At the last dallas safari club meeting , they started with a very poignant clip highlighting the growth in the last 100 years or so in general populations of huntable north American game –

TURKEYS 1900 LESS THAN 30 000 by the year 2000 MORE THAN 6 MILLION

DEER FROM FEWER THAN 500 000 TO ALMOST 40 MILLION today

MOOSE FROM 14 000 TO 1,2 MILLION

DUCK POPULATION TRIPLED IN THE LAST 100 YEARS

DESERT BIGHORN - FROM NEAR EXTINCTION, NOW IN HEALTHY NUMBERS ALTHOUGH STILL LISTED AS CONSERVATION DEPENDENT.

Most of this growth can be directly attributed to hunters working hard to ensure not just the survivability but the growth of the populations to maintain huntable numbers –

Then they go on with a very disturbing fact – IN NORTH AMERICA …

IN 1950 8.2% OF POPULATION HAD LICENCES TO HUNT

IN 2007 4,7% - A DECLINE OF 43%

Statistics show that for most people their first hunting experience was when they were invited by someone to attend a hunt that they would probably never have experienced on their own –

Think back to the first hunting experience you ever had , was it with your father , uncle or older brother – perhaps a good friend -think about the awe and wonder that you felt –

My first hunting experience was in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) with my grandfather we would go out , me at the age of about 4 or 5 and we would shoot doves with an air rifle or .22 , i remember the feeling of great excitement ,as i would hit one in 20 birds !!

My first game experience came at the age of about 8 when I won a competition for writing an essay on conservation , I won a trip to the midlands of Zimbabwe to shoot a tsessebe – it was all walk and stalk and though I am sure it wasn’t that far I felt like we walked for miles and miles , the person leading the trip was Richard Bedford , to this day a ph – I remember learning how to gut , clean and cape the animal , we made biltong (jerky) from the whole animal and to this day I can remember the excitement of those few days –

My first elephant hunting experience was in the omay communal lands hunting PAC elephant with butch coaton- again what an incredibly distinct memory that was –a mixture of excitement , fear and awe -

When last did you introduce someone new to hunting , when last did you take a kid hunting – …?

Make it a resolution to take someone new to the sport out this year , show them an awesome time , get them infected with the bug we all have and help them appreciate the chase as we do –

If we each take out just one person this year as a body we will double in size and the wildlife will benefit tremendously –

Safe hunting
Imc

Great post Ivan. I too, remember starting my big game and bird hunting days as a young boy of 6 with my grandfather, uncle and father. My brother came along and had the same experience. I have passed the hunting tradition on to all 3 of my boys and the shooting tradition on to all 5 of my children and to my wife, as well as to the 3 spouses of the 3 children who are now married. But unfortunately, it is not enough. We need to spread it to friends and others as well. Thanks for the reminder.

Ivan,

Well said and thanks!

I had a chance to share Africa and hunting with my wife in Tanzania, Dec. 2010. Before that experience she acknowledged and appreciated my interest but now is a very much engaged in my passion.

While she may never pull the trigger on an animal (working on that aspect) she was very much a part of the team while in Tanzania, stalking and tracking Cape Buffalo...spent a couple of days shopping, with our PH, for just the right Zebra...now that was a hoot and frustrating!

She had a great time at DSC show. As you know she can be very decisive in booking an Elephant hunt in Botswana.... Works well to have a couple experienced folks, like you, sharing the love of our sport!

Your posts reminds me that I should do a bit more....

Best,

Jim

looking forward to some campfire time with you jim - it will be a hoot - your lady is a sharp gal -

Carin, Jim and Ivan:

We shall have a good time!

I worked really hard this fall taking a young guy hunting and trying to get him a deer. His father died a few years ago and his mom asked me to take him some. It became a mission. Lots of close, but no cigars.

Dadgummit, but when I was with you folks in Dallas, the kid went on a deer drive with a schoolmate and shot a 6 pointer.

I sure wish I'd been there, but he did send me a cell phone picture that I got Saturday on the floor of the convention. Made me proud that he took the picture and sent it before he even touched the animal.

Since then, he's gotten an after school job so he can buy a bow and then his own rifle.

He's hooked!

I took my old roommate from college on his first deer hunt this fall and the Bastard shoots a 12 pointer in the first hour of the first day of his first hunt! We are talking a DIY public land hunt here. I have never even seen a deer so big! Yeah I'm jealous but I'm pretty sure he's hooked for life.

