What does the future hold?
 

I'm not sure what my future holds as a hunter in my county, but everywhere I look, a field is being developed into a residential neighborhood or 10 acres of woods is being demolished for one house to be built. I cannot forget the Highway they built, and six months later a 170 inch 13 pointer, was hit by a car. And the State has the nerve to say the deer population is out of control...and regulations need to be changed to accommodate. Also, everywhere there is private ground, somebody already has permission. I have public ground to hunt in the next county, but it's not the same as having rights.

I am a 23 y/o diehard that is watching hunting areas become so scarce, I'm not sure I'll have a place to hunt in my county in the future. Anyone else bothered by this?

Man, I hate to say it but this will be a growing problem as more and more people hunt with less land to hunt. People say #s of hunters are down, I call BS. Maybe % of the population that hunts, but there are far more hunters around me than there ever was even 5 years ago. Thank god I have about 1500 acres of family land to hunt. If I were you I would try and lock down a place, either leasing it or buying it. Sorry to hear about all your troubles with hunting!

My dad, a friend & I had 750 acres about 5 years ago and that spoiled me. But it was also in another state.

Yeah it's extremely hard to get away from people around here. I hope I can own my own land someday...that's why I went to college. I just hope I can get some of the good areas.

Get friends and family together and get some lease ground. Money usually works to get permission. A hand shake doesnt do it anymore.

I have to agree with this. I two pieces of property by hand shake, luckily they're close family friends. But that doesn't stop others from being allowed there as well...

Hunting is supported mostly by the weekend warrior. Not everyone is the die-hard maniac. These are the ones that will get fed up with the high cost of leasing land and over crowded public land and quit. I also believe more outfitters will start controlling more and more land. If you want to hunt you hunt through them.

More people are moving to cities and the rural lifestyle is getting phased out. This means that more of them will not care about hunting and the anti hunting folks will become more powerful and will start changing policy.

The farmers once needed the hunter to help keep deer under control but now they see the hunter as an form of income. For now they are making extra money but once the hunters stop controlling the deer numbers they will be hurting from all the crop damage. They in essence are shooting themselves in the foot.

#'s of hunters going down? more and more women are hunting now than ever before, which right there you can essentially double the # of hunters, the population is way more now than it was 50 years ago in the US. Granted everyone isn't a farmer anymore either.

not everyone wants to live in a city....if everyone did, talk about wilderness/farms we could have...there is still plenty of land undeveloped int his nation. I remember john stossel doing a report on the U.S. something like 95% of this nation is undeveloped land...farms...country etc...open space...but ya a house here a house there seems to break it up...

I've learned to stop worrying about the sky falling....least for now.....and if it even does....I'll deal with it then, til then I do what I can...live my life best I can.

Sure I'd like a huge farm now, but can't buy 1000acres with nothing....

For now I am pretty comfortable with the land I can hunt. My BIL and sister have afforded me thousands of acres of farmland to hunt on and until something changes in that I plan to continue to hunt for as long as they will have me.

I grew up around the Nations crapitol I watched this very same scenario occur in the 80's and 90's.I moved to another state.I feel your pain

The last post was from south Pa. and I know how it went too. There is no small game hunting to speak of and it is really built up. You are still young yet and you should be hitting the state land now while you can still get around. I have almost always hunted deer on state land, and although I rarely get anything really big, I usually do as good or better than people I talk to that hunt private land. I usually don't even start rifle hunting until at least 3 days after opening day. The reason you see so many hunters now is they are crowded into smaller areas. Try hunting state land a couple days after the deer season opens. Change your style and move around more, don't just sit there and hope for a miracle. At the very least you will learn to be a better hunter.