Exhunters
- Thread starter aaalaska
- Start date
The Terminator
New member
I don't get to go nearly as much as I used to. Time has to be spent with the children and wife. Also, my job tends to get in the way of a lot of my extra-caricular activities. 
I still get to do a lot of hiking and camping with my son, he is a Boy Scout. Best -
I still get to do a lot of hiking and camping with my son, he is a Boy Scout. Best -auburnboattail
New member
Hunt
I hunted excessively when I was a teenager. When I turned 20 I had started my family and needed to build my business so all my waking moments were at work or home with the kids, so I did not hunt for years. As my kids started going to college, I began hunting again, in fact have started attending hunting or firearms events again such as Friends of the NRA events and gun auctions and even back shooting clays again. It was never cost that stopped me it was simply lack of time and more important priorities. I do regret that I did not spend enough time in the woods with my boys. We participated in all sorts of activities, football, baseball, Cub and boyscouts go kart racing, basketball, woodworking and flying. Now I can only ask for their time, as they build their careers and families. As I grow older I think about times my grandpa and dad took me out. They are both gone now, but I can clearly see in my minds eye those times when I was eight or nine and my Dad and my Grandpa would drive me to visit my Grandpas Dad ( my Great grandpappy) the ritual was always the same. I would milk the cows, shovel the barn and then all four of us would grab our Model 12's and go out in the woods behind the barn along the EEl river and shoot cotton tails.
My Great grand pappy would then show my how to skin them , I would take them inside for the women to cook, get some cookies and then run back out to the barn to listen to the grown ups talk about life and clean our shotguns.
I imagine that this is what the good Lord had in mind when created things. like the old commericial says it just don't get any better than this.
I hunted excessively when I was a teenager. When I turned 20 I had started my family and needed to build my business so all my waking moments were at work or home with the kids, so I did not hunt for years. As my kids started going to college, I began hunting again, in fact have started attending hunting or firearms events again such as Friends of the NRA events and gun auctions and even back shooting clays again. It was never cost that stopped me it was simply lack of time and more important priorities. I do regret that I did not spend enough time in the woods with my boys. We participated in all sorts of activities, football, baseball, Cub and boyscouts go kart racing, basketball, woodworking and flying. Now I can only ask for their time, as they build their careers and families. As I grow older I think about times my grandpa and dad took me out. They are both gone now, but I can clearly see in my minds eye those times when I was eight or nine and my Dad and my Grandpa would drive me to visit my Grandpas Dad ( my Great grandpappy) the ritual was always the same. I would milk the cows, shovel the barn and then all four of us would grab our Model 12's and go out in the woods behind the barn along the EEl river and shoot cotton tails.
My Great grand pappy would then show my how to skin them , I would take them inside for the women to cook, get some cookies and then run back out to the barn to listen to the grown ups talk about life and clean our shotguns.
I imagine that this is what the good Lord had in mind when created things. like the old commericial says it just don't get any better than this.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
The cost of access to land is impacting the gross numbers of big game hunters. This is true in Texas for deer hunting, for sure.
Two things: First is the cost of a season lease on a ranch. From my own investigations a year ago, it's $4 to $8 an acre for a few-thousand-acre ranch that will support only a few hunters.
Next is the ability to lease by the week through the roughly nine-week whitetail season or the 16-day mule deer season. Prices beginning at around $1,500 for a week are common.
Then you have the world of "guided hunts". Quality bucks, definitely. But prices in the $2,500 to $8,500 for a three-day session.
The same sort of situation holds in Georgia and Florida, based on reading the various news magazines from there. Lots of good hunting, but nowhere near inexpensive.
Art
Two things: First is the cost of a season lease on a ranch. From my own investigations a year ago, it's $4 to $8 an acre for a few-thousand-acre ranch that will support only a few hunters.
Next is the ability to lease by the week through the roughly nine-week whitetail season or the 16-day mule deer season. Prices beginning at around $1,500 for a week are common.
