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$ Ruining Hunting? 2 different issues….

Sligh1

Administrator
Staff member
I’ve heard 2 things for 30 years in variations….
The first I hear way more often:
-“Hunting is becoming a rich man’s sport”
& the second I hear far less frequently but here variations of this:
-“$ is ruining hunting”

Here’s my quick thought of the day….
1) the first, “it’s a rich man’s sport”. I agree there’s some merit to that. Especially if someone seeks “high quality hunting” But it’s always been that way. I promise you, 30 years ago, this feeling was just as strong. ***correction- IN MICHIGAN it’s been bad for 30 years+***

Out of state hunts, leasing, outfitting, high end gear has always been expensive, high cost tags, etc: IMO- it was pretty similar back then in many regards. The feelings & reality haven’t changed. Some merit but here’s where I disagree with SOME of that sentiment:
-resident tags for kids have always been reasonable. -as much as it may suck- public land is all over in other states & free. -used gear or entry level gear isn’t that bad. -it’s cheaper than most kids spend in most sports now days. $ is an issue here but 2nd is far bigger deal IMO….

2) “MONEY RUINING HUNTING!!!! “ That’s the bigger issue of my “thought of the day”….. I do think this is true to a larger extent than #1 and has far more merit. But it’s not from tag costs or “expensive gear”. It really does boil down to the the BS we are seeing here with special interests and wealthy businesses wanting to get wealthier. Ruining what they exploit in the process. The $ + Politicians + Special Interests are the HEAD OF THE SNAKE or the ROOT CAUSE for 90% of this!!! Follow me here…. $ is the driver. No regard for any outcome past that to the resource or hunters. Here’s how it manifests & here’s some results:
-states, politicians only care about REVENUE over the resource. Look at Illinois. Commercialized to the max. Open flood gates to everyone (with high cost tags on top of it). Advertised as a premier hunting state. Every drop of that land got leased up. Leases are $30-100 an acre. Outfitting exploded & every Jim Bob is a professional guide. Residents can’t compete with NR’s. Ground prices got crazy. A crazed drive to shoot that buck “you paid a lot of $ to hunt” & most guys willing to shoot a young stud by the end of the hunt. That’s a downward spiral we see & saw. Same all over really.

-all these companies that want $…. Velocity, inc with their Ravin crossbows (& they may be the air bow company? They own crossman & Benjamin air rifles). They are in NY & only want to sell more weapons. Period. $. They care less what the ramifications are to hunting in the state they lobby in. Zero care or concern. Resource & hunters are hurt badly but they make $!!!! Now THAT is an example of $ ruining hunting if u could ever come up with a gem of an example!!!!! Next example: insurance companies run the math & say “we can save .05% on our car damage claims if we were to clean the deer out”…. They lobby to kill all they can. They want to add a small bit to the bottom line. All about $. No care for hunters or the resource…. They want to see the resource dead to make a bit more $. THAT is how $ ruins hunting.
On & on. “We want more tags for outfitters”. Any special interest lobbying group that’s behind any of this stuff …, it’s all $. & THIS is the REAL ISSUE when folks start talking about $ & hunting. These are also the things that drive folks to lease or buy up land. That’s the focus of how $ is a threat, period. IMO. My early am rambling thoughts of the day before the farm work starts ;)
 
“it’s a rich man’s sport”. I agree there’s some merit to that. Especially if someone seeks “high quality hunting” But it’s always been that way. I promise you, 30 years ago, this feeling was just as strong. Out of state hunts, leasing, outfitting, high end gear has always been expensive, high cost tags, etc: IMO- it was pretty similar back then.

Disagree, it was not that way 30 years ago. Go back another 30 and Iowa barely had deer.

Human population, greed, and technology are ruining hunting. All equals money. Use of internet is the time everything changed quickly for the worse.
 
We used to hunt all over the county back in the 90's. Most all the landowners didn't get anything for letting people hunt. Slowly but surely, most all those farms started to get leased for $2-3 per acre in the mid to late 90's. That's now $20-30+ per acre to get the same piece. I don't think inflation accounts for all of that rise.

