I agree there is more interest in big game hunting, a bit more interest in bird; ie pheasant and quail hunting than in small game hunting; ie squirrel and rabbit hunting.
My guess is age and what us older folks grew up hunting, and our enjoyment of being out in the woods hunting what was abundant to us back when we were young hunters.
Ahh...the memories.
And as others have mentioned, loss of habitat. We grew up hunting the same farms my dad trapped since he was in the 3rd grade. All but one of those farms is now a development.
Somewhat on that note, a somewhat amusing tale of an occurrence in one of those subdivisions.
Fresh out of college, a rabbit hunting buddy and I were selling firewood from one of his properties. The power company came in and felled a bunch of trees for a power line. They’d left everything. Our profits more than covered what he’d paid for the acreage (he bought it at an absolute auction).
At any rate, I got an order, and the purchaser lived in a subdivision that had formerly been a very productive farm. Ducks, pheasants, doves, rabbits, mink, muskrat, coons, red fox, and later coyotes. At any rate, dad helped me with the delivery. We heard some shotgun reports in the distance. Dad and I said something in passing about it being so-and-so shooting geese on one of the neighboring farms. This piqued the purchaser’s interest, and he asked if we hunted. Then he asked where we did so. Dad, typically a very mild mannered, an incredibly polite and reserved guy, had quite the response. With quite a bit of attitude behind it, he said “As a matter of fact, we USED TO do it right where your house sits.” Then he went on about how these new subdivisions were the bane of society. I couldn’t believe my ears.
But I felt dad’s pain. How much greater it must be for the farming families that worked the land for generations, only to have the land turned into lots for cookie cutter homes.
“Progress”, I reckon. I understand the need for housing, but the loss of old farms and subsequent access still stings.