Then you have the world of "guided hunts". Quality bucks, definitely. But prices in the $2,500 to $8,500 for a three-day session.
The same sort of situation holds in Georgia and Florida, based on reading the various news magazines from there. Lots of good hunting, but nowhere near inexpensive.
Art
There have been hunts I didn't go on because I had maybe one day and it tags permits have gone way up the last few years here.
I can only imagine how it is when you need to lease or rent land to hunt on. I have been lucky in everywhere I have lived there was plenty of public land.
Got a buddy in Utah that has quit because of price. Said if they are gonna charge that much for a license and tag he just isn't going to go. He can afford it it's the principle of the thing in his eyes.
I do think lots of us hunt less as we grow older but many do not. My farther is 83 and has never considered stopping I don't think.
I can only imagine how it is when you need to lease or rent land to hunt on. I have been lucky in everywhere I have lived there was plenty of public land.
Got a buddy in Utah that has quit because of price. Said if they are gonna charge that much for a license and tag he just isn't going to go. He can afford it it's the principle of the thing in his eyes.
I do think lots of us hunt less as we grow older but many do not. My farther is 83 and has never considered stopping I don't think.
Last edited:
trooper3385
New member
Art is right on when it comes to the price of hunting in Texas. There is not much public hunting land in Texas and the prices are getting to the point where it's running some hunters out of the sport. I remember growing up hunting in West Texas and my dad paid around $500 for a year around hunting leases. Our leases were 5000 to 10,000 acre leases and all had good bucks. I live in South Texas now where the prices have always been outragous. $1500 and up for 400 to 500 acres. You start getting into the ranches that are seriously game managed or the larger ranches, and your looking at $5000 and up. It's getting harder and harder to find leases that you can lease for the year or the season. More and more ranches are going to paying by the day to hunt. The prices for hunting in West Texas now are starting to catch up to the prices in South Texas. Through out Texas for that matter. If you can find a reasonably priced lease in Texas that you can lease by the year or by the season, you better hang on to it because there becoming harder to find by the minute. Either that, or find a girl whose daddy has a big ranch that you can hunt on when ever you want to like I did.
Access Is It?
I was a hunter while I lived in california and am still one here in Nevada. I was getting to the point of contemplating giving the sport up before I moved. Now it is the opposite, I go all the time.
One big difference is the access to a lot of public land here. I literally can be surrounded by government land by driving 15 minutes in any direction. The friendlier gun laws also help. I am not as paranoid about how my guns are loaded in my car or on me.
California does have some public land access. The problem is that you have to share it with 30 million people. Nevada has one tenth the population. I rarely run into another hunter or shooter. I almost want to, it almost gets lonely at times.
I was a hunter while I lived in california and am still one here in Nevada. I was getting to the point of contemplating giving the sport up before I moved. Now it is the opposite, I go all the time.
One big difference is the access to a lot of public land here. I literally can be surrounded by government land by driving 15 minutes in any direction. The friendlier gun laws also help. I am not as paranoid about how my guns are loaded in my car or on me.
California does have some public land access. The problem is that you have to share it with 30 million people. Nevada has one tenth the population. I rarely run into another hunter or shooter. I almost want to, it almost gets lonely at times.
From a former Michigan perspective and now Washington..
It a matter of time access and fees.
My last deer hunt was November 2005, took a new guy from church with me and just did local Public area. Working across the state during week did not allow me to do anything. MI public area are a joke and those closest to Metro areas are overwhelmed.
Now in WA., it a matter of expenses as I haven't gone resident yet. for small game it was $85 non-resident fee, any west of Cascades Mts., requires non-toxic shot. All my guns are 1950's era 16ga's and Bismuth isn't common.
Still trying to know area. Especially when public areas are limited.
To avoid no-tox rule have to cross over Cascades and hunt Eastern Wa.
It a matter of time access and fees.
