The Future of Hunting?

It was 12 years old in WI and recently they started a 10 year old program - which we think is a good thing!

PA finially got smart and now have a mentor program where you can take a child hunting when you feel they are ready and can handle a gun.....you have to be there with them and there can only be one gun......thosmseems to be working well.

My 6 year old and 10 year old both got to go hunting this yeear and last year and they loved it. This is the greatest thing PA has done in a long time.

wvdeerman said:

I found this older thread and had to put my two cents in.



One of the biggest reasons many youth are not being interested in hunting is that some (many?) states are now requiring a minimum age to participate in hunting. Some states that age is 12 years old. These youth have already found other interests and have diverted elsewhere from hunting. It is like everything else, the government control has ruined the industry !!

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most of our youth cant step far off their step, and they have posted signs in their face. Its a shame. I don't post my land.

Hunting land is a problem everywhere. Unless you own your own property it can be challenging. In WI we have a lot of public land that anyone can hunt on BUT many areas are overrun with hunters. It turns into a real fiasco and is very unsafe. Those are the conditions that drive folks to places like ours. Maybe the state agencies don't like high fence hunting, but in the end we will be the ones that save hunting.

Gary, Your absolutely right, wildlife mangement doesn't work without proper people management. It's the same way in SD, lots of public land that has good habitat but it simply has too much hunting pressure when opened to the public. Everyone wants all the private land to be public but with no hunting pressure management it would all turn out the same as all the other puplic ground, habitat with not much living in it. I am fortunate that my great granddad and granddad put together a block of 8,000 acres that I currently run a pheasant, waterfowl and deer hunting operation on as well as farm and ranch the property, I'll be the first to tell you how fortunate I am. Even being private land, I have people trying to trespass nearly on a daily basis, we used to let some people hunt it but it never failed, they would always show up with more people, drive all over my farm fields, leave gates open, shoot young bucks and even chase em with pick-ups. The slob hunters have ruined it for most folks all across the country and that's why high fence places like yours are becoming more popular. This is also the reason the high fence industry is the future of quality hunting and the reason the states DNR departments hate it is they don't have control of it. It's a fact that private landowners manage wildlife better then any state agency. You can look at the wolf situation out west and right here in SD with our out of control mt. lion population. I also believe the "kill as many does as you can mentality" is also backfiring in most places, they don't realize that on average every bred doe they shoot also takes out one buck for future seasons. I know here the late season antlerless season has a high percentage of older bucks that have shed and button bucks that are shot because they are usually the first to come out and feed late season here. Nature has it's own ways of keeping the right balance on deer populations, all the excess doe seasons do is put more pressure on the under populated, over hunted public areas here. The deer will always end up on the private land that has the least amount of hunting pressure.

In addition to our business, with family members we own a large parcel of land that we personally hunt on. It is posted as well and we do not allow others on it which can be a challenge sometimes because it adjoins some public land. People get upset about land being posted, but if you have bought it and pay the taxes on it there is no reason you should let everyone enjoy your property. With proper management, food plots etc. you can attract and hold deer on your property. At least in WI, the state agencies do not recognize or assist land owners who are improving their property for wildlife. The only programs here are for timber managment, not wildlife management - which we think is a mistake.

Sdbigbucks, you brought up a very legit concern when you spoke about the late season doe hunts. I have never been a big advocator of shooting bunches of does in the first place; possibly extra revenue for the state and being a patsie for the insurance companies is more the true motivator. At any rate, if everyone is determined to shoot does, do it in early Oct - before the buck wastes his time breeding her - before the winter hair grows out and makes distinguishing button bucks harder - and to completely eliminate the chance of shooting a buck that has lost his horns. Significant money is made in many states SPECIFICALLY because of the whitetail buck!!! Wouldn't it just make good sense to do things in a way, to pass laws/legislation, that would protect such a valuable resource. A 4pt or better on a side antler restriction should also be imposed. We need to do what we can to increase the chances of our bucks to get to at least 3, and an antler restriction would be paramount in accomplishing this. It is the rack that the 3 yr old+ carries that brings people to our states and causes people within each state to spend tons of money on equipment. All seems ''Elementary my dear Watson'' doesn't it?