Hunters Getting Older

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cainesy

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I took a coyote seminar Friday past and the instructor, who's with the wildlife, informed us the average age of the typical hunter in Newfoundland is 53 yrs old!!! What the hell is happening to the young un's, are they too engrossed in their Wii's and X-box's to get outdoors and enjoy nature or is it the parents fault? I take my 7 yr old daughter every chance I can, and she seems to like it. If this trend continues, we are likely to be the last generation taking part in the hunting aspect of the outdoors. We have to get the future generation involved or its likely to go the way of the doe-doe bird. Its pretty discouraging, that's for sure.:(:(:( Cheers.
 
I'm 21 years old and plan on taking up hunting as soon as I can! I know two other people my age who plan on doing the same thing..

We're out there :D
 
There is a few but yes, It seems like the numbers are getting less and less.Out of my siblings and cousins that are of age to hunt the numbers are very low. It could be the costs involved or the time needed to dedicate to it. Think of the time a kid in hockey requires, or the time you need if you decide to get a university degree.

I am sure if as a society our time didn't need to be other places to survive we would have many people of all ages getting into hunting.However when survival doesn't depend on actually obtaining game or food but rather on making 6 figures a year to pay for the expense of living I think that many pastimes are going by the wayside these days.
 
I suspect here in AB it's pretty much the opposite. All kinds of young people hunting, lot's of older guys have quit.

I may be wrong, or maybe I just hunt in area's where there's mostly young people hunting, but I sure see lot's of young guys in their 20's.

Then again, maybe I'm just getting to be a geezer and everybody's starting to look young. f:P:2:
 
RobSmith said:
Too much bureaucracy and nobody out there willing to teach the new generation.... It really is that simple.
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I have to respectfully disagree , I offer many times to take younger hunters , or tell them I will take them once they get the Hunters Safety course. As well as some of my friends doing the same.

Heck, I even took a friends nephew when he couldn't. I think there are many that would but yes there are many that can't be bothered because it inconveniences them too much. :rolleyes:
 
RobSmith said:
Too much bureaucracy and nobody out there willing to teach the new generation.... It really is that simple.
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+1.

Those older hunters are 9 times out of 10 unwilling to teach or introduce newcomers for fear of - take your pick - losing their 'honey pot', hunting rights, etc. What they dont seem to clue in is that they just need to pick responsible individuals to teach, rather than none at all - to avoid such negative outcomes.

Depending on where you live, you'll get varying extremes of rejection, but more and more generally the answer older hunters are giving is: "No."

What does that lead to? Younger, inexperienced people now having to go and do things on their own - often a good way to learn - but you're going to have a higher incidence of trespassing, accidents, improper conduct and alot more hunters who dont have the same quality - either of execution or of experience - in their hunting. On top of that, you'll have more younger people who are now even more alienated from the older hunting generation because of how they've been rebuked.

So to those who are #####ing that your sport is dying; the next time you're at the range, or the gun store, or Canadian Tire in the ammo section; reach out to the younger generations. If they behave in an immature or irresponsible manner, then wash your hands of that individual and move on to another who would appreciate the opportunity. Dont just mindlessly complain that your beloved pasttime is dying out, when you're unwilling to do anything to change that.

For those of you who are encouraging others, good for you - keep doing it, because you're the ones picking up the slack from the other 90%.
 
Maybe "nobody" was too strong of a word here. Lemme put it this way and yes I'm a "special case" since I have "special needs" that need to be adressed. But long story short it took me 20 years to convince people within my own family whom hunt to drag me along.

If the sport of hunting is going to survive, it will need to have some sort of "mentoring" program thru the major orgs.

I'm thinking "manageable" group sizes of 3 to 4 people.

Kelly Timoffee said:
I have to respectfully disagree , I offer many times to take younger hunters , or tell them I will take them once they get the Hunters Safety course. As well as some of my friends doing the same.

Heck, I even took a friends nephew when he couldn't. I think there are many that would but yes there are many that can't be bothered because it inconveniences them too much. :rolleyes:
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You would be welcome with me anytime!!

Only one requirement,must very quiet!! :p

If people are put out too badly to wanna include you well, I'd just find a way to do it without them anyways.Not knocking your family but don't sound like they are the best hunting buddies. The day will come when I won't be able to do all the required jobs when hunting either and hopefully I won't be left out on the ice flow and someone will be willing to help me.

RobSmith said:
Maybe "nobody" was too strong of a word here. Lemme put it this way and yes I'm a "special case" since I have "special needs" that need to be adressed. But long story short it took me 20 years to convince people within my own family whom hunt to drag me along.