My last deer hunt was November 2005, took a new guy from church with me and just did local Public area. Working across the state during week did not allow me to do anything. MI public area are a joke and those closest to Metro areas are overwhelmed.
Now in WA., it a matter of expenses as I haven't gone resident yet. for small game it was $85 non-resident fee, any west of Cascades Mts., requires non-toxic shot. All my guns are 1950's era 16ga's and Bismuth isn't common.
Still trying to know area. Especially when public areas are limited.
To avoid no-tox rule have to cross over Cascades and hunt Eastern Wa.
Former hunter, but my heart is still in it
The years have caught up with me, and a couple of health problems keep me from going to the field or woods any longer, but I sure wish I could. Every now and again I'll spot a deer in my back yard. My community doesn't allow discharging a firearm within city limits, and it takes every bit of self-control I have not to grab one of the longguns and hunt a white-tail out of my back door.
The years have caught up with me, and a couple of health problems keep me from going to the field or woods any longer, but I sure wish I could. Every now and again I'll spot a deer in my back yard. My community doesn't allow discharging a firearm within city limits, and it takes every bit of self-control I have not to grab one of the longguns and hunt a white-tail out of my back door.
School and living away from my family's hunting land shut me down for a while much like the other folks. Now that I have a lady that I might end up spending the rest of my life with I've been hunting a lot more so that she gets involved with it so our future kids will grow up with it and be a lot better off as a result. I'm convinced beyond question that an outdoors family is by far the best way to go, so I'm doing it as much or more for them as for myself.
I'm not an ex-hunter, but someone just trying to get into the "sport". Speaking as someone who's young and has little familial link to the local land, and marginal acquaintance with local land owners, the two biggest inhibitors are:
1) Access to land. It seems to me that hunting has, traditionally, been something that's kept in the family: you hunt with your family, you clean guns with your family, et cetera. Your family hunting grounds, whether it's your land or public land you know is good, is your's. You may bring close friends (hunting buddies) with you from time to time, but for the most part, it's family. This leads to new hunters rarely getting introduced to the sport: hunting is, most definitely, a largely exclusionary, hereditary pasttime.
This is further complicated by the fact that most farmers want to see the game animals on their land as "their's", and that (in this area at least) there are a lot of out-of-state hunters who will pay farmers a lot of money to hunt on their land, especially if there are reports of big bucks. I know of one family that doesn't allow anyone to hunt their land except for themselves, and paying out-of-state hunters; their family only harvests does and the occasional smaller buck for meat to keep the large buck population up to maintain their customers and their reputation as people with good hunting land.
I imagine a large cause of it is the mobility of our society; 'professional' people don't tend to stay in one area these day for more than a couple years at a time, and that's really not enough time to get familiarized with the local hunting environment.
2) Cost. I'm young and I don't have the funds or time to make the necessary networking connections to find land to hunt on, and finding productive private land within 100 miles of me is difficult, because there are a lot of people vying for that land - it gets over-hunted within the first couple days of a season, and deer seem to have an intrinsic sense about them and they seem to avoid that land as soon as the season starts anyway (there's one public area I know of and have hunted for 2 years now which has a very large buck on or around it, but he has been quite elusive). Gas prices (especially now) for transit and scouting, food, equipment, gun, ammunition, licenses, and don't forget time: they all add up, and for the 'beginner' hunter are quite inundating (the perception popularized by gear retailers that you need this and that doodad, scent, and piece of clothing to hunt successfully doesn't help). It's quite the investment for those one or two shots you'll take at a live animal, and given the modern mentality of immediate gratification, it runs contrary to the cultural grain (which may be a bigger reason for hunting decline than everything else combined).
I think we'll see a bit of a resurgence in the number of hunters with all the combat vets we've now got in the younger generations due to the mentality which is nurtured in the military and the desire to recapture that feeling (a lot of prep for short contact, shooting things, the addictive nature of combat, etc.). We'll see.
