NRA Says We Must Stop the Decline of Hunting
- Thread starter jimbob86
- Start date
buck460XVR
New member
It's not gun restrictions that are creating the decline in hunting in America, It's access to good hunting areas. Even tho the current Administration is very pro-gun, they also want to open up public land to big companies to exploit the resources while reducing access and habitat for hunting. Less good land to hunt, less hunters......period. Habitat and the access to it have always been tied directly to hunting. One reason those first settlers here in America were able to make it here. Lots of game with lots of habitat capable of continuing to sustain huntable populations of game animals. The fur industry practically sustained a large part of the country on it's own. Something that was long gone in Europe, even at the time of the first settlers. Lotta hunters out there now, with plenty of guns with no decent place to hunt....thus they don't hunt anymore. Want to sustain hunting for generations to come? Have enough land accessible to them with huntable populations of game for reasonable success, without them having to go deeply in debt to do it. Just like in "Field of Dreams", build it and they will come. Gotta have someplace for baseball players to go to play ball. Gotta have a place for hunters to hunt.
I would be okay with the Buffalo Commons concept if this new "national park" was a multi-use preserve and allowed hunting of game species as populations allowed.
Much of the center of the country has been emptying out, with some exceptional areas, since the Dust Bowl/Depression era. But, nonetheless, the empty ground belongs to somebody and usually it is no hunting allowed even if the owners live far away.
We may be the last of the Mohicans.
3C
Much of the center of the country has been emptying out, with some exceptional areas, since the Dust Bowl/Depression era. But, nonetheless, the empty ground belongs to somebody and usually it is no hunting allowed even if the owners live far away.
We may be the last of the Mohicans.
3C
I despise the "Buffalo Commons" idea. The Progressive eggheads that came up with it advocated forcible removal of the population of vast areas of the High Plains states, simply because they foresaw that the communities therein would not offer a good life to residents in the future. The people that live there think life is great.
stuckinthe60s
New member
hint to nra....stop filling your magazine full of tactical stuff.
johnwilliamson062
Moderator
I think it is TV hunting shows.
Kill a monster buck in 30 minutes.
Get all the newest gear.
Pay huge money to hunt on some managed lease.
This sets people up with unrealistic expectations.
Makes them think they need to spend minimum 1k on equipment to get their foot in the door.
And all the farmers who complain about deer ravaging their crops want $10+ an acre to lease for a week. Often quite a bit more than that.
I did not hunt this year or last because of difficulty finding land I could either camp on or was within an hour. I hunted public land on and off for a couple years before that before getting tired of fighting a crowd to see nothing.
I also have deer and coyotes in my backyard. Along with an unbelievable number of rabbits and squirrels. Problem is I am in an urban area.
Kill a monster buck in 30 minutes.
Get all the newest gear.
Pay huge money to hunt on some managed lease.
This sets people up with unrealistic expectations.
Makes them think they need to spend minimum 1k on equipment to get their foot in the door.
And all the farmers who complain about deer ravaging their crops want $10+ an acre to lease for a week. Often quite a bit more than that.
I did not hunt this year or last because of difficulty finding land I could either camp on or was within an hour. I hunted public land on and off for a couple years before that before getting tired of fighting a crowd to see nothing.
I also have deer and coyotes in my backyard. Along with an unbelievable number of rabbits and squirrels. Problem is I am in an urban area.
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Hunt public land and see nothing but other hunters or pay hundreds/thousands of dollars to hunt on private land if you can even find someone to lease from. Tell me how the NRA is going to fix that instead of focusing lobbying dollars for your right town own 100 different AR rifles.
Pardon, Sir....... your Screen name is ......apt?
The "tactical stuff" is selling .... and some of it does work really well for hunting ......
I believe that you are right about that. I saw some of those sentiments right here in this thread .....
Hunting does take some money, true ..... but mostly it takes practical application of skills and planning .... it takes time, and preparation, and often times perseverance .... and not just in the sense of staying on stand when it's cold and you have not seen anything in hours .... sometimes you gotta knock on just one more door ........ Real hunters are the ones that know things won't resolve themselves in 30 minutes or less ..... sometimes problems just can't be solved successfully......
........... but one thing is fairly certain: you won't get any deer sitting on your couch watching somebody else hunt.
Yes lobbying dollars can certainly fix/help with access issues unless you haven't been paying attention to what lobbying dollars can accomplish for the last few decades. NRA has great influence in many areas. This is not just yours or my problem. Its a whole culture onto itself that is hurting with the lack of new young hunters so it may take everybody private or government. And I'm not suggesting gov force public access from private land owners if that was inferred.
I tend to try to be part of the solution as I see it- therefore, I take kids hunting and shooting every chance I get.
If you think the problem is better solved with lobbying dollars from the NRA .... I'm sure you can find where to mail your check ....
I am generally opposed to having the various .gov's get further involved in anything .... there always string attached to their gifts, which were purchased with our money in the first place ....
I did not take it that way .... if you did suggest such a ridiculous thing .... well, I'd rather not contemplate that .... it would make me think ill of you.
