do it, adults do it. Many adult males my age are so distanced from anything outdoors or conventionally masculine that they can barely even paint a wall, let alone take it upon themselves to get outside of the house and embrace something physical. I have a guy across the street who's one and only hobby is watching pro sports. This guy is about 38 and he's so essentially incapable that he owns no tools (had to borrow my tools when he was setting up a basketball net from a box for pete's sake and it took him and his wife several hours to do it)!

[growalot]

More here because more kids/grandkids and woman are hunting our area..camp less.

[chas0218]

This year is a tough one for me, my wife and I are expecting our 2nd son and she has been having a lot of trouble this pregnancy and has needed more help, might be because our son is 22 months old and raising hell everywhere he goes and she just gets exhausted. Chasing him around is a full time job let alone when your 23 weeks pregnant. I try to keep my sits short and during peak times. I can't say I haven't seen deer just not the one I'm looking for. The next 3 weeks are going to be tough for her as I will most likely be in the woods almost every evening.

[Elmo]

I also can't hunt much this season due to family obligations but something about this year seems strange.  I hunt public land and the few times I've gone this year, I was the only person there when in years past, I would see a couple of other cars.  Another popular area I use to avoid because it use to have so many cars that you couldn't find parking.  I was talking to someone who told me they hunted there this weekend and they were the only ones there also.  Odd.

[The_Field_Ager]

Reading a book right about the decline of social capital and civic engagement. It talks specifically about the decline in membership of all organizations across the board. The general consensus is that this is related to 2 major factors, a declining economy and disintegration of community life due to a change in cultural attitudes and a loss of respect for the system. People are basically becoming more selfish, less economically secure and more culturally detached as a result in the rise and ease of access to mindless entertainment. The nation is basically unraveling at the seams

The book is 'Bowling alone' by Robert Putnam

Edited October 26, 2016 by Papist

[fasteddie]

22 hours ago, Uptown Redneck said:

I think a lot more people have either too much more to do, lack the patience to sit in the woods all day waiting for a deer to show itself, I know I do, or have simply found more excitable ways to spend their days. One has to be admit sitting in a stand can get boring very quickly 

The guy I work part time for is 10 years younger than me . He hunts ducks and geese but hasn't hunted deer in many years . He said sitting out in a stand and not seeing anything or getting a shot is too boring . 

[LJC]

1 hour ago, Elmo said:

I also can't hunt much this season due to family obligations but something about this year seems strange.  I hunt public land and the few times I've gone this year, I was the only person there when in years past, I would see a couple of other cars.  Another popular area I use to avoid because it use to have so many cars that you couldn't find parking.  I was talking to someone who told me they hunted there this weekend and they were the only ones there also.  Odd.

Yea I noticed  that I think we both hunt the same areas . 

[martin]

On 10/24/2016 at 11:06 AM, grampy said:

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!

I hunted that 7 years ago and there was me, and 6 guys putting on drives. Most of the time, there is no one. I like it up there. I need to get up and coyote hunt up there sometime soon.

[shawnhu]

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.

Funny how you post something like this on an Internet forum, where most still visit from their computer or phone.


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[Padre86]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....hunter recruitment and promotion is key to keeping these traditions alive, both culturally and legislatively.

 

People who hole up on their nice secluded properties or secret spots and don't give a care about bringing other, new hunters into this community are only hurting us.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Padre86

[Trial153]

The number one issue I have heard from hunters that no longer hunt is that they felt they lacked access to good hunting areas anymore

[stubby68]

           When traveling the roads I see less and less cars parked with hunters in the woods during gun. I see more and more during bow.last weekend from Arcade to Portageville I saw 23 cars parked in spots I know they were hunting.. Come gun season I will be lucky to see 5 in that trip.

[Larry]

Last Sunday I drove though the keeney  swamp WMA to see if anyone was duck or deer hunting. There wasn’t a single car there. A couple of years ago I hunted there on Thanksgiving day with one of my sons. when we left I drove both the lower and upper roads and we were the only ones there. I don’t know how hard it was hit on opening day but when I started hunting, there were cars there all the time. So I would say there are less hunters out there.

[NFA-ADK]

Yes!