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Your ideas to fix the future of hunting!

fairchaser

fairchaser

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
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Location
TN, USA
All of us know we are losing the battle for the future of hunting due to declining numbers and the ageing hunting population. Single parent homes,usually run by the mom, don't pass on the hunting tradition to the kids. What is your best idea to turn this tide?
 
No idea,my son used to wanna go with me all the time,hot ,cold,didnt matter,just loved it.Now,since he turned about 14,he has no interest,maybe been twice in the last 3 years.Baffles me.
 
Archery, Skeet Teams, Hunters Safety as an elective, all taught in schools. It won't necessarily get kids in the woods, but it could spark an interest and eventually if someone wants to hunt, they will do so. I dunno, seems like a good starting point. My schools had nothing of this sort.
 
Football Hunter said:
No idea,my son used to wanna go with me all the time,hot ,cold,didnt matter,just loved it.Now,since he turned about 14,he has no interest,maybe been twice in the last 3 years.Baffles me.
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He's more worried about chasing 2 legged Whitetails now. He'll come back to hunting in a couple years.
 
I can't say what I'd like without sounding like a tree hugger, but what StalkingWolf said would probably be the most beneficial....
 
doubledownranch said:
Archery, Skeet Teams, Hunters Safety as an elective, all taught in schools.
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I do think school programs, especially shooting sports (i.e. archery, skeet, 22 marksmanship, etc.), would be a big help.
 
Had no idea it needed fixing. Are license sales dropping every year? With all the lifetime lic's bought, you would think there would be somewhat of a drop.
 
when I was growing up, most of my friends didn't hunt then...60s and 70s.....

Thinking back to my high school graduation class, I bet there were far fewer hunters than there were hunters....maybe 3/4 of them didn't hunt....

Back then, kids earned stuff, like roster spots on local sports teams. They looked forward to going hunting or fishing and often times THAT was a reward for being a good kid. These days, with the "let them all play" attitude and the increasing popularity of video games, kids lose interest in earning anything and instead of taking them hunting as a reward, kids would rather be rewarded by buying them a game to play or NOT giving them a time out.....

I don't think the percentage of outdoor kids is down quite as much as the sheer number of kids has increased....I knew lots of kids that played outside because they didn't have video games. Even then, if it got too hot or cold, they played board games with other kids...these days, kids can basically entertain themselves for days on end....and many choose that instead of relying on family or friends to take them out to hunt or fish...

Times have changed......but, i still know plenty of kids that hunt and fish. The percenatge may be down , but imo, it's more that there are many more kids than there used to be when I was growing up....

Also, people work more now than they used to back then...more overtime, night jobs and weekend work than when I was a kid....

Again, I don'tthink the kids have changed so much as times have changed and the kids have more options. That does not mean that they wouldn't go if you took them, but most households have less time for such things...

Change the future....? Probably not, until we change the basic structure of the family.....Only raise the kids you can comfortably afford and spend adequate time with....the more kids you have, the more soccer games and cheer practice you have and less time for the outdoors....

change the family structure and stress outdoor activities, and I don't mean SOCCER!! lol.
 
One thing that has had a huge impact on kids and adults hunting and fishing is organized sports. Nowadays kids play year around. There is no longer a baseball season, a basketball season, etc. When I was younger, we played baseball in the summer, basketball in the winter, and football in the fall. In this day and age, you have spring baseball, summer baseball, fall baseball, basketball runs for 6 months, and football is year around. If you have 2 children and they play more than one sport, or they play different sports at different times, you do not have the time to hunt or fish. You are playing rec league games during the week and tournaments on the weekends. If there is not a tournament, there is some kind of camp. I have one friend who has 3 kids and they all play sports. The only time of the year he is not busy on the weekend is for a couple of weeks around Christmas.
 
This will probably get me a lot of heat.....

Organized sports/activities have become daycare so mommy/daddy can have a little PTO for shopping/sports bar etc.

Not all parents mind you but many.

Listen to the soccer moms plan their social activities for after dropping off the kids. Sports/activities aren't about the activity, they are about getting a few more hours off from the kids for some PTO.

In the "olden days" parents would come up with activities that they could do together with their kids. Fishing, hunting, picking berries, camping, sports.
 
Mentoring is the key to allowing a kid to catch the outdoors bug. Most times, if a kid has a positive experience hunting he/she will become a lifelong hunter or at least be positive toward hunters and hunting. The State could offer an incentive to mentor a non family member youth on a hunt. I know a number of hunters would go to the effort if they had priority in a WMA drawing like the President's Island buck hunt.
 
fishboy1 said:
This will probably get me a lot of heat.....

Organized sports/activities have become daycare so mommy/daddy can have a little PTO for shopping/sports bar etc.

