Keep Hammering

[2rocky]

to me "casual hunting" is:
taking the kids to shoot squirrels - Ground or tree
walking down the creek or ditchbank to kick up a rabbit, duck or pheasant
woodcutting trips that turn in to an impromptu deer stalk on a mature but not trophy buck
coyote hunt while out shed hunting
jump shooting the farm pond with the neighbors
dove hunt after school

It's not a week long hunting camp once a year. It's an opportunity with low pressure and expectations. The kind of frequent, low investment experiences that built a lot of Boomer and Gen X hunters. Something you can do with grampaw's old .22 or the 50 year old 20 gauge and what ever shells you can rustle up.

Folks who grew up doing this are adaptable and we are losing opportunities to have those experiences because folks are removed from the farm and landowning relatives who would offer those kind of experiences. Not sure there is an easy solution, but to me it starts with making small game hunting more accessible to new hunters.

 

[Gellar]

Not sure there is an easy solution, but to me it starts with making small game hunting more accessible to new hunters.

I agree 100%. I'm not saying "Youth Seasons" are bad, I take advantage of them with my kids too. But I feel like the rise in youth seasons for big game has affected participation in small game seasons. When I was a kid we didn't have youth seasons. If you were old enough to take hunters education you got your own license, you hunted the regular big game season, you were part of the group. Before you were old enough to hunt big game you got to walk beside dad or your uncle carrying a bb gun at first then a .22 then a 20 gauge to chase squirrels or rabbits and pheasants. You were the dog, going underneath the brush to retrieve the downed game because no one else could. Now kids, in some states can start deer hunting as soon as their parents feel they are ready, dads are starting them earning points for big horn sheep tags when they are in the womb, They come home from the hospital in a merino wool KuIu onesie.
In addition to this, we were in the woods every day that we possibly could be. If you were lucky enough to have access to private property you had a fort or forts that you would escape to after school. If you lived in town, like we did, you'd ride your bike to the public hunting area 5 miles outside of town with a fishing pole or a .22 strapped to your back and no one would bat an eye. If a kid tried to do that now they would be on some list for the rest of their life.