I had the pleasure last season of introducing a non hunter to hunting, we talked about it all summer and spent quite a few days at the range teaching him how to shoot, we spent 9 days in the field and he took 3 does and a nice mule deer buck (I took no bucks this year), but the best part was today when my 10 year old girl whose birthday is next month asked for a bow for her birthday so she can get ready for hunters safety and start hunting with her daddy when she turns 12. To me The future looks bright.

While I certainly dont qualify as a guide, much less aPH in the last 7 yrs I have had the priviledge of taking 5 kids to take either their first deer or antelope. I truly have gotten to enjoy the looks on their faces when they make that shot as much or more as taking something myself.

SSR

While interpreting statistics is always dangerous, the stats quoted above make perfect sense.

In an increasingly digitised age the importance now is on immediate gratification. With populations also become more urbanised in less wildlife friendly environments, it takes a considerable investment in time, money and loss of income to go hunting. This makes our sport/hobby less inviting for those not as obsessed as we are.

With less hunting, stricter controls, regulations and less need for subsistance hunting, no wonder animal numbers are on the rise and hunter numbers falling.

The last time? Just this morning!

I finally talked a friend of mine into going out to call some coyotes this morning. This fellow is a very capable shooter, we've been going to the range together for years. I had no worries about his gun handling or safety.

He had three opportunities. The first coyote that came in stood and watched while Chris aimed and squeezed, squeezed...and squeezed! The yote left before he finally decided to take the rifle off safe. The second one became nervous when Chris tried to sneak a cartridge into the chamber after dryfiring once...I managed to roll that one before he got away.

The third dog came in at 90mph from our blind side and almost ran over both of us. Nobody got a shot off that time.

I have never seen this man as excited as he was today when we called it quits. I will have to be standing by with a defibrillator when he finally gets his first animal.

A definite convert!

John

This past fall I took a friend out who was curiouse as to just what all was involved in the process from locating the animal until it was in the freezer. I told him to come on up the next weekend, I would get a tag, and we'd go get one. Kind of ruined him. I already had the deer patterned from hunting that particular area for the past 3 years. Well I screwed up, instead of them coming down the draw about 75 yards away to our 2 o'clock they came right down the hill in front of us. I picked the first leagle buck that cleared from the group. Ended up taking a 3x3 at about 10 yards with a 300gr RN from the 375 H&H. With it being a lung shot he made it about 30 yards into the trees. Had the chance to show him how we follow one up from the trail it left, the dressing method we use, and he helped get the deer cut and wrapped. By the time it was all done he was on the way back home with about 60 pounds of freshly wrapped deer by 10 AM.

He still isn't sure about shooting one himself this next time but wants to do everything else from the dressng on. He has just never shot a firearm of any type But I'm still working on him.

Ivan, and Kim what a wonderful posts. I always wanted to be a hunter and hunt Africa from a young age.
My Dad did not hunt after WWII 3 years in the Pacific and 3 major campaigns.

Mike

Excellent post Ivan,

Next week my youngest daughter starts her firearm safety class. One of her friends is joining her. The friend has never been around guns or hunting nor has anyone in her family. I talked to her parents and just explained that even if she never hunts or shoots, she will understand later on in her life if her husband or kids show an interest and will be more inclined to accept and encourage them. 

I passionately believe that passing on our enthusiasm for our sport and standing together to support All areas, wether we participate in a particular activity or not, is the key to preserving our passion. 

My first real hunting experience was when I went to Botswana with my brother at age 48 to get him off my back about hunting. This summer I will be on my 5th safari. In the intervening 12 years I have convinced two friends and my two sons to join me on African hunts. One of those friends, plus another who has resisted the lure of the dark continent so far, have joined me in whitetail deer hunting for the last 8 years.
Nothing is as satisfying as sharing something that you love with another and seeing that same love kindled in their hearts. By all means try to convince a friend to join you on a hunt. It is wonderful to pass this on to the kids, but both Dr Joe and Col. Chuck were 60 and above on their first hunts. Spread the love to anyone who will listen, seeing them taste hunting, and especially hunting in Africa, for the first time is all the reward that you need.

Thanks for sharing that information Ivan.

As you will know, similar successes have been achieved by farmers in South Africa. Today's populations of black wildebeest, blesbuck, mountain zebra and bontebok, are a testament to this. We hunters can hold out heads high and claim part of this success.

To answer your question; In December actually....

