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Are hunters changing????

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gansomn

New Member
I have a question for you all. When I started hunting (thats been about 30yrs ago) a hunter would go and ask permission to hunt, if there was already a hunter on the property I would say thanks and move on. That has changed like no other with hunters these days. I have hunted some of the same property for a long time and am going to lease it just to keep people out. Farmers are still happy to let hunters on and I dont blame them, they want the deer gone.

Is it the lack of land, for a growing number of hunters? Are they to lazy to travel a little farther to hunt? The respect for other hunters is becoming a problem.

Did not think leasing was the answer but am quickly changing my oppinion. Pat
 
Sounds a little selfish to me........ I hunt 100 acres of woods in winneshiek co and share it with 3 other guys I had never met before. We exchanged numbers, share stand locations, and communicate when and where we are going to hunt.

That being said I know there are hunters that do not mesh well with others and it does suck to have to deal with them.
 
I share about 50 acres of timber around the river with three other guys. I knew these guys before i even started hunting. They are all older guys and they are glad Im in there hunting because they love to help me out. Especially bowhunting the three of them have been down in our woods for years before I was even born and they love to see young kids like me getting out in the woods. We share all the stands in the timber and usually they tell me where they have been seeing deer and will give me the closest stand because they want someone else to have the success theyve had. Its all about who the people are. Some people jsut dont get along together and those are the ones you dont want to hunt the same property with.
 
Selfish?

That's a strong word.

I understand were you are coming from gansomn.......people used to have respect for each other and they wouldn't dream of stepping on another hunters toes or upsetting a landowner. Now days I hear about it every year that someone ticked off a landowner or did something to wreck or disturb another hunter in order to make their own hunting better. Respect is a word and a thing that is slipping away more and more this day and age and it makes me very upset to see it.

This is for all hunters and landowners out there.......you will never receive respect if you don't first give it to others freely.

rant over!!
 
Certainly "hunters" have changed over the last 30 years. For the most part hunters now pertain to mostly deer hunters or water fowl hunters. Deer hunting has grown to the point of high tech equipment to give a hunter the best edge over the biggest buck in their part of the timber. If there is a possiblity of a bigger buck on another piece of land many "hunters" feel it is their "right" to attempt to harvest that bigger buck as long as it is close to legal and ethical. 30 years ago you could go about any where and get permission to hunt and there were very few deer hunters then, especially bow hunters. There were less than 100,000 deer licenses sold in the whole state, now there are about 400,000 licenses sold every year. The only areas that were leased were some of the marsh or pothole land for duck hunting, and no one in their right mind would ever buy a rough brush and ravine filled farm just for deer hunting for even the going price of $200. per acre at that time. There were NO nonresident deer hunters, but there were some NR pheasant hunters. Now because of the mad quest for a big set of antlers we have hunters paying $200. per acre just to lease the hunting rights on some farms. How can that be you ask, because they don't want anyone else to kill their buck that they have named from trail cam pictures and watched over baited sites for a year or more. Their passion is hunting only big bucks because of the miriade of magazines and TV shows tell them that that is what true deer hunters do, so much so that they are disgusted and their season is ruined if they don't kill at least a bragging size buck. These types miss the beauty of the autum woods and what nature brings to them in place of that mega-buck. There is a real sence of entitlement to much of our society today and that certainly extends itself to deer hunting, and the pity, at least to me, is that many of these hunters are now teaching their kids many of the same misplaced beliefs that they have learned from the media and technology driven big profit business of deer hunting.

I better stop now, but you did ask what we thought.:rolleyes:
In a few more years, with what is happening with our deer herd, it won't matter much any way, but it is still pretty sad to some of us old hunters who are just happy to get a deer. A long time ago, 30 years or more, my Father-in-Law always said "you can't eat them damn horns any way" and I guess that is one of many things that I really took to heart. :way:
Good hunting to every one!!
 
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Bowmaker makes a great point. The truth is everything has changed. The hunter has changed, but then again so has the landowner. I moved to Iowa in 1989 and could have bought as much land in Decatur county (ie Albia) that I wanted for in that $200 range (and it was even advertised over and over in the DM Register). The biggest thing that has changed is the fact that when you knock on the door, the person who lives there probablly does not own the land around them. I met many great old farmers who became my friends and loved to know about my family and my life. Today, with the change in land ownership...there is much more competition for those old style farms (where the old landowner lives there). My advice is...if you have a landowner who still allows you to hunt, just be thankful...in a few years they won't exist!!!
 
