RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

For Texas, you need to add another category. "Gotten Worse"

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

Seems to me, just by reading these posts, that highly sought after places, ie, Illinois and Texas, where people are flocking to, the hunting for the "average Joe" is declining. Yet another reason I am against QDM.

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

I grew up during the 60s-70s period , I don't recall seeing more than a couple of deer the whole time , and I lived right next to 400 acres of prime woods . Turkeys practically didn't exist at all , I don't remember ever seeing one back then . There is currently more game in this country right now then there ever has been , we have much better gear than our forebears did , and state game agencies are doing a great job in general despite the limited funding most of them get . I hunt almost exclusively in Southern Indiana , but I see tons of game everywhere I've been recently .

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

More and more suberbia = more and more places to hunt in my book.:)

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

Well said, I hear people all the time say how bad they want to elk hunt in trophy states like Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, its their dream to draw a tag and have a try at a trophy bull elk.On the other handwhen talking to people who live there it seems that there dream is just to go out and hunt each and every year. This last Feb at the RMEF elk camp in reno Nevada, I was talking to a fella from Nevada who loved to hunt elk but in the last 20 someodd years he had only got to go elk hunting 3 times in his home state. He did try to save up money and hunt elkout of state about every 3 years. Places like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, might not hold the number of trophy bulls or even the next record book, but its sure nice to be able to get a tageach yearand still have low hunter numbers. Idaho andColorado are over the counter, I can't say for sure about the otherstates. But from what I understand its easy to get a elk tag in any of the states I mentioned.I know one thing Iwould die if Icouldn't go elk hunting each and every year. lol

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

It's a trick question for my area of New England:

Better: There are more deer now than ever before.
Worse: There are far fewer places to hunt all of those deer.

Land development, mainly in the form of the cursed Culdesac, have either ruined whole parcels of land for hunting or have made it nearly impossible to either access or legally hunt them.

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

Improved drastically for me in the last few years. The poacher that owned the farm next to ours sold and finally disappeared. The number of bucks around has increased exponentially since he left. That SOB used to kill 6-10 bucks a year and just cut off their heads. I'm glad he's gone and hopefully he is in misery wherever he ended up. Not that I am bitter or anything ;)

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

Very southeast Pa Berks,Chester counties have gotten terrible. everything closed .Gamelands jammed with hunters. Land going for 50,000 plus a acre. I took action and bought property in another state where land is still cheap.I wont be buying anotherPa. huntin license again. In the state I bought land.Land owners dont need a huntin license.

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

I would have to say hunting for the serious do-it-yourselfer here in Northcentral Montana continues to improve. Lots of good elk hunting if you are willing to work for it. The Whitetail hunting is spectacular. Not to be arrogant, but if you can't fill your deer tags here, you just aren't trying hard enough. IMHO Montanans are very protective of their public land, and there is more of it than one person could ever hunt.

RE: Have hunting opportunities improved or not?
 

I hunt in the Midwest (MI and IL) and I think the opportunities have impoved. The deer numbers are higher and the bird numbers have been good as well. Part of my view may come with getting older and being able to go out more so I may not be totally objective on this topic.