There's opportunity out there for people to hunt no doubt with little money; the difference is the best places to hunt aren't nearly as accessible as they used to be IMO. I had some PRIMO farms to hunt where booners have been taken and it didn't cost me a dime to be on them in the 90's. Good luck with that now....

The markets determine the price and there are plenty of people with plenty of money to spend so I can't knock landowners for maximizing their properties.
 
Disagree, it was not that way 30 years ago. Go back another 30 and Iowa barely had deer.

Human population, greed, and technology are ruining hunting. All equals money. Use of internet is the time everything changed quickly for the worse.
Just grabbed my Sept 92 NAW magazine. Beginning on page 1 it's nothing but ads. Pgs 1-6 have Weatherby rifles, Browning rifles and slug guns, scrapedrippers and taxidermy lessons, browning clothing, majestic big buck artwork, elevated boxblinds and feeders, etc etc. Thumbing thru the pages it's ads cover to cover including guided hunts and high end gear. On pg 100 you can buy a hydraulic deer blind that lifts to 20'. Own a world record replica on pg 92. I'm with Skip.
 
Luckily I have been able to hunt Iowa (and many other states) for years now. I have draw 4 tags, and on the verge of my 5th. Every year was more and more money. I had permission. Then on the same farm, the farmer wanted what his neighbor was getting. So I had to pay to hunt the same land. It was worth it though. The last time the fee was getting a little ridiculous. And now I don't even have the choice to pay a ridiculous amount, because they sold the farm at a ridiculous amount. I made a few friends along the way, so I have a little connection. My 5th Iowa tag will be my last. I've reached my limit on what I will spend on a DIY deer hunt. Outfitters are out of the question. $1000 a day at least for a 5 day hunt.... no friggain way am I waiting and paying for 6 years to hunt 5 days. I'm thankful I was able to experience iowa while I could. Now I will live vicariously through you guys. Good luck with your battle keeping Iowa great.
Just grabbed my Sept 92 NAW magazine. Beginning on page 1 it's nothing but ads. Pgs 1-6 have Weatherby rifles, Browning rifles and slug guns, scrapedrippers and taxidermy lessons, browning clothing, majestic big buck artwork, elevated boxblinds and feeders, etc etc. Thumbing thru the pages it's ads cover to cover including guided hunts and high end gear. On pg 100 you can buy a hydraulic deer blind that lifts to 20'. Own a world record replica on pg 92. I'm with Skip.
Exactly, you grabbed a magazine. Another huge change in hunting.....
 
The reason it went to pay was for guys like you, the entitled ones who never had to pay a penny, couldn't care less about farm owners property taxes even. Good on them for making you have a little skin in the game. I have friends who have always had the same mentality, "you don't pay for hunting." Good luck with that.
 
Northcedar, you are wrong about me. Where did I say I never paid a penny? How do you know I don't own a farm and pay plenty of tax?
 
Sorry if I'm wrong. But then I don't totally get your gripe. The point I made was that the most popular deer hunting magazine from 31 years ago showed the "sport" had already changed in a big way. Skip was right, IMO.
 
Both 1 & 2 are accurate statements. $ has changed hunting dramatically over the past 30 years. If this trend continues, in the next 30, hunting will be available for only the elites.
 
Spy is right. Hunting when I started was not expensive or a rich man’s sport. Access could be tough due to the numbers of hunters but it wasn’t expensive. Two things happened, first whitetail magazines became popular showing huge deer killed, how to kill them, foot plots, game cams , and qdm. . More guys became inclined to buy to implement qdm to get on the mag cover, or so they dreamed.

Then exacerbate the issue with video stars from the better states that reached the masses …and here we go. Whitetail went from a fun low pressure hobby for state game management to a competitive, gotta kill a booner selfish trophy hunting endeavor. Many young guys on here only know the current environment. It wasn’t always this way.
 
