Sad times for hunting

[mgf]

Originally posted by JohnV:
I really don't get all this "there is nowhere to hunt" mentality.  When I first started hunting in the 1970's, there were very few deer to hunt in many states.  If you wanted to hunt bad enough you got in your car and drove hours to where there were deer that could be hunted.  Not very many are willing to do that today.  If the hunting stinks where you live, look elsewhere!

That sounds great but...you need to money and the time off work. That's what a lot of us don't have these days.

I'll go a step to help make your point a little. I have national forest 3 1/2 hours driving time for my home.

In theory, I could drive the 3 1/2 hours Friday night after work. Hunt Saturday, Sunday morning  and then drive back to be at work by 5:30 AM on Monday.

Does that sort of thing sound like any fun at all? It really doesn't to me. Oh, I might be up for a weekend or two of that in a season but that's not hardly worth the cost of the tag.

The other problem with it is that I can't be there enough to have any recent scouting on which to base a hunt.

You walk into those big woods cold and your chances of getting in bow range of a deer are just about zero. There's an awful lot of woods  where there aren't any deer. I've walked my legs off in those hills just to come up with a day-old pile of poop. LOL

It would be a great place to hunt if it were closer and/or I could spend more time there.

"Just drive"...you make it sound easy. LOL

[ChuckC]

But that is exactly what many did in the 70s and 80s.  Depends how much you want to go.

[mgf]

Anyway, that's why I never say that that I don't have any place to hunt. I say that I don't have any place that's worth hunting.

[Kevin Dill]

ChuckC is right about that. My part of Ohio was whitetail central back in the 1970s, while the rest of the state was trying to find a deer track. Hunters flocked here from hours away so they could hunt.

I'm not saying everyone wants to do that or has the means and energy. I have a friend who drives almost 5 hours every single weekend (with a few exceptions) to come from Michigan and hunt here. He does it because he has a great location and it holds plenty of fine deer. He's probably made 10 or 12 trips down here and spent hundreds of hours hunting this year.

I'm not sure I would do it, mainly because I'm not that into deer these days. There was a time when I got up at 3:30am and hit the road to drive an hour...then walk 30 minutes...then climb to my stand and wait 30 minutes for shooting light. I did it day after day after day...and I killed deer like clockwork.

[mgf]

Originally posted by ChuckC:
But that is exactly what many did in the 70s and 80s.  Depends how much you want to go.

In the 80's I lived in the Chicago suburbs and I had quit a few places to hunt.

But, yes, it's all in how much you want it. What I described isn't any fun for me so what is there about it to want?

[mgf]

Originally posted by Kevin Dill:
ChuckC is right about that. My part of Ohio was whitetail central back in the 1970s, while the rest of the state was trying to find a deer track. Hunters flocked here from hours away so they could hunt.

I'm not saying everyone wants to do that or has the means and energy. I have a friend who drives almost 5 hours every single weekend (with a few exceptions) to come from Michigan and hunt here. He does it because he has a great location and it holds plenty of fine deer. He's probably made 10 or 12 trips down here and spent hundreds of hours hunting this year.

I'm not sure I would do it, mainly because I'm not that into deer these days. There was a time when I got up at 3:30am and hit the road to drive an hour...then walk 30 minutes...then climb to my stand and wait 30 minutes for shooting light. I did it day after day after day...and I killed deer like clockwork.

Key phrase there "Means and energy". Both my means and energy seem to just keep diminishing.

I guess I'm still "into deer" some but it has to be put in perspective with lots of other things.

I'm really not so into deer that I'll spend lots of money and hard time when there's little chance of success. That's not hunting. It's paying and working for nothing.

Let the state keep their tags.

[Kevin Dill]

Well I for one think you're perfectly normal. Lots of us are only willing to expend so much time, money and energy on hunting. Deer are often local animals and hunted as is convenient. When it becomes inconvenient, interest declines. I know a number of really serious (and good) bowhunters who only hunt deer occasionally and aren't motivated to pursue them with any degree of serious effort.

[mgf]

Yes, everything is relative.

I remember my dad saying to me many years ago that he was sorry he got me started hunting.

Now I've got a 31 year old son who I got started hunting and he's having an even rougher time than I did.

