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Are there any non-rural American hunters here?

But I digress.

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I grew up in the suburbs and currently live in a medium-sized city. Granted, I came to hunting as an adult. Growing up, only an uncle and cousin hunted. My uncle quit for a while when my cousin had fallen into some really destructive behaviors. Thank the Lord, my cousin was able to pull himself out of that pattern of behaviors. Right around then I asked my uncle if he would take me out. He took me out the first time, opening day of deer gun season, and I was hooked.

As to the question of "worst behavior" and urban/rural, all of the bad actors I've seen in the woods have been rural folk who thought they owned the place (this is public land I'm talking about) and the animals and didn't have to answer shit no one. That isn't to say all the rural folks were criminal hicks, just that the bad actors all were of the rural persuasion. The few groups of "urban folk" who I regularly interacted with were friendly, followed the rules, and were happy to make full use of the animals they harvested.
 
I grew up in the suburbs and currently live in a medium-sized city. Granted, I came to hunting as an adult. Growing up, only an uncle and cousin hunted. My uncle quit for a while when my cousin had fallen into some really destructive behaviors. Thank the Lord, my cousin was able to pull himself out of that pattern of behaviors. Right around then I asked my uncle if he would take me out. He took me out the first time, opening day of deer gun season, and I was hooked.

As to the question of "worst behavior" and urban/rural, all of the bad actors I've seen in the woods have been rural folk who thought they owned the place (this is public land I'm talking about) and the animals and didn't have to answer shit no one. That isn't to say all the rural folks were criminal hicks, just that the bad actors all were of the rural persuasion. The few groups of "urban folk" who I regularly interacted with were friendly, followed the rules, and were happy to make full use of the animals they harvested.
My observations mirror yours. Over the years, with two exceptions, all the slob hunters I have encountered were locals. Easy to make that determination in Montana as most license plate numbers are prefixed with county identification (e.g. 1 = Silver Bow County). Flathead County plates generally get a cold reception on the East Side ... until the locals actually meet my brother. He's one of those guys everyone just naturally likes. Meanwhile, I try to hide under the seat.
 
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If you consider that poaching deer is widely accepted in more than a few rural areas, that is not city slickers sneaking around at night with a rifle and a spotlight.

Once my father retired from the Air Force, we lived in Fargo, the largest city, town, whatever you want to call it, in ND. My father had given up hunting before I started hunting. My introduction to hunting was thru my uncle and his sons. I knew from my earliest memories that I wanted to hunt.
 
I'm a city boy all my life. Granted My city is like a small suburb to you. 50,000 people the state just turned 1,000,000 people.
Forth largest state. But My family homestead here 5 generations ago I guess that makes my grandkids 7th generation MT. they all hunt also.
 
The Bronx is less than five minutes from where I grew up. Decent amount of non-rural hunters in NY as a decent number of families have properties in the rural areas or know friends who do. It's not a large number, but more than you think. We are able to get a 30 plus man deer drive every year with guys all within 45 minutes of NYC in NY.
Outside of the Big Apple and Buffalo, I gather New York state is largely woodsy.
 
I'm a boomer. I grew up around airplanes and Navy ships. My father was in the Navy and we lived all around the Pacific Ocean. Someone mentioned they were born in 1964. That was the year I graduated High School. ONly lived in a rural area for a short time during the summers (2) when I spent time on my Uncles ranch. I never hunted California because it was considered "cruel" in the home I grew up in, but I fished a LOT! When you come right down to it, hunting big fish like Marlin and Broadbill if kind of like hunting Elk. Only with less chance for success. So to answer the specific question, yes many hunters come from or grew up in non rural communities.
 
Trifec, now I'm labeled. But I can relate...
Born in 1955 in one of the 1st subdivisions in the San Gabriel Valley, then we moved to the big city, Pasadena with a population of 180k. Still road my bike through orange and avocado orchards and took my 1st buck 5 miles from my parents house in the mountains.
After the war , the Nam, I moved to Oceano with a population of 800 in a county of 50k. It got too crowded when the county hit 130k 45 years later.

14 years ago I moved here to the least populated and largest county in NM. Could only see one neighbors barn roof. Now I see several roofs 5 miles away.
"Get out of my valley!" Rio says to them. Me, I still have the stink eye and they leave me alone.
Full Boomer and proud of it!
 
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