Hunting on the increase or decrease?

caljay30

caljay30

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Hi All,

Was having a discussion with someone and I was wondering if you guys know of some fairly recent stats on the increase or decrease in the number of hunters in Canada and even the US?
 
I would say on the decrease in Canada. Lots of older hunters hanging up the rifles, not many new hunters joining. Our moose camp is slowly shrinking away year by year. Society is trying to make hunting/shooting a phariah sport.
 
I own a butcher shop that handles custom game cutting and I think there has been a lot of first and second year hunters at our back door this year. Seems that the new guys are replacing the old guys at an even pace in my area.
 
There isn't an app. for it so I think unfortunately it is on the decline.

People have become very sedentary these days and hunting is one of the pastimes that are effected.However pot smoking and gaming is on the rise.
 
different story in Australia, Every man an his dog got a gun license, a 308 or 3006, shot 3 deer an called em selves deer hunters... Getting busy-ish around everywhere these days, excluding backcountry.

It will cool down in a year or three i think, was/is just super accessable an so are the deer at the moment.
 
I'm 51 and have hunted for 7 years in southern Ontario. My experience is most hunters I know or met are 40 +. When I drive north and see orange hats in other vehicles, the hats are on grey or white hair. I am one of the younger hunters in a deer camp of 12. I think the young hunters are mostly in family groups and not starting on their own. I also think part of this is the difficulty of obtaining permission to hunt on private land in southern Ontario and the lack of patience and need for constant stimulation that I see in in young people that is contrary to hunting.
 
We are a dying breed down here. Average age over 45 plus. Just looking at duck hunters about 1/3rd here buying licences vs prior to the switch to steel shot.
last canada numbers I seen the number of Canadian duck hunters has declined 73% from 500,000 in the late 70s to 135,000 today, partially due to the lack of youth replacing passing generations.
In the 60's would have to wait for a field to shoot skeet now rarely have a full squad for a round and 80% of the members are over 55.
AS far as hunting no wildlife management or introduction of new species one of the biggest problems here. When you have old die hards hunting deer a over 20 days a season and not get a shot hard to get a young guy excited about it or 27 years putting in and never a moose tag but some have had 4 in that time frame humm. When I graduated high school out of 57 boys only 2 didnot hunt. Daughter did a paper 2 years ago and out of 257 total grads 4 hunted. That says it all
 
The fellow who does the hunter safety and pal courses here told me while I was doing my rpal challenge that he is busier now than ever. He was booked solid through march.
 
I am not sure about others, but I have 3 new hunters joining me this year. One is 60, both the others are in their early 20's.When I first came out here, I tried to get into a few groups of hunters. I even offered to just cook the whole week, not even hunt. Throw in on the butchering as needed too. I was politely told that there were no openings and that the groups were set. 10 years lat, the same people are complaining that their members are dying off and no one wants to hunt anymore. Guess it serves them right. I now hunt quite successfully without them and I like my hunting partner.
 
It seems as if there are more hunters out there the past couple seasons than previously, at least in the waterfowling world. I know a few years back there was a marsh on I hunted and once moose season and /or archery deer started I never saw another hunter in the marsh the remainder of the season but witrh the rise in resident goose numbers the marsh has someone hunting it any time I head down that way now regardless of time of season. It used to be the big game hunters used the waterfowl season it seemed, as a fill in before moose and deer opened. Now maybe the lack of tags combined with increased goose hunting opportunities is keeping them from the hunt camps? That or there is just a new group of hunters entering the waterfowl hunting fraternity. I know I see more young guys hunting waterfowl than a few years ago.
 
Like all things nothing is black and white. The baby boomer bulge is a factor. The rural population is dwindling and both people work in households now. The days of calling a buddy and going for a tour in the evening is not a possibility in the city. A lessening of disposable income as ever increasing mortgages become a fact of life. The loss of a large % of our gun shops due to an ill advised and ineffective registry which deliberately made it difficult to acquire the 'right' to purchase a firearm was a major factor. Living in a rural/wilderness area myself it can be noted that all manner of ages still hunt. Location is a major factor. We are in the middle of open week and it was refreshing to see a kid of about 10 out with his family. Ultimately it is up to us to bring in the new people. It is an intimidating arena to break into.
Noting that in BC the few areas that have open hunting weeks generally do in the last week of October only. This limits the opportunity. I must say as the light was coming on opening day and we were sitting in our boat with sleet going parallel to the water and I thought the steering cable on my old tub was going to snap because it was stiff with cold; there was a brief moment when I questioned my sanity. The sun did come up however and I resolved to put on an extra three layers of thermal underwear for the next morning. That proved not to be necessary and the satisfaction of hanging those quarters is hard to beat.
Hunting is not for everyone. Most people in the city are running so hard they do not even have time to think about something like that. The world is changing at a rapid pace. Many have not experienced the peace and serenity of being in the bush and do not truly understand the game. They think it is about killing something. To my mind that is merely the conclusion and not a completely necessary one for the process to come to a satisfactory one. We are our own worst enemies at times. I noted on a different thread where an obviously younger member of the hunting fraternity said the word shotties and was admonished by someone for it. How about us grumpy old men loosen up a bit and accept the coming changes with grace? You get a lot more with sugar than you do with spice.
 
I am 67 now, and my generation of hunters is disappearing.
One gentleman in our hunting party is 86.
Newest member is 26, with a 12 YO tagging along sometimes.
Problem being, his dad is anti-hunt..:mad:
There are a number of new guys taking it up, but I believe the
trend is downward, unfortunately.
I'll continue to hunt until I cannot walk, lol.
Eagleye.
 
In my opinion part of the problem in attracting new hunters is we were always told how difficult and time consuming it is to get a gun license. So I and many others didn't bother

Now that I know how EASY it is to get a gun license I and atleast 6 people I work with have acquired the license and there will be new hunters on the fields this fall
 
As others have said; If we want more people to take up hunting, we have to take young people hunting! I think if the OP is looking for data, the best thing would be to look at license sales. Sales going down = hunter #'s declining.
 
I'd say its on the increase, both firearm owners and hunters. In the last two years I've arranged and assisted many individuals to complete and pass their hunting and firearm courses. More than in previous years, and individuals of all ages. Further to this, many noobie hunters are asking me to take them out the first time.
 
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