this is nice to hear, even if its from our southern neighbors. I would be interested to see if anything similar is happening in Canada. I know that duck hunting seems on the rise.
It's been a year for house hunting, job hunting, bargain hunting ... and real hunting — the kind that requires a gun or a bow and lots of open land.
National and annual statistics have yet to be tallied, but hunters across the country are in agreement: Hunting is making a comeback. More people are grabbing their guns and heading for the woods, and it's mostly because of the recession.
Pennsylvania, New York, Montana, Wisconsin and Missouri are among the states reporting a rise in hunting license applications from last year. Sales of hunting rifles are also up in some places, and hunters are donating more deer meat to food banks, something many homeless shelters will rely on to feed struggling families over the winter.
Hunters say the main reasons for the uptick are that it supplies cheap food and rising unemployment and a slowed economy have given people more time to spend in the woods.
Once one of the country's most popular pastimes, hunting has seen a steady decline since the 1970s because of lack of recruitment, a rise in high-tech entertainment and the migration of rural families to cities.
"Everyone is so used to hearing that hunting is on the decline, that the numbers are continually bleak," said Nationial Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. "If states and individual license distributors are saying their numbers are up from last year, this is a significant development and one that is very good news."..Clicky Linky


















































