Tools of the trade

The future of hunting

Forward by Ed Moody

OVO writers offer their opinions on the future of hunting and preserving the sport...

The editor of The Ohio Valley Outdoors asked writers what they perceive as the future of hunting. Almost all responses agreed that the future of hunting rests in individual homes and in the hands of our youths, not our government nor wildlife agencies. Single parent homes and the crushing breakup of families with kids were mentioned in nearly half of the respondents.

Only a few mentioned they believe the attack on rights of hunters is a major concern. Nearly all agree that the National Rifle Association is a major player in national hunting issues and sportsmen need to support candidates and elected officials who endorse hunting and related issues.
Less than 20 percent believe that playing video games in the
comfort of the home is a major player in youngsters not interested in hunting activities. Nearly all respondents mentioned the need for hunters to mentor youths, in the family or neighborhood kids.

Outdoor writer Ralph Schrader put it in a nutshell when he wrote, “Shooting a big buck won’t be enough to keep them interested. They need to be solidly hooked by the tradition of hunting”.
Ed Moody wrote that sportsmen’s organizations can provide a great assistance in keeping the tradition of hunting alive by reaching out into the community through inviting kids to join in on activities of the club’s youths.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife as well as wildlife agencies in other states have established numerous “Youth Only” seasons in their attempt to encourage youngsters to take to the fields with an adult friend.
The main ingredient in all the responses was that more hunters
need to become active in mentoring youths in the tradition of hunting, not just youngsters in their immediate family, but those of the neighborhood as well.
There is no doubt that the youngsters of today and tomorrow hold, in their hands, the future of hunting in Ohio.

Without young men and women joining adults in the pleasures and challenges of recreational hunting, there appears to be little future for hunting in the distant years.
Moms and dads, adult neighbors, aunts, uncles and grandfathers need to introduce their youngsters, or kids of non-hunting friends to the enjoyment and pleasures found in the Great Outdoors of Ohio.
Parents can begin educating their youngsters about the outdoors and wildlife by taking them on hikes within wildlife viewing areas, wilderness areas or natural areas and preserves or camping in national or state forests, on canoe or rafting trips down scenic rivers.
Wildlife officials can greatly assist in providing the hunting experience to youngsters by establishing special hunting seasons when formal education facilities are in recess and youngsters have adequate time for hunting before football, basketball, soccer and a host of other school and after school activities consume a large part of the youngster’s time. Special hunting seasons for youngsters need to be established during Thanksgiving and Christmas recesses from schools such as a mid-August squirrel season - as long as biological or sociological reasons do not prevent establishing such seasons.

Perhaps special Saturday or weekend “Youth Only” deer seasons should be established following the statewide deer-gun season.
National organizations such as Buckmasters, The National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited with established youth programs under their umbrellas have encouraged youngsters to accept the challenge of hunting. Perhaps more national, state and regional organizations and local hunting clubs should be encouraged to sponsor special hunts on their properties or on cooperating landowners properties for youngsters.
If local publications, national media and outdoor related magazines, such as Field and Stream, Outdoor Life and Deer Hunting could be encouraged to publish more articles about youngsters hunting, perhaps, just perhaps more youngsters will have a desire to read about kids their own age hunting, or at best give hunting a try.
More outdoors organizations should make their presence known by sponsoring hunting and fishing exhibits at local, county, and state fairs.
Shooting organizations can help assure the future of hunting and shooting activities by establishing and publicizing youth shoots for the general public, not just youngsters of club members.
Local organizations such as sportsmen’s clubs can help assure t he future of hunting by co-operating with schools in which school libraries receive subscriptions to hunting and fishing publications.

“ Our heritage of the great outdoors and hunting begins at home. Pass on and teach your skills to our young. Encourage them to be part of our sport. I have taught my sons to be better outdoorsmen and hunters than me. Our goal is to pass on all of our combined knowledge to the grandchildren. I cannot wait for the first deer hunt out of our cabin with them. Maybe our best chance for a hunting future for our young is to reflect on our hunting past. Memories in the form of pictures, videos and campfire stories might be a way of ensuring the next generations tomorrow. “ —Bob Mackovick