Not all parents mind you but many.

Listen to the soccer moms plan their social activities for after dropping off the kids. Sports/activities aren't about the activity, they are about getting a few more hours off from the kids for some PTO.

In the "olden days" parents would come up with activities that they could do together with their kids. Fishing, hunting, picking berries, camping, sports.
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it's been like this as long as I can remember. Some parents are very involved with their kids activity and some are not and use it as a babysitter. I don't think it is year specific...

I played organized ball and coached it many years later and saw parents of both types from the 1960s until today....

There are alot more kids playing organized sports now than i remember back in the 60s.....population boom?????
 
Alot of us deer hunters forget the importance of small game hunting with kids. When I was little I would take my Benjamen air rifle and go shoot black birds, squirrels, and rabbits every chance I could. It was fun to chase after squirrels and sneak up on rabbits to get a clear head shot with the pellet gun.

Small game hunting is the gateway to big game hunting for many kids. Its less boring and most times you are successful. I think if more people took the time to take a kid small game hunting it would be beneficial to the future of our sport.
 
Bayou Buck said:
Alot of us deer hunters forget the importance of small game hunting with kids. When I was little I would take my Benjamen air rifle and go shoot black birds, squirrels, and rabbits every chance I could. It was fun to chase after squirrels and sneak up on rabbits to get a clear head shot with the pellet gun.

Small game hunting is the gateway to big game hunting for many kids. Its less boring and most times you are successful. I think if more people took the time to take a kid small game hunting it would be beneficial to the future of our sport.
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Excellent post. I agree completely.

Deer hunting used to be the pinacle achievement in a young hunter's advancement. It was something they worked up towards. It requires the most patience of any of the hunting types. Young hunters started out hunting those animals that allowed less patience and detailed skill, and then worked their way up through more and more difficult animals to hunt (requiring more patience and hunting skill). Deer hunting was the at the top of the list.

Jumping right to the animal that requires the most patience and skill to be successful may not be the way to turn a child or new hunter onto hunting.
 
BSK said:
Bayou Buck said:
Alot of us deer hunters forget the importance of small game hunting with kids. When I was little I would take my Benjamen air rifle and go shoot black birds, squirrels, and rabbits every chance I could. It was fun to chase after squirrels and sneak up on rabbits to get a clear head shot with the pellet gun.

Small game hunting is the gateway to big game hunting for many kids. Its less boring and most times you are successful. I think if more people took the time to take a kid small game hunting it would be beneficial to the future of our sport.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. I agree completely.

Deer hunting used to be the pinacle achievement in a young hunter's advancement. It was something they worked up towards. It requires the most patience of any of the hunting types. Young hunters started out hunting those animals that allowed less patience and detailed skill, and then worked their way up through more and more difficult animals to hunt (requiring more patience and hunting skill). Deer hunting was the at the top of the list.

Jumping right to the animal that requires the most patience and skill to be successful may not be the way to turn a child or new hunter onto to hunting.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.
 
BSK said:
Bayou Buck said:
Alot of us deer hunters forget the importance of small game hunting with kids. When I was little I would take my Benjamen air rifle and go shoot black birds, squirrels, and rabbits every chance I could. It was fun to chase after squirrels and sneak up on rabbits to get a clear head shot with the pellet gun.

Small game hunting is the gateway to big game hunting for many kids. Its less boring and most times you are successful. I think if more people took the time to take a kid small game hunting it would be beneficial to the future of our sport.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. I agree completely.

Deer hunting used to be the pinacle achievement in a young hunter's advancement. It was something they worked up towards. It requires the most patience of any of the hunting types. Young hunters started out hunting those animals that allowed less patience and detailed skill, and then worked their way up through more and more difficult animals to hunt (requiring more patience and hunting skill). Deer hunting was the at the top of the list.

Jumping right to the animal that requires the most patience and skill to be successful may not be the way to turn a child or new hunter onto hunting.
Click to expand...

I agree completely! I started out squirrel hunting. Even though my dad was an avid deer hunter he still made time to take me squirrel hunting. I didnt start deer hunting til i was 10 and didnt get my first buck til 13.

On a side note, less hunters means more deer for me! Kidding obviously...
 
I have always been patient. It may have come from my first ever squirrel hunt where my dad sat me down under a hickory tree and left me there for two hours...

I've always had a knack for "waiting", even though I rarely do it outside restaurants, I just don't love any one place to eat that much..lol.

Like many other things, the love for hunting is in you or it's not, imo. I know plenty of examples of kids that grew up hunting but quit as teenagers or young adults and others that went the other route and never hunted until they became adults....

Some people have the fortitude for it, while others do not....imo.
 

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