I have a small acreage, but enough to hunt.
I enjoy hunting but hate gutting and butchering. So I don’t hunt any more.
I let a couple of friends deer hunt with the condition I get a quarter.
Last year they got two, so almost half a deer for me (traded some for some wild hog baby pork chops; yum!).
I think one of the biggest setbacks is how many hunters can’t find hunting land without big dollars to join some club.
There are so many land owners around me with no trespassing signs. I can’t say I blame them. It is what it is.
I agree with your sentiments 100%.
I really don’t care for the wild meat. You pay for processing (cut and wrap) and then it stays in your freezer until it gets freezer burned.
The long term prospects of hunting as a sport is not good. Young people today are not taking to the woods as my father took me. When they are adults/parents, I seriously doubt they are going to take their children out.
My family has a ranch in SE Colorado and the hunting prospects are not good unless one wants to deal with public hunting. The cost for hunts is terrible! Where I used to hunt deer in Southern Kansas 30 years ago for free (I knew the family and they afforded me the privilege to hunt) is now outfitter controlled.... @ $5,500 per hunt.
That is the problem here in New England. The farms have all been turned into subdivisions. However, there are small tracks of woods everywhere. NH is now the most forested state in the country. All the land that was cleared for farming in the 1800’s grew back with trees. The deer, bear, turkeys, coyotes, fischer cats, bobcats and even occasionally moose are all living in the suburbs where it is almost impossible to hunt with a gun.
We had 9 deer go through our 12 acre property on Friday afternoon. My son took a video with his cell phone as he was pulling in the driveway. A beautiful 10 point buck was bringing up the rear of the herd. However, even on my property it is hard to find a spot that is not within 500 feet of my closest neighbor’s house to fire a gun during hunting season.
We tend to have bigger single family building lots here in NH. So, the wild game have learned that they can live in our backyards. The lack of dairy farms means there are no more large plots of corn for the deer to eat. The deer around here eat acorns, apples and twigs.
Turkeys are everywhere around here. Twenty years ago is was rare to see them. Now, it is rare to have a day when you do not see them. I have seen flocks of over 30 birds. I had two toms and two jakes hanging out on my property all last summer. They were so accustomed to us that I could walk up within 25’ of them before they would move. Every night they would roost in the white pine trees out front by the road.
Shooting them would not exactly be hunting. It would just be culling the flock. The issue is, I am not a big fan of turkey anyway. Now, IF I could hunt for rack of lamb, I am in.
That is my feeling, enjoyed hunting with Dad, but gutting deer (once I shot two in one sitting) that is a bit of work and not needed to feed the family.
Back in the day on Thanksgiving morning us kids, the uncles and cousins would go walk the tracks and bag a few rabbits, quail etc, and give them to the hired help, she was quite happy to take the meat and clean it up for cooking at home.