11 seasons ago I started hunting a farm that I still hunt. For the 1st six years I was for the most part the only bow/ML hunter there. Shotgun season brought a few hunters but I still had it pretty good I thought. Now I share that farm with 4 other bowhunters. 5 when a NR guy shows up. Two of those guys like to drive thier ATV's within 50 yards of thier stands. I've had stands and blinds placed 40 yards from mine. I pointed that out to one guy a couple years ago, he apoligized but never moved the stand. :thrwrck: They've just about pushed me out completely.

Leasing always comes across my mind and that would work until someone offers more money than I can afford. Purchasing land is the only option I see but then you have to weigh it out to see if it really makes sense to spend 4K or 5K and acre to deer hunt. I've said before that I'm afraid hunting is becoming a rich man's sport. I hate that. I hate that what I treasure and pass on to my kids may fade out with them....:(
 
bowmaker said:
Certainly "hunters" have changed over the last 30 years. For the most part hunters now pertain to mostly deer hunters or water fowl hunters. Deer hunting has grown to the point of high tech equipment to give a hunter the best edge over the biggest buck in their part of the timber. If there is a possiblity of a bigger buck on another piece of land many "hunters" feel it is their "right" to attempt to harvest that bigger buck as long as it is close to legal and ethical. 30 years ago you could go about any where and get permission to hunt and there were very few deer hunters then, especially bow hunters. There were less than 100,000 deer licenses sold in the whole state, now there are about 400,000 licenses sold every year. The only areas that were leased were some of the marsh or pothole land for duck hunting, and no one in their right mind would ever buy a rough brush and ravine filled farm just for deer hunting for even the going price of $200. per acre at that time. There were NO nonresident deer hunters, but there were some NR pheasant hunters. Now because of the mad quest for a big set of antlers we have hunters paying $200. per acre just to lease the hunting rights on some farms. How can that be you ask, because they don't want anyone else to kill their buck that they have named from trail cam pictures and watched over baited sites for a year or more. Their passion is hunting only big bucks because of the miriade of magazines and TV shows tell them that that is what true deer hunters do, so much so that they are disgusted and their season is ruined if they don't kill at least a bragging size buck. These types miss the beauty of the autum woods and what nature brings to them in place of that mega-buck. There is a real sence of entitlement to much of our society today and that certainly extends itself to deer hunting, and the pity, at least to me, is that many of these hunters are now teaching their kids many of the same misplaced beliefs that they have learned from the media and technology driven big profit business of deer hunting.

I better stop now, but you did ask what we thought.:rolleyes:
In a few more years, with what is happening with our deer herd, it won't matter much any way, but it is still pretty sad to some of us old hunters who are just happy to get a deer. A long time ago, 30 years or more, my Father-in-Law always said "you can't eat them damn horns any way" and I guess that is one of many things that I really took to heart. :way:
Good hunting to every one!!
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Great post Bowmaker!!!:way::way::way:
 
Selfish?? Not even know how to respond to that. The commercial side of hunting has blown way out of control and as some of you have stated there is no turning back. I to this day would not hunt ground that another hunter is already in, if some of you cannot understand then you must be the ones im asking about. Respect is probably a better word for what im talking about. Pat
 
moosehunter said:
11 seasons ago I started hunting a farm that I still hunt. For the 1st six years I was for the most part the only bow/ML hunter there. Shotgun season brought a few hunters but I still had it pretty good I thought. Now I share that farm with 4 other bowhunters. 5 when a NR guy shows up. Two of those guys like to drive thier ATV's within 50 yards of thier stands. I've had stands and blinds placed 40 yards from mine. I pointed that out to one guy a couple years ago, he apoligized but never moved the stand. :thrwrck: They've just about pushed me out completely.

Leasing always comes across my mind and that would work until someone offers more money than I can afford. Purchasing land is the only option I see but then you have to weigh it out to see if it really makes sense to spend 4K or 5K and acre to deer hunt. I've said before that I'm afraid hunting is becoming a rich man's sport. I hate that. I hate that what I treasure and pass on to my kids may fade out with them....:(
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Moose I am there with you.

The commercialization and (I hate to say it) sites like this showing all the big bucks is what is driving up the prices and bringing everyone here.

