Are hunter numbers growing?

[Don_C]

Interesting article by Uncle Ted.

 

https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/content/blogs/dan-schmidt-deer-blog-whitetail-wisdom/american-hunters-its-time-to-call-out-the-liars-cheats

 

 

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[rob-c]

Interesting .

Edited December 31, 2021 by rob-c

[DoubleDose]

They are talking all of USA.  My personal experience in NYS is that it is going down.  Most "old-timers" I know have stopped hunting and their sons and daughters have not continued in the sport.  From the article itself:

2004: New York           696,679

2021: New York          550,868

[wolc123]

6 minutes ago, DoubleDose said:

They are talking all of USA.  My personal experience in NYS is that it is going down.  Most "old-timers" I know have stopped hunting and their sons and daughters have not continued in the sport.  From the article itself:

2004: New York           696,679

2021: New York          550,868

Add that to the fact that our current whitetail population is at or near an all time high, and it gets very clear why it is important for us to at least make an attempt to fill our tags.

I am very glad I was born in NY, where tag filling is getting easier every year.  It must suck for those folks in the states with growing hunter numbers and dwindling game populations.  I feel sorry for the poor bastards. 

 

[DoubleDose]

4 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Add that to the fact that our current whitetail population is at or near an all time high, and it gets very clear why it is important for us to at least make an attempt to fill our tags.

I am very glad I was born in NY, where tag filling is getting easier every year.  It must suck for those folks in the states with growing hunter numbers and dwindling game populations.  I feel sorry for the poor bastards. 

 

Great point.  I remember as a kid getting into NYS deer hunting and doe permits were party permits; 3-5 people jointly applying for a single permit.   Now NYS has longer seasons and more permits available; including ability to transfer.

[Northcountryman]

Hard to believe that deer hunting is actually better now than it was 50-60 yrs ago , isn’t it ? Same with Trout fishing- I love it !! 

[wolc123]

2 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

Hard to believe that deer hunting is actually better now than it was 50-60 yrs ago , isn’t it ? Same with Trout fishing- I love it !! 

Bass fishing to.  Man I hope Heaven is like it is here in NY.

[Daveboone]

I think we had a mild temporary upswing with all the folks who are/were out of work the past two falls. The younger generations still overall show a lack of interest, and the older generations are thinning out. It will probably be a sad climate for the outdoorsman in another thirty years as our numbers plummet. 

[GreeneHunter]

I can remember the Pumpkin Suits marching through the woods across the stream on my property in the dark and pushing Deer ahead of them over to me ! They never saw the Deer but I did .... LOL  These days I or my son or a buddy have to actually push the other side of the stream to get them to cross if their not already on my side ! I believe the Tick situation and Lyme Disease made a few hunters say the heck with it !

[Robhuntandfish]

2 hours ago, DoubleDose said:

They are talking all of USA.  My personal experience in NYS is that it is going down.  Most "old-timers" I know have stopped hunting and their sons and daughters have not continued in the sport.  From the article itself:

2004: New York           696,679

2021: New York          550,868

plus all the people that have just moved out of NY.  This state has the largest declining population.  Esp the right leaning, gun owning demographic. - because of the weather of course......

[Five Seasons]

I didn’t read the article, but I’m a firm believer that overall numbers have declined but number per square mile is up.

Basically more land is being developed or posted or leased and pushing those who are left into tighter spaces or public. I’ve personally been on both sides of this.

For sure there was also a covid bump.


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[Robhuntandfish]

1 minute ago, Belo said:

I didn’t read the article, but I’m a firm believer that overall numbers have declined but number per square mile is up.

Basically more land is being developed or posted or leased and pushing those who are left into tighter spaces or public. I’ve personally been on both sides of this.

For sure there was also a covid bump.


