In my area hunter numbers are down overall. The local people have quit hunting somewhat and been replaced by city folk and outsiders that have bought or leased land. I can still hunt on private ground on one place and am thankful for that. I give the landowner some brats, deersticks and sausage from what I get along with a few other usable gifts. It would probably amount to a few hundred bucks. I've hunted that property for over 40 years so I have a good relationship with them. I just stopped down this week and dropped some meat and other stuff off. They thanked me for watching over their land and letting them know if anything is out of place. I thanked them as well obviously for letting me hunt.

As far as public land around here it's hunted hard as long as it's accessible. There is some that is steep terrain and not easy to hunt. 300 to 500 foot river bluffs aren't easy to climb or drag deer up and down.

To me hunting numbers are down means less animals to hunt. Right?

That's the problem, there's more animals than before, just not the opportunity to hunt them because of anti's and leased lands.
Next it will be fishing, soon private ponds will be off limits, won't be able to afford to fish in the Great Lakes, because of license prices, along with charters cost more than they're worth.
Not blaming the charters, as they have to make a living, but their costs have gone up, and the product isn't enough to get close to breaking even.
All because licenses and keeper limits.
Lake Erie yellow perch are selling @ $ 220.00 for 5 pounds.
It's not the charter boats fault.
Just MHO that the middle man has gone too far, along with the DNR!
I used to hunt and fish in Michigan, but the licenses cost more than the transportation.
Same with Ohio and other states, non resident licenses are so high, plus even resident licenses are too high.
Get a small game license, plus a deer , turkey, trapping, and fishing , it gets to the point that you start thinking is it worth it?

Wow! Interesting. To much leased up land and people having a hard time finding places to hunt.

snowy , remember you live in an area that has a lot less population.
Where I used to hunt 60+ years ago, is now broken up in 100's of different properties.
Here it's getting to the point, you can only hunt state lands set aside for hunting.
Private property is becoming a thing of the past.
Hunting leases take up the rest.

Wr have lower property taxes on agriculture land here, kind of wonder if that should still apply if you lease the land for hunting also. Some of these leases are high $$.

Yeah I don't think people in the west can really understand how bad it is here. Anyone that owns a small amount of acreage doesn't want hunters because 1) they're against is 2) they hunt it or 3) their nephew's girlfriend's brother MIGHT want to hunt it sometime. And anyone that owns any decent amount of land leases it out for $$$$. And forget about trapping ANY private land until deer season ends at the end of January because that ain't happening.....

I'm fortunate in that we own land I can hunt on. If it wasn't for that, my only option would be the heavily hunted National Forest Land.........

Here in Ohio, a little known law is that if the landowner gives permission to hunt or use the property for recreational purposes , in the event of an accident , the landowner isn't held responsible for anything.
But if you lease the land the land owner and the lessor can be held responsible.
What get's me is that the DNR doesn't explain that to land owners.

I just looked at the USFWS national hunting/fishing/recreation surveys for 2016 and 2022 which are done approximately every 5 years. According to these documents the number of overall hunters age 16 and above increased from 11.5 million in 2016 to 14.4 million in 2022. All categories of hunters increased with most hunters hunting big game (11.5 million in 2022) which also had the largest increase from 2016. Living in a western state where even residents such as myself routinely go multiple years without drawing even a deer, elk, or pronghorn tag I don't believe this propaganda that hunter numbers are declining. We had almost 300,000 applications for our limited draw public hunts this year that allocated about 60,000 public tags for all big game species. This doesn't even reflect the hunters that only hunt on private lands and obtain permits outside the public draw. The number of hunters from 6-15 years of age was estimated to be 1.8 million in 2022 which are in addition to the 14.4 million nationally. The largest age group of hunters was in the 35-44 age category. Like so many states we just had another license fee increase this year with one of the excuses being that fewer of us need to pay more. As someone that has worked in multiple federal public agencies, I can confidently say that the same set of data can be manipulated to give completely different and opposing conclusions. In my lifetime the only decrease I've seen in hunters is when limited permit hunt numbers are reduced giving successful hunters the impression that overall hunter numbers have declined. The access issue is huge for the average hunter. The failure of both the federal and state governments to have a comprehensive and coordinated approach to public lands by blocking up public lands within congressionally designated boundaries, (i.e. National Forests) in states with limited public lands while retaining massive amounts of federal land in the west that are of little value to the average citizen and often inaccessible is just another failure on the part of government to actually serve the people. Like so many in their 70s and 80s I grew up hunting small game when verbal permission was routinely given by landowners when common courtesy was shown them. The massive commercialization of hunting is leading us down a path towards the European style of hunting our forefathers moved away from. You can't blame landowners as owning and managing land is extremely expensive and the control by a private party versus the actions of too many public hunters today is also a huge factor in this trend. Just my two cents.

Leasing land has been common in the south for the 50 years I've hunted. It is a limiting factor for places to hunt. Hunter ed courses, although good, are also an obstacle to youth hunters. Can't just take the neighbor kid, who's parents don't hunt, for a small game hunt because he hasn't took the education course. Those are missed opportunities.
Most of all, the iPhone and other devices have become the entertainment of our youth.

Now you stepped in it!


Since I never had it, I can't legally hunt in many States. Since my son never had it, he can't legally hunt in several Units of this State.

Mentored hunts are a solution to that issue. Same goes for mentored trapping here in Wisconsin.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/Education/OutdoorSkills/mentor

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/trap/license

Numbers might be down but what hunters there are are concentrating in smaller and smaller areas

is hunter ed failing

don't shoot the messenger

'E-commerce companies talk a lot about ?friction.? Amazon Prime has the least friction. You see something, click one button, and it?s on your doorstep two days later. Hunting in general?and Hunter Ed in specific?has loads of friction. To sit on a bucket in a dove field, you need to take a class; pass a test; buy a license; buy a gun, ammo, and accessories; then learn to shoot; and finally find a place to set down your bucket. It?s especially daunting for new hunters who don?t have the advantage of a hunting family."