If the sport of hunting is going to survive, it will need to have some sort of "mentoring" program thru the major orgs.

I'm thinking "manageable" group sizes of 3 to 4 people.
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There are too many firearm and hunting regulations for the younger generations to wade through before they can hunt. I talk to lots of 20 year olds and try and get them involved, but once they see all the hoops to go through just to own a hunting rifle it is over. The storage, transport and transport regs slow them down, then they find out that there are provincial regs as well and it over before they even get to square one.

I take them out and they have a great day or two learning what it is all about but all the regulations put an end to them taking it up. Even my dad who is 71 this year has given up hunting, not because of physical problems or distance to hunting area's, only because of all the things you must think of when you are a firearms owner. He has given me all his rifles, and wants nothing to do with it.

The younger generation will not put their head down and plow through all the requirements - they will give up at the first resistance. I hate to say it, but that is how hunting will end. No one needs it for sustenance anymore, and fewer and fewer young people are willing to jump through the hoops and feel like a criminal just to go out hunting.
 
Well, the way I figure it, the old uncle finally figured out that his son, my cousin, could use a hunting buddy once he's gone, and I was as good as it was going to get (I got lucky). I like guns, know them like the back of my hand and could teach people a thing or 2 about them. I've also been fishing all of my life so I'm no stranger to having to kill things that end up being as old as I am for the specific purpose of eating their flesh.

The cousin "likes" hunting, but doesn't "love" it. I have nowhere near the experience level required to make a proper judgement either way. See my post in the hunting forum entitled "Duck hunting for dummies".

I don't particularly like the idea of killing, but when the reward of killing is meat, I'll put up with it.

Kelly Timoffee said:
You would be welcome with me anytime!!

Only one requirement,must very quiet!! :p

If people are put out too badly to wanna include you well, I'd just find a way to do it without them anyways.Not knocking your family but don't sound like they are the best hunting buddies. The day will come when I won't be able to do all the required jobs when hunting either and hopefully I won't be left out on the ice flow and someone will be willing to help me.
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This is about 5 years old now (2006) for the US but is what I am seeing in my area.
The limited amount of game to hunt here is playing a role also vs out west.. When you and your hunting group have put in for a moose tag ( 5 guys) for 32 years and never drawn one tag it can get frustrating for us old guys.Young guys are not that patient.

Not as Many of Us
The number of American hunters has been in a slow but steady decline for the last 20 years, and in the last five years alone fell from 14 million to 13 million, one of the steepest drops since the USFWS began keeping records in 1955. And as the general population has swollen to 290 million, hunting has become important to an ever shrinking minority. Today, only 6 percent of Americans 16 and older hunt.

More unsettling, the average age of hunters is increasing. Sixty-seven percent of all hunters are now over the age of 35. Only 14 percent are between 16 and 24-and just 4 percent are 16 and 17 years old. In the language of wildlife biology, the sport of hunting is having "recruitment failure"-a condition that, in the wild, ultimately leads to extinction.

The prospects for a quick turnaround are dim. Surveys by state game and fish agencies in recent years revealed that children who are not exposed to hunting by the age of 14 never become involved. That could mean hunting is facing a serious collapse over the next 25 years as the bubble in its population begins moving into its 60s. Currently, only 3 percent of people who hunt are over 65.
 
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Suka said:
I suspect here in AB it's pretty much the opposite. All kinds of young people hunting, lot's of older guys have quit.

I may be wrong, or maybe I just hunt in area's where there's mostly young people hunting, but I sure see lot's of young guys in their 20's.

Then again, maybe I'm just getting to be a geezer and everybody's starting to look young. f:P:2:
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Same here in Sask more and more young folk and even more women hunting it seems each year.
 
Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
90% of the people I hunt with are under 30. I got tired of doing all the work for the old guys.
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Ouch.......that smarts.
I try and hunt with both. I prefer the older gents as I always
pick up some tips they have learned. ;)
I'm not young by any means nor of the elderly.
I just try and go both ways. Teach the young and learn from the experienced.
My only concern is who is going to help me when I'm too old
to gracefully dress and load an animal? :confused:
 
I am 33 years old. My dad told me many years ago that as I get older, my desire to hunt and fish would go away. If you ask my wife if this is true, she would laugh you out of the house! The older I get, the more I realize that not only is it about taking game for the freezer, it's also about the experience associated with it. Simply being outside, especially when you have family (specifically, my 6 year old son) to enjoy it with. Many times I have come home empty handed, but I would not trade those days for anything.
 
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