En route home from our December holiday, my family and I stopped over for two nights at an old school friend who farms in the Karoo. The customary springbuck was offered to me, and my wife said that she would like to try and hunt. Quite out of the blue really.

She has shown promise, in terms of shooting competency, in the past with my Brno .22, so we took her out to an impromptu range session in one the Lucerne fields.

After a few shots with the .22, and then with my fried John's Remington .243 Win, we went out to the field. I left her with John, and under his guidance she shot two springbuck. I suspect that we may have created a monster.

You make a good point; We need to do more to encourage new membership to the fellowship of hunters. We can never do enough in this respect.

I don't have any figures to back it up, but I am of the opinion that the number of hunters in South Africa is on the increase. This despite the terrible firearm laws that we have had to endure.

Dear Guy's

Talking about big game.
My now wife at 21 fired her first rifle to take an Impala.

Son Now 11 took 5 animals in Africa last year.
Year before he shot a wild 11pt red stag in New Zealand. Bigger than I got in 13 days of hunting in 2 trips.

Daughter 9 took an Impala after 3 days of trying. Hardest animal to get on that trip.
By the way she can shot better than most of my friends in mid 30's.
There must be some thing about hearing what to do rather than know what to do?

We still do not make it to much publicly know. As it up sets some of the rellow's.
But they will get over it.

Problem now is they want to hunt every week end.
A good family deal to africa for 4 hunters would be greatly accepted.

Regards
Mark

I brought my girlfriend to Tanzania for a hunt this autumn, and she loved every second of the trip. She's now working on her hunters exam.

And she's been asking questions about when we're going back
I've been thinking about a hunt in EC or Namibia. Should give her a good start!

Your question is really of great importance. Hunters need to take the task of introducing new members of our "clan" or at least tell people about the big benefits of hunting whenever they can.

The people who introduced me to hunting was my grandfather, uncle and brother. I started quite late.
At the age of 10+/- I could never see myself killing an animal. I loved fishing, the outdoors and watching wildlife, but the thought of actually killing them was a bit brutal to me.
Then at the age of 14 I took my hunters exam in school and I gradually changed. Took my first game at the age of 15 without any hesitation, but of course deep respect of what I was doing.

I've grown up in a family and a community where hunting is a natural part of life. Without it I might have turned into a person who wouldn't support hunting.

I have introduced some friends and acquaintances as well as adult family members to the sport. Admittedly, its been a while since I last did so.

However, I think this is all a straw man arguement.

Yes, it looks bad that we had 8.2% in 1950, and 4.7% in 2007 if you are thinking as a voting block.

However, after googling the population of the US and Canada (Mexico is central America to me, but would likely skew these results further-

You are talking 13,467,089 hunters in 1950- which was probably the height of sport hunting's popularity in the US.

We have per your statistics, 15,709,982 hunters in 2007, which is an increase of 17% in hunter numbers. Furthermore, as I recall discussions with my Grandfather, and looking at old magazine articles, it seems that hunters are much more multifocal in their pursuits now. In 1950, you had folks who hunted squirrel and that was it. Now, while there are some folks who call themselves bird hunters, its rare to find a bird hunter who only hunts duck, dove or pheasant- most hunt all of the above (admittedly this is anecdotal evidence.)

Furthermore, your statistics are pretty flawed with respect to the number of game animals in North America. With moose, Karns estimated 939,000 in 1960, and their numbers have been increasing since then, but certainly not exponentially. (Timmerman said 973,000 in 2001- but that does predate a lot of the more successful wolf reintroduction.)

Since you want to use hunter numbers from 1950, duck numbers have been essentially the same in 1950 and now.

Desert Bighorn may well have gone way up in the southern US, but is that indicative of what they have been doing in northern Mexico? (Admittedly, again, central america, but really I would think the area with highest concentrations of Desert Sheep hsitorically.)

Probably the biggest issue in hunter numbers has to do with where we live. If you live in a rural community, you are much more likely to hunt than if you live in an urban area.

Whitetail deer are really the big success story, and from what I have heard they are causing problems for other species, particularly the Mule Deer.


When you include increased competition for reduced resources (numerically more hunters, fewer farmers, and slowly increasing public land that while increasing, has a tendency to be split for multiple uses, including a lot that is not allowed to be hunted and quite a bit that has quite restricted hunting (ie bow hunting only, no waterfowl hunting allowed, etc.) it is no wonder that folks are not willing to pay increasing fees to experience a pass time that is a pale recollection of what it once was. Even Deer, which has been the exception to the rule is beginning to become more difficult to participate in due to rather schizophrenic regulation- attempts to have trophy deer (quality deer management) to large areas that still try and keep folks from shooting does.