“My personal thoughts on the future of hunting as we know it today are; not to focus so much attention on hunting laws, regulations and wildlife management. Although, I do believe that these are very valuable aspects. But we need to focus on the future and that starts with our younger sportsman and sportswomen throughout the country. Without them, there is no future of hunting. A lot of schools have eliminated the hunting and fishing clubs, taken the hunting magazines from their library and its like finding a needle in a hay stack to get a child into a local hunter education class. Another thing is that there are a lot of single parent households where the child is not introduced to the outdoors, instead, the children today, are found sitting in front of a video game. There also needs to be a program or organization in place to get low-income children or single parent children who cannot afford to buy a license or buy their equipment a chance to experience the outdoors as we do. We the sportsman of today need to put more time aside and make these attempts at getting the clubs in schools brought back, the magazines back on the shelves and start the ball rolling to get something going for less fortunate children out there who might love the outdoors but never get a chance to do it. We could name the organization S.H.O.P. Sportsman Helping Other People.” —Rob Gratson

“Although the future of hunting has many supporters, hunting has many more opponents. I’m not only talking about anti-hunting organizations, but trends in society as well. Today’s youth have a plethora of options regarding sports, hobbies and dedications that invade kids’ lives early on.
Another opponent in the forefront is the decline of land available for hunting. Urban sprawl, land leasing and landowners becoming more hesitant to grant permission because of bad experiences with slobs using the title of ‘hunter’.
Ohio’s DNR, as other states, are seeing success from youth hunting only seasons and the purchase of lands available for public hunting. But the ultimate responsibility for preserving the tradition of hunting is in the hands of hunting adults. Promoting hunting by educating the general public of all ages of the importance of necessary, conservation practices, such as hunting, is the key for hunting to survive in our rapidly changing world.”
—Robert Loewendick

“I believe the outdoor sports will suffer, but survive. Continued political pressures to control guns, access to land and streams, lack of new recruitment, and rising costs of licenses and equipment will all play a part in declining numbers. Still the increase in animal-human conflict will demand some action, and hunting is the most cost effective solution for this.” —Freddie McKnight

“Hunting is declining due to urbanization, the break-up of families, and simply a plethora of other things to do now. Many youths are never exposed to hunting. Others no longer find the desire to get up at 4:00 a.m. It’s much easier to stay in the comfort of their bedrooms and play games on a $1,000 video machine.
What’s the answer? There may not be one. Societies change. We may one day lose hunting all together. However, I think we can and should slow the decline as much as possible with programs such as ‘Becoming an Outdoors Woman,’ ‘Families Afield,’ and many others.” —Paul Moore
“We must do everything that we can to preserve our rights and the rights of hunters to come. Possible infringement of our right to hunt and/or bear arms via politicians and political agendas are something we should not take lightly. If you are a hunter or participant of any shooting sports you must vote and use your vote wisely. Furthermore, support those groups that speak on our behalf such as the NRA and SCI. Our voice must continue to be heard; in fact we must speak even louder.” —Tom Sedlak

“Fragile. This is the word that comes to mind when I think about the future of hunting. I would like to see hunters put aside their differences and focus on recruiting and retaining. We really need to be getting youngsters in the woods and showing them what the outdoors has to offer. As a parent it’s one of the wisest commitments I’ve ever made to my son. There is so much about life a kid can learn by being surrounded by nature on a cool autumn morning or sitting with their grandpa on the banks of a farm pond.”
—Denny Sharrrone

“The future of hunting can be summed up in one word, Opportunity. We need to make sure the children of today are given the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. As sportsman we have to compete for our kids time with play stations and X Boxes so we must give the kids the opportunity to see that hunting blows away anything they can see on a video screen. What we must also remember though is that opportunity cant be forced on a child. Make hunting available and let them come to it on their terms.”
—Troy Basso

“We all need to be concerned about the future of hunting and trapping. Most outdoorsmen feel hunting is a God given right. I’m afraid to tell you, it isn’t, but instead, hunting is a privilege given to us by the citizens of Ohio and this nation. A privilege that can be taken away, as fast as it we change it for the better.
A glimmer of hope is organizations that target the non-hunting
public and attempt to educate them on why we need to hunt. The US
Sportsmen’s Alliance Trailblazer program with the Boy Scouts and Quality Deer Management Association’s “Learning to Live with White-tailed Deer” high school curriculum program are two examples of ways we can win the hearts and minds of the citizens of Ohio.
Unless we embrace the fact we need educate the non-hunting public about a privilege that actually helps them, we may lose a battle we can never recover from. Check out www.ussportsmen.org and www.qdma.com to learn more!”
—Dan Long