Hunter Recruitment

[welsh]

I'm confident people will be hunting long after my influence has completely disappeared from this earth.

[yellow dog]

I don't worry much about whether hunting is going to survive.

It's simply not something I see as important enough to care about, frankly: hunting is going to survive in my lifetime, and what happens after that is out of my control. Indeed, what happens in my lifetime is largely out of my control. The massive decline in hunting from the 1970s through the 1990s resulted from huge demographic shifts. It wasn't anything anyone could reasonably expect to reverse, and it still isn't. But I don't share in the general pessimism about the future of hunting. My kids will be able to hunt if they choose to.

Yes I have to agree especially since everyone seems to know someone getting into hunting. So much more information available today on the internet, DVD's, Youtube showing how to hunt, clean and prepare game for the table. It's allot of work involved and may turn many wood be hunters away from the sport. I would sooner see fewer new people into hunting but dedicated and in it for the long haul and setting a good example.

[kdp89]

I'm 25 and came from a hunting background. I was licensed when legally allowed to and have hunted as much as I can.
When I was younger I was much more concerned about the future of hunting. It was very popular to be 'anti-hunting' in the 90's and even early 2000's but I believe there has been a dramatic shift in the last 5 year, and I think the influx of the organic movement has a lot to do with it. In fact, I read and article last year about new 'hipster hunters' who are getting into hunting in large numbers, but not for the bravado of hunt camp, but for the hope of free range organic meat.
I personally have introduced 5 new people from non-hunting, office work backgrounds into hunting in the last 2 years. These guys have all gone the distance and have taken to hunting completely, buying tags and getting out as much as time will allow.
That being said, one of their biggest frustrations comes from some of the good old boys who aren't willing to take this younger generation seriously. There is a HUGE stereotype that anyone born after 1980 is lazy and wants everything served up on their iPhones.
I think if a little more respect was shown, and those under 30 weren't lumped in with those under 12, we wouldn't see so many people getting licensed with good intentions, then walking away frustrated.

[yellow dog]

Yes i read the same article and it was very interesting. You are correct about the organic movement and have introduced my brother in law to hunting. I gave him a couple of wood ducks I shot last fall and he made the best duck dinner i have ever had.

[welsh]

It was very popular to be 'anti-hunting' in the 90's and even early 2000's but I believe there has been a dramatic shift in the last 5 year....

I believe you believe correctly. I ran across an interesting little factoid this morning: 79% of Americans approve of hunting according to a 2013 survey, and only 12% disapprove, as compared to 74% and 22% in 1995. Approval of hunting seems pretty stable overall, but disapproval has declined.

I think if a little more respect was shown, and those under 30 weren't lumped in with those under 12, we wouldn't see so many people getting licensed with good intentions, then walking away frustrated.

And we see that all the time on this forum. These kids today, get off my lawn, etc.

[MikePal]

I think the influx of the organic movement has a lot to do with it. In fact, I read and article last year about new 'hipster hunters' who are getting into hunting in large numbers, but not for the bravado of hunt camp, but for the hope of free range organic meat

.

Good point, I wasn't aware that the hipsters were getting into hunting. The article below has some good insights.

Experienced sportsmen may be rolling their eyes at all of this, imagining a bunch of yuppies tramping through the woods and scaring off all the deer. And they’re probably right—these new hunters will inevitably foul opportunities at game, as would any nascent sportsman. But despite however self-important or naive these hipsters may seem, their presence should be embraced nonetheless, for the sake of the sport and wildlife, both of which they seem bent to encourage. These eager, engaged sportsmen may provide the jolt of enthusiasm needed to combat the misguided and poorly informed anti-hunting rhetoric that too often proliferates through the creative class. Now we’ll just have to wait and see how deep their convictions run if shooting game doesn’t stay in vogue.
http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/iss...ipster-hunters

....That being said, one of their biggest frustrations comes from some of the good old boys who aren't willing to take this younger generation seriously. There is a HUGE stereotype that anyone born after 1980 is lazy and wants everything served up on their iPhones.

We've had numerous threads on this topic over the years that get lots of posts/feedback from members who have had both success and disappointments in mentoring new hunters. I know a few camps that have tried to get new guys to join the camp due to dwindling numbers but have a hard time to separate the wheat from the chaff.

We had two guys leave our camp after the first year because we didn't have a TV. Most of the guys in the camp remember when the camp didn't even have electricity. Sure there is a generational thing, but that's natural, not necessarily called stereotyping....because that works both ways.

Good to hear some input from a younger hunter, thanks for posting.

[MikePal]

I ran across an interesting little factoid this morning: 79% of Americans approve of hunting according to a 2013 survey, and only 12% disapprove, as compared to 74% and 22% in 1995. Approval of hunting seems pretty stable overall, but disapproval has declined.

I'll bet that has changed significantly this week after the Cecil debacle....Hunters are 'persona non grata' on social media...LOL..

[MikePal]

I ran across an interesting little factoid this morning: 79% of Americans approve of hunting according to a 2013 survey, and only 12% disapprove, as compared to 74% and 22% in 1995. Approval of hunting seems pretty stable overall, but disapproval has declined.

The public's opinion on Hunters in Ontario was significantly different than our American counter parts back in 2002.....I wonder how much those numbers have fluctuated over the past 13 yrs.

Interesting to see how the numbers change with how the question is asked.

The Ipsos-Reid poll found that over 85 percent of Ontario residents find hunting acceptable with 50 percent agreeing that it is completely acceptable to hunt and a further 35 percent agreeing that hunting is acceptable given certain limitations. Only eight percent of those surveyed believed hunting should not occur under any conditions.

Almost 90 percent of Ontario residents find hunting for food to be acceptable, and 82 percent of Ontarians agree that hunting is part of Canada’s cultural heritage. Over 73 percent of the people polled also acknowledged that hunting is necessary to manage wildlife and to control overabundant wildlife populations.

http://www.huntingfortomorrow.com/re...%20Hunting.pdf

[Snowwalker]

Had a "new" hunter PM me here about taking him under my wing..
I replied and gave him some contact infomation, but as of yet he has not contacted me again.
seems like a false start...again.

[welsh]

The public's opinion on Hunters in Ontario was significantly different than our American counter parts back in 2002.....I wonder how much those numbers have fluctuated over the past 13 yrs.

The clear trend in the US over the past 20 years is a steady and statistically significant decline in the number of people who say they disapprove of legal, regulated hunting. At the same time there is a small increase in the number of people who approve. There's no reason to think the trend is any different in Ontario, where approval and disapproval levels are basically similar.

Responses change according to the rationale given for hunting. This is well documented: a large majority approves of hunting for food, but approval for "trophy hunting" is quite low. The Ontario numbers follow that same pattern.