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i actually think the opposite.  More people have disposable income and thus there own properties to hunt or lease (which is a newer concept).  Before there were more family owned farms and so many have been broken up and sold, and people want to buy something with a little land to hunt.  Both the porperties i have hunted for the last 10 years used to be farms that i wouldnt have access to if they were still farming. Thus even if you get 20 acres of your own land to hunt you stick to that before hunting on state land.  I never see lines of cars out at state lands and the orange army out anymore.  The land is being bought by hunters or leased by hunters so they dont have to hunt public.  As one that did years ago and saw an orange hat around every tree, most have felt the same way and found a way to have a private area of land.  I also think more women and kids are licensed now which keeps the numbers up some.  

[DoubleDose]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

plus all the people that have just moved out of NY.  This state has the largest declining population.  Esp the right leaning, gun owning demographic. - because of the weather of course......

Whatever the reason(s) "the right leaning, gun owning demographic" is leaving NYS, let's never forget that former Gov Andrew Cuomo said to the press in regards to this exodus, he did not want these people here anyway.

[Robhuntandfish]

11 minutes ago, DoubleDose said:

Whatever the reason(s) "the right leaning, gun owning demographic" is leaving NYS, let's never forget that former Gov Andrew Cuomo said to the press in regards to this exodus, he did not want these people here anyway.

Yes agreed. My point was this demographic is more likely to be hunters. Thus driving down the hunter numbers in NY. 

[DirtTime]

I didn't read the article, but I will say that in my area, some places are showing more hunters out then just last year.

 

There were more then a million guns sold to new owners in 2021, I will guess low in saying at least half were new hunters. I doubt there is any truly factual numbers to support my guess, but I can't see all of those people just buying guns for HD. Maybe 1/2 at best. Of course that's country wide, and I haven't bothered to look up just NYS.

 

So yes, I think the numbers are growing.

[Don_C]

I didn't read the article, but I will say that in my area, some places are showing more hunters out then just last year.
 
There were more then a million guns sold to new owners in 2021, I will guess low in saying at least half were new hunters. I doubt there is any truly factual numbers to support my guess, but I can't see all of those people just buying guns for HD. Maybe 1/2 at best. Of course that's country wide, and I haven't bothered to look up just NYS.
 
So yes, I think the numbers are growing.

As hunters we tend to assume that a large number of gun sales are for hunting, but I have to say I know far more gun owners than I do hunters. Personal protection firearms seem to be popular, not duck guns. My BIL has more guns than my local PD and would never even think of going hunting.

I don’t know if numbers across the nation are growing or not, but I don’t see it anywhere I hunt. Opening day of gun was mostly quiet in my area for the third year in a row. I also heard from a friend that some of the state land near Buffalo was wide open most of the time this year, when only 10 years ago you couldn’t find a place to park. I agree that more and more hunters are buying and leasing land, that itself may change the perception of hunter numbers, I’m sure in some areas we have more and some less, but overall in NYS I have to believe the numbers are dropping.


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[DoubleDose]

9 minutes ago, Don_C said:

As hunters we tend to assume that a large number of gun sales are for hunting, but I have to say I know far more gun owners than I do hunters. Personal protection firearms seem to be popular, not duck guns. My BIL has more guns than my local PD and would never even think of going hunting.

I don’t know if numbers across the nation are growing or not, but I don’t see it anywhere I hunt. Opening day of gun was mostly quiet in my area for the third year in a row. I also heard from a friend that some of the state land near Buffalo was wide open most of the time this year, when only 10 years ago you couldn’t find a place to park. I agree that more and more hunters are buying and leasing land, that itself may change the perception of hunter numbers, I’m sure in some areas we have more and some less, but overall in NYS I have to believe the numbers are dropping.


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Now let's look at the bolded text, 2A, and gun control politicians.  2A was never about hunting, it was about personal protection and defense of the constitution itself, hence "...shall not be infringed.".  Yet the politicians love to mislead that they are not taking away our hunting firearms.  Many Americans witnessed first hand that the government cannot and sometimes will not protect you.  Many or most of these first time gun owner Americans have no intentions to hunt, only protect themselves.  That leads to the firearms themselves.  What are the optimal firearms for personal protection?  Not hunting firearms!!!!  The optimal firearms for personal protection are the same ones our military and police/law enforcement use.  Interesting that all of the gun control measures seem to be directed precisely at owning those; which certainly  is an infringement to 2A and a breach of the oath to uphold the constitution.   

