We better ban together and get all of our friends and family to gone the NRA and get them buying guns and into the woods or our sport will be gone in the future.
We need to start a grass roots effort and take charge!!!
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Jeff
Monarch Outdoor Adventures (. com)
I also make an effort to attend meetings by our DNR whenever possible , and I always try to get a hunter(or non-hunter) or two to go with me . I write to DNR and participate in their polls , and encourage others to do the same . An e-mail costs nothing but your time and effort . Probably the single most important thing that we can do is get more youth involvement , my grandson has actually attended a DNR meeting with me on one occasion , as has my non-hunting wife . He's itching to go hunting with me this year , and once we get his HE class out of the way I fully intend to take him , even if it means that he's the only one who gets a shot off .
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Kevin Haendiges
NAHC Life Member
NRA Member
Wildlife Forever Member
GOA Member
Buckmasters Member
http://hunting-indiana.com
Absolutely right. I try to do my part, but welcome being reminded from time to time. I have taken my 15 year old son squirrel hunting three times (not a very productive hunting location, need to find a better place), dove hunting three times (again, not a productive location, few shooting opportunities), pronghorn antelope hunting (he bagged a nice 13.5" buck, though I don't subscribe to judging success based on horn size -- I took a doe with my any-sex tag), and deer hunting (he had opportunities for a doe, but had only a buck tag -- he had insisted that his first deer HAD to be a buck, for some reason unknown to me). I mean to take one of my son's buddies to a hunter education course in August, and your post reminds me to get off my butt and move that plan forwards. I have taken another of my son's buddies to hunter education and dove hunting once. Again, I need to get more into gear taking these boys out hunting.
You are on point. If we don't take the trouble to introduce the next generation into hunting, hunting is liable to disappear. As the numbers of hunters as a portion of the general population declines, ignorance prevails and the sport will be outlawed as (1) cruel and sadistic behavior, (2) mean to animals, (3) endangering survival of game species, and (4) soley engaged in by beer bellied, unshaven, red necked, ignorant, uneducated, inbred, macho, insecure, sorry excuses for men who hunt animals only to mount their heads on the wall and leave the carcass of the animal for the buzzards.
You're right. We do need to come together. There is strength in numbers.
However, it takes more than simply joining an organization. I'm not knocking them; I belong to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation, as well as local conservation leagues and organizations, but it takes an effort on our part. That's why I always cringe when I hear someone say that they are "doing my part" to protect gun rights because they're a member of the National Rifle Association. The NRA is all good and great, but simply paying some membership dues and receiving a monthly magazine isn't enough. We have to get active; those national organizations, largely, do not offer that opportunity. Outreach programs by hunters are fantastic ways to see our sport continue . . . The NWTF is doing an outstanding job with this: The JAKES program, Women in the Outdoors, and Wheelin' Sportsmen are all fantastic programs. I'd encourage EVERYBODY to get involved in these programs and see young people, women and disabled persons introduced to the outdoors. It's very personally rewarding and very good for our sport as well.
Unfortunately, all of the above may not be enough. We are seeing a transition in the way hunting is done in this country. Leasing is the way the game is played now. I saw a story just yesterday where Idaho is considering giving choice elk and deer tags to landowners to allow them to sell them to the highest bidder in order for them allowing some public access to their land. It's a good idea, but it's unfortunate that it has come to that. Here in my home county, I learned last week that a hunting club is about to lease the 100,000 acres of timber company land that I have hunted all my life.
Right now, the average person can probably scrape up enough money for a small lease or to join a club to have a place to hunt. But as we continue to compete for the best places to hunt, the lease prices continue to go up, up and up. In Middle Tennessee, places that least for $4 per acre per year just a few years ago are now leasing for $7 per acre per year for turkey hunting only, or $10 per acre per year for everything. It's astounding how quickly the prices rise. In my home county, the long-term lease of the 100k acres by the hunting club will drive up lease prices because folks who have never leased land before will be looking for a lease or a club to join after they lose access to the timber company land.
No one can fault the landowners; they have an opportunity to make money off of hunting and that is exactly what they're doing. At the same time, you can't necessarily fault hunters for being willing to pay to ensure themselves a good hunting spot. But the more money we pay, the more demand is created and the higher lease prices go. . . It won't be too many years before hunting becomes a rich man's sport in America. And there will be dangerous consequences when that happens. Look at what has happened to hunting in the UK. When American politicians buckle to the lobbying of PETA, HSUS and others, we won't be able to stop them. Right now, they don't dare consider anti-hunting measures, for the most part, because, even at 7 percent of the population, we are a strong group. But when only the rich are hunting, we won't wield nearly as powerful a political weapon, and we won't be able to stop the politicians from buckling.
