Our Biggest Problem as NY Hunters...

[sits in trees]

average age of a NY deer hunter is now about 50 yrs old..could this be the reason that there seems to be so little in concern about the future of our sport. if your a 60 yr old hunter and your kids don't hunt whats the real incentive to get more hunters into the woods, right?

i could be wrong and no one will ever admit it but after reading probably 100s of thousands of hunting forum posts this is the feeling i get from alot of the older guys.

who knows maybe it's just the natural progression of our species and its our time to go the way of the dinosaur...

[burmjohn]

I'm concerned. However, the majority of the people that I know that hunt are under the age of 50.

[Dave]

The guys in our hunting camp have a mix of ages, two just turned 70, two in the 60's, one guy in his 50's, and four guys in their 40's. But we have our children starting to hunt now, so we have a bunch of guys in their 20's . They are not as enthusiastic say the older hunters but they are getting there. They are the future of our camp. It's hard to get them to hunt when there is a football game on.

[G-Man]

Personally i've seen an influx of new hunters in my area, i believe a lot of decreasing hunter numbers are that the spouses that use to buy a licence no longer do as liberal bag limits and doe tags are available. so there is no need to have another hunter so you could get a party permit or another tag to fill the freezer. So a lot of these hunters are no longer in the sport....

[Dave]

Personally i've seen an influx of new hunters in my area, i believe a lot of decreasing hunter numbers are that the spouses that use to buy a licence no longer do as liberal bag limits and doe tags are available. so there is no need to have another hunter so you could get a party permit or another tag to fill the freezer. So a lot of these hunters are no longer in the sport....

Good point

[DeerStalker22]

I know on my hunting club that I am the youngest hunter at 19 years old, my dad is probable the second or third youngest at 45. Next year though my brother will be 14 so he will be the youngest now

[Dom]

I dont think its an age thing i know many hunters fro 12 years to 75 most of the younger guys and gals are to busy with playing on pc and vid games also cant seam to get out of bed till the afternoon

[sssurfertim]

Im 22 and hunt LI, and am the youngest memeber of a hunting club in Deleware county 4W. I hunt alot of waterfowl and deer ith the bow, its all I live for. Alot of older guys underestimate younger guys, they do not give them respect and "think" they do not have any skill. I have learned alot from older more seasoned hunters, it is the only way to truly learn how to hunt. Best advice ive ever had is that you "Have to be in it to win it", you ain't gunna kill anything sittin on the couch. Alot of guys my age just don't have the drive to sit in the cold for hours and wake up early.

Edited September 28, 2011 by sssurfertim

[bubba]

I am 52 and the guys I hunt with are younger than I except one. I have been teaching hunter ed for 26 years they tell me. I do my part to bring others into the sport. I have a class starting this saturday for another local club. This is my 4th class since April. I have never had so many people calling for a class Some are very rude tellimg me they need a class etc. I am not seeing any decline in numbers for sure

Edited September 28, 2011 by bubba

[burmjohn]

The people taking the class, what age group do they seem to be mostly comprised of?

[sits in trees]

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/94850539.html

with over 1/2 a million hunters in our state if even 1/2 of us could get one kid hooked imagine the difference that would make. probable a pipe dream, too many guys would just as soon chase a kid off their land instead of asking them if he wanted to hunt it.

[NFA-ADK]

When I use to stay at the adirondack trail motel you HAD to make reservations a year in advance to get a room for opening week. That was in 1990, after a few years you did not need to make reservations due to low hunter participation.

My god child and brother will soon be up with us. His father purchased a .22 for his 12th birthday, I gave a nice gun bag and some shoot and see targets and a camo shirt. Hope to keep the 2 of them interested... IF I can get his father into a deer this year they will be hooked, so that's the plan... Hard enough to get one for myself and now I need to get one for someone else, O boy...

I think the best thing to reach the masses would be a really good movie about hunting mabe some elite special forces guy, like a rambo movie but more on the hunting side... Fat chance with the tree huggers in Hollywood. A good video game would not work as the kids would just play it year round and never leave the house... I always try to encourage the younger people I see, but most just do not understand why people hunt. In most schools hunting is looked down upon and is discouraged. When was the last time a hunting course was offered at a school on Long Island of any type for the kids, too many liberals that have no clue about the environmant and what hunters do to contribute...

[Doc]

First of all, I do not believe that there is any age group that is unconcerned over the future of hunting, and that includes the old folks. Perhaps what is being mistaken for lack of concern is frustration that comes along with the realization that society has taken huge steps away from activities and interests of the past. There definitely is a level of frustration particularly from those of us who have witnessed the changes first hand, when attempts to involve young people in any outdoor activities are met with total disinterest and lack of enthusiasm toward anything to do with the outdoors. I'm not sure how many people are aware that there have been studies that show that hunting is not the only victim of this new techno-culture. Youth interest has diminished in fishing, trapping, camping, and hiking as well. Some may try to make it an age thing, but the reality is that it is a societal thing, and the older people are simply those who see that the most clearly because they have lived the evolution of attitudes.

