Gritty Podcast 527: The future of hunting

[Deleted member 28227]

Also comparing whitetail to elk is insane... the species are so vastly different.

Might as well toss Montana under the bus for not having a 12 week, OTC moose season.

 

[bushman13]

You are quoting stats from out west which are of course displaying small numbers of days in the field. It's all they are allowed to have, makes sense this will be represented in the numbers.

I could care less about status quo. I throw grenades into multi million dollar systems multiple times per year. I've done it twice already this year. The two questions I always ask before the grenade toss. What is your long term sustainability model and to where are the advantages applied in said system.

No I'm saying average hunter days in the field is similar across the states regardless of season length. At a certain point season length doesn't matter... that seems to be around 5-9 days. Wyoming residents hunt elk longer than anyone... I'm sure BuzzH could tell you why.

Do you honestly think that we just decided 5 years ago out of the blue to have seasons the way they are now? No they evolved over time, seasons are the way they are for a multitude of complex reasons.

Montana 9 days in the field, 25% success rates. (They have a virtually year round season 6 weeks archery, 6 weeks rifle, plus roster hunts, shoulder seasons, etc etc.
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Colorado average 5 days in the field 19% success rates
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Idaho is 6.5 days and 16.7% success
Wyoming is 10 days for NR 18 days for Residents with 50% success rates

 

[bushman13]

Really I am comparing cultures. I think there is a happy medium. I would sit out every other year, to ensure heard health and longer seasons. I'm not saying anything I've said is correct, what I'm really doing is advocating for a change of thinking.

Montana could have a 12 week OTC moose season. With caps

Also comparing whitetail to elk is insane... the species are so vastly different.

Might as well toss Montana under the bus for not having a 12 week, OTC moose season.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

You are quoting stats from out west which are of course displaying small numbers of days in the field. It's all they are allowed to have, makes sense this will be represented in the numbers.

I could care less about status quo. I throw grenades into multi million dollar systems multiple times per year. I've done it twice already this year. The two questions I always ask before the grenade toss. What is your long term sustainability model and to where are the advantages applied in said system.

I'm comparing elk to elk, not elk to whitetail.

I showed you the dates for Montana which are similar to CO even though Montana has a virtually year round season.

 

[bushman13]

I get you. but I would rather focus on hunter experience. How can we have our cake and blah blah. It's all possible.

I'm comparing elk to elk, not elk to whitetail.

I showed you the dates for Montana which are similar to CO even though Montana has a virtually year round season.

 

[NoWiser]

Its BS that a new hunter needs to shoot something immediately to get hooked. My first year deer hunting I shot a buck on the last day of the season. I hunted my tail off and I was 12. I then went 7 years without shooting a deer or even seeing a single buck. Every hunt I went on without getting one made me want to go again that much more. There was no such thing as a youth season and I had 5-6 days to get it done each year, tops. I got zero preferential treatment from my hunting party.

I’m of the mindset that maybe sometimes hunting is made too easy these days. If it’s just going through the motions, success isn’t so rewarding. Work your tail off and fail a few times and you remember every detail when you finally get it done.

Seasons aren’t the problem. Finding a place to go and someone to take you is. So are all the other distractions. There’s no easy solution. It’s just the way things are. It’s also why public lands are more important now than ever.

 

[bushman13]

3rd generation Florida man here. The hunting is primarily done on private. In FL if someone says they are going to hunt public your first thought is "I'm so sorry"

Florida is very far from all private. millions of public land acres

 

[Mudranger1]

3rd generation Florida man here. The hunting is primarily done on private. In FL if someone says they are going to hunt public your first thought is "I'm so sorry"

Very much agree to disagree. From a 3rd generation Florida public land hunter

 

[bushman13]

I'm guessing you are from a hunting family? Me too. I sat in stands from 7-12 years old before I shot my first doe. I also had private land and everyone around me was a hunter.

Take a person from a non hunting family, they simply don't have that option. Get them hooked and hooked fast with success. It's the same thing we do when we take a kid bream fishing using a bobber and doughballs.

Its BS that a new hunter needs to shoot something immediately to get hooked. My first year deer hunting I shot a buck on the last day of the season. I hunted my tail off and I was 12. I then went 7 years without shooting a deer or even seeing a single buck. Every hunt I went on without getting one made me want to go again that much more. There was no such thing as a youth season and I had 5-6 days to get it done each year, tops. I got zero preferential treatment from my hunting party.

I’m of the mindset that maybe sometimes hunting is made too easy these days. If it’s just going through the motions, success isn’t so rewarding. Work your tail off and fail a few times and you remember every detail when you finally get it done.

Seasons aren’t the problem. Finding a place to go and someone to take you is. So are all the other distractions. There’s no easy solution. It’s just the way things are. It’s also why public lands are more important now than ever.

