Hunters Getting Older

coconut54 said:
I am almost 23. In the last couple of years...

I jumped through all the hoops to get my Firearms licence (N/R and R)
I took all my courses to get my Core.
I got my Hunting card
Bought my licence

I have read so many books on hunting
watched videos on Hunting and field dressing
I even bought a truck (I drive a sports car) to get out to the hunting spots.
I have been in scouts since I was 5 and I am now a scout leader.

In this time I went out but only got a single grouse.
I would like to go for big game and even for water fowl.

But I don't want to go out by myself for the fact that it is unsafe, and lonely
I am also inexperienced. I don't want to make a mistake and have a CO make an example out of me.

This is a main reason that us youngsters are steering clear.

If anyone is interested in lending me some knowledge, I would love to pass it on.
Thank you
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I was in the same boat growing up...... scouts.... and all that. Of all the things i learned and got to apply on camping and fishing trips..... it was really hunting that i was longing for. I had no one i knew that hunted, a few gun owners, ipsc shooters and such, but no hunters. In my late 20's I started out on my own and it took me 4 years and literally thousands of dollars spent on gas, vehicle repairs, books, videos, calls, camo, knives, packs, gps's, tickets to tradex shows :D and I finally got my buck. I was with Ray Wiens , now a well known lowermainland taxidermist when i shot that deer, after 9 days of hunting hard. It was 20 minutes to dark on thanksgiving day. Lot's of years hunting since, and a solid crew that welcomes new hunters.

I'm one of those guys that does not mind pointing an eager young hunter in the right direction and I strongly believe in mentoring our new hunters as they are the future of our hunting culture/heritage. I'm up in the cariboo outside of 100 mile. shoot me a p.m. near the end of august ;)
 
Griffoneur said:
There will be a resurgence of hunting once food becomes unaffordable. As the price per liter of gas goes up, everything else will follow suit.
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Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
Game meat is many times more expensive per pound than anything store bought. Gas will have to hit something like 5$ a liter for store bought food to even come close.
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I'd have to agree, the vast majority of game meat is way more expensive than store bought meat. That's why meat farming is viable, well that and it's a lot less effort for the consumers. Unless you live in the country near game and there's a season for it, you're going to be spending $$$ to get it. Think how far all the city folk, and there are a lot of them, have to go and all the supplies required for camp. Compare that to how few that live 20 minutes walking distance to their tree stand where game is abundant. And if the price of gas goes up, so does the cost of travel to go hunting and the gear required to do it.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
In our camp the youngest guy that stayed for two weeks was, well, it was me.

I'm thinking I was the youngest man there period, no, there was a forty year old there for a few days.

We had a younger crew, but they all grew up, and married their electronic devices. One even married a woman.
We don't have cell coverage. That's near suicidal for some folks it seems.
One guy brought up two of his kids, and they spent their time parked on the couch playing some sort of electronic beeping game. He dragged them there. Soon as they were old enough, they came no more.
There are young folks who like to hunt, but It's scary how few they are. Seems like folks have a limited attention span now days.
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I have to agree with that assesment. Attention span and dedication seem to be rare these days. I notice the same thing in target shooting with not many shooters interested in precision shooting. Seems like it takes too much time and effort to become good and most move on. We see new shooters trying it out, then they find out how hard it is. I haven't seen a solution, but I suspect it would have some commonality for both sports.
 
M14Doctor said:
I was in the same boat growing up...... scouts.... and all that. Of all the things i learned and got to apply on camping and fishing trips..... it was really hunting that i was longing for. I had no one i knew that hunted, a few gun owners, ipsc shooters and such, but no hunters. In my late 20's I started out on my own and it took me 4 years and literally thousands of dollars spent on gas, vehicle repairs, books, videos, calls, camo, knives, packs, gps's, tickets to tradex shows :D and I finally got my buck. I was with Ray Wiens , now a well known lowermainland taxidermist when i shot that deer, after 9 days of hunting hard. It was 20 minutes to dark on thanksgiving day. Lot's of years hunting since, and a solid crew that welcomes new hunters.

I'm one of those guys that does not mind pointing an eager young hunter in the right direction and I strongly believe in mentoring our new hunters as they are the future of our hunting culture/heritage. I'm up in the cariboo outside of 100 mile. shoot me a p.m. near the end of august ;)
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Hey Tom, I was thinking about you in my first reply. "10 minutes from my treestand". :D Then lo and behold, you post a reply! I presume you got your bag limit last season?
 
no..... hehehe
way too busy and was behind on my work. did manage a nice freezer buck and the moose huntin crew shot thier bulls the day i headed out of camp for home a week early.
had a very nice bear lined up but the drag would have sucked big time and was alone across the swamp hehehehe figured i'd get him another day but no dice.
figure i'm all caught up with work that was overdue so i might just sneak out and see if i can scare up some coyotes :D while i wait it out for spring bear season. My hunting partner has a draw for elk that ends this month and is begging me to go so we will see. I just got too overwelmed with my work load over the hunting season and didn't get an honest crack at it this year.
 
I would gladly take on a hunting 'apprentice' since my boys have a few years to go before I can take them.(3yo & 6mo) The wife doesn't want me to even take them out shooting before they are 10. I told her than if a malnourished 7yo African kid can handle an AK47, then our boys can surely handle a single shot .22 at the same age!
Sadly, there are too young people who would rather shoot Nazi Zombies in the comfort of their parent's basement than venture outside and shoot real guns at paper or game.
 
