Hunter Numbers Are Declining, We Need More Hunters.... Is This a Lie We Perpetuate?

The whole "The sky is falling" campaign saying we have less hunters has went on deaf ears to me. Count the number of archery shops that have opened in the past 40 years. Try applying for an out of state tag (as many of you have alredy noted). Try finding a spot on public ground you can just hunt two days in a row without being waked in on. I have not seen a shortage since I started hunting 45 years ago. And definitly not since the age of the internet and social media. There are more people making a living off hunting than ever before. This doesnt happen because there is less interest in hunting. Take in the NWTF convention and tell me there is a shortage of hunters.

What I have seen is.....The NWTF, Mossy Oak, Bass Pro and so on and so on has set out to tell everyone we are short on hunters, Why is this? Future sells, plain and simple. The biggest companies selling product everyday do not want to lose their customer base. They need to increase it to keep the sells where they want it. As older hunters typically buy less of the newest latest and greatest they need the youth to suppliment the lose in sells of the older crowd.

Then you can take it to the level of state and federal money. Think we will ever hear the truth from the goverment? The establishment that benefits the most from gods creation.

There are only 2 reasons IMHO for recruiting new hunters, #1 money and #2 voting power. Two good reasons if you are selling something or trying to pass new laws( protecting our hunting rights.) Just don't fill you pockets full while you blow smoke to the hunters.

I did a research project a few years that was basically contacting every hunting or conservation organization out there to get a copy of their mission statement and annual report. This included non hunting groups such as Sierra Club, Audubon, Izaak Walton League, NRA and over 100 others.

I did not research the fishing world but probably should have.

What I learned was that most of the orgs existed to raise money to pay staff and lobbyists. Several spent up to 90% of their raised funds paying themselves. The best of the bunch put 65% of their raised funds to use that matched their mission statements.

Three orgs were officed out of the same building in Edgefield, SC.... Not sure what that was about other than it seemed it was a business and not really doing any conservation work.

The best (orgs that actually did what they said) were mostly volunteer run and managed.

Some had very slick promotional methods - RMEF was one. Some relied solely on auctions and conventions to raise money. This is a 2 edged sword.

Honestly, I came out of it thinking that we, as a hunting/consuming/conservation public, really do not know what is going on in terms of the money involved in the industry. There is a lot of money out there.

Where there is money, there is waste and fraud. I came away with the following -

1. Know where you are sending money.
2. Do your homework on what they do.
3. See how the volunteers fit in. If volunteers run it, it will be a little messy but less fraud.

Last - a DU supporter/volunteer told me that good rain in the prairie pothole areas in the Canada and the northern US do more for duck populations that anything DU can go...Sobering for sure. He was not knocking DU, but just stating the facts as he saw them.

If hunter numbers are declining, the empirical data of license sales should clearly show it. The perception of a problem may be a reflection of a basic, ongoing cultural shift. IDK?

Here in Ga its only 3.5 percent of the population hints .The lose of places to hunt and steep prices to get a hunting lease causes people not to hunt .I think half of flordia hunts in Ga them and land taxes drove up prices .I taught and took 25 kids to hunt in Alaska over 12 years .They all still hunt but there are hardly any moose or caribou where I lived so its very discouraging to even try to hunt .If you dont have a plane which is super expensive now 30000 per year inspection fee or a jet boat your left out .They dumped 5000 russisns and urkrians where i lived they wiped out everything near the road system.
Sports really hurt hunting there is no time to hunt if you play sports too .The national forest here in Ga is old growth and has very few dreer or anything to hunt .The lack of dads also hurts hunting no one to teach and take then .I use to have 5000 acres growing up to hunt for free .I am now down to 130 acres .The rich people bought up every hunting club around us and dont let anyone hunt .I am looking fot another good place to live Ga is ruined with too many people and Alaska is ruined by mismamagement .