License Sales Down

[x_xeon_x]

I think everybody has a reason why they aren't out more. Money, free time, free time for hunting partners or a loss of hunting partner, hunting success the previous years, loss of land, health, not wanting to give the OMNR more money for nothing, lack of interest, frustration with hunting, bad experience last year, ect.

I'm mostly stuck in the no free time category.

[JBen]

Deer numbers seem stable, but I wonder how many guys gave up the ghost on Moose, and instead bought Deer where before they didn't. Thinking of the people who only go hunting for a week/two each year where it's been an either or, not both. So masking declines in Deer numbers.

Reasons are likely many. Not sure I buy the "expense" theories though.
1) It doesn't have to be.
2) Like anything else, people have to decide on their priorities. If you can afford to drop 400 on a scope, you can afford good clothing. If you can afford to go golfing every week May through Sept, you can afford to go hunting, etc, etc.

Do buy into theories about access and success. I myself don't get out anywhere near as much as I might like, and the biggest hurdle is access.

Societal changes: People are becoming very disconnected from nature and the outdoors. While there has been a surge in recent years in outdoor activities, most of those I think are in area's like kayaking, Biking, rock climbing, etc. Fair weather stuff.

Small game vs Big game.
I myself would like to do a lot more small game (Rabbit, Squirrel, Grouse)..Access.

[MikePal]

Just to clarify one aspect...the license sales seem to include the 'additional' tags sold. So keep in mind that some years the increases in Deer License sales might will coincide with more tags being available, not more hunters hunting.

Some gleaned numbers...
2013: An additional 26,215 deer seals went on sale today for Ontario-resident hunters.
2014: a total of 17,545 additional deer seals will be available in participating WMUs. M
2015: This year a total of 15,155 additional deer seals will be available.

[welsh]

Last year when we were discussing recruitment it was found that 55% of the guys taking the Hunting courses were over 50...

Which makes sense...more time, more money...

Entirely makes sense. Yes, hunting can be cheap if you make it cheap, but even cheap hunting is still expensive. My perspective on "cheap" now is much different than when I was 20.

When we look at declining licence sales we are probably seeing a combination of cost and older guys giving it up.

[MikePal]

When we look at declining license sales we are probably seeing a combination of cost and older guys giving it up.

or (more likely) a combination of costs and young guys not picking up the sport....

There are 4 family camps close to me and they all have pretty much folded...a few of the old 'Founders' have died off and no new members came in to replace them. Most of the original 'older' guys that were at the camp when I joined are are still there, but the younger ones have not been coming regulatory for the past few years. It was 14 hunters at one time, we are down to three Old Guys now and one younger family member (SIL).

[JBen]

Mike, the source of the data. Out of curiosity does it contain the success numbers?
2013: tags issued, tags filled?

I know for myself, and some "new" hunters I know. The biggest issue/hurdle is access, not success as others have mentioned. Know 2 women who have taken up hunting in the past 3 years and both speak about how hard it is to get out. And for them there's the "old boys club" as well.

A lot obviously has to do with geographical location, but how often do we read threads about "locals" who treat newcomers poorly, or old clubs who have been there years, or.....

Its odd.
On one hand, one thread we talk about the future of hunting, and antis etc, etc.
On the other, we ourselves make it hard for people to get started.

[GW11]

It has a lot to do with the attention span of today's "have it now" society. Deer numbers are back to what they were 20 years ago. People are finding that they actually have to hunt deer rather than just go shoot one. It's the same with just about everything. If it takes longer than a click of the mouse, people are losing interest. Look at golf for example. More people are leaving golf than are taking it up. It's too hard. Everyone wants to play like they see it on TV rather than learn how. I bet it's the same way with learning to play a musical instrument.

The expensive angle is relative. I know plenty of folks who spend a small fortune every year on dinner at The Keg, new cars, cell phones (you have to have the latest one), 50" screens in 4 different rooms, tablets, the latest and greatest of everything for their kids... the list goes on and on. Then they moan and whine about how expensive hunting has become.

The internet has turned us into an impatient bunch.

[Snowwalker]

Small game vs Big game.
I myself would like to do a lot more small game (Rabbit, Squirrel, Grouse)..Access.

I have dairy farms and beef farms over run with birds...care to test your sharpshooting skills? My most successful place is INSIDE the city limits but the birds eat a steady diet of grains and seeds from the livestock feed.
You think your a good shot. Can you hit a starling on a beam 20 feet above the floor with a single pellet? Care to try?

[MikePal]

It has a lot to do with the attention span of today's "have it now" society.

They call it 'instant gratification'...and you're right.

. Can you hit a starling on a beam 20 feet above the floor with a single pellet? Care to try?

As a matter of fact...used to cull free range chickens in the barn yard with an air rifle. It had to be a head shot or it wouldn't kill them.

Used a peep sight on my Daisy, 20 ft easy. Same with rats in the grain bin..head shots. Used to spend all summer doing it. That's how we learned to shoot. Didn't put a scope on a rifle till I was 45 and lost my near vision.

[MikePal]

Mike, the source of the data. Out of curiosity does it contain the success numbers?
2013: tags issued, tags filled?

Unfortunately JBen.. because there is little mandatory reporting of Deer hunting....and according to some posters on this forum, little interest in filling out the voluntary questionnaires, the MNR doesn't know the success rates, at least in numbers that would provide usable data.