Obviously the speices and locales are very diverse for any sort of general statement but just wondering what people's opinions are of the future of big game hunting in the US.

This does not include the gun control issue itself.

Just wondering if species are making comebacks, getting wiped out or in a stalemate with urbanisation and agriculture.

What's the general vibe for you guys?



Karl.

In general the situation for white tailed deer is great. They seem to adapt very well to urban sprawl and agriculture. Mule deer are declining as the elk herds increase. In some places - Texas where I live we are eaten up with wild hogs - my friend shot one in his front yard a few months ago and he lives in a VERY prosperous planned community north of Houston (Woodlands Tx.) I have coyotes in my back yard and I live in the northern suburbs of Houston.

Turkeys seem to be doing great everywhere now too. Not exactly Big game in some senses of the word but something to hunt. Like the previous poster said Mule Deer are down. A friend on the west side of NM in the Gila National Forest said Elk numbers are down last couple of years but they put wolves in the area and we've had three years of drought conditions.
Seems like public land hunting is getting harder and less critters but overall still good.

In Arizona, the drought has been very tough on antelope (and quail for that matter). However, I have seen reports that the bark beetles and drought may actually end up helping the antelope. It seems that once the pines are gone from the beetle, scrub oak (IIRC) grows up and the lower oaks provide better cover for young antelope. However the lower oaks mean that roosting turkeys are susceptable to predators.

Tradeoffs for everything.

Game management is overall very good, which means that numbers and, to some extent, diversity, are closer to optimum potential than in the recent past. Unfortunately, both are limited by habitat, and habitat continues to shrink due to development. Habitat fragmentation, as well as shrinkage, is a growing problem in the West. Partially offsetting that is the return to suitable wildlife habitat of many acres in the Great Plains (and some in the Northeast) due to shifting agricultural demands.

While game departments have done very well with the available habitat, the issue for the next several decades is how much habitat will be preserved from development. If some policy is not adopted to address the habitat issue, then I fear that the American landscape has the potential turn into a series of urban/suburban/exurban developments with small, well-stock zoos of whitetails and turkeys in between, but not much else.

Here's what I see.

Rabbits and quail are scare here, just a glimmer of what they once where. Most blame it on feral cats, changes in agriculture (fewer hedgerows), and a rise in coyote populations. Dove hunting isn't as good as it was just 15 years ago, and a shadow of what it was 30+.

Coyotes are moving into the central NC area, and I would guess expanding nation wide. Elk are supposed to be increasing, and have been reintroduced to Kentucky. 40 years ago whitetails used to be pretty rare around here, now they're everywhere. Black bears are at thier highest numbers in NC since colonial times.

Turkeys are the biggest success story nation wide. Who knows, maybe bison hunting will be huge 20 years from now.

In Colorado, we have more elk than ever before, and the mule deer seem to be coming back, due to elimination of over the counter licenses. Moose are spreading fairly quickly from the original points of introduction.

In my home state, Kansas, the deer population has gone from almost none 50 years ago to being the number one cause of auto accidents. A couple of years ago a bull elk was photographed in north central KS and a huntable population exists near Manhattan. No Buffalo (yet). Turkeys are very common.

I've read that mule deer are in a down portion of their normal cycle, as are some of the other deer. Here in Illinois, whitetail are quite a problem for motorists. The car insurance companies want to see the seasons extended. A fellow I talked with this weekend says he's hit 4 in the last 10 years, due to long commutes through farming areas. The farmer who lets me hunt his land says there were almost no deer in the 1930s when he was young, but he now sees them daily and is happy to see them thinned out some. The last time I went hunting out his way I saw more fresh road kill deer than live deer where I was still-hunting . Turkey is also doing quite well here. Sadly, elk, wildcats, bison, and the others were wiped out in the 1800s in Illinois.



America's population is exploding, and American's like to be spread out. That is the long term threat to game here.



I should be moving to Melbourne, Australia this summer. What's hunting like down there?



Karl

The survey I saw about hunting trends in the US showed that the decrease in US hunters was entirely in small game hunting. It seems like bird, rabbit and squirrel hunting is going out of favor, and that is really too bad. My boy shot his first duck this weekend, and it was a wonderful thing. Sure beats gawking at the boob-tube on Sunday morning..... JMO, Dutch.

To my knowledge no animal placed on a regulated hunting season has ever been in jeopardy of exstinction. Many animals now on regulated hunting seasons thrive even in highly populated states like Ohio. Deer, black bear, wild turkey, coyotes, all seem to thrive in the urban enviroments created by mans incroachment into their habitat. Certain species like Elk require vast stretches of land to survive. Only time will reveal what species succcumb to the ravages of mans incroachment into their habitat.

One thing is certain, the animal rights avocates will excelerate the demise of any animals not protected by regulated hunting seasons if their views are adopted into law. Animals must be be kept in balance with their natural habitat, and altering that scenario is sure to lead to devastating results.

I see this long term as to who controls the game management. The 'greenies' as I call them are starting to corrupt some of the tried and true game management policies in various states. If that does not get straightend out the game animals are in for trouble. Can you spell sickness (CDW currently), overpopulation destroying the food sources and such.

Everything needs balance, but the 'greenies' do not see it that way.