 

[bushman13]

Touche

Very much agree to disagree. From a 3rd generation Florida public land hunter

 

[Mudranger1]

I find Florida to be pretty close to Colorado when it comes to new hunters opportunities. There is plenty of opportunity in both states but it is going to take someone lots of effort to learn how to hunt in each place. That I feel is why your hunter numbers are declining. Hunting is hard ... learning to hunt is even harder. we live in a society where instant gratification is expected and that's not hunting In most cases

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Montana could have a 12 week OTC moose season. With caps

When you have time I would love to kill a sheep, so if you could fix everything so I can do that every year that would be awesome

 

[np307]

I'm glad I didn't listen to the people that told me hunting public land in NC wasn't worth my time. If I listened to them, the only way to kill deer was to have a big lease. Just keep that in mind when you're passing along the message to new hunters that their own state is too complicated and the non-complicated options are too poor to bother with.

 

[bushman13]

The difference would be % of people headed to private vs public. It's the mainstay out here because public land is everywhere. It's the exception back in FL.
There is a little shiny spot on the map for hunter numbers and they all have long seasons. Is there a way to providing that kind of experience with more limited numbers to the residents of those western states? I dunno

I find Florida to be pretty close to Colorado when it comes to new hunters opportunities. There is plenty of opportunity in both states but it is going to take someone lots of effort to learn how to hunt in each place. That I feel is why your hunter numbers are declining. Hunting is hard ... learning to hunt is even harder. we live in a society where instant gratification is expected and that's not hunting In most cases

 

[bushman13]

When you have time I would love to kill a sheep, so if you could fix everything so I can do that every year that would be awesome

Done and done. Poach

 

[ignorethefringes]

I can't help but think this guy is trolling at this point. I'm out.

 

[MTGomer]

Might as well toss Montana under the bus for not having a 12 week, OTC moose season.

Don’t give them any ideas

 

[Pucky Freak]

New hunters dabble in the sport before jumping in whole hog. You don’t just wake up one morning and feel comfortable living outside, or committing multiple weekends or vacation time to a hunting season. People I introduce to the sport I take for 2-3 hours. If they’re enjoying themselves and are hungry for more we’ll go out half a day, or two partial days in a row. I myself did short outings or 3-day trips max from age 8-20. This was low key, lots of breaks, time with family. When I was 21 I planned my first solo overnight hunting/camping trip 4 days. Paper platt books, paper topo maps, highway atlas, no phone, a compass. It was a blast and I killed some animals. I enjoy a long season now because I’m a hardcore hunting nut who devotes tons of my time, energy, and money to it. You don’t increase recruitment by offering a graduate-level perk (longer gun season) to someone who is new to everything, not sold on it, not ready to commit.

In the last 10 years IA has added crossbow, straight wall cartridge, and generous youth tag to boost hunter participation. 2016 apprentice license was added. New land is being made available for public hunting. Dove hunting is new, and bobcat was expanded. Good ecology has made IA a world class turkey state. There is much more. There is no status quo. There are thousands of Iowans who care deeply about our hunting heritage doing these things to ensure our future.

@bushman13 i think it’s great you are pitching ideas to advance a common goal, but listen to all your peers. Your diagnosis of the problem is wrong, and you’re solution is ill-conceived. If you truly care about recruitment, let your mind be changed based on known facts about barriers to new hunters instead of just harping the same dead idea over again. Hunting didn’t used to be monetized and access was vast. People lived close to the land. Hunting was ingrained in culture. So much has changed that you can’t bring back, but we need to be smart about solutions too.

You can make a real difference by meeting your friend where he is at and going on a hunt that’s simple and easy for HIM. Or you can just play the draw and leave him out. You grossly over generalize OTC experience in CO and construct your own barrier for you and your friend.

I keep coming to this post like a bad relationship so this is my last reply!

 

[LuketheDog]

My best buddy John, non hunter. We grew up together back east, he now lives out here too. Every time I wanted to drag John along in FL or Georgia, I went by his house and said load up.
Fast forward to current day. John wants to get into bow hunting for the food value. He asks me how and all I can do is sigh. Not because it isn't possible, because I know there is solid year of policy education and another year of playing a points game.
I've been hunting since 3 1/2 years old and this CO system made me shake my head, imagine what it looks like for a non hunter?

Your best buddy John needs a new hunting mentor, you're not doing it right...

 

[bushman13]

Not a troll, but I do like to troll. Thanks for your honest opinions, obviously by addressing Iowa, the pitchforks were bound to come out.
No one will ever convince me a short season is advantageous simply because I love the fun/recreation factor. I understand it is tradition and if that is the way you want to do it then that is how it will done.
In absence of longer seasons, people have adapted and they state hop, which has become it's own culture. IE HT. Peace