I think there is a shocking truth here. If it is fun, people will do it and numbers will increase. As I pointed out, it is increasing, but it is not possible to have a US population of 330,000,000 plus and have @ 10% hunter rates. It will be somewhat dangerous to have that many nimrods in the field, and no one would be having much fun with that kind of hunter density. Let's face it, the western states that have large amounts of public (mostly federal, BTW)land de facto DISCOURAGE out of state residents from coming there to hunt by their restrictive tag policies that favor in state residents.

You are in the african hunting business. I am pretty sure (with the exception of these last few years of recession) that you have seen more and more NA residents paying to hunt in Africa- because it's fun. You see game most of the time, and you can shoot more than a quite restricted number of animals- assuming you can pay.

In closing, trying yet another youth season, new hunter give away, etc. is unlikely to get new hunter recruitment any real pull. We seem to have lots of new folks every year (at least here in MN- the hunter safety classes seem always full, but numbers are stagnant overall) Maybe we need to work at keeping the folks we already have enjoying themselves instead of throwing them under the bus for "the children."

Not too popular a position, but I feel better for saying it.

Very good post Ivan. I strongly feel hunting will change in our life time, especially free range big-game hunting.

I am sad to say that except for one friend's son none of my other friends (across the world including the USA) children have taken to hunting, despite efforts from their father's!

A great thrill of my live this past January. I got to take my daughter hunting with me.

Stormy, Buck and Bob


She is an eagled eyed huntress and a great shot to boot!

This past Saturday the local NWTF and PF Chapters took 16 youths ages 10 to 15 for a day of shooting instruction and their first hunt for pheasants and chukars over pointing dogs.

465H&H

My eight year old daughter is turning out to be one heck of a squirrel hunter.... This spring we move onto turkeys.

My wife, my six year old son, a friends 16 yo son.

Jeff

Last year, my 8 year old killed his first Whitetail buck...&...

This year, the same boy killed his first doves!

He's hooked!

I work every season to make sure I get at least 1 or 2 people afield that might not otherwise and have been able to do that for the last 7 years. Some people have gone with me once, while others have gone onto become avid hunters. Regardless of the end result, they ALL now have a great appreciation of hunting and the outdoors.

Here is some good news about hunting license sales here in the United States.

NSSF Reports Big Jump in Hunting License Sales

3.6 Percent Increase Largest Since 1974

- View State-by-State License Figures (PDF) -

NEWTOWN, Conn.—The National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, calls the 3.6 percent rise in paid hunting license holders for 2009 one of the most encouraging signs for hunting in recent years.

"This is great news for our industry and everyone associated with hunting," said Steve Sanetti, president and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. "Many efforts are at work to build hunting participation, and they are paying off. More people are enjoying the outdoors and sharing the tradition of hunting with family and friends. Also, more hunting license sales translate into more funds for wildlife conservation."

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week reported a total of 14,974,534 paid license holders for 2009, the largest figure since 2002 and an increase of 526,494 over 2008. The 3.6 percent rise in paid license holders represents the largest year-over-year increase since 1974. (A "paid license holder" is one individual regardless of the number of licenses purchased.)

NSSF cites several reasons for the increase, ranging from programs launched by many state wildlife agencies over the last decade to increase hunting participation to a difficult economy that motivated hunters to fill their freezers with game rather than store-bought meat. Also, hunters who were among the unemployed or had their work hours reduced used some of their free time to go hunting.

Coordinated efforts of state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations and the firearms industry appear to have halted a decades-long decline in hunting license sales, which since 2005 have held at the 14.5-million level until the jump in 2009. NSSF has played a key role promoting hunting participation with its programs and websites. Through its Hunting Heritage Partnership program, NSSF has provided state agencies with $3.8 million to fund initiatives designed to encourage hunting among all age groups. Also, through Families Afield, a partnership effort of NSSF, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and National Wild Turkey Federation started in 2004, thirty states have made it easier for youth to begin hunting at a younger age with licensed adults. NSSF websites such as www.WingshootingUSA.org make it easy for hunters to locate gamebird preserves, where youth can easily get started in hunting and where inactive adult hunters can revive their interest.

