ezearl

"As far as "no place to hunt" PA has over five million acres between state game lands and and public access programs administrated by the PA game Commission and state forest and state park lands and the emphasis is over 5 million acres. The times have changed and the decline of hunter numbers is controlled with many reasons. People who say there is no longer any place to hunt are looking for a reason to justify quitting because no one wants to be known as a quitter so they toss out what they think is a reasonable causation."

This may apply to more than a just few but I know too many who can't get to these places to hunt. Many are lucky if their vehicles will get them to town and back. Quitters? Not hardly.

GTOHunter

I see a lot of Programs for the Youth to Hunt here in Missouri,they have Archery Programs in different Schools and now 2 Youth Deer Season and even Turkey Season for the Youths.During Deer Season there are plenty of Seasoned Hunters here teaching their Children the proper way to Hunt and We also have Hunter Safety Classes for Young New Hunters as well as for Us Older Hunters to learn and to improve our Hunting Skills.

I do all types of Hunting,Still Hunting,Ground Blinds,Stalking and "Yes"...My favorite of sitting in a ladder stand,Hang-on or Box Blind.With thick cover or smaller tracts of Land walking around only chases off Potential Deer especially if they bed down off the land We Hunt and move to our Property when feeding or chasing Doe's?If anything I've learned to adapt to a changing World and have used Old and New ways of Hunting to better My odds of getting a Deer.

I see plenty of Hunters teaching thier Kids about Hunting and much more Girls and Women taking up Hunting....I have Faith that our Sport isn't dying off.

Valentine is either a Contrary Old F@rt or a Wise Old F@rt and He's just getting Us stirred up and thinking about how to keep Our Passion going for many years?

flags

No this is an extremely weird post. Cant get out of town. Undependable cars. Gonna hoist the BS flag on this.

ezearl

I've got absolutely no reason whatsoever to BS you people. Been to Appalachia lately,flags? Call it what you will but a large faction of hunters who feel that hunting has become a rich mans sport are being ignored. Therefore why should they support those who can afford to do so. Their words not mine. I'm not the enemy here. We need all the support we can to keep the sport alive for future generations like my grand and great grand kids. I posted only to bring to light a faction of our group whose dilemma some must not be aware of.

Bocajnala

Again, depends on where you are... if the nearest public land is 50 miles away and you drive a junk beater, it's an available excuse.... He's not saying these are good reasons. He's just saying the excuses he's heard from others. And I've heard that one as well. I heard it from two different people this weekend in Ohio with the crappy weather. They didn't trust their vehicles on the ice... So I offered to come pick them up if they'd go out, nope.
-Jake

super_hunt54

I've seen a lot of folks, me included, that were simply AFRAID to hunt public lands in PA during opening day rifle. When you see a sea of orange and you know at least half of them will shoot at anything that moves, you kinda don't want to be in there with them. Now archery season, I was a nightmare to the PA deer on the game lands But rifle season?, I was on my little 200 acre farm hearing the war zone shooters up on the mountain. Or down in Bucks or Chester on a couple Amish farms I hunted. Sorry but you wouldn't catch me anywhere near the Game lands during the first day or 2 rifle.

rockport

From what ive seen a lot of people don't understand that getting everything all set up and ready to go while your kids sit around the house then taking them out on opening day and letting them pull the trigger 30 minutes in then stand there and watch while the deer is field dressed then go home is not teaching them how to hunt.


I know I hear a lot of people say "I don't want them to get board and quit" I just can't fathom that train of thought.

My daughter is 7 and spent probably 70 hours sitting this year. She has helped me plant wheat, setup blinds, scout, and check cameras all year and has yet to pull the trigger because she can only put 3 in a row in the lungs at about 40 yards and she's little and getting her ready to shoot is tough in a blind with deer at 40 yards but boy when them deer come her little knees start shakin and her heart pounding. She loves it and never wants to quit even when we don't see deer for hours and hours......Why? because she is invested, she has earned it, and she wants it badly.

I use the term help loosely as she really only makes it harder for me but that is not really the point. She is investing herself in the process. Not having success has not made her board and want to quit at all. It has given here drive to stay an extra hour and drive to pursue the reward she has earned. When (not if) the success comes she will not take it for granted. I suspect success will come quick next year when she has grown a little and can handle the gun better. Unfortunately nobody really makes a quality slug gun that fits a small 7 year.

I don't think its modern hunting as much as modern society

falcon

Many of those sub-divisions and developments have no hunting covenants; you can't even hunt on your own land. Several years ago we looked at 160 acres of very nice property in Idaho: The developer called the parcels "ranches."


Game animals all over the place. i mentioned the place had great hunting potential. You would have thought I murdered Bambi on Christmas Eve. i was informed in a snarky manner that the entire area, thousands of acres, had a no hunting covenants.

ezearl

On the subject of sub-divisions and developments. When the Westvaco Paper Co. land was sold off and we're talking MANY thousands of acres I asked a friend who is the head wildlife biologist for our district why DNR didn't purchase some even if it meant raising our license/tag fees. Told me they weren't even offered the opportunity. Politics at work. Real joke is that many areas within these lands were protected due to their unique habitat. Of course when it came time to make the BIG bucks and I'm not talking whitetail here all that went out the door. Then on top of it all the parcels never sold,the habitat was destroyed,and the land sits with no access for the outdoors people.

flags

Yep. I hunt the Blue Ridge in Smythe County VA nearly every year. So I'm not buying your statement.