Are the glory days of deer hunting coming to a close?

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Btw these conversations are fun and thought provoking. Good stuff being thrown around

 

[omicron1792]

I’m only speaking to Kansas. And I need to be clear. Anyone exercising their right to the law as it currently exists is good in my book. I think there are ways they can improve and those are my thoughts. We don’t have to agree. I am the County Appraiser here so I can speak very specifically to the tax implications here and they aren’t even close. I also think there should be perks to being a resident somewhere. I don’t think that is unreasonable. As all that related back to the thread again, deer are becoming (are) a commodity that goes to the highest bidder. I think the glory days are over.


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That’s a really good post. I agree with this even though I am not against out of state landowners. A healthy mix seems to be the best route.

The land I bought had been owned by my wife’s grandfather who lived and worked in the small community for 60 years. When he got old and moved to assisted living his land became the poaching spot central. I have talked to numerous people that said “oh I’ve hunted there, great turkey and deer.” The real angst for most good ole boys was that they lost their free honey hole.

That has died down and most locals accept me warmly these days.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

That’s a really good post. I agree with this even though I am not against out of state landowners. A healthy mix seems to be the best route.

The land I bought had been owned by my wife’s grandfather who lived and worked in the small community for 60 years. When he got old and moved to assisted living his land became the poaching spot central. I have talked to numerous people that said “oh I’ve hunted there, great turkey and deer.” The real angst for most good ole boys was that they lost their free honey hole.

That has died down and most locals accept me warmly these days.

Good point about that. A lot of locals are pissed their free ride ended. They were taking advantage of local knowledge situations and using that to have a free hunting spot. They aren’t upset about some big picture ethos about the future of hunting, they are mad their gig is up.

 

[356]

Seems a good number here don't dread the European model, but rather welcome it

As with a few others on this forum, I have spent quite a bit of time in Europe (over two years, usually a month at a time) and loath their wildlife model. First, weapons are bad in most European nations—be it rifles, shotguns or bows. This creates undue regulatory burden on the hunter. Second, the public trust doctrine means hunting is not just in the hands of the elite. While private land ownership is the goal of almost every member of this forum, most of the students I work with hunt public lands and do not spend a lot of money. Most are successful. So far I’ve harvested two deer on public this season, and not only did I have a blast, the cost was minimal.

In the past five years I have introduced many to hunting by simply asking, “If you had a mentor, would hunting be something you would like to try?” Many have said yes, and their stories have been shared on this forum. That is NOT something you can do in most of Europe, and is why I have hope for the future of hunting.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

People keep referencing votes and losing them? Are yall all having these secret hunting ballots in other states? I’ve lived in 3 states as an adult and don’t think I’ve ever voted on a single wildlife issue.

In some cases there are hunting regulations on the ballot and in other cases they are surveys conducted by conservation departments. I try to voice my opinion for every one that I can.

 

[omicron1792]

Ballot box politics, especially for things that require expertise to manage, is ridiculous. Colorado is a prime example of this.

We live in a republic not a democracy. Elected officials for a particular region making decisions, while not perfect, is way better than a whole state voting on topics that don’t effect them.

 

[SwampCat]

As with a few others on this forum, I have spent quite a bit of time in Europe (over two years, usually a month at a time) and loath their wildlife model. First, weapons are bad in most European nations—be it rifles, shotguns or bows. This creates undue regulatory burden on the hunter. Second, the public trust doctrine means hunting is not just in the hands of the elite. While private land ownership is the goal of almost every member of this forum, most of the students I work with hunt public lands and do not spend a lot of money. Most are successful. So far I’ve harvested two deer on public this season, and not only did I have a blast, the cost was minimal.

In the past five years I have introduced many to hunting by simply asking, “If you had a mentor, would hunting be something you would like to try?” Many have said yes, and their stories have been shared on this forum. That is NOT something you can do in most of Europe, and is why I have hope for the future of hunting.

I am not as confident as you. I am speaking of my own case. I moved to AR in 1980. Timber company land was common and was open to hunters with no leasing. All through the 80’s I killed up to 200 quail per year. I havent seen 200 quail in the last 20 years. Friends had rabbit dogs. We would kill 20 or more rabbits in an afternoon hunt. I could kill more deer now in an afternoon than rabbits. Arkansas turkey harvest has dropped almost 50% in last 20 years. It was common to kill limits of ducks off public land a mile from my house or off my own waterfowl impoundments. Ten years ago, the shooting from the duck hunters would wake us up. Now, I have to pay a high dollar lease, drive an hour, to maybe shoot a couple of ducks a hunt. Even my hogs are gone. We now have only squirrels and deer in number.

I think a lot of potential hunters who might like duck, bird, or rabbit hunting find deer hunting boring. It is boring. I would gladly go back to hunting small game like we had in the 80’s - and shooting nothing but spikes like we did in the 80’s.

 

[BenA]

I bought a piece of property the locals didn't want. It was underpriced even by local standards. A local sold it to me. Now, I'm supposed to not hunt or limit my hunting on it because I don't vote there? If that's the case, I'll put multiple trailer homes on it to put more voting locals on it. I'll just be benefiting the locals.