Another positive sign for hunting is that contrary to claims of a wholesale decline in hunting participation, paid license holders have increased in 24 states in the five-year period from 2005 to 2009.

"Due to continued urbanization and changes in our culture, hunting will face significant challenges for the foreseeable future, but at the same time hunting remains an extremely important activity in the lives of millions of Americans, as the latest hunting licenses sales figures confirm," said Sanetti.

NSSF points out that the actual number of hunters who go afield in any given year is greater than the total of paid hunting license holders in that year. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service figures do not account for certain state exemptions for purchasing a hunting license. Many states allow landowners and active military to hunt without purchasing a license; also, lifetime license holders and youth hunters who do not fall within the required license purchasing age are not included in the figures.

According to an NSSF-funded study carried out by Southwick Associates, the pool of hunters in America is much larger than previously thought. The study, released last fall, estimated that 21.8 million people purchased a hunting license at least once in the last five years.

Hunters are the backbone of conservation funding in America, contributing more than $1 billion each year through the purchase of licenses, tags, permits and stamps and through excise taxes paid on firearms and ammunition. For example, proceeds from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps, a required purchase for migratory waterfowl hunting, have purchased more than 5 million acres of habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

NSSF, using its new 12-state hunting license sales index, anticipated the national increase in paid hunting license holders by reporting a 3.5 percent increase in license sales last spring. "It's gratifying to see how accurate our state index was, which gives us confidence in future index-based hunting license sales figures," said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of industry research and analysis.

nice picks kpete

A trend I've seen in my 25yrs as a full time taxidermist, I don't mount much for kids anymore. I will do the odd piece but for the most part, my customer base has gotten much older. Average age is around 40yrs.

My father was born and raised in rural Maine and hunting was for meat in the freezer only. Not something done for fun. After he left for college he never hunted again. I was exposed to hunting at a young age by an older neighbor that wanted a travelling and hunting companion. If not for him I may never have experienced the passion that now is my liveliehood. He left me his Winchester model 94 in 32-40 which will always be something I remember him by.
I have no sons and this thread is a good reminder to me that I need to find a young person to "Pay it forward" as the saying goes.

Great post Ivan!

My wife took her 1st Ibex in Mongolia 4 1/2 years ago with me, and now she goes with me to Africa each year. She is completely hooked, and also enjoys taking professional pictures as much as the hunt itself. She's become a camera nut in the same time.

crbutler ,
interesting point you make , i agree we dont want to crowd the public hunting grounds , i have to admit i "stole" the statistics as i said -

anyway , i still feel that there is merit to getting kids involved in the outdoors and specifically hunting . not saying there should be more youth seasons neither saying that there should be more crowding of hunting areas ,

jerry says it himself as a taxidermist of many years he sees far fewer mounts being done for kids than he used to - a product of the economy - perhaps -

either way you look at it , who is doing the conservation in the next generation if we dont take kids out - and introduce them to the chase and the passion , not just the kills -

Ivan-good post as many have already said.

I have two children, Kenzie (5) and Trey (2). This past fall I bought them both a Red Ryder BB gun. Not exactly hunting yet but am teaching them the respect to have for a gun. I took the cover off one of my SCI newspapers (one with a large elephant head) and taped it to two sticks in the ground. We all three took turns aiming and "hunting" the ele. The kids loved it. Both have wanted to go hunting for a really long time. This was their "first hunt". Kenzie has went w/me several times road scouting for deer, turkey and elk (YES ELK here in eastern Kentucky). She always enjoys it. She was very upset when I had to explain to her that she could not accompany me to Zimbabwe this past July/Aug. She teared up until I told her that I would take her deer hunting with me the following year. What a smile that put on her face. My boy will get his plastic double barrel shotgun and hunt in my trophy room---shooting EVERY animal on the spot
I am very proud to have children that are future hunters. Of course anyone reading this forum is a hunter and can appreciate this fact. We do need to introduce more friends and kids to the hunting "world". I am a hunting fool and my wife overlooks this most of the time--thank goodness.
This spring turkey season I plan on taking a youth during the youth week end. Should be loads of fun!!!!

Ivan, I agree that passing the things you enjoy on to your children and friends is a very human characteristic.

I know of a large number of acquaintances who had tried hunting sometime in the past. Once they got some money and some spare time they plan on taking it up again. I also have a number of younger friends who hunted with their dad/uncle/friend in our youth seasons but once they had to compete against the rest of the crowd, they decided it just wasn't "fun" anymore. These guys are not anti hunting per se, but they do think a lot of hunters are real jerks because of their behavior (which was caused by competition for space.)