1) Access to land. It seems to me that hunting has, traditionally, been something that's kept in the family: you hunt with your family, you clean guns with your family, et cetera. Your family hunting grounds, whether it's your land or public land you know is good, is your's. You may bring close friends (hunting buddies) with you from time to time, but for the most part, it's family. This leads to new hunters rarely getting introduced to the sport: hunting is, most definitely, a largely exclusionary, hereditary pasttime.
This is further complicated by the fact that most farmers want to see the game animals on their land as "their's", and that (in this area at least) there are a lot of out-of-state hunters who will pay farmers a lot of money to hunt on their land, especially if there are reports of big bucks. I know of one family that doesn't allow anyone to hunt their land except for themselves, and paying out-of-state hunters; their family only harvests does and the occasional smaller buck for meat to keep the large buck population up to maintain their customers and their reputation as people with good hunting land.
I imagine a large cause of it is the mobility of our society; 'professional' people don't tend to stay in one area these day for more than a couple years at a time, and that's really not enough time to get familiarized with the local hunting environment.
2) Cost. I'm young and I don't have the funds or time to make the necessary networking connections to find land to hunt on, and finding productive private land within 100 miles of me is difficult, because there are a lot of people vying for that land - it gets over-hunted within the first couple days of a season, and deer seem to have an intrinsic sense about them and they seem to avoid that land as soon as the season starts anyway (there's one public area I know of and have hunted for 2 years now which has a very large buck on or around it, but he has been quite elusive). Gas prices (especially now) for transit and scouting, food, equipment, gun, ammunition, licenses, and don't forget time: they all add up, and for the 'beginner' hunter are quite inundating (the perception popularized by gear retailers that you need this and that doodad, scent, and piece of clothing to hunt successfully doesn't help). It's quite the investment for those one or two shots you'll take at a live animal, and given the modern mentality of immediate gratification, it runs contrary to the cultural grain (which may be a bigger reason for hunting decline than everything else combined).
I think we'll see a bit of a resurgence in the number of hunters with all the combat vets we've now got in the younger generations due to the mentality which is nurtured in the military and the desire to recapture that feeling (a lot of prep for short contact, shooting things, the addictive nature of combat, etc.). We'll see.
Hunters At Fault Too
Hunters can also be blamed for lack of private property access. Land owners do not appreciate litter. They don't like giving permission to one guy and then see him show up with twenty fellows. Shot cows and horses don't exactly do anything to warm their hearts to strangers. Open or destroyed fences are seen as a hassle by most land owners.
To be honest, if I owned a large ranch, I doubt that I would let anyone use it to hunt.
Hunters can also be blamed for lack of private property access. Land owners do not appreciate litter. They don't like giving permission to one guy and then see him show up with twenty fellows. Shot cows and horses don't exactly do anything to warm their hearts to strangers. Open or destroyed fences are seen as a hassle by most land owners.
To be honest, if I owned a large ranch, I doubt that I would let anyone use it to hunt.
30 cal slut
New member
kids/time, and bandwidth.
only so many hours in the day. can't hunt like a bachelor anymore.
do i get to use my free time at the range, or do I blow my cookies on the reloading bench, on the water, or in the woods?
to complicate this, we don't have sunday hunting where i live, so, i've got to take time off from work on a weekday or squeeze it all into a saturday.
lately i've resorted to bow hunting bambi in my backyard. Really more seasonal pest control than hunting, but at least i'm out.
only so many hours in the day. can't hunt like a bachelor anymore.
do i get to use my free time at the range, or do I blow my cookies on the reloading bench, on the water, or in the woods?
to complicate this, we don't have sunday hunting where i live, so, i've got to take time off from work on a weekday or squeeze it all into a saturday.
lately i've resorted to bow hunting bambi in my backyard. Really more seasonal pest control than hunting, but at least i'm out.
ArcherAndShooter
New member
TX public hunting land
Depending on where in the state you live, there is actually quite a lot of public hunting land available down here, all to be had for the $48 annual fee.
