Hunting has changed!

[yakimanoob]

I hope I'm one of many millennials re-discovering hunting.  I have wonderful parents, and a dad who taught me woodsmanship, but they happened not to be hunters so I'm learning the craft in my early 30s. 

The tides change slowly, but I do think hunting will come back into fashion.  We just need to keep reminding the public that 1) it's they OWN this land, and 2) hunting is by far the most humane and "natural" or "organic" source of protein.

And we need people like you folks helping out the noobs like me.  I've met a lot of awesome people already who have helped me tremendously.  Keep it up!

[Skyvalhunter]

Yes times and hunting has changed. You have people dumping trash in the woods weather they be hunters or not. I blame some of it on the influx of people from out of state namely CA. There is no respect for the environment. A lot of spray painting or tagging going on also. Who cares to see that kind of krap. Many of the target shooters leave their garbage in the woods weather it be targets, propane bottles, tv, that they shoot up. Definitely not going in a positive direction I believe.

[jennabug]

And we need people like you folks helping out the noobs like me.  I've met a lot of awesome people already who have helped me tremendously.  Keep it up!

  not everyone has good mentors. Someone I know only had an uncle to teach them who had sketchy ethics. Some are starting from scratch. There's lots if new hunters waiting/asking to be guided. I know I've made some dumb mistakes before I knew better, and I'm sure I'll make more as I continue.

[MAVsled]

a big change:

like getting low holed in fishing, now I'm observing shortstanding.
I'm on stand watching a 150 yard meadow. Another hunter comes in, sees me and sits on opposite end.
WTF
good thing a spike bull didn't walk out. Sure he would have shot in my direction...from 100 yards away.
I outstanded him though, he moved on after 2 hours.
many other non ethical observances this season too.

[Fish4Fun]

a big change:

like getting low holed in fishing, now I'm observing shortstanding.
I'm on stand watching a 150 yard meadow. Another hunter comes in, sees me and sits on opposite end.
WTF
good thing a spike bull didn't walk out. Sure he would have shot in my direction...from 100 yards away.
I outstanded him though, he moved on after 2 hours.
many other non ethical observances this season too.

Pretty sure either that guy or his 2 buddies got us on the bench above you on opening morning. Again, if it is who I think it is he did a short-stand on us last year and shot his 5 point bull. Gone are the days of seeing a guy and quietly moving on. You are right too with being down range, I shoot a .300 Weatherby and have never recovered a bullet, always have complete pass hrough   

[Humptulips]

So maybe a different part of the State but a different experience here. I started hunting in the sixties. It seemed like deer hunting was a zoo at the time. I remember sneaking out a landing at first light and seeing a hunter or hunters on every landing. The roads seemed like a freeway.
Elk season there were camps everywhere and it really was a race to see who was first in line. We would park where we intended to go three hours before light so someone wasn't ahead of us and even then sometimes there were times when someone beat us to it and we had to go elsewhere..
Fast forward 50 years and I seldom see another hunter except maybe passing them on the road to and from. I saw one hunter in deer season and we stopped and had a friendly visit before going our separate ways.
The booze and trash is no worse now IMO. There will always be those types. I see way more trash associated with brush pickers then hunters. IMO the locked gates have nothing to do with poor behavior by hunters. It is poor behavior by the public in general and a change in attitude by landowners.
One thing I will agree with, the hunting gets worse every year. Game populations are at the lowest I have ever seen them except cougars. Wonder if there is a correlation there.

[JimmyHoffa]

Seems like the only thing that really changed was like mentioned above, less animals and fish.  Times may have actually been crazier before, but with most camps getting an elk or seeing a dozen deer in a day or leaving the river with a few fish, just not that big of a deal to see silly human antics.     I'm seeing more people on the roads this year for mod elk than in years past, but didn't see anyone down in the holes (only fresh critter signs have been cougar).  The camps I do see around the woods are more and more camping and having big dinners.  In the past seemed like guys jogging down clear cuts in the rain.  Although when cuts were burned it wasn't bad at all to move through them.

[csaaphill]

  I see less people now than we did in the 70's. Then it was tent and RV city every corner it seemed. Not to mention all the cabins were full. Most those old cabins I used to see are empty and fallen down now, and if not they have people in them almost year around and most don't hunt. You had large campfires and people coming over to share their whisky with you. and you them. To be honest and that's what I agree on is the good old days but not in how it was. But those days I think were the best even with the booze people were friendly, and people weren't sticklers for all the rules we have now.
As for the garbage it's been that way forever. Again kind of mess even that because back in the day we'd clean up in beer bottles and cans, take them back and ca$h in! On weekends for something to do me dad and mom used to go beer bottling really can't do that now.
People now days look at you funny for even driving by or stopping to talk to them, and feel put off that you asked about their deer or elk they may have hanging. Closest thing to old times I came across a few years ago, was these guy camped across the road asked me to join them for a few beers and some whisky.
All this elite attitude wasn't part of the equation then either which is what I attribute to the bad attitudes I see now.

[BA Mongor]

I was checking cams yesterday, and ran across a father and son walking. The boy was 12, and I got to hear his story about a big 5-point he almost got. His eyes got big and the smile was even bigger when he was talking about it.

It was great to see. I think the dad was just as proud, and he should be !