Lobbying is just a tool to be used. I never said it was THE answer. At this point it might take every organization and or local/federal government to turn it around. I'd welcome any help or input. Nobody likes it when outside resources get involved but sometimes it's necessary. If you think just us hunters that are left can turn it around well good luck with that. And that last quote was me clarifying that is not what I meant when I said gov. involvement. Think ill of me or not, I don't really care since we both want the same thing in the end.
buck460XVR
New member
Government money can and does buy access to private lands for recreation by others. Government tax breaks for forest crop lands and conservation set asides not only contributes to habitat, but also provides public access to some of these areas. The Pittman-Robertson Act is another government tax that has helped habitat and access for many years. Recently tho, back in 2000, it was found that it's funds were being grossly mismanaged. Since then there have been recent legislation to make sure that doesn't happen. The most recent legislation having to do with the Pittman-Robertson Act is the Sportsmen’s Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act of 2013, Title II: Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, which dictates states and the feds come up with the costs of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public shooting ranges. While this does not actually give more habitat or access to habitat, it does make it easier for hunters to become or stay proficient with their firearms. I for one, have always thought that "Use fees" for public land by hunters would promote the acquisition of more public land fro hunting, while keeping hunter access to specific areas to those willing to pay. Those fees should be nominal, such as $5-$10 annually per area.
johnwilliamson062
Moderator
In my area the only thing the government could reasonably do would be to provide land owners with immunity from civil liability if allowing hinters to hunt from free.
The state already has an EXCELLENT release written, but indemnity would go a long way towards loosening things up.
Yeah I could knock on every door asking for permission. Spending days driving miles around the county.
I could pay a couple hundred dollars for a lease.
It is really hard to justify such expense on top of days scouting and equipment expenses when I can buy beef for less money and not spend all the time. My wife is a pretty reasonable woman IMO, but telling her I took ten days, which even at a crap part time job near mnimum wage would be close to $1000 lost earnings, to hunt, , scout, and get permission; then spent a couple hundred dollars driving around(gas+depreciation), fifty more on equipment and supplies. $100 for butcher or half a day of us working together to process.
And I brought home $3-400 worth of meat. That would just makes me look stoopid. Let alone if I didn't bring any meat home. My wife certainly wouldn't try to justify a similar expenditure.
I spent most of this hunting season turning on my lathe.
The state already has an EXCELLENT release written, but indemnity would go a long way towards loosening things up.
Yeah I could knock on every door asking for permission. Spending days driving miles around the county.
I could pay a couple hundred dollars for a lease.
It is really hard to justify such expense on top of days scouting and equipment expenses when I can buy beef for less money and not spend all the time. My wife is a pretty reasonable woman IMO, but telling her I took ten days, which even at a crap part time job near mnimum wage would be close to $1000 lost earnings, to hunt, , scout, and get permission; then spent a couple hundred dollars driving around(gas+depreciation), fifty more on equipment and supplies. $100 for butcher or half a day of us working together to process.
And I brought home $3-400 worth of meat. That would just makes me look stoopid. Let alone if I didn't bring any meat home. My wife certainly wouldn't try to justify a similar expenditure.
I spent most of this hunting season turning on my lathe.
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Hunting, a verb oddly enough, I usually associate verbs with action. However, in this case it typically means sitting on your rear waiting for a semi domesticated deer to walk up to its feeder before shooting it and taking it to be processed. Might as well go to a feed lot and ask to pick out and shoot a cow.
If somebody could show me a different/more sporting way to hunt, that didn't cost more than I paid for my car, you bet I'd be interested, but I'll leave domesticating deer to others.
If somebody could show me a different/more sporting way to hunt, that didn't cost more than I paid for my car, you bet I'd be interested, but I'll leave domesticating deer to others.
Is sense a trend here .... I have done all these things ....long term.
I was knocking on doors in 1995 and on ..... I got turned down sometimes, but I was Sociable and persistent ....sometimes folks died* .... but I knew their kids and grandkids because in some cases, the kid answered the door and a dozen years later I was askin' him for permission, b'cause dad and mom had passed on....
I won't. It supports an arms race I cannot win. "The want of money is the root of all Evil" .... I had a distant relative pass away and the land fell to an unlikely aquaintance of hers .... I had hunted that ground since I was totin' a capgun ..... I knocked and asked and he said it was leased .... going rate for next year was $1250 for 3 months .... this was 160 acres .... I said, "How nice, love to chat, but I have to find a place for the kids to hunt ..... have a nice day." He squandered his newfound wealth, apparently. and the land went up for auction 4 years later ....bought by the kid that met me at the door I'd mentioned before .... My daughter killed a nice buck ther the next afternoon..... we take them sausage and jerky every year ...... nice people ....
again, I sense a trend here ...... and I think that trend is short term thinking....
"equipment expenses"? A gun and a knife ....and if you are on this forum, it's likely you have a selection of those .... everybody needs a break .... mine is Firearm Deer Season ....and if you are telling me that you work even 300 days a year, I'm callin' BS. I make time ..... but you do what you want ... as for "a couple hundred dollars driving around" ..... stop road hunting and stay on stand ...... you couldn't find enough ground to hunt on and now that you found some, you are driving around aimlessly?
as for depreciation ...... the newest vehicle in this household is a 2010 .... there ain't no appreciable depreciation .... the rig I took hunting this year was my 1996 F150 extended cab ..... it's the same thing I've been driving down there since 1998 .... everybody has their priorities, I guess ....*my dad called me and told me he bought a house in a town right close to where I hunt, and asked if I'd come out and help him move..... I said, "Great!" and he proceeded to tell me all about it ...... when we rolled up in th U-Haul I realized I had been there before... knocked on the door to ask an elderly lady for permission to hunt .... she owned the place I wanted to go alright ....but leased it to a local farmer and directed me to him for permission .....
Don Fischer
New member
My grand daughter like's to shoot now and then but no interest in hunting. My grandson is six and not really hot about shooting even. Their mother is a person that has never even shot a gun until she met my son. Now she does go out now and then and shoot. Even has a few of her own gun's, bought for her by my son! I am afraid my grandson may be lost also. He like's to sit in front of the TV and play those computer games.