It is going to be a rich man's sport no two ways about it. The only way to get a quiet, solitude, quality hunt is to buy or lease. Even then with the trespassing laws you will have the problems of people being there when you aren't.
 
Funny this has been brought up. Yesterday a friend of mine shot a great double droptine buck and brought it into the shop. I got a picture on the board and this morning every person that seen that picture asked me where it came from. It's sickening really. The buck was shot in the damn woods PERIOD. Who cares he's dead now anyway.

I always tell guys to buy a camera and put it in their woods. They'd be shocked at the caliber of deer that are in there. HARD WORK and PERSISTENCE kills big bucks more than the piece of ground your hunting.

I'm the type of person where if I know somebody's hunting an area I will leave it alone. I hate bumping into other hunters and when I hunt I want the area to be fresh each time I sit.

For the most part it comes down to RESPECT. And yes there's a lot of guys out there that must have never heard of the word.
 
gansomn said:
Selfish?? Not even know how to respond to that. The commercial side of hunting has blown way out of control and as some of you have stated there is no turning back. I to this day would not hunt ground that another hunter is already in, if some of you cannot understand then you must be the ones im asking about. Respect is probably a better word for what im talking about. Pat
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Respect huh? You can't respect another hunter and share the property at the same time? How many acres does it take before you think two hunters could "respectfully" hunt together? Man it is so damn difficult to find ANY ground to hunt, and if more and more is leased and the highest bid wins out, well I can tell you I am screwed.

As I and others have mentioned, some people just cannot get along and that does suck. I have been there. But most folks I have hunted around have been very good. I was also taught to share at a very young age though...........
 
I look at it both ways guys and here's why. I'm 30 years old and absolutely live for hunting. I love to know that people aren't trouncing all over the properties that I hunt, but at the same time..... My buddies and I have introduced men. woman, wives, girlfriends, and kids to this sport, and I am damn proud of the fact the I can say more people hunt and like it because of my actions. And I can also say that having these people hunt the same land as me has not effected my ability or opportunities to get on mature whitetails whatsoever. I agree there is a "code of ethics" that should be observed by fellow hunters, but at the same time don't you feel that it is OUR duty to teach that and be mentors to fellow hunters? It is reality that most hunters are 1 week a year participants and don't necessarily care about infringing on others. Not all people are going to be conservationists and stewards for this sport like some of us and I understand that. Yet, I also understand that in the future we will need all of the 'voices' we can get to keep doing what we love. The reality of it is that technology has opened the eyes of alot of people to this sport that we love and along with that has spawned a whole new genre of people that weren't or haven't been around it all their lives like some us. You can frown on that or try to make the best of the situation and teach them how to be a responsible hunter and outdoorsman. Yeah it sucks when someone all of the sudden shows up on the same property as you, but such is reality and I don't know about you but I'm not going to let that ruin what I love. The hunting and opportunities to kill "any" deer are still pretty good in Iowa and there are still plenty of big bucks to be found. I guess what I'm getting at is that I understand where some of you are coming from, but I also see the big picture and realize that we need to lead by example. There have always been A holes in any recreation and it's not like they have all of the sudden popped up overnight. The difference is now is that there are more people and less and less habitat for the animals to live. Feel blessed that it is still legal to hunt and take advantage of it. If you have to adjust your tactics because of another guy than so be it., Just another challenge that makes the reward worth the effort.
 
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Look at the amount of people on this site, this tells us alone how much deer hunting has changed.
I remember my dad hunting in the late 70's early 80's, I can never remember him getting a doe tag.

He would wait in anticipation for his tag and was upset because it was a buck only tag. He would come home from a long weekend away and had never even seen a buck.

I don't think he ever got a deer until he was in his late forties, I remember he could not believe I got an either sex tag, this would have been around 1986.
I got a doe that day and could not be happier. I remember dragging around this big heavy muzzleloader, I do not remember him using BUCK BOMBS or DOE PEE.

My son shot his first deer this year and is already talking about wanting to shoot a buck, I think it is the way things are today.

I have to agree with "bowmaker" for me there is something about seeing the woods wake up. There is something about getting away from everything and just sitting there with my thoughts.

Those years of buck only tags have grown our deer herd, if things keep going it all can go away.
 
