Hunting on the increase or decrease?

Statistically they say numbers are way down in B.C. from previous years.

I don't know what the current stats are but from 1976 to 2004 licence sales in B.C. declined from 140,000 to 84,000.

That said; you wouldn't know from the crowds if you go anywhere there might be some game around unless you have a real top-drawer honey hole. The calf season in Region 7 or GOS moose opening in Region 6 makes you think everyone hunts. In Quesnel and Smithers anyway.

The number of hunters might be down, but those left in the game really go for it. You hardly see anyone out there any more who doesn't have a big truck, a camper, a quad and $2000 worth of rifle and scope, never mind all the camo, rangefinders, GPS, radio communication, spotting scopes and all the rest.

When I started I went out with my dad and we used his 1949 Fargo pickup, our caulk boots, a 22 Hornet and a 60 year old 303. But nearly everybody else in Port Hardy was in the same situation and hunted. I've modernized. I now have a 17 year old truck and a 59 year old rifle.
 
For the moose hunt at my camp in WMU 50 (Ontario) there were a lot less people around this year. That could be due to lack of game harvested in our area the last 5-7 years combined with a big area people used to park their campers now being used as an active gravel pit/logging staging area again. I've been hunting the same area for about 14 years now (the camp has been in place for about 60 years or so) and seem to see fewer people every year.

Again, that could just be my small corner of the vast tracts of available crown land.
 
Any increase in hunters older then the mid teens is a short term gain. The stats are basically that those that start in thier early teens hunt for life, those that start after 18 basically quit hunting in not too many years. A 20 year old might start hunting with his buddy or on some land he has access to but remove the intial motive and he quits. I am willing to bet that EagleEye and the other old timers on here all started hunting before they were legally driving. It takes a real ingrained habit to get up at 3 am and hunt solo when gas is 1.40 a litre and the weather is crap decade after decade after decade.
 
david doyle said:
Any increase in hunters older then the mid teens is a short term gain. The stats are basically that those that start in thier early teens hunt for life, those that start after 18 basically quit hunting in not too many years. A 20 year old might start hunting with his buddy or on some land he has access to but remove the intial motive and he quits. I am willing to bet that EagleEye and the other old timers on here all started hunting before they were legally driving. It takes a real ingrained habit to get up at 3 am and hunt solo when gas is 1.40 a litre and the weather is crap decade after decade after decade.
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Very true, and the fact that the rural population is plummeting, everyone lives in cities or suburbs.
 
david doyle said:
Any increase in hunters older then the mid teens is a short term gain. The stats are basically that those that start in thier early teens hunt for life, those that start after 18 basically quit hunting in not too many years. A 20 year old might start hunting with his buddy or on some land he has access to but remove the intial motive and he quits. I am willing to bet that EagleEye and the other old timers on here all started hunting before they were legally driving. It takes a real ingrained habit to get up at 3 am and hunt solo when gas is 1.40 a litre and the weather is crap decade after decade after decade.
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Funny you mentioned gas. That is really impacting hunting more than many realise I think. Two guys I know last month gave up on bears this year since they could not afford the gas at 40 a day to hunt and keep the bait up. No different for us. It cost me 50.00 for one round trip to go deer hunting hard to get the mrs to buy in on the saving if I get a deer.
 
david doyle said:
Any increase in hunters older then the mid teens is a short term gain. The stats are basically that those that start in thier early teens hunt for life, those that start after 18 basically quit hunting in not too many years. A 20 year old might start hunting with his buddy or on some land he has access to but remove the intial motive and he quits. I am willing to bet that EagleEye and the other old timers on here all started hunting before they were legally driving. It takes a real ingrained habit to get up at 3 am and hunt solo when gas is 1.40 a litre and the weather is crap decade after decade after decade.
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Yes, indeed, I began hunting deer when I was 12.

I had been hunting gophers and small game well before that.

My father gave me a single shot 22 when I was 8. I picked berries and tree fruits in the summer to buy ammo.

If you think I have an ingrained habit [hunting], you are sooo correct!! BTW, I make no apologies for this habit.

Eagleye.
 
david doyle said:
Any increase in hunters older then the mid teens is a short term gain. The stats are basically that those that start in thier early teens hunt for life, those that start after 18 basically quit hunting in not too many years. A 20 year old might start hunting with his buddy or on some land he has access to but remove the intial motive and he quits. I am willing to bet that EagleEye and the other old timers on here all started hunting before they were legally driving. It takes a real ingrained habit to get up at 3 am and hunt solo when gas is 1.40 a litre and the weather is crap decade after decade after decade.
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I couldn't hunt til after I was 18 as no one else if my family owns guns or hunts. I have 5 friends who are exactly the same... we all self taught shooters and are not gonna give up or get board of it in a few years.
 
I would guess that in NL hunting declined a lot since the 70's and 80's. But I think the last 10 years has seen a resurgence. I know a lot of young guys who are getting into the sport and never had their parents as hunters.
 
we all self taught shooters and are not gonna give up or get board of it in a few years.
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I hope you do not but the reality is in 5-10 years only one or two of you will be hunting. Just the base line divorce rate is gonna claim 2 of ya LOL.

Funny you mentioned gas.
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Yeah it is a big deal, I have been hunting 30 dollars aday closer to home because of it but unfortunately the freezers say I gotta drop 300 bucks in gas between now and nov1. My truck is not bad on gas but it costs me a buck everytime the odomter tells me I travelled 6.5kms. adds up in a hurry.
 
I am seeing more people getting interested, and then a year or so later actually getting their license. There is a big group of younger people (30-something) getting into DIY stuff like brewing their own beer from scratch, curing their own meats, fishing, and now hunting.

