When it came to the three R’s of education, Readin’, Ritin’, and Rithmetic, it is possible I may not have been known as a scholar. There is another three R’s I am a little more familiar with. Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock, you know there are some things going on in the world of hunter numbers and hunting license sales. Most of it is not good. Hunter numbers have been dwindling for some time and many of us in the hunting and fishing outdoor world tend to take a Chicken Little attitude that all is lost and the sky is falling.
The last survey of the US Fish and Wildlife Service tells us there were over 2 million less hunters in 2016 than in 2011. Only about five percent of all Americans over the age of 16 actually hunt and that is half of what it was 50 years ago. All of this is discouraging no doubt, but I say take heart boys and girls, the game is afoot and we are not going down without a fight. If you haven’t heard about the Three R’s to improve hunter numbers, you are about to be educated! The Three R’s are Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation.
- Recruitment. Hunters have been talking about this for some time. We absolutely have to get more folks exposed to hunting and brought into the fold. We tend to focus more on young people here and whatever we can do to get a kid out there with a shotgun or fishing rod in their hands is a good thing. You have heard me talk about take a kid hunting before, if you don’t have one of your own go borrow one.
I sometimes think we don’t consider the adults out there who may be potential hunters. Think about it. Most of us know someone who is a good candidate for this. There may be a neighbor who always asks you about your hunting trips, the guy (or gal) at work who does the same or may talk to you about guns occasionally. These people are out there folks, we just have to open our eyes and seem them. If you get them interested and they continue, they will take to the woods on their own.
- Retention. Gaining new hunters is not going to get us anywhere if we don’t keep the ones we have. How do we do that? One of the major hurdles in this whole equation is simply having a place to hunt. Many current hunters on the verge of quitting will tell you they just don’t have the places to go to anymore.
This is a problem but I don’t think it is insurmountable. There is no way we can address this issue without considering public land. West Virginia has over 1.4 million acres of public hunting land. Most of that is National Forest but we also have dozens of Wildlife Management Areas to hunt on. No doubt many of us have been spoiled by having a private farm or other private land all to ourselves. But I am here to tell you friends and neighbors there is a lot of public land, probably some near you, that has good hunting on it. It takes a little scouting, and some looking around in the off season to find these places but I am betting you are going to be surprised.
- Reactivation. The hunters who have laid down their shotguns and rifles may be easier to get back into the field than those who have never been hunting. We all know some hunters in this category. They used to hunt but for one reason or another have fallen by the wayside. Many will say the old demon of no place to go is the reason they quit. (see the above thoughts on public land) I wonder for many if it is just how they used to hunt that may be a problem.
An older hunter may say quite honestly that he just doesn’t want sit out in the cold in a treestand anymore. With the cold weather clothing available these days and the advent of the ground blinds available he may not have too. I will sometimes say I am not a huge fan of the tent like camo ground blinds so popular today. I will admit however having no problem getting in one if it is pouring down the rain or the temperature gets much below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. You can very comfortable in these blinds, not have to worry about your movement and I am still amazed how little deer and turkeys seem to notice them. I would offer this as just one way hunters may try something new to get them back into the field.
This is a very complex issue and will not be solved by a few sportsmen’s meeting and some newspaper articles. The mission is clear, if you truly think that your hunting heritage is worth saving for you, your children and grandchildren, the time is now. When you think about it what we have to do is replace ourselves. If you replace yourself with one hunter, the numbers may remain level. If you recruit two new hunters the numbers will double. You do the math.
larryocase3@gmail.com www.gunsandcornbread.com