This post may get crazy !!!!

QUOTE

Is Hunting a Dyng Sport, I'm Not Buying It ...

Editorial by Christian Berg
February 7, 2012
Petersen's Bow Hunting Magazine


Recent license sales gains in states such as Pennsylvania indicate that hunting's demise may not be as imminent as some predicted.

Lots of people like to talk about how hunting is a dying sport. But after looking at the most recent hunting license sales report here in my home state of Pennsylvania, I ain't buying it!

If you look at the report (Pennsylvania Hunting License Sales), you'll see that as of the end of December, the Pennsylvania Game Commission had sold 923,795 hunting licenses. That's 2,840 more licenses than they sold during the same period in 2010, an increase of about 0.3 percent. Now, I'll grant you that isn't much of an increase, but it's DEFINITELY not a precipitous decline. And when you look at the bowhunting numbers, things are even more rosy. According to the report, archery license sales for the period were up 2.9 percent to 297,462; no doubt due in part to the growing number of crossbow hunters taking to the field.

I realize that sales figures from one state don't constitute a national trend. However, there is no denying that Pennsylvania is a bellwether state when it comes to hunting. Along with a handful of other states such as Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania plays a foundational role in America's sporting community. And with nearly 1 million licensed hunters, and nearly 300,000 bowhunters, I can tell you this sport isn't dying anytime soon.

I also find the numbers compelling when you consider the widespread dissatisfaction that exists over the Pennsylvania Game Commission's deer-management strategy. There is no doubt that policies adopted by the agency have resulted in lower deer numbers across many areas of this state over the past decade. As a result, many hunters report seeing fewer deer, and many have predicted this unrest would lead to a precipitous decline in hunter numbers. But despite plenty of rancor, it looks like plenty of hunters are sticking it out.

Anecdotally, I don't see a lot of gloom and doom out there either. I am friends with the owners of the two largest archery pro shops in my area and both report strong sales in 2011, both in terms of compound bows and crossbows, which continue to explode in popularity. I'm sure the difficult economy has forced many sportsmen to delay big-ticket purchases, but apparently there are still enough passionate hunters out there to keep the cash registers ringing.

I realize the long-term trend in hunter numbers shows a slow, steady decline. I realize the hunting population as a whole is aging and we aren't necessarily bringing enough new hunters into the sport to replace all the old-timers who are dropping out. I realize the number of hunters as a percentage of the total population isn't as great as it once was. I realize we face challenges in the form of a society that is increasingly disconnected from nature. But all that being said, I'm still not ready to put the nails in hunting's coffin.

In fact, I feel pretty confident I'll be bowhunting with my grandchildren someday. What say you?

UNQUOTE

Don't know who the editor is but did I see"widespread dissatisfaction" with the deer management plan mentioned? I thought the majority of Pa hunters approve of the plan???....WF

     
  As  young guy I bought ONE license for small game - now I buy that same basic license and several more for Deer and Turkey-- How do they count them ???- Still ONE GUY but if somebody wanted to count gross lisences it could look like many.
  One would have to ask both here in CT and in PA how many basic small game tags got sold as they are the one all must have to get the other stuff.
  I really hope thats what they did and your numbers are up - somethin tells me though that we aint that lucky--- in any state around here.
    Really hope somebody can show me I'm wrong too.

But despite plenty of rancor, it looks like plenty of hunters are sticking it out.

So the author is implying that those who are 'sticking it out' have a choice?  Like just because I'm dissatisfied with the deer management I'm going to hunt the other state that I live in?  I don't like the PGC so I guess I'll quit hunting and punish myself for their bad policies.  Or maybe I'll keep hunting and just stop buying a license.  That'll fix 'em.

That's right BH I'm a meat hunter that abides by the current game laws and am very careful making sure I don't shoot illegal game go figure

if you want to help out the deer herd, dont fill your doe tag.

BH.. how would not shooting does help the deer herd ??

please explain ????

ORIGINAL: retired guy

     
As  young guy I bought ONE license for small game - now I buy that same basic license and several more for Deer and Turkey-- How do they count them ???- Still ONE GUY but if somebody wanted to count gross lisences it could look like many.
One would have to ask both here in CT and in PA how many basic small game tags got sold as they are the one all must have to get the other stuff.
I really hope thats what they did and your numbers are up - somethin tells me though that we aint that lucky--- in any state around here.
  Really hope somebody can show me I'm wrong too.

 
The number of licenses used in this instance would be based on the number of CID numbers used. Since each person has their own CID number the number of hunting licenses sold would be the number of individual hunters that bought any hunting license.
 
The number of separate licenses and privileges/stamps (such as archery, muzzleloader, & second turkey) bought by hunters is counted separately, not only in Pennsylvania but all other states, for the accounting of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service when they are determining the amount of money to be returned to each sate as their portion of the year’s Pittman/Robertson fund from the excise tax on various sporting arms and equipment.
 
That is one of the advantages to having special stamps for hunting of the various species.   
 
R.S. Bodenhorn

ORIGINAL: rmcmillen09

That's right BH I'm a meat hunter that abides by the current game laws and am very careful making sure I don't shoot illegal game go figure

Am I missing something here? Are you insinuating something?

Whatever would make you think that BH ?

The Pennsylvania Game Commission sold 28,536 $1 mentored youth hunting permits in 2009-10, the first year in which the special permits for youth under age 12 were available.

Those permits hiked overall sales of general hunting licenses – the basic license that every hunter must buy – last year by 21,437 over the previous year, a 2.31 percent increase.

The 2009-10 total, as of the end of May, was 948,329 general hunting licenses sold. For 2008-09, the total at the same point in the license year was 926,892.

While I like the mentored program and have taken advantage of it with several of my own grandchildren it does give an artificial boost to the total hunter numbers when being compared to to prior years by creating a whole new group of license buyers we never had before.

I have no problem with what they did but you have to subtract the mentored licenses from the total licenses sold to get a true picture of what is happening in the state as evidenced in the article above. The 2.31 increase in general license sales for the year was actually a decrease when compared to the prior year.

^So while there was an aggragate increase in the number of licenses sold, by including the mentored youth, the number of licenses sold without that addition would have declined by about 7,100?
 
If that is so, again, great to see the increase of the overall sales, but disturbing that without this new class of licenses that didn't exist before, the apples to apples comparison would be a net loss.

Since this is the third year mentored youth have been required to get a permit if the number of total licenses (CID #s) are still increasing each year then it is obvious that Pennsylvania is currently recruiting more hunters annually than it is losing. At least in my opinion that is a positive for the future of hunting no matter how much you think about it.
 R.S. Bodenhorn

again, great to see the increase of the overall sales, but disturbing that without this new class of licenses that didn't exist before, the apples to apples comparison would be a net loss.

Not only a net loss in hunters but a large net loss in revenue when you consider the mentored hunters bring in a buck each in revenue and the 7100 mostly adult hunters we lost cost the PGC $20 each.

Time will tell, hopefully they won't drop out as fast as the junior and seniors have been.