When I started in Michigan we had near a million hunters, today around 550,000, almost half are gone. Michigan DNR has tried to policy's to get more numbers, allowing crossbows and extended doe seasons. What if you were in charge of your state would you change for policy if you could?
Stop selling land to garbage large scale builders. Here's 2.5years of "progress", pricing folks like us out of the land buying prices.
The "protect your turf" mindset combined with soaring lease prices and most hunters getting too old for it now, has done more damage than anything else. Why are new people going to try something if the perceived attitude of those already doing it is unwelcoming?
Very good point. Also has anyone dealt with Solar Farms yet? They officered my family a pretty damn good price, we turned down, it was tempting
Had a similar offer on our farm. Solar panels on the prime farm ground what a joke! Who wants to herd sheep in a valley of mirrors?
Solar panels do nothing but destroy wildlife habitat and farm land ... a 16,000 acre solar farm has went up/going up just a few miles from the state land I hunt .. wiped out precious feeding areas for geese and sandhills ...... more areas looking to add them also ...
Interesting tidbit on the news. It was discovered that solar panels could stand upright and row crops be grown between the rows of solar panels. Sorry but I didn't get the source but saw a photo of a combine going between rows of panels. I'll see if I can find it.
As others have mentioned, I believe lack of access is the #1 contributor to falling hunting numbers. A myriad of factors play a role, but none of them are the smoking gun we keep looking for. IMO, this ship has sailed, and no amount of public awareness or acceptance is going to reverse the trend. My sincere hope is that hunting finds its level of participants and stops shrinking at some point, but that remains to be seen. Until then, we will continue to flail around and blame all sorts of other factors—youth sports, video games, social media, public perception of hunters, etc. Those causing the problems are often the biggest proponents of hunting - wealthy landowners - so it creates a bit of a conundrum. How can those working to support and further hunting be the ones also killing it at the same time? That group of individuals is certainly reluctant to look in the mirror and realize their actions are unintentionally causing the problem, however true that may be. "Back in the day", hunters weren't so selfish with their land. Deer camps were a thing, and people enjoyed the camaraderie of hunting with their buddies. They took out friends, co-workers, their kids, and others to go hunting with them. It was not at all uncommon to hunt 3-4 guys on a single 80 acre tract and everyone had fun. It was about getting together and shooting "a" deer of some sort. If you happened to get a big one, awesome! Then came trail cameras. We suddenly had a way to know what deer were out there that we could kill. The landowner of that 80-acre farm no longer had to hope and dream about a big buck showing up - he knew one was there. And he wanted to kill it for himself. The amount of invites to friends started to get lower and lower. People are selfish - it's human nature, like it or not. Then came leasing. Those with the means to afford exclusive access started paying for it and pushing others out. It sucks, but it's also the way things go in all aspects of life. This is not exclusive to hunting. It's why waterfront property costs more than farmland, or why it costs more to ride first class on an airplane or stay in a penthouse. Supply and demand, my friends. That leads us to focus on land ownership and land management - improving your property to attract and hold more deer. All of a sudden, we jumped into a new level of wealth to achieve these results. An entirely new business model sprang up out of nowhere - dedicated to helping people purchase their own farm and live the ultimate dream. Now, it seems like every 3rd person I know is a "hunting land specialist" trying to sling "trophy hunting farms". Buying farms, erecting buildings, buying tractors and implements, paying foresters and others to do clear cuts, hinge cuts, clear areas for food plots, etc. This is now seen as the ultimate goal for hunters - controlling and improving as much land as possible to maximize your chances for success, usually on a single mature "target" buck. So, as an example, you have a 160-acre piece of ground that used to be family-owned for generations. That farm may have supported 4-6 hunters of various ages, skill levels, participation levels, and weapon types. Grandpa passes away, the farm gets sold, and the new landowner either buys it so they can hunt (solo, mind you) or possibly leases it to 1 or 2 guys. You now have 3-4 (or more) hunters who are displaced without anywhere to go. Some may be too old to try public land, or maybe too young. Others just decide to hang it up and find another hobby. Now they are out and we also lose their kids who they wanted to take hunting, but don't have the means to. And so the problem compounds itself and we get fewer hunters each year.
It’s just something to have numbers dropping with the great gear, clothing, and boots. Back in my first years in the late 60s and 70s if you were bow hunting you was a dedicated hunter. Nowadays, with these snowflake generations it’s no wonder the numbers are dropping, that and hunters getting older. But as I am approaching 70 the gear we have nowadays is making it much easier to stay in the woods. I think many older hunters don’t realize how many ways you can improvise to keep you in the woods. Living in Ohio finding public land to hunt is a non issue.
I had a thought halfway typed out and then read your comment JZ....no need to add anything. LOT of truth here! A LOT!
I am fortunate that Tennessee has over a million acres of public WMAs. But...has anyone figured the cost of starting from scratch to hunt? I have guns that have gone up 500% over the years. Our local skeet club went under as the old timers quit for one reason or anther. I recall one member saying the kids were more interested in tennis. Young people are more interested in video games and hanging out with their friends. Their idea of outdoors is sitting outside at the picnic table at the local burger place.
The why's have been covered, but what the problem the state is facing because of it? I.e. Are there an increase in vehicle accidents, property damage, etc? Or are the revenues not keeping up with the costs for certain agencies?
