Our local Bass Pro Shops hosted the “King of Bucks” tour recently. Join us as we take the tour and catch a look at some of the largest whitetails ever killed in North America.
For those wondering, a representative shared with AHuntersTales that all the deer on display for this tour are the actual mounts (no replicas).
If you’re anything like me, the next couple statistics will scare you. They will make you think. And they may just make you consider introducing someone new to hunting next time you hit the woods.
According to a recent management plan released to the public by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the number of deer hunters in that state has decreased by 40 percent in since the mid-1980s.
Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State 2011-2015
Not one thing about those statistics is good.
Few who follow the hunting industry can be surprised by those numbers. For years, we’ve been exposed to the steady decline of hunters in the woods. The aging population of America coupled with the growing movement of our country’s population to more urban environments is driving the significant drop.
As hunters, it’s time for us to put our crosshairs on recruitment – not just to save the future of our sport, but also to introduce new people to a sport that is cherished by so many of us.
I applaud New York’s DEC (something I rarely do, by the way) for initiating and developing a plan that includes a significant recruitment plan as part of its deer management. While still in the review stages, the DEC invested more than two years researching, assessing and developing the current plan. It currently includes six goals:
“1) Manage Deer Populations at levels that are appropriate for human and ecological concerns; 2) Promote and enhance deer hunting as an important recreational activity; 3) Reduce the negative impacts caused by deer; 4) Foster understanding and communication about deer ecology, management, economic aspects and recreational opportunities while enhancing DEC’s understanding of the public’s interest; 5) Manage deer to promote healthy and sustainable forests and enhance habitat conservation efforts to benefit deer and other species; and 6) Ensure that the necessary resources are available to support the proper management of white-tailed deer in New York.”
I personally think six goals is a bit lofty. In reading the 50+-page plan, I think No. 3 could be whittled down as it would be a likely output of accomplishing several of the other goals. That said, with the exception of getting a few objectives that really would be defined as strategies or tactics, the plan is well thought out and includes consideration for much of the feedback the DEC heard from hunters via several research-gathering tools.
So how does NY plan to recruit to help the hunter deficit? There are five objectives laid out in the plan.
1) Promote recreational hunting among all New Yorkers, as a safe, enjoyable and ethical activity and as the primary tool to manage deer populations.
2) Establish deer hunting seasons, regulations, and programs that are effective for deer population management and that encourage hunter participation, recruitment, retention and satisfaction.
3) Promote efforts to reduce harvest of young (less than 1.5 years old) bucks.
4) Improve hunter access to public and private lands.
5) Consider other forms of outdoor recreation with or affected by deer management.
The plan dives further into each of those strategies with several strategies for each objective. I encourage you to read these, and other elements of the plan. There are several elements of the plan that can help each of us come up with little ways we can do our part in recruiting new hunters.
Our sport’s tomorrow depends on us doing something about hunter recruitment today.
David Hinceman and Kevin Dancy of Pass’n It On Outdoors stopped by the AHT Man Cave for a stump session about their new television show.
The outcome is the first-ever video blog post at AHuntersTales.com!
Let us know what you think!
I recently attended an archery education course sponsored by the National Bowhunter Education Foundation. My motivation for doing so was rooted it it being mandatory for acceptance into the Bowhunter Certification and Referral Service.
It’s great that the Service makes it mandatory, however a majority of the content was definitely second nature for many in the room. After more than 20 years of bowhunting, I’m happy to report I knew most of the curriculum. Most in the room did too. But highlights of attending the free course included a small number of individuals looking to join the bowhunter ranks. I’m a huge proponent of bowhunting so appreciated those hunters taking the leap.
Some of the bowhunter course attendees following a faux blood trail
According to Ingram, one of the biggest current challenges the state encounters is finding volunteers willing to help serve as instructors for the state-sponsored hunter safety and education programs.
That’s a shame.
While the bowhunter course I took was more of a repeat, I do remember many years ago being a young want-to-be hunter taking the overarching hunter safety course. I remember spending much of the course imagining the chance to shoot a 12 ga. shotgun during the range portion of the course. I also remember learning some of the fundamental tools that piqued my curiousity about hunting. It sent me searching to learn more – both via feverish reading of outdoor magazines and through first-hand experimentation in nature’s classroom.
Simply put, that course was a great guidepost for my inquiring mind. And it’s a must for young people looking to learn about the sport. Like most states, in North Carolina the course is needed before a young hunter can legally hunt on their own. To me, the challenge of finding instructors likely increases the ability for youngsters to find places to take the course and could prevent or stunt their desire to become hunters.
For a sport in great peril for recruiting the next generation of hunters, that is not good.
I’ll put my time where my words are here and look into volunteering to become an instructor. So too are a few of my friends. It’s something we all should consider.
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Cat Tales:
– I referenced above, the North Carolina Bowhunters Association’s BCRS program. It’s a great service that relies on archery hunters to help control and conserve deer populations in populated areas. More specifically, according to the group itself, “the primary goal of the BCRS program is to provide a “FREE” service to the public by offering certified bowhunters to assist with deer management programs.”
– I took a little video during the bowhunter course of Jamie, one of the instructors, showing the class how to tie a prusik knot. For anyone who doesn’t know how to tie one, it’s very easy and can help save lives. The knot is among the leading options for hunters as a knot for use with a safety harness in climbing in and out of treestands. Here is a video showing how to do the knot.
– Headed into the event, The Biscuit and I saw a big female red fox cross a driveway in front of us. After looking deeper into her whereabouts, we found a pair of fox pups hanging out in a nearby drainage pipe.
A red fox pup surveys his surroundings from a drainage pipe
A Hunter's Tales - Hunting Blog 