Col. getting high marks
General Topic
My syndicated newspaper column this week, "Sportsmen-The Vanishing Breed" is getting high marks and great reviews. I'd post it on here but it will start another discussion that will morph in seconds. :)
Don't you think it's going to anyway? Besides, I don't believe there has ever been a time you haven't wanted to morph a discussion.
I can throw a football over that mountain!
Some guys never get tired of blowing their own horn.
You forgot— “just thought I’d mention”
Seriously, you're awesome!
Bowfreak, if coach woulda just put u in in the 4th qtr, you'da took state....
I guess the old saying goes.....If you didn't say so yourself.
Post it John! After all this is bowfight.com
Maybe we need a government subsidy that gives every kid a crossbow before the sky falls in and crushes our big tent.
You had me until the Trophy Hunting part. I don't know what would excite my kid more than seeing more deer and a nicer buck on occasion. I try to take him hunting in MN and deer sightings are so few he loses interest. I know if I took him to IA he'd be hooked for life. You can only enjoy nature so much as a teenager before it gets old and boring.
Bowriter's arm gotta be REALLY sore lately! ;-)
You guys giving Bowriter a hard time should go over to the Leatherwall and get a load of Aspirinbuster sometime. Bowriter don't even come close to holding a candle to that dude..
I'm scared of the Leatherwall. Last time I visited someone yelled at me to get off their lawn.
Hey John, we have butted heads in the past, but I gotta say I thought it was a great article.
As for the leatherwall...not biting lol
A couple of the factors cited in your award winning column I agree with. Some are white noise, some are pure BS. Access is yuuuge. Urbanization [and suburbanization and exurbanization] make hunting massively inconvenient or impractical for a great majority of the US population. In my opinion that is an opportunity for us to improve. In rural areas cost and other cultural issues play a part, I guess. The degredation of close family relationships and familial geography are a big factor in bridging generational divides which is where a large part of the macro level hunting industry stats and projections are going south. Not sure why that is honestly.
"I'm scared of the Leatherwall. Last time I visited someone yelled at me to get off their lawn."
LMAO...I know it wasn't me because all I have is weeds! Lawn left me years ago and I have no interest in trying to win her back.
US Fish & Wildlife Service,
National Hunting License Data,
Total Hunting License, Tags, Permits & Stamps
2010 34,082,726
2011 34,655,635
2012 35,711,382
2013 36,393,788
2014 35,238,092
2015 35,850,931
2016 36,331,433
2017 36,824,655
Kinda makes you wonder where they get their data with the majority of states reporting sharp declines.
This is the data the states turn in for their federal grant money. These numbers are backed up with proof of purchase.
Here is a direct quote from Powderhook.
"In the last 10 years, hunter numbers in the US have declined over 30%. Together with our partner brands and concerned individuals throughout the country, Powderhook is working to add 3 million new hunters in the next 5 years. The time has come for action. Will you join us?"
Would you trust a pay to play site like Powderhook, or the US Fish and Wildlife Services website...?
Keep searching until you find the answer that fits your agenda. Truth be damned.
I'm tired of this silly discussion. Just go look for a place to hunt.Seems like every place already has somebody hunting it.In indiana if there is postage stamp spot of woods there is an orange hat in it...
The question was/is do I trust the Federal Govt. or a private company. For me, that is pretty simple. Ten years ago, 18.5 million hunters. Last year, 10.5 million. In TN we lost 160,000 hunters in three years-almost a 20% drop.
Now. The USFW figures "might" be accurate. But what do those figures include? Just what permits are being counted? Keep in mind just what those figures are used for and how expensive it would be if they showed a steady decline. If you think the number of sportsmen is holding steady then by all means ignore any information to the contrary. Pay no attention to the economic indicators the outdoor industry is now making clear. Just go by the number of hunters and fishermen you know. Keep believing the difficulty in drawing a permit in various areas is an indicator. Just go by what is happening in your little slice of the country.
In mine, some areas are crowded, some empty. But...in TN between 2005-2008, here in this state, a state with only 750,000 hunters and anglers according to license sales, we lost 160,000. In the ten years since then, I have seen no reason it would increase. Those numbers came directly from the head of the branch of the agency tasked with selling and accounting for those sales. They are not made up. And, I am sure, this one state is not alone. I base that on reports I have seen from a variety of other states. You may not notice any decrease. I sure did not. But trust me, it is happening. There are not as many hunters and fishermen today as there were 10-years ago and that number is declining. You believe what you want. That is all I have to say about it.
Just a last word. The column I wrote is not an award winning column as someone said. At least, not yet. But it has been picked up by various state agencies asking to use it. I doubt they would be interested if it was not a matter of concern.
Why is it such a crisis if we lose a few hunters? I guess if you are in the industry and it affects your livelihood is about the only reason to panic. Why on earth would the average hunter panic because the demographics are undergoing a bit of a shift? What are we supposed to do, go recruit inner city kids and give them bows? I've taught two friends to hunt and plan to teach my two kids when they are old enough. Maybe some advice from the older generation what went wrong teaching their own kids would be insightful to this young dad. Baseball doesn't have the fans it used to and it is still a pretty robust sport. We'll be fine.
"The USFW figures "might" be accurate. But what do those figures include? Just what permits are being counted?"
.
2007 - 14,575,484 PAID HUNTING licenses holders in the US
.
2017 - 15,486,123 PAID HUNTING licenses holders in the US
I am not a numbers guy, but that does not show a decline of 30% over the last 10 years.
It’s pretty easy to see that there is no decline, go to pretty much any trailhead out west, drive a backroad in the Midwest. If you’re out there doing it you are seeing more people. Just because you write it doesn’t make it true.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make 'em drink. Meaning, if kids these days don't want to hunt then why force it? Why ruin a good thing (aka having the woods to yourselves)? This overwhelming urge for "recruitment" has fallen way short on this old crusty hunter, call me selfish but nothing makes me happier than an empty parking lot at my favorite WMA!!
"In one ear and out the other."
Not really EF. I understand what you are saying, it's just not tangible. I also agree with what you are saying we lost, for sure, due to social media and horn porn on TV, just can't measure the loss. According to one measurable statistic (Paid hunting license Sales), hunting has not declined 30% over the past decade, it's actually increased.
For better or for worse, hunting is certainly very popular these days even if It may not be the "hunting" you grew up with.
Hunting is far from dead out here in the west....I went to the Western Hunting and Conservation expo last weekend in SLC and it was as crowded as ever. Maybe back East hunter numbers are declining but not out here in the intermountain west.
I’m beginning to think this hunter recruitment scare thing is only a ploy to get more $$$ in the door. My home state certainly has seen zero decline in actual numbers. This and also we must keep in mind that our US population is declining so if the numbers are showing decline it may just be in relation to population age structure