I have noticed that there are a lot of folks here on AR who proudly talk about taking kids out to hunt on their private land. How many keep letting the same people come back again and again, especially with their friends?

In the end, if you enjoy it, you will take it up. I cannot begin to count the number of guys who got in to hunting in their 30's-40's. I don't think too many die-hard antis will be converted, but most folks like to get outside, and if they get a little education from scouts, FFA, or an unbiased to quietly pro hunting teacher in their science classes at school (used to be common, but less so now...) the boys will take to it to some extent. Girls it's my experience usually need a more immediate role model (parent, grandparent or significant other) to take it up. The point is it does have to be a quality experience multiple times to make a hunter. Taking a kid from the local single mom out once or twice will not do much.

So, by all means, take someone out- but odds are you will have better luck with an adult than a nonrelated child.

Ivan,

When I lived in Alaska I worked at a Indian Health Service hospital in the bush for 19 years. Because of the nature the work and location the staff at the hospital was pretty transient so I met a lot of people and quite few that had never been hunting or fishing. Being kind of an outdoor whacko I had everything you needed to access the outdoors in our area and I introduced a lot of novices to hunting, fishing and the wilderness that had never experienced anything like that before.

Now I don't do some much myself but in my job I still do get to be involved in introducing folks to hunting. A female client that had been an observer on a safari this year but had taken a couple of animals told me at DSC "I tell people now I'm a hunter". That just made my day.

Mark

Hey Mark: I always thought that the Alaskan bush people taught you! No? LOL!

The simple answer to Ivan's question. OH yah!!

My baby girl at 11 years old this January with here first elk. Shot with her .30-06.


My big girl and the whole famdamily at age 14 with her first antelope. Shot with her .308


My big girl at 13 with her night time sniper hog. The tricked out AR 10 belongs to a friend who graciously lent it to us for the night hunt.


My baby girl with her rattle snake killed with a .44 pistol and #9 bird shot capsules.


Getting ready to go elk hunting with dad last year.


Big girl with her first elk at age 12.


My big girl with her first kill, a Texas boar at age 10.


The 14 year old with her first deer this year.


My baby girl getting ready to get em during a hog hunt last year. She makes a good packer as well and carried the pack all the way to the truck that night.


Racoon hunting.


My 14 year old. And she can shoot it too!

If I can make an anecdoctal observation amongst acquaintances here in Alberta: there appears to be a groundswell in hunting interest amongst 'new age' type hunters - locavores, ethical meat eaters and those concerned about where their food comes from. I find these hunters refreshing and they add something new. Think hippies who like guns, hunting and want to keep habitat intact for wildlife. We all know hunters at times have a serious PR issue and I think the more diversity we have the better. Nothing settles an argument with an anti at a social gathering faster than the artsy looking girl overhearing the debate who enters the fray with "actually I think if you eat meat then killing/hunting it is the right thing to do". Throws their 'imperialistic, conservative white male' stereotypes out the window.

My friend was approached a few seasons ago on public land by a girl with dreadlocks and lots of piercings riding her bike, she had 2 ruffies strapped to the handle bars and a shotgun on her back - I like it!

quote:

Originally posted by kayaker:
If I can make an anecdoctal observation amongst acquaintances here in Alberta: there appears to be a groundswell in hunting interest amongst 'new age' type hunters - locavores, ethical meat eaters and those concerned about where their food comes from. I find these hunters refreshing and they add something new. Think hippies who like guns, hunting and want to keep habitat intact for wildlife. We all know hunters at times have a serious PR issue and I think the more diversity we have the better. Nothing settles an argument with an anti at a social gathering faster than the artsy looking girl overhearing the debate who enters the fray with "actually I think if you eat meat then killing/hunting it is the right thing to do". Throws their 'imperialistic, conservative white male' stereotypes out the window.

My friend was approached a few seasons ago on public land by a girl with dreadlocks and lots of piercings riding her bike, she had 2 ruffies strapped to the handle bars and a shotgun on her back - I like it!

I agree I'd like to see more of it.

Due to my persistant influence, my 68 year old mother is realizing the benefits of real food and the joys of accurate firearms.



She's awesome!

I think that Saeed's got an up and coming young lady who is certain to be a big game hunter!

surestrike, those pictures of your family hunting are awesome, but that racoon picture is a classic!