Now, it is true that lots of it is pressured, and the deer get pretty smart. In Sam Houston Nat. Forest, where Springmom and I hunt, 80% of the deer killed in a season are shot on opening day.
They are still there, though, and to me, the greater challenge of hiking to where they are, and trying to outwit them once they are alerted to it being that time of year again, just adds to the enjoyment.
We don't kill many - I got one buck on opening day last year, Springmom got hers in January - but the pleasure of being HUNTING is what it's all about, and we get that in plenty.
Depending on where in the state you live, there is actually quite a lot of public hunting land available down here, all to be had for the $48 annual fee.
Now, it is true that lots of it is pressured, and the deer get pretty smart. In Sam Houston Nat. Forest, where Springmom and I hunt, 80% of the deer killed in a season are shot on opening day.
They are still there, though, and to me, the greater challenge of hiking to where they are, and trying to outwit them once they are alerted to it being that time of year again, just adds to the enjoyment.
We don't kill many - I got one buck on opening day last year, Springmom got hers in January - but the pleasure of being HUNTING is what it's all about, and we get that in plenty.
jhgreasemonkey
New member
Cost and access are definetly a factor here in wa state. I know many people that have just given up hunting because its one big hastle unless you go way out to the more secluded east side of the state. Even then it can get crowded and the success rate sucks pretty much all over. The access sucks because many of the old places dont have access in any more and the areas that you can get into are not marked or posted worth a crap. Plus many are crawling with hunters. It was much better when the logging industry was booming because there were many open forest roads that are now closed. There used to be more access and more deer. The dept of fish and wildlife boast about the hunting oportunities to get people to pay for tags and hunt but talking to most hunters here you will get a different story. For example above packwood in the hills was a great place to hunt there were miles and miles of jeep trails and logging roads but like many other places they dont want the forest "disturbed" and they quit maintaining the roads years ago. A lot of them dont exist and you will have a hard time finding access into the places. If you have horses then hunting is pretty good but that is another $$ cost factor.
Saved By The Silver State
Moving to the Silver State has increased my hunting activity. Land, or lack of land is a definite factor affecting a person's hunting habits.
There is map on the wall next to this computer desk. I purchased it at a BLM office a couple of month ago. The title of the map is State Of Nevada Surface Mangement Responsibility. The map is about three feet by five feet. It is color coded to show which agencies have jurisdiction over the land. BLM (public) land is colored a yellowish-gold pattern. I estimate 75% of this state is BLM. There is also National Forest Service land. Both these areas are pretty open to hunting. A five minute drive puts me right in the middle of all this public land.
Nevada has a lot of public land. Nevada has a small population. I rarely have run into anyone on my desert adventures. It actually is almost lonely here. Firing a Howitzer in most areas would go unnoticed.
I should not be saying all this. I don't want many more people moving here.
Moving to the Silver State has increased my hunting activity. Land, or lack of land is a definite factor affecting a person's hunting habits.
There is map on the wall next to this computer desk. I purchased it at a BLM office a couple of month ago. The title of the map is State Of Nevada Surface Mangement Responsibility. The map is about three feet by five feet. It is color coded to show which agencies have jurisdiction over the land. BLM (public) land is colored a yellowish-gold pattern. I estimate 75% of this state is BLM. There is also National Forest Service land. Both these areas are pretty open to hunting. A five minute drive puts me right in the middle of all this public land.
Nevada has a lot of public land. Nevada has a small population. I rarely have run into anyone on my desert adventures. It actually is almost lonely here. Firing a Howitzer in most areas would go unnoticed.
I should not be saying all this. I don't want many more people moving here.
DonR101395
New member
The only hunting I've done the last 15 years is rabbit hunting every couple of years when I go back to MI. NWFL is a pain with access and crowding plus I always gone. When I retire this coming year, I'll get back into it I hope. The areas we are looking at moving into seem a little more conducive to hunting............or at least I hope they are. I really miss it.