Not that it's getting 'trendy,' just that people I know are starting to think about what crap they're buying at the store + centuries of instinct starting to kick in, I guess!
 
I'm taking hunter ed this weekend. Can't wait to get out of the classroom and go after a NW Ont buck.
 
My sense of it is that there is a definite decrease in hunters. It's just not of any interest to young kids who are plugged into txt, fb, twitter, my space, video games etc etc...

Hell, kids don't even play outside anymore!

Cheers
Jay
 
On the rise in Kamloops area I think. My father and I just did your CORE and had about 15 other gentlemen and one lady in the course as well. add my Dad and sister getting their pals all becuse i've taken a keen interest to it and im feeling like i've made a good contribution to our ranks. I think that the Anti-gun/hunters don't have clue what It's all about, and its up to us firearms owners and hunters to fill them in on their ignorance. When people ask why i took up hunting at 29 years old, I tell them few things.

1: like a gentlemen said above, it's not about going out and "killing" something. It's about getting out into nature and in my case, bonding with my father and friends. Its as much about appreciating nature and exploring the outdoors than it is about filling your freezer.

2: It's a great skill to have and one that would be very important in a SHTF situation. growing up in Kamloops gave me a great perspective. Enough people here are completely urbanized that you realize that if people couldnt go visit the grocery store, they would have no idea what to do with themselves. I myself was this way once and and attaining skills to be self sufficient. some of you will probably flame me for this mentality

3: If you eat beef or chicken, why not catch your own game? anyone short of a vegan has absolutely not right to be anti-hunting IMHO.

theres lots of other reason to give people to, but the point im trying to get across is that Shining a good light on hunting and being ethical hunters that stand by the highest standards helps the image. I think that people should talk proudly of it and spread the word. like the saying goes if not enough people use the awesome rights and privilidges we have we might one day lose them.
 
it's not about going out and "killing" something.
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Yes it is! That is the whole and absolute point of hunting. You cannot eat or store an animal that is capable of locomotion. All those touchy feely aspects are nice but if you are hunting then sorry it is about going out and "killing" something. Sounds like your apologizing for something you have not done yet? Comradery and pleasant moments aside 9/10ths of hunting hurts or is uncomforatable. Tired, cold, bored, hot, heavy, buggy. frig the kumbaya if it was not for the meat we'd all be better off going on a 10am nature walk to the rifle range and getting home before dark.
 
david doyle said:
Yes it is! That is the whole and absolute point of hunting. You cannot eat or store an animal that is capable of locomotion. All those touchy feely aspects are nice but if you are hunting then sorry it is about going out and "killing" something. Sounds like your apologizing for something you have not done yet? Comradery and pleasant moments aside 9/10ths of hunting hurts or is uncomforatable. Tired, cold, bored, hot, heavy, buggy. frig the kumbaya if it was not for the meat we'd all be better off going on a 10am nature walk to the rifle range and getting home before dark.
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I'm going to disagree with you on that, at least partially. I make no excuse for enjoying hunting, but it's not about killing for me. I could buy all the meat I can eat and then some for the amount of money I spend on hunting. The "I hunt/kill to eat" people are the ones who need to make an excuse for their pastime and are embarrassed to state the actual reason they enjoy it. I enjoy being out in the wilderness and trying to outsmart a wild animal, perhaps a predatory instinct. I don't consider a hunting experience positive only when I've killed, quite the contrary actually. Some of my most memorable hunts have come from times when things didn't go as planned and I came home empty and outwitted.

Like Ruark wrote in "The Old Man and the boy", "If there's one thing I despise it's a killer, some blood-crazy idiot that just goes around bam-bamming at everything he sees. A man who takes pleasure in death just for death's sake is rotten somewhere inside, and you'll find him doing things later in life that'll prove it."
 
david doyle said:
Yes it is! That is the whole and absolute point of hunting. You cannot eat or store an animal that is capable of locomotion. All those touchy feely aspects are nice but if you are hunting then sorry it is about going out and "killing" something. Sounds like your apologizing for something you have not done yet? Comradery and pleasant moments aside 9/10ths of hunting hurts or is uncomforatable. Tired, cold, bored, hot, heavy, buggy. frig the kumbaya if it was not for the meat we'd all be better off going on a 10am nature walk to the rifle range and getting home before dark.
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David: Some context here. That quote was pulled out my earlier post. It was made in the context of urban people relating to hunters as people whose only enjoyment is killing something. My point being, hunting is an ongoing process. A stewardship of the land if you will. An example: My prey of choice is grouse. I observe them all year, watching for population density, good breeding conditions etc. The image held by many who have no concept of hunting is all we do is polish our guns then go out and kill stuff. Nothing is further from the truth. Hopefully you catch my meaning this time around.
 
Bland, totally got ya, Your prey of choice is the king of game IMHO, your right they are as much fun to observe as to shoot but it is most fun of all to pluck em cook em well and then make a broth of the leavings LOL. If I was a millionaire I'd buy my red meat and spend all my time in old apple orchards with a 20 gauge.

Bearkiller WTF does the below have to do with anything in this thread that I have said??? You hunt for the joy of wilderness and for the need to 'outsmart' some poor bambie I hunt to get meat no where is there any rottenness going on. If you are not in the process of attempting to kill something then you are not hunting so obviously killing is the end game. Just cause you enjoy sitting on a stump pre season enjoying a sunset while scouting does not change the purpose of hunting.

A man who takes pleasure in death just for death's sake is rotten somewhere inside,
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