Let's take the initiative!

[BenGarrett]

VC1111 started a thread a few weeks ago about a report suggesting that Hunter Safety Courses are ultimately damaging to hunting's future. I believe that thread (Maybe I'm just too lazy to look it up ) mentioned the low nation-wide "hunter replacement ratio." At the risk of repeating things that were probably pointed out in that thread, consider:

The nation-wide hunter replacement ratio is .69:1. That is, for every adult hunter, there is less than 7/10s of a youth hunter to replace him once he hangs up his gun. It goes without saying that if this rate continues unchanged, it's only a matter of time before our sport becomes obsolete.

If you gather a group of hunters together and ask them what the biggest threat is facing our sport, you're going to get a variety of answers. Some will say that the efforts of anti-hunters like PETA and the H.S.U.S. are the biggest threat facing us. Others will say that the loss of wildlands and wetlands is a bigger threat. Still others will say that the cost of hunting through the rising costs of land leases is the biggest threat.

There is no doubt that all of those problems are going to play a significant part in the future of hunting and shooting sports, but in my opinion, there is no larger problem facing us than the lack of youth interested in hunting.

And while most of those other problems are out of our control "” urban encroachment cannot be curbed by anything we can do, and rising costs are an inevitable part of the game that will just have to be compromised by hunters "” we CAN do something about the lack of youth hunters in the woods.

The National Wild Turkey Federation did a study a few months ago. What they determined through that study was that, across the board with few exceptions, the states with the lowest hunter replacement ratios are also the states with the most restrictions on youth hunters. States termed "least restrictive" on youth hunters had an average hunter replacement ratio of .85:1. States labeled as "somewhat restrictive" had replacement ratios of .82:1. And states termed "very restrictive" had replacement ratios of only .53:1, on average.

And we're not just talking about the states that would immediately come to mind "” New York, New Jersey, etc. States with rich hunting heritages, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, have among the most restrictive in the nation and, not surprisingly, they have very low hunter replacement ratios when compared with some other states. In Michigan, for example, youth cannot hunt before the age of 14 and the hunter replacement ratio is a ridiculously-low .26:1.

So what can we do? For starters, we can get our youth away from the Playstation and the X-Box and the 200 channels of satellite TV and back into the outdoors. When I was in grade school, the most important thing for my friends and I was to get home so we could grab the single-shot .20 guage or the .410 and hit the squirrel woods before dark. That's not been that long ago! I'm not 30 years old yet. Youth are becoming disinterested in hunting and shooting at an alarmingly quick rate, IMHO.

And we can go after game agencies. There's no excuse for youth hunters to be prevented from hunting until they're 14 years old. In my home state of Tennessee, there is no age limitation on hunting; only that they must be accompanied by an adult until age 10. In my lifetime, I cannot recall a single incident where a youth hunter shot another person or was shot. Also, consider the numbers presented by the Hunter Incident Clearinghouse's annual national survey, which show that the number of youth hunters (percentage-wise) involved in a firearm accident while hunting is actually LOWER than the percentage of adult hunters (.0005 percent of adult hunters involved in a fatal accident in a single year, while only .00007 percent of youth hunters involved in a fatal accident in a single year). In my opinion, if you cannot get your child into the woods until the kid is 14 years old, chances are much stronger that you've already lost him to the video game world. And it is ridiculous that a parent cannot have the say over whether his/her child is mature enough to take a gun and shoot a passel of squirrels.

So here's my question: Would YOU be willing to get involved and take some effort to help preserve this sport of ours? And what are things that hunters can do, in your opinion, to help improve the situation with our youth?

[BenGarrett]

As if I haven't already rambled enough, let me mention this: The problem with losing our youth who don't have an interest in hunting is really two-fold. In addition to the undeniable fact that hunting will eventually die out, we also lose valuable political weight as our numbers decrease. The old addage "power in numbers" is so true when it comes to hunting and shooting and the privileges our sport receives in written law. I don't think there is any doubt that hunters wield a powerful vote, and I believe the liberal left's recent backing off of the gun control issue is proof of that. I don't doubt for a minute that the voting block made up of America's sportsmen helped George W. Bush into the White House in 2000, and it played a role (though I think the religious right played more of a role the second go-around) in 2004 as well.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is one Democrat who has realized this. In fact, he made a statement in 2000 that Al Gore was "one dove hunt away from becoming president." And when Bredesen ran for governor of Tennessee in 2002, he lobbied for the sportsman's vote in a big way. So I don't think there's any doubt that we currently have the ear of the politicians. But let's don't forget that we're already fighting a tough fight since only 7% of us in the American population hunt. That puts us pretty close to even with those who are strongly opposed to hunting. And as our numbers continue to decrease, not only are the voices of our opponents going to become louder, but the politicians "” especially those with aspirations to ban guns, ban hunting bears over bait, etc. "” are going to realize that we're just not as powerful as we used to be.

Does hunting face an immediate threat from the loss of hunters? No, I don't think so. But the eventual toll that this will take on our sport is tremendous, IMHO.

[bawanajim]

When men figure out that when you breed children it is your responsibilty to raise them.I am not sure if we are so piss poor at picking mates or if men just don't care enough to raise their own offspring.Leaving your wife to raise your children while you chase bimbos is not the way to instill values in our young ones.

[Alsatian]

You mean leaving my wife to raise the kids while I chase bimbos is something I can do??? All right!

