Hunter Recruitment

[GoldenLakePete]

Maybe your right, maybe there was a subtle shift in acceptance of having a gun in the house by women who were scared by the incident, so their husbands/boyfriends no longer 'allowed' to own guns.

It's the schools too, Mike. My granddaughter has been totally brainwashed into being anti-gun/anti-hunting by her teachers.

[greatwhite]

When my son see's information about people wanting to ban guns, he goes "Gun don't kill people, people kill people"

We have talked in depth about safe handling and also about people wanting to ban guns as well as people who try to interfere with hunting.

It's the schools too, Mike. My granddaughter has been totally brainwashed into being anti-gun/anti-hunting by her teachers.

[terrym]

When Mulcair becomes PM with Trudough propping him up hunter "recruitment" will be the last thing to worry about. All the imbeciles in Quebec who own semis and elected Angry Tom may also be "angry" when they have to give up their favourite Moose rifles and duck guns.

[r-ice]

The above is very true. I'm a new hunter myself, got my licences in 2012, and here I have no family member or mentor to teach me. Even if I managed to kill a dear, I would not know what to do with it, so there would have to be the cost of butchering, on top of the tag cost, ammo, gas, etc. I think these big game tags cost too much, especially turkey. $28 for a turkey tag, and if you don't get one, you lose it and come next season you have to buy a new one? They should at least allow to carry a turkey tag into the future until one can fill it.
If the MNR increase the prices of big game tags, as some suggest, they will sell even fewer tags.

I agree with you and since I've got my hunting licence i haven't been able to get anyone who is experienced in hunting to give me some pointers or go out once or twice with me to impart some knowledge. I've just been trying to get small game and I still have no idea what I am doing. I've met a few newbies and gone out with them but we generally come back with nothing and its just one long hike in the woods. Not that the hike is bad but i'd like to come back with something.

[poltrojan]

I agree with you and since I've got my hunting licence i haven't been able to get anyone who is experienced in hunting to give me some pointers or go out once or twice with me to impart some knowledge. I've just been trying to get small game and I still have no idea what I am doing. I've met a few newbies and gone out with them but we generally come back with nothing and its just one long hike in the woods. Not that the hike is bad but i'd like to come back with something.

pretty much explains my situation. i'm the first one in the family to get a hunting license, and had to encourage and pay for my dad's. I said we used to fish and why not do hunting. We were surrounded by some family friends who hunt and own firearms so we followed suit. Finally we managed to get one of them to take us deer hunting; he already took us to hunt for small game.

I personally had gone out most of the time solo for small game/waterfowl but ended up coming back home empty handed, its a big disappointment. However I'm not willing to give up just like that, it takes a lot more patience and understand the woods better. Although people with less discipline might quit faster because there is no reward and just disappointments.

I had been in position to acquire the game but retrieval would've been tricky or unpleasant; for example Holland Marsh, since I don't have the right gear or know the depths of canal, its not worth the risk, so I don't shoot any game. Overall, I enjoy the experience and woods, the more I go out; the more I become attentive, especially when I notice tracks, droppings, wind and the silence/noise. Silence is the most freakiest without the wind in the woods, especially when you're solo.

[poltrojan]

oh biggest factor I personally think is alienation of gun clubs; for me its very troublesome to acquire access to a gun/rifle clubs in general. the T.I.T.S has a public accessible trap shooting which I love because while on EI I can't blow money on membership, so $9 per trap + ammo justifies my expenses for once a month pleasure. The worst part is finding a range with 100 to 300 yard for rifle sighting or practice. I mean Silverdale for me is 200+ km.... it's too exhausting to drive through the bloody GTA just to get there for public access.

Sharon Gun club is the closest, but the membership and share acquirement is making it sound a gun club for the elites. Then you wonder why there are firearm discharges on crown land, when you don't give them a safer venue to shoot in or at.

When I was in Arizona (best experience), I loved the fact that someone asked me what I would like; I told them that I was a Canadian with a firearm permit and would like to learn how to shoot handguns. They said go with 100 9mm, try a gun, don't like it? come back and try another one. Here is your lane for one hour. Enjoy!

I learned to shoot, safely handle a handgun, I tried 5 different ones and realized which one was the best for me (Sig Sauers) and I shot an M4 semi automatic. Best fun I had and walked out with a smile. That's how got me into firearms, learning it slowly and properly, but not being discouraged. However Hunting does present a challenge, but you also need a safe venue to practice proper trigger control and handling... and where can a new hunter do that without demand for membership in Ontario? Silverdale.

[r-ice]

oh biggest factor I personally think is alienation of gun clubs; for me its very troublesome to acquire access to a gun/rifle clubs in general. the T.I.T.S has a public accessible trap shooting which I love because while on EI I can't blow money on membership, so $9 per trap + ammo justifies my expenses for once a month pleasure. The worst part is finding a range with 100 to 300 yard for rifle sighting or practice. I mean Silverdale for me is 200+ km.... it's too exhausting to drive through the bloody GTA just to get there for public access.

Sharon Gun club is the closest, but the membership and share acquirement is making it sound a gun club for the elites. Then you wonder why there are firearm discharges on crown land, when you don't give them a safer venue to shoot in or at.

When I was in Arizona (best experience), I loved the fact that someone asked me what I would like; I told them that I was a Canadian with a firearm permit and would like to learn how to shoot handguns. They said go with 100 9mm, try a gun, don't like it? come back and try another one. Here is your lane for one hour. Enjoy!

I learned to shoot, safely handle a handgun, I tried 5 different ones and realized which one was the best for me (Sig Sauers) and I shot an M4 semi automatic. Best fun I had and walked out with a smile. That's how got me into firearms, learning it slowly and properly, but not being discouraged. However Hunting does present a challenge, but you also need a safe venue to practice proper trigger control and handling... and where can a new hunter do that without demand for membership in Ontario? Silverdale.

lol the same people who complain about shooting on crown land also complain about gun clubs.

[wannafish]

I was at a ofah zone meeting today and one stat that was mentioned was that about 20% of the people taking the hunter safety course are women, whereas in the past that was closer to 4%. Not sure what role that plays, if any.

My wife and myself took the hunter ed two weeks ago. out of the approx 18 students at least 80% were femail. oh and by the way we both passed with flying colours, now to find land to hunt.

[greatwhite]

Don't be afraid to ask if you could be doing something different to find game. At the same time maybe where your hunting is the issue maybe there is nothing there. I know that in some of the locations I hunt you will rarely find a rabbit. My deer hunting area I have seen 2 rabbits in 18 years. I go to a different area for rabbits.

I agree with you and since I've got my hunting licence i haven't been able to get anyone who is experienced in hunting to give me some pointers or go out once or twice with me to impart some knowledge. I've just been trying to get small game and I still have no idea what I am doing. I've met a few newbies and gone out with them but we generally come back with nothing and its just one long hike in the woods. Not that the hike is bad but i'd like to come back with something.

[chris lavoie]

Are revenues including the funds from Non Resident. There are fewer non residents visiting Ontario. So you have more recruitment of Ontario youth but the ones paying top dollar license fees are not buying licenses anymore in Ontario. Just a thought. Resident deer about $50.00. A non resident deer $230.00.