My take is that creating interest is a family process that requires fostering appreciation and engagement with all things of nature. That includes teaching a love of camping and hiking and a curiosity of our natural world. This was the process that I was raised under, and the process that I followed when raising my boys. All of our recreation and family activities revolved around the outdoors, and hunting, fishing and trapping were things that naturally came of all that. I don't recall having to do anything to promote hunting, fishing and trapping. It was all just an assumed thing that they all expected to become involved in simply because it was just another extension of the more basic outdoor indoctrination. My sons now have a more intense involvement with outdoor activities than even I did because of that life-long indoctrination. Also throughout their upbringing, they involved others with their infectious addiction to outdoor activities. And so my efforts to keep the outdoors as a central part of our family had a ripple effect that went well beyond my two sons. That is the sort of thing that makes the difference, and it is the lack of that kind of dedication to nature in families that has caused a decline in youth interest. It is not lack of opportunities, or a lack of organized efforts to get these kids involved. There is far more of that kind of activity going on right now than at anytime in history. We are all looking for something easy that will reverse the decline in outdoor interests, some single event or program that will magically turn kids into hunters and fishermen or trappers. But the fact is that there is no single easy item. It is a cultural shift that has to be reversed. Older people understand that and yes, there may be a heavy level of frustration and perhaps even a bit of exasparation as the realities become clearer. I honestly have no answers, and I have no thoughts as to how you reverse decades of cultural evolution. I am fairly certain that many people have a very unrealistic view as to how easy they might imagine the solution to be.

I do know that trying to lay the blame other generations is a pretty useless non-productive exercise as well as a mis-informed point of view. The fact is that the only reason that hunting is surviving at all is because of some of these older folks who have taken the lead in youth camps and hunter safety training activities, and even just their own infectious enthusiasm toward the outdoor activities. The reality of it all is that there are some mighty cultural and societal forces working against us and they may be proving to be more than a match for any generation. And of course the one thing that we are finding out is that it is pretty darn hard for individuals outside the family to make up for years of inadequacy within the family.

[Deerthug]

I know I won't have a problem convincing my 10 y.o. to come out hunting with me when he gets older. He always asks me when I get ready to head upstate for the season, if he can go hunting with me. I tell him just another two years to go before you can get your junior sportsman license. He says that's too long to wait! I guess two years in the eyes of a 10 y.o. is a long time. I take him up preseason to scout and he loves that!

[steve863]

As Doc pointed out, it's not only hunting that young people don't participate in any more. Most of the other outdoor activities have seen a drastic decline also. Society many times changes to what is considered important to ones life. Surely the outdoors are not very important to young people any more. America has simply become more urban minded. Even people in rural areas can get influenced by this mentality. This is not about to change in my opinion. It is what it is. Getting kids started young, don't mean that they will stick with the sport either. I have seen plenty of kids below the age of 10 get all excited about wanting to go out hunting with their fathers and then a few years later when they become teenagers they could care less about it. One can't make someone a hunter, they could only help show them the way. A person needs to have the desire to be a hunter from within.

[Dave]

Now that my sons are grown and working they have a different view of things. They love to be at the house upstate, they all work in the city and can't wait to get away to the cabin. It's quiet, beautiful and relaxing something they appreciate now. It's funny when your sons say Dad now I know why you appreciate nature so much. They love cutting and splitting fire wood, sitting around a camp fire and having a few beer with the old man. And they even hunt, life is good!!!!!

[bubba]

The people taking the class, what age group do they seem to be mostly comprised of?

11 to mid 30s

[burmjohn]

11 to mid 30s

Thats promising...

[Deerthug]

Steve863 I agree with you. I think that we as hunters have an obligation to our younger children, nieces & nephews to teach them not only about hunting & fishing but more importantly to respect and enjoying wildlife and THEIR habitats no matter where you may be, whether they are at the beach, in the woods, in parks, and in their own neighborhood. Of course as they get older and they start getting involved in other activities, i.e. school sports etc, some will lose interest (like my 14 y.o. daughter did) But if they are allowed to participate in outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking and even bird watching, at a younger age on a more regular basis, then I think the chances of their losing interest will be reduced dramatically. I think it also depends on the make up or nature of the family they are being raised in. I know as I was growing up, my dad who was an immigrant when he came to America, all he kept pushing on us was advancing in school, getting a job and making money. Hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities were the furthest things from my dad's mind. It was only after I got married and became part of her family (all of whom were hunters) did I start enjoying the sport as well as all other outdoor activities. This is what I have been trying to instill in my 10 y.o. son and so far he loves going upstate, doing some scouting, fishing in streams, and even sitting around the chiminea roasting marshmellows.

Edited September 28, 2011 by jmasiakos

[DeerStalker22]

Bubba where is the course your teaching at

[jusputtn]

You don't have to breed to get kids into hunting. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/46245.html Not to mention becoming an Hunter Ed Instructor.

I think convenient opportunity is a factor. I can't just walk out the backdoor where I live so that means i need to have at least 1/2 a day to make it worthwhile due to the drive time. Thus it makes it harder to slip in some time with competing family activities. But I'm doing to my best to sway my son to the hunting life. I think he's taking the bait. My daughter is a tougher candidate but then again she's 4 so I've got time to work on her too.

[bubba]

st lawrence valley sportsmans club in red mills. I usually teach at black lake. set up for 30 filled it in 2 days and have had at least 50 others call

Edited September 28, 2011 by bubba

[DeerStalker22]

Do you know if there is still spots open cause i know a few people that want to get their license, and ya i know where it is im a member, greg lives right around the corner from me

[DeerStalker22]

wait never mind i didnt read it all

[nix56]

our hunt group has 4 70yo 2 50yo 1 40yo 1 30yo 1 20yo and my 16 yo nephew so we are trying to get more involved. a friend of mine hasn't hunted in 18 yrs, now his 12yo son is interested. so we've started him shooting 22cal n 20ga so there is hope thesr 2 will start hunting soon