Is Deer Hunting Losing Popularity?
A refrain we often encounter from hunting and conservation groups is that “we are losing hunters.” For those of us who head to local game lands or browse social media, the reality may seem the opposite. Despite the number of influencers posing with wide-racked bucks and a line of pickups at the gate for the local dove field year by year, deer hunting is losing popularity. Before hammering a nail into the coffin of deer hunting and calling it done for, let’s look at the factors contributing to the decline and explore some of the nuances of what these figures mean.
First off, the number of hunters HAS increased from previous decades. However, these numbers don’t keep in trend with population growth. While there are actually more hunters today than 60 years ago, there are also significantly more people in the country. For example, in 1960, approximately 14 million hunting licenses were sold to American hunters. In 2020, just over 15 million licenses were purchased. Good news from the raw data, but with the population change from 180 million to 331 million, the slight hunter increase is lost. The population is growing, but deer hunting is not. So, what happened? How can the percentage of hunters shrink from 7 percent to just over 4 percent of the American population? Like any question about hunting, the answer is never just one thing.
Aging Hunters
The uptick in hunters leading up to the 1980s makes sense; men returning home from World War II found camaraderie and peace in hunting and fishing, and their children, the “Baby Boomers,” were raised similarly with weekends and vacation time spent hunting. However, this enormous generation of sportsmen is aging out of hunting. With the youngest Boomers approaching 60 and the eldest nearly 80, climbing stands and sitting for hours in the cold woods is out of the question. This population aging will likely result in a steady decline in the number of licenses sold going forward.
Work-Life Balance
Younger generations like Gen X and Millennials are, on average, in the prime years of their lives. This span of having children, careers, and obligations cuts down on the available time to hunt with family members as they may have in childhood. Dovetailing with a work-life balance is the decreased exposure to hunting. The reality for many Americans is that they are driving to the nearest green space and even further for an area that permits hunting. When the nearest deer is more than an hour away, it becomes harder for hunters to justify driving to hunt for a few hours when conditions are right.
For adults who didn’t hunt during their childhood, the availability of mentors and time constraints further complicate their ability to join the ranks of hunters. Factoring in equipment, tags, education, and time off can be a sizable expenditure for the average person, limiting entry into hunting. To further make scheduling a challenge, deer seasons have become a patchwork of dates that can make planning time off a nightmare for those with limited time or understanding of the regulations.
Lack of Access
Following on the heels of reduced seasons, there is a noticeable reduction in access to hunting land. The rise of large-scale farming and increased suburban sprawl has incentivized many property owners to take the payout and sell their small acreage farms and camps that were, for generations, huntable property. The transition from small ranches and farms to gated communities and massive farms removes the huntable lands and the transitional areas critical for wildlife to reproduce and thrive. The lack of “patchwork” land use has led to the diminished population of wild turkeys, quail, deer, and even songbirds that require diverse plant life to forage and escape predation.
Public land is an option for deer hunters that we, as Americans, are fortunate to have. With the loss of small private areas, the public lands are now bearing the weight of more hunters than in decades past while also being used by nonhunters with increasing frequency.
The Cost
Just like any other commodity, hunting gear is expensive. Looking at the cheapest new deer hunting equipment options can cost hundreds of dollars before boots and clothing. Adding the price of tags and licenses can be an additional $25 to $250, depending on state and residency status. Private hunts and leases can become astronomical for a hunter unable to find public land. For example, the average cost for a deer lease in Missouri is $8,000 annually. This is an average from a well-known deer hunting state, but with less and less private land available to hunt free or leased, these prices are likely to continue to climb.
Does this mean deer hunting is done? Not at all. Deer hunters across the nation are working hard to keep the tradition alive. States have R3 programs to Recruit, Retain, and Reactivate hunters. Working hand in hand with state agencies are organizations like Safari Club International, Back Country Hunters and Anglers, and the National Deer Association, which host workshops and mentor programs to get hunters of all ages in the field. Private land owners and public land advocates also help to keep deer hunting alive by fighting to maintain access and promote land management that benefits both deer and hunters. Deer hunting is a tradition as old as mankind. With the hard work of conservation-minded sportsmen, it will continue to be so.