[fasteddie]

As for deer season , I think there are less hunters out there than say 10 years ago . Years ago  I would see several hunter's vehicles parked along the road , in fields , etc on my way to hunt . There would be all sorts of shooting almost an hour before Legal Time . I n the past few years I have seen a lot les parked vehicles and 90% less shooting in any of the 3 - 4 areas that I where I have deer hunted . I use to see several hunters on adjacent properties . That has all but ceased lately . Hunters aren't out there moving the deer . Just my observations .........

[DoubleDose]

On 12/31/2021 at 11:21 AM, DoubleDose said:

Whatever the reason(s) "the right leaning, gun owning demographic" is leaving NYS, let's never forget that former Gov Andrew Cuomo said to the press in regards to this exodus, he did not want these people here anyway.

...and if your truly old enough, you can remember when his father Mario as Gov told the press that hunters go hunting to drink and cheat on their wives!!!!  The apple did not fall from the tree with respect to the elite left disdain of "the right leaning, gun owning demographic".

 

[Steve D]

32 minutes ago, Don_C said:

As hunters we tend to assume that a large number of gun sales are for hunting, but I have to say I know far more gun owners than I do hunters. Personal protection firearms seem to be popular, not duck guns. My BIL has more guns than my local PD and would never even think of going hunting.

I don’t know if numbers across the nation are growing or not, but I don’t see it anywhere I hunt. Opening day of gun was mostly quiet in my area for the third year in a row. I also heard from a friend that some of the state land near Buffalo was wide open most of the time this year, when only 10 years ago you couldn’t find a place to park. I agree that more and more hunters are buying and leasing land, that itself may change the perception of hunter numbers, I’m sure in some areas we have more and some less, but overall in NYS I have to believe the numbers are dropping.


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I agree with you Don 100% based on the number of hunters I have seen and shots fired on the state land(s) that I hunt. The DEC says different so I can't begin to guess what is going on either.

 

Hunting License Holders 2006-20020

Sporting License Sales Summary - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

 

[suburbanfarmer]

1 minute ago, Steve D said:

I agree with you Don 100% based on the number of hunters I have seen and shots fired on the state land(s) that I hunt. The DEC says different so I can't begin to guess what is going on either.

 

Hunting License Holders 2006-20020

Sporting License Sales Summary - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

 

Most new hunters i know are definitely heading to private land or camps.

10yrs ago opening day used to be busy and 15 yrs ago it sounded like a war zone in Honeoye creek stateland. This yr was a ghost town only 8 trucks on opening day.

 

[land 1]

well my land has 1,000 of acres of state land close to it and i took several drives around on the state land and saw very very few hunters this year,,, and not alot of shots heard, so less hunters but deer populations looked great

[suburbanfarmer]

Hunting is not a hobby but a lifestyle. Most kids including my own who are 20 & 18 yr olds have no drive to get out of bed at 4AM to go chase deer. They would rather sleep in and get their fun twiddling a joy stick.

My oldest does make it out with me on gun opening day but not a die hard crazy dark to dark sit enthusiast like his old man

 

[DoubleDose]

11 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Hunting is not a hobby but a lifestyle. Most kids including my own who are 20 & 18 yr olds have no drive to get out of bed at 4AM to go chase deer. They would rather sleep in and get their fun twiddling a joy stick.

My oldest does make it out with me on gun opening day but not a die hard crazy dark to dark sit enthusiast like his old man

 

Agree.  In my experience, most of the younger generation has no patience.   They want instant gratification.  They have no drive to get out of bed early in the AM to hunt or fish BUT have no issue with staying up to any hour of the AM playing video games.  Thankfully, there are exceptions though.

[suburbanfarmer]

6 minutes ago, DoubleDose said:

Agree.  In my experience, most of the younger generation has no patience.   They want instant gratification.  They have no drive to get out of bed early in the AM to hunt or fish BUT have no issue with staying up to any hour of the AM playing video games.  Thankfully, there are exceptions though.

Somewhere as parents we messed up giving in to the tech craze