Just joking. I think all of us who value the tradition of hunting ought to take this hunter replacement ratio pretty seriously. My own goal is to try to replace myself with two additional hunters. Last year I took my son deer hunting and pronghorn antelope hunting for the first time. Also, dove hunting. I took him and a neighbor boy to hunter education and have taken the neighbor boy dove hunting and squirrel hunting. That is my plan -- to get involved providing good experiences to these guys when they are young. I hope they will continue hunting as adults, but this may be determined by their financial resources and location. I plan to take another friend of my son to hunter education in the not too distant future -- I've just been too busy this year to do that.

Getting youths involved in hunting impacts not just the sport of hunting but also the will to preserve the second amendment in the face of liberal anti-gun crusaders.

[BenGarrett]

ORIGINAL: Alsatian
Getting youths involved in hunting impacts not just the sport of hunting but also the will to preserve the second amendment in the face of liberal anti-gun crusaders.

That's exactly right.

Not only that, but it also helps instill a pretty darned good system of values and ethics in a kid. I've often said that when I was in high school, the only reason I wasn't out getting drunk or high with my friends and classmates on Friday night was because I was home getting my gear ready for Monday morning's hunt.

Kudos to you Alsatian. It's attitudes like yours "” sacrificing a bit of your own hunting time to help introduce the sport to others "” that will help ensure that this great sport of ours has a brighter future.

[badshotbob]

Sacrifice is right. It's often said that when you take a kid hunting or fishing, you aren't really hunting or fishing. Let's face it, peeling 156 bluegill off a kid's hook and re-baiting takes time, especially when there is more than one kid in the boat. Or when you are out in the woods with your son next to you the deer always come in from the wrong direction - the direction the cap would go off on your smoke pole right in his face, so you let the deer pass. You can't be as stealthy with your 8 year old as you can if alone. It is sacrifice to pass on a weekend up north with the boys in hunting camp to stay behind and take your 4 year old to sit in the woods with you on opening day of rifle.

Sacrifice is something you signed up for when you said "I do", and is certainly something you signed up for when you decided to bring a child into this world. To me, it's not a laborious burdensome sacrifice, but rather joyous and rewarding. When the kid reaches hunting age and talks about his hunting dad to the other kids in school, that is priceless and worth every second spent in the woods with them.

The local party store owner is a good example of what being a father is all about. He takes his three kids, all under the age of 6, to the woods for both bow and gun season. When they are with him, he hunts from a ground blind and packs them all in. He's scored with them out there too. Could you imagine taking a 3, 4, and 5 year old to the woods with you? He can. I'm not sure you could get a smile that big on a man's face even if he had just shot the new state record.

Take your kids and their friends to the woods. If not for hunting, at minimum for scouting and hanging stands. I've been walking my son through the woods teaching him about the woods, deer sign, critter movement/behavior for years. He loves it.

[gonzodemon]

i am what you might call a radical outdoor hunting activist. i have taken it upon myself to personaly see to it i get as many children involved in hunting as i can. i hold three book readings a year at the local liberary where my wife and i read books to the youth . we choose books that are pro hunting and use the time in between books to talk to the children about hunting. i also hold a bow hunting clinic every year at my home where i will tune bows help set up bows and build arrows . children are free and i am trying to get an archery program started at our local schools. my son AGE 7 and i are the founders of the PeeWee Arrow Slingers an archery club just for kids ages 4 to 12 and the Pig Stickers for ages 13 to addult. i personaly take any child hunting fishing or camping that wishes to go with my family . i hope to add a fire arms course to our clinic by next year. "THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT IMPACTS THE FUTURE IS NOT WHAT WE DO ITS WHAT WE DO NOT DO."

[BenGarrett]

ORIGINAL: badshotbob

Take your kids and their friends to the woods. If not for hunting, at minimum for scouting and hanging stands. I've been walking my son through the woods teaching him about the woods, deer sign, critter movement/behavior for years. He loves it.

Good point. That brings up another aspect. Being in the woods and learning about the behaviors of animals and the different types of plant life is such a learning experience. And kids USUALLY don't learn those types of things in the classroom. It amazes me the number of kids who go into the woods and can't tell you what this particular tree is and what type of mast it produces, or what kind of berries that are growing on that bush over there and whether it is safe to eat them.

[BenGarrett]

ORIGINAL: gonzodemon

i am what you might call a radical outdoor hunting activist. i have taken it upon myself to personaly see to it i get as many children involved in hunting as i can. i hold three book readings a year at the local liberary where my wife and i read books to the youth . we choose books that are pro hunting and use the time in between books to talk to the children about hunting. i also hold a bow hunting clinic every year at my home where i will tune bows help set up bows and build arrows . children are free and i am trying to get an archery program started at our local schools. my son AGE 7 and i are the founders of the PeeWee Arrow Slingers an archery club just for kids ages 4 to 12 and the Pig Stickers for ages 13 to addult. i personaly take any child hunting fishing or camping that wishes to go with my family . i hope to add a fire arms course to our clinic by next year. "THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT IMPACTS THE FUTURE IS NOT WHAT WE DO ITS WHAT WE DO NOT DO."

Good going Gonzo! That's the sort of proactive attitude we need among hunters today. Unfortunately, it's an attitude that we are sorely short on.

[vc1111]

Youth are becoming disinterested in hunting and shooting at an alarmingly quick rate, IMHO.

Well yes and no.

Youth in general is just as interested as ever in hunting. However, (speaking from the perspective of Ohio only), you cannot allow a kid to hunt at all until he sits through 12 hours of classes. In other words, he can't even check hunting out until he goes to a 12 hour class...that's were the disinterest is rooted and the study of hunter replacement ratios proves that conclusively.

Fix the laws and the "interest" will follow.