I've said for several years that the greatest enemy to hunting isn't PETA or any other animal rights group, but is the loss of private land and the method of leasing land for hunting. That will be our eventual downfall.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world -- Ghandi
http://www.rightminded.net
There are a few other problems for hunting that are not often realized. There are many good points listed above but two more things add to the problem. AGE. The population is getting older and as people age they tend to give up hunting as it can be hard work and require more physical effort than many older hunters can muster up. If you have an older friend who liked to hunt but does not feel they can handle it, Give them a hand. Sort of the opposite to take a kid hunting. The other killer for hunting is DIVORCE. In many cases if not Most cases, after a divorce the children end up with the mother. God bless those women who try to get their kids into hunting but there are not that many. Furthermore a mother raising kids on their own are not near as apt to introduce their kids to Guns. This hurts the gunowner ranks as well. As said my others, we need to support organizations that try to promote hunting and fishing, however we need to look around us and see what we can do as well. Things like Big Brothers is something many of us can do. I am one of those who is bordering on the upper age limit. That is, it gets tougher every year to do the work of hunting. I will however stick with it as long as I can and I hope for many more years of hunting. My Grandfather hunted until he was 96, I won't probably make it that long but I will try.
There are a few other problems for hunting that are not often realized. There are many good points listed above but two more things add to the problem. AGE. The population is getting older and as people age they tend to give up hunting as it can be hard work and require more physical effort than many older hunters can muster up. If you have an older friend who liked to hunt but does not feel they can handle it, Give them a hand. Sort of the opposite to take a kid hunting. The other killer for hunting is DIVORCE. In many cases if not Most cases, after a divorce the children end up with the mother. God bless those women who try to get their kids into hunting but there are not that many. Furthermore a mother raising kids on their own are not near as apt to introduce their kids to Guns. This hurts the gunowner ranks as well. As said my others, we need to support organizations that try to promote hunting and fishing, however we need to look around us and see what we can do as well. Things like Big Brothers is something many of us can do. I am one of those who is bordering on the upper age limit. That is, it gets tougher every year to do the work of hunting. I will however stick with it as long as I can and I hope for many more years of hunting. My Grandfather hunted until he was 96, I won't probably make it that long but I will try.
I'm currently coresponding with an HE instructor who visits one of the websites that I frequentlocally about upcoming HE classes near my area . My eldest Grandson is 8 this year , the minimum age at which my Son will allow him to hunt , and he's raring to go . His 9 year old bud Tyler is also wanting to hunt with me , and he lives near where the class will be held , so I'll be taking him as well . If possible , I'd like to be able to stuff my Explorer with wide eyed kids who want to join our grand obsession and give them the chance to see what we love and learn about the outdoors that we love . Hopefully some of them will take to it and become the future hunters .
One of the reasons that I bought the property that I now live on was to provide a place for kids to learn about the outdoors in a concentrated , safe environment . It's fully representative of the terrain around here with thick hardwoods , cedars , and open grassy areas . There's a "waterhole" , saddles , hills , and flatland all in one place comprising 10 acres. After planting some fruit and nut trees and shrubs the place will become a great training ground for short attention span kids that seem to be the norm these days. As an added bonus , as long as I keep teaching kids to hunt here I'll not only always have something to do , but I will also be leaving my legacy for the kids to benefit from.
Gawd help me , but the day may come when I'll actually have ause for a minivan ![]
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Kevin Haendiges
NAHC Life Member
NRA Member
Wildlife Forever Member
GOA Member
Buckmasters Member
http://hunting-indiana.com
One of the guys in my deer camp in the Adirondacks has had his young stepson up for three years now. The first two, the lad carried a .22 LR--and we had a visit from two NYSDEC wardensthe firstyear. All the warden wanted to know was if the chamber of the .22 was loaded, as the 9-year-old stepson was driving his stepfather's ATV. The warden didn't say a thing about the helmet violation, or the fact that a 9-year-old was driving the ATV, or the fact that the 9-year-old was the owner of the .22 on the ATV.
This last year, the (now) 11-year-old was carrying a scoped Marlin 336 in .30-30, buthe never went more than 15 yards from hisstepfather, or an uncle, when the stepfather was driving to a watch line. I strongly suspect that we'll see the bearer of the 336 again this coming year.
Now if I could get my wife to act on what she told me two weeks before our wedding . . . "Hon, I want to learn how to bowhunt."
Hunters need to recruit others to our sport
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