dragthor

#3 Reason: Difficulty purchasing/obtaining a shotgun or muzzleloader in New Jersey.

chickory

not only do your license dollars dry up when the 1 & 2 day hunters are gone but Pa loses some of its Pittman-roberts $$ also. The P-R dollars are doled out based on hunter# and if hunters do not purchase new ammo and rifles then the 10% excise tax cannot be there in the first place to return to the state.

The environmentalists push to reduce the deer herds in several states is having a bigger effect than hunters want to accept. Its sort of a natural defensive mechanism to close ones eyes and try to ignore it, but its there.

And it ain't going away anytime soon.

slugman

NJ lost 2 million of those dollars for canceling the bear hunt this yr. Way to go Campbell [:'(]

hunter Leo

I'm in upstate NY and 24. This is off topic from what you guys are talking about but i wanted to put in a similar opinion. I am the only 1 out of roughly 15 friends who hunt anymore. When we were in high school we used to put in good efforts hunting, mostly small game though. Now that the years have passed they all have gf's and party and do not want to get up early to go hunting. I have a gf and the first one i have kept threw hunting season for 2 years in a row now. They rather go to a party then wake up to go out hunting. Everyone i hunt with for the exception of 1 person all all in there 40's or older. I know some kids that are 14-17 and they wont get out of bed early for turkey or deer hunting. Some kids never get a deer and lose interest fast and others just plain give up on hunting like my friends. If i remember correctly the 03-04 hunting season was the first year in roughly 20 years that NY saw an increase in hunter numbers, not sure of the 04-05 year. I dont talk to many people who are hardcore hunters or really go out and give it 100% and make it out when they can come hunting season like I do. Besides corrupt wildlife management going around i think that times are changing and people are changing and hunting isnt looked at by the younger generations as it is by older hunters that been doing it for quite a few years.

wingbar

leo could be your pards are going thru what alot of hunters have been there before at around that age. some of those guys will never get back to hunting but some will come back once the wife gains 20 # they have themselves established in carrers etc.

Wild Work

I think these reasons are not really the truth just a choice of reasons on a survey. I have had friends in the pasted who didn't start hunting till they were in there 20's and when they started families they couldn't find time. There jobs take up most of there time, etc. As for land well between NJ & PA alone there is more than 4 million acres of public land. Most people will drive up to a WMA and see a vehichle and say well there is someone here lets leave or go somewhere else. When that piece of ground is 600 acres give or take. Plenty of ground. I've dropped my tailgate and let my beagles out right after a group has put up theirs and had a good day. Nobody is that good that they can sweep a piece of ground and harvest it all. Missed shot, game flushes to far, dog/ hunter error, etc. On a piece of public ground watch the hunters they hardly ever cover it all. Most, I see are to lazy to walk it or don't know the lay of the land. I could probably blind fold 90% of the hunter drop them of in there local public land and they wouldn't have a clue as to where they were. Lack of knowlegde. They should start a school to teach youths these things. Since most kids are growing up in split family dad aren't around to teach proper anything. They leave all there kids education up to public schools. I for one have outdoor leasons with my son and step daughter. You know once every other week. When the state says they can visit.

wingbar

hey don't shoot me I didn't spend the $25K I just pointed out the findings

Wild Work

Hunter leo,
Give me a shout at [email protected] I'm 34 live in south jersey and have hunting liscense in NJ, PA, MD, NY, NH and ME. I live to hunt, fish and trap. I'm booked this season till mid to late Feb. but, I'm setting up next years hunts I take off work in late Sept. and go back in March.

moosehornhunter

Pa doesn't have a lack of deer in my opinion....it has a lack of qualified hunters.....QUALIFIED.....Until a few years ago, any idiot could take a walk in the woods and kill a pile of deer. Now you have to know what your doing, and unfortunately, it sounds like most PA hunters haven't figured out how to hunt yet. OH WELL

deaddeer

Can you explain how the unqualified hunters managed to harvest 80% of our 1.5 buck and 75% of our 2.5+ buck prior to AR? If you have a good answer for that one , then explain how we harvested 85% of the buck that were saved by AR. thanks.