Absolutely, our commercial hunting industry has priced the average hunter out of caring to hunt. Sent from my Lone Wolf treestand using Bowhunting.com Forums
The cost to do anything is what you make it. There is always going to be a minimum entry point, and there's going to be the spot where everyone wants to be with the latest and greatest "best" gear. Point being, you don't NEED any of that stuff to get started. We're quick to blame the youth - but it's the parents, grandparents, family friends, etc who expose or don't expose those kids to hunting and the outdoors. Give most of those kids the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities and fall in love with them the way we did, and they will take the same path. You can still play video games and hang out with your friends and enjoy going hunting and fishing. They aren't mutually exclusive.
Michigan has 4.6 million Acres of public land, plenty of space to hunt. It's not a land issue, it's a no big buck issue I believe on that land. I bought the camera's that send me pictures and got into all that, I think I am going to take them down, and just go hunt this year like I did in my 20's. 30's and early 40's. I really enjoyed just sitting in my tree those mornings this year. Perhaps we have put to much expectations on the youth, as they think they have to shoot a big buck each year. I seen a deer contest on here for who can shoot the most deer, is that where we are these days? I guess the question is how do we get them to enjoy it like we did when we started, I would give anything to sit with Gramps one more time, over his bait pile in Northern MI, shooting chipmunks who tried to eat his corn, some of the best times. I also enjoyed bringing a big buck out to him so he could wraps his hands around those antlers, but he enjoyed must is when I shot him a fawn, he love the little ones. Perhaps that is a big missing piece for some, my dad does not take Zach hunting, I do not know, I am just happy to be back and perhaps can get my son out a few more times.
My home state of PA has been grappling with this reality for years. The lack of access may be an issue in some states, but definitely not the issue in PA as we have over 2 million acres and counting of public hunting land (very good hunting too). Everyone is a stones throw from free hunting ground and if you access to some private too, even better. They've tried all kinds of gimmicks to get license sales back up, but nothing really is working. Crossbows, special muzzleloader seasons in October for deer and bear, extending archery season, limited sunday hunting, etc. Its all seen limited returns. A couple things. One, there is a generational divide. The old timers, who's lives revolved around the outdoors and hunting and dying off. Their kids, like my dad for example, are also approaching the end of the hunting days or passing away as well. Then we have my generation and I struggle to keep my son engaged as multiple other activities occupy his mind and time. The generations after a lot of us no longer want to hunt, or don't have anyone to take them, teach them or get them involved in it. Secondly, we've also seen a huge disparity in deer numbers in PA since the late 90's when they decided to turn the apple cart over and kill off a lot of deer. I remember when I first started hunting as a kid in the early 90's, and my family members used to tell stories. It was nothing to see 20-30 deer in a herd at a time. It was good for hunters because they had no issues finding and shooting deer. Not so good for the habitat and overall deer health. So they dramatically reduced the numbers across the state. This also contributed to people losing interest. Are they lazy? You bet. the ADD society wants instant success and the easy way to it. There are still more deer in this state than any other except Texas, but you have to hunt a little harder for them. I often wonder at times too if the hunting shows, magazines, etc gives new or upcoming hunters a false sense of reality. Watching Jim Bob Outdoors and him smoking multiple big bucks, elk, turkeys, etc in a season on some cushy private land gives the wrong impression. Basically its telling people, in a round about way, that you have to buy land, spend a lot on leased property, etc, to do it. They don't even bother hunting public land because they simply believe its a lost cause. Thats not everyone of course and the new breed of public land hunters is making a nice come back. As for my state, I personally believe that the hunter numbers we seen in the 90s was unsustainable and needed to be reduced some. Over a million licensed hunters was a bit excessive. I think the sweet spot in this state, based on what biologist and game managers are saying, is somewhere around 700K. Another interesting phenomenon we see now is the lack of hunters in the traditional rifle season. The rifle season used to be an absolute circus. Many cry foul pointing to lack of hunters. But its not that simple. The culprit in this case is crossbows. When PA legalized them, thats when we began seeing the significant drop in rifle season. Our archery season is far busier than ever and 1 in 3 people you bump into is toting a crossbow. Longer season, better weather. I don't think there is one easy answer to this issue. Generational gaps and less adults hunting means there will be less young people getting into it.
They've been trying to push solar panel farms around here too. We got it shut down pretty much. Started a community organization where we actively fight the solar companies. They started off offering insane land contract prices for prime farm ground to people who may have inherited land but no longer live here. One lady inherited 2,000acres but lives in California, she was first to jump on board. To say she is MAD is an understatement, many threats to us for shutting down their operation. We dont want utility scale solar here, private is fine.
My questions is, let's take Detroit and it's way worse in other areas then below, seems to be a lot of space for solar farm, why use good ag land? Why not use all the vacant manufacturing in Detroit to build your solar farm ?
I can't believe you are trying to high road that competition. Sun and I both tag out every year to feed our family you pompous prick. The fact that we did it with a bow instead of using a gun was a testament to our skill. You get zero latitude to talk hunting with me as I don't now nor have I respected you or your ****-stirring for years. I get why you don't understand it as it was a competition between peers and equals and ended up having both of us respect each other's craft even more (something you know nothing about).
