Nobody Hates a Turkey Hunter More Than…

[eggshell]

Let me put it this way.  I rarely hear myself saying "the more, the merrier" when I pull up to my favorite hunting spot and see someone else parked there...  

I agree, and that is when I choose to move on to plan "B" or "c". No one is more uneasy about hunting around other people than me. Being shot has that affect on you. If I can't find a spot I feel comfortable in, I go home. Yes, that means sometimes letting the crowd win, but that is what I choose. I hunt to escape people and enjoy the wonders of our woods and fields, if my mind is constantly wondering where someone else is or what they are doing, then my joy is stolen. My drive to hunt wanes severely when I can't hunt in peace and enjoy it. This is why we are loosing hunters. People can go anywhere and compete with the crowds, they don't want to do it hunting. So, here's a question: Is increased media cover ( assuming they are indeed recruiting more people or at least drawing them to certain areas) like youtube actually driving some away from the sport entirely?

I fear that as the human population increases we will see hunting become more and more marginalized and lose participants. The sad part of decreased participation is decreased conservation funding directed  towards hunting. We will see government general funds needed for our agencies, and this means more politicians involved. That means more money directed toward non consumptive programs. We hunters are becoming a threatened species, I fear it's inevitable. As conflict arises among us we become less unified and lose focus on the big picture. Then we wake up some day and say, "how did this happen".  A thousand voices all screaming something different is just an annoying noise, but a thousand voices chanting the same thing becomes a defining roar.   

[Turkeyman]

I hear you eggshell. Let's face it folks, hunters are a single digit percentage of the entire population. Work diligently to recruit more hunters?...that's fine...may bring the number of hunters up one whole percentage point, with luck. We're dealing with three factions...hunters, non-hunters and anti hunters. Anti hunters are in their own world with their agenda. So those of us that are hunters have to present ourselves favorably to the non hunters. Personally, I know no anti hunters...if I did I'd have nothing to do with them...but I know quite a few non hunters. The way I present myself to them, they have absolutely no problem with my being a hunter.