Are hunter numbers declining?

[Brian662]

Your neighbors are complaining that you are drawing in more neighborhood deer?

That is pretty common in my areas as well, but some landowners choose to maximize cropland rental dollars and some choose to maximize hunting opportunities.

Yes, been going on in MN and WI for several years. Anything from complaints they don't see deer like they used to, hunting isn't what it was, etc. Others make comments in passing that they see all the deer traveling my way once the crops come off.

Last year in WI there were several that made comments after opening weekend. I have to slow play how many deer I see after they say "between the three of us we only saw 4 deer all weekend".

I know my situation isnt unique. But it adds to the lack of accessibility for the resource which could have a potential negative impact on hunter numbers as managing neighbors become more effective. IMO

 

[Hoytvectrix]

It all comes full circle with the other thread (on neighbors). How much should someone be allowed to own/lease/hunt before it becomes a detriment to society or most importantly, the resource (in this case, the deer herd).

The resource is the holy grail. Access to the resource has been made more difficult (expensive) in most places but it's much easier to harvest the resource with the plentiful options of weapons (see Dawgs post on everyone gets a trophy).

I think landowners and managers play an underappreciated role in resource conservation. Probably the largest and most important for most states. We are a very small minority though and are likely not representative of the average hunter. Like you said, it's a double edged sword and is tying up land for the better-off going to matter in 50 or 100 years if only 0.05% of the population gets to enjoy their wildlife?

I hunt public land in MN and I used to dabble in public in MO where I own my farm. I think both states have their strengths and weaknesses for how they manage the public land I've seen. I hope states continue to raise awareness of the role that public lands play in conservation and public recreation. I had an opposite path of many who hunt public land where I began hunting private and branched out to public for more frequent opportunities. Many of the people I come across on public seem almost jaded that someone else is using the same area as them, even if it is out of season. Interestingly, non-residents seem much more appreciative of the resource than residents.

Maybe it is knowing how expensive an acre of land is and what it takes to manage it, but I feel spoiled getting to go wander and scout a +10,000 acre piece of public. I'm not sure what this rambling has to do with my original post other than to say people from all backgrounds need to understand their role in the conservation of these resources.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I don't think the people who are worried about hunter recruitment want worse hunting experiences for themselves or anyone else. I think they are worried about what happens as hunting demographics shift towards the European model of hunting and it is a resource that is mostly appreciated by the wealthy.

I want as many people speaking for their wildlife resources as possible, and certainly I don't want people making decisions for wildlife that are completely removed from it.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Yes, been going on in MN and WI for several years. Anything from complaints they don't see deer like they used to, hunting isn't what it was, etc. Others make comments in passing that they see all the deer traveling my way once the crops come off.

Last year in WI there were several that made comments after opening weekend. I have to slow play how many deer I see after they say "between the three of us we only saw 4 deer all weekend".

I know my situation isnt unique. But it adds to the lack of accessibility for the resource which could have a potential negative impact on hunter numbers as managing neighbors become more effective. IMO

At some point it’s people’s own fault for stomping through there cover and paying no mind to the wind. A little food and security isn’t that tough.

 

[Westwind]

Non-resident deer hunter numbers in Kansas are higher than they have ever been and getting higher. Why is that important? Because when they replace a resident hunter, we lose a hunter nationally. Kansas may still sell the same number of deer tags to the same number of hunters, but if that guy also accounts for a tag in 3 other states, he has replaced 3 hunters nationally assuming they aren’t increasing overall tags (which Kansas is definitely not). That is not sustainable.


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This is a great point. I got a phone call from an out of state hunter just yesterday. He had sent a letter to my neighbor asking him to hunt and for some reason my neighbor gave him my number. While I’m not looking to allow any hunting we had a pretty nice chat and I found it interesting that someone was willing to put in some effort.

 

[Westwind]

At some point it’s people’s own fault for stomping through there cover and paying no mind to the wind. A little food and security isn’t that tough.

I consider myself a duck hunter first and a deer hunter second but I’m always kind of surprised how oblivious guys who seem to have made an exclusive hobby out of deer hunting have never thought about this.