I'm not sorry I introduced him to the outdoors but...

[buckeyebowhunter]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. I've experienced some of what most of you guys have described. This year i lost the privilege of hunting literally hundreds of acres that i grew up hunting with my dad, and that my dad grew up hunting with his dad. Dozens of memories and nostalgia gone due to one person's take on his families land. It's been tough so tough on my dad that he has all but lost his interest in hunting at least this year. It sucks losing land to hunt but it's not my land to decide on. I decided i was NOT going to let this ruin my bow season.I love bowhunting too much to quit. So i looked for neighboring properties on plat maps, found phone numbers and went door knocking. Most said no but some said sure. And although i didn't acquire access to much land i acquired access to some close to home and close to areas that held big deer. Probably less than 50 acres total. It's not much but it's a start. I had a blast this year an missed two does so far. I guess my point is don't let things discourage you. If you love to hunt you'll find a way to make it work for you.  It's definitely hard to ask for permission but you never know. It never hurts to try. And as most said that's the only option these days. If you're not comfortable doing that then hunt public, if that's not good enough stick to 3d archery.

[Ray Hammond]

My point was not that it isn't expensive...it's always been expensive in relative terms.  

The difference is "the aXXXXXXole factor: It used to be that when you were given permission to hunt a place- you respected it, you respected the landowner, you respected the game.  You went to see the landowner when it WASN'T deer season.

For every one of us that still do that, there's now FIFTY axxxxxxoles who don't ask permission, or throw out trash, or shoot things they aren't supposed to, or steal tree stands, or hunt without licenses, or take over the limit....landowners get tired of the BS.  

I had a piece of ground for 11 years 1996-2007...until it was sold by the owner - it was THE FINEST piece of ground in a county that has been archery only for 25 years....had B&C deer on it...and all I had to do to get it was go to the courthouse, write a letter and talk on the phone.

[Patknight]

I contacted by a guy off of the internet as to a local lease to bowhunt,,I could not believe my ears when he said he was expecting to have 30..Hunter's on 123acres.  THIRTY!!!!!! ..GREED at its finest.... unbelievable..

[Sam McMichael]

I can be as political as anybody on this site, but I am not sure I feel that this discussion really needs to be politicized to figure out what is going on.

People lease out their land for hunting based on what people will pay. Likewise, they sell it based on this same thing. It is their land, and they would be stupid to sell it for less, so it is hard to blame them for taking what they can get.

As for the Federal government giving land back to the states, many will say they had no right to take it in the first place. I am in that group. Now, the thing to do is to put pressure on the state to preserve it for public use instead of selling it off. This is a state level political issue that will require a lot of local input.

I readily understand the pain of increasing costs and lessened opportunities. Some years ago, I bought a small 65 acre property that cost in excess of $200,000.  That was painful. In my area, there still is a lot of public access land, though. I really don't think it is as over hunted as it used to be, as fewer people are hunting, particularly in archery season (I think).

I may be all wrong, but I am certain the fault is not at the feet of individuals who sell their property on the open market.

[RedShaft]

I see your from pa. And I have not read through this post. But I'll tell ya what I think about why people posted there property in Pennsylvania...
Plain and simple. Low deer numbers. Don't come on my ground and shoot our deer. Not many to go around and guys don't like to share there deer. Especially now a days in Pennsylvania. It's a touchy subject around here anymore.

There are also allot of idiots hunting and they cause landowners problems.

Heck I can't even get permission to trap them coyotes off people property. They usually don't want you on there at all... or someone else is already on there already. Too many hunters in pa. Thankfully our state has lots of public lands.

[longbowman]

This has been amazing to watch this thread roll on from my original "Just thinking" muse.  While I'm still sad at the way things are now days compared to when I started hunting in the mid 60's I understand most of the why's.  Like I mentioned, I'm a pastor and my churches are full of good, hard working farmers that have tons of acres.  I have permission to hunt all of them but every scenario brought up here about property misuse has been seen by them at some time.
     I also still believe that most people are kind and loving at heart and if you show them that in return then you will be counted as a friend by them and a neighbor and you will most likely have places to hunt.
     I guess if I could give a Christmas gift to everybody here it would be a good place to hunt and good neighbors to share it with.