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I agree.... Most of the good hunters are getting up there. They do have alot to teach, if you take time to listen.
You gotta remember,these hunters where born into bigger families, who relied on hunting for food.Families are now much smaller, and the grocery store is just around the corner.That ,and the commercialized cost of hunting just doesn't seem worth it to the younger generation

Best one can do is to try and get a youngan out there to get them interested.


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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I don't mind pushing myself harder so the older hunters can relax. They did the same in their day.Well deserved IMO!

I would much rather hunt with fellas who know from experience,rather than ones who got all thier education from the hunting channel.
 
I'm 31 and all the guys I hunt with are around my age. I hunted with old guys before, not interested in being lectured on the merits of being old.
 
a few things that may be contributing...

-cost of equipment, tags, gas, etc
-lack of public land
-access to private property being axed due to unethical hunters upsetting landowners
-kids "these days" have a lot more options for hobbies
-too many PETA preaching to stop hunting
-people are getting lazier and lazier every year
 
im in my late 30's and been hunting most of my life , my dad taught me. i dont have any kids to teach but wouldent mind showing anyone how to coyote hunt here in southern/western new brunswick. i do also try to get out for deer season and rabbit and grouse too. we need more people hunting here in nb. the is no shortage of game.
 
sherlockbonez said:
I'm 31 and all the guys I hunt with are around my age. I hunted with old guys before, not interested in being lectured on the merits of being old.
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thats funny :D

I've been hunting for years, there was a spell in my 20's and early 30's that I was just too busy to do much hunting, and really didn't have the gear.

Now I try to take 2 weeks off each fall for hunting. (I'm in my early 40's ;) ) I now have a nice little hunting trailer, a good truck, a good quad, with a chainwas, and a lot of other stuff that make living in the bush not so hard to take. I don't sleep in my truck or in a tent or under a tree anymore. :D

As for young guys I saw more young guys (under 30) then I saw old guys (over 55) I even had my dad out for a few times and he's 85 but he likes his bed at home and a shower, so never more then 3 days in a row.

and I know a lot of the young guys could learn a few tricks like how to gut a moose by themselves and how to track a wounded animal, I don't mind teaching, but there is a lot to say about learning by doing.
 
Yet, it is still hard to find a land to hunt on. Personally it's the expense and the land to hunt on that are the issues. IN order to get in you have a lot of expense before getting an animal. Guess it's not so bad after the one time cost be then the red tape sets in at least in Ontario. I found the west much easier to find land and understand the regs.
 
Good to see roughly 5.6% of total are youth. 6200 youth hunters out of a total 110000 I'd say is pretty darn good, and keep in mind most hunters are out there as long as they're physically able. I know some guys in their late 70's who still do a little hunting every year, and that would definitely raise the average.

Heck based on the average, the wife and I raise the average, too. :redface:
 
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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I think this is quite accurate. When I run into other hunters in the field, I would say 80% of them are under 30. I rarely run into anyone over 60.

My wife is taking her hunter's ed course in a few weeks and I am curious to hear who and how many people are also taking the course.
 
The way I see it is, some schools promote access to shooting and 85% of them deplore it. My 13 year nephew in a french emersion school, near ottawa, took hours to convince he could shoot my 223 rifle. Big scary gun.
I have enjoyed introducing people to shooting, ranging from age 10 to 50. I just wish more people did it.
See sig line!
 
There are less young hunters cause alot of parents are none hunters today. Its NOT easy benig a city kid (can't choose where you grow up) and having parents that do not hunt to learn everything you need to know...espically the pratcial in field stuff. And 99% of the older hunters I ment are stuck up #######s...who look down on you when you don't know everything they do. Different times today...
 
sherlockbonez said:
I'm 31 and all the guys I hunt with are around my age. I hunted with old guys before, not interested in being lectured on the merits of being old.
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If your still being lectured to at 31, you couldn't have listened very well.

There is so much to learn from other hunters, especially older hunters. They have a wealth of knowlege to share. You would know this if you only took time to listen, rather than take it as a lecture.
There is alot more to learn from these guys than over edited hunting programs.

Eveyone can teach you something. Me at 41, am not at all closed to learning something new, from anyone. I have even wrote stuff down, so i wouldn't forget to try it.
I sarted hunting at 14yrs old with all the hunters of a big gang being 40+ yrds of age.I learnd plenty from them because I was willing to.
Now 27yrs later I have yet to be skunked deer hunting. IMO I owe that to all the older hunters wisdom who I have hunted with over those years.
 
tigrr said:
The way I see it is, some schools promote access to shooting and 85% of them deplore it. My 13 year nephew in a french emersion school, near ottawa, took hours to convince he could shoot my 223 rifle. Big scary gun.
I have enjoyed introducing people to shooting, ranging from age 10 to 50. I just wish more people did it.
See sig line!
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Just to speak to this. When I was in grade 7, they offered hunters ed as an optional course. This was "only" 15 years ago. I would be blown away if they still do. Funny thing is, I know alot of the teachers hunt. You would think that if anybody would be willing to, well, teach, it might be them.
 
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