I've been thinking about this thread since a read it this morning, mostly cause I'm stuck at work but also because I have been on both sides of the issue. I don't have an answer but I do have some thoughts.
Access to land is often sighted as the #1 reason people give up hunting. I don't think that I would be able to just walk away from a place I was given permission to hunt because someone else also had permission. So far in my experience permission to hunt for nothing in return is pretty rare. Do I think it's disrespectful to hunt there because some other guy has permission? Not if he did not do anything more then ask just like I did. I would respect his stand locations but expect the same in return.
Every landowner that I have ever approached about hunting has straight up told me if someone else was hunting their land and gave it as a reason to deny me. I'm cool with that. If I had my preference I would like to have sole access to a piece of land no one else hunted too.
Now come on.... If you have been hunting all these places for nothing and are getting
fed up with others also being given permission then I will point out 2 things. #1. It's selfish and that is normal. #2. The persons respect for you that needs to be questioned is the land owner.
So lease up that land, lock it all up for yourself. Then there will be some more hunters looking for a place to hunt..........and then one day you will get outbid then you may be the "disrespectful" one.
I fear hunting in this country will go the way it did in Europe and one day soon be only accessible to a select few. We are cutting our own throats.
 
I think most hunters would have to hang it up if they were to walk away from every property that someone else is hunting. I doubt there is a single property in my county that one could get permission to hunt, but isn't currently being hunted. 30 years ago, I bet you could find it, but not today.
 
Just suppose that you are hunting a nice creek bottom that you have gotten permission on and are seeing deer. Then after most of the leaves fall you can see another stand 150 yards away and even see a hunter in that stand occasionally. So you are upset but continue to hunt the same land, because you have seen a really nice buck going up and down the bottom. Actually knowing that that buck was around was the main reason that you put a stand there in the first place. One morning you hear a lot of noise and that very same buck comes blasting up the creek and stops in some brush 50 yards from your stand. As you watch and wait it appears that he beds down. You decide to just wait it out but then a half hour later you see that other hunter from the stand working up the creek along the same trail that the buck had been on. You instantly are red hot mad because this jerk is about to mess your whole season. The other guy sees you and waves and points at the trail, but you don't understand. Then he walks right up to the buck who is dead as a hammer and the other hunter starts to celebrate. What do you do, this guy has just shot your deer? Oh there is one little thing, there is a fence line up that creek that is pretty hard to see and the other hunter that just shot your deer owns the farm on the other side and he just shot HIS deer. Who then becomes the disrespectful jerk? Just trying to point out that this can all really be just a point of perception as to who is disrespectful. If I know that other hunters are around I try very hard to make contact with them and comunicate and cooridanate things with them so that everyone can enjoy the hunting that we all want. When Vince Lombardi said winning is the only thing that counts, he certainly did not do many of us much good in much of our lives. Just a little something to mull over for a while.
 
Well, I dont mind another hunters in our hunting areas as long as you can trust them and know they wont ruin your hunt and have the same ethics and beliefs. Knowing Quality Deer Management is also a plus. Last year we walk in a woods to trim stands and there is a stand 10 yds away. That is just ridicolous if you ask me. And the guy didnt think he was in the wrong. Needless to say he no longer has permission or respect from anyone in the area. I like sharing hunting areas with family friends and neighbors we sometimes sit 3 people in same area just to cover differnt funnels. I see alot of people on ajoining properties walking across middle of fields at different times of night way before its dark I just figure they will pry scare more deer my way. Some people take there trucks and atvs right up to stands this scares deer from all over. There are alot of ups and downs to sharing properties Id say if you dont know them and are on 50 acres or less it is disrespect. If the landowner is a friend or family member they should respect you and have the courage to turn others away.

We used to let people pheasant hunt out land 5 to 10 years ago until we figured out the were disrespecting our pheasant population and also seemed to scare all of the deer away now there are no pheasants so we dont have to worry about it.

It would be nice if everyone could go back to getting along respecting others hunting areas and not thinking every deer that wanders past there trail camera is "THEIRS" bucks move and are free game all the farmers feed them so they have just as big of right to shoot them during shotgun season or whenever they have time to hunt. Way too many people trying to become famous and turning hunting into a joke. I believe in management but this dog eat dog stuff is too much!
 
I get the point of the OP totally. I said this In a different thread but the last 3 years Ive seen a totally different set of hunters that darn near turned me off from the sport.
 
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