Guys have wanted a big buck forever. Maybe it can be argued that cameras have ruined deer hunting. Get yourself a copy of Dawn of American Deer Hunting. In it are hundreds if not thousands of black and white pics of proud hunts and large bucks. It's not a new phenomenon.

deer.jpg
 
I started hunting in 1998- 25 years ago (crazy) and bought a 300 dollar gun and some cheap slugs and went with a group. By 2002- our group disbanded due to lack of access and everyone becoming “trophy” hunters… I’d say things changed drastically back then. My neighbor bought ground and built a house, told the other neighbor (where I had permission) he didn’t want anyone hunting out there for safety of his kids- and I got the boot. Now he hunts the whole river bottom by himself.
Maybe non relevant but just my experience. All my pieces that I door knocked in 2003 asked for money to hunt because others were already leasing ground in the area. And we are NOT known for big deer up here
 
I’m guilty of buying property to secure my spot, saw it coming years ago !!! I also like to manage for big bucks-I see no downfall to that . It is better than brown it’s down !!! ….I am also involved in organizations to help buy public land as well . Even though I do not hunt public . I think we’ve been involved in 6 or 7 parcels just in my county in Minnesota (PF, NHF, etc..)

I’m surprised Iowa has not secured more funding for public land . There were farms for sale in Southern Iowa year after year and only a few were bought up to provide public land. Why not a push for more $$$ for public parcels ?
 
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I know a guy in Pike Co Illinois who owns 800 ac. I hunted his place in 2000. He bought the place for 225 ac in the 90s. Aside from normal appreciation what drove the price to 5k an acre today? Not Duncan Dobies book. The video stars killing booners and reaching the masses, the qdm fraud, and then of course demand. That said , adapt or die. I too am guilty of buying 20 years ago. Saw it coming.

I am for qdm. I don’t quite agree with the buck/doe ratio piece. Too variable from area to area.
 
It can still be done for super cheap. Anyone (resident) can go to walmart and get their tag and cheap shotgun/bow etc and be hunting for no more than a few hundred dollars on public ground.

Now if you want private, its to the point of unless you own it, lease it, or just lucky enough to have a good friend or relative that owns it you pretty much are out of luck. Owning it, yes, costs a lot, but its an appreciable asset, so if you think of it that way its not bad, just saving up the money to buy can be tough, but if you hang on to it you really cant go wrong and the land will make you money. I saw the writing on the wall with private access when I was in college, it quickly became a goal to have my own piece so i could hunt my whole life and not be stressed about where. Glad I achieved that goal.

Now there is a whole market/industry related to hunting. Stands, blinds, trail cams, food plots, tsi, flagship bows, top of the line sights, and guns, scopes, broadheads, camo, boots, gloves, range finders, binoculars, knives, atvs, tractors/equipment, electric bikes, video cameras, saddles, sticks, mock scrapes, calls, scents etc etc. you can nearly throw as much money at it as you want or have.....but remember, not more than 200 years ago there were indians in this very state hunting with a literal stick, string, and sharpened rock that literally costs nothing. It can seem like hunting costs a lot, but it really only costs as much as you make it.

I enjoy getting on Iowawhitetail, im subscribed to a couple youtube channels and facebook pages and following a couple friends video's etc. But beyond that I do get burnt on seeing all the recommended hunting related video's in my suggested on youtube or recommended pages on facebook. There are so many and they just pop up. It seems like nearly everyone feels the need to make their own video's/page etc. Its to much, for me. I enjoy following bowhunters of iowa and iowabowhunters on facebook, but lately those pages get flooded or spammed with someone that has made their own facebook page or youtube channel and they share something from their page onto bowhunters of iowa in hopes that it will get people to 'like' their page. Usually a picture or something with some cliché punchline: 'bigbuck outdoors' shared a post, "about that time" with a picture of a shed antler. I find it annoying. What is the motivation? Do they really just want tons of people liking their page or videos etc for the love of sharing things or are they hoping to eventually get sponsors etc? I dont know, but IMO there is way to many video's, podcasts, groups etc. I know this may sound negative or a debbie downer.
 
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I’m surprised Iowa has not secured more funding for public land . There were farms for sale in Southern Iowa year after year and only a few were bought up to provide public land. Why not a push for more $$$ for public parcels ?
Farm Bureau doesn't want competition on buying potentially new farmer owned ground. About two years ago it was argued in DSM that some existing public ground be sold off to young farmers. Keep properties generating property taxes.
 
It will not change and go back to the old days . So a guy has to adapt to make it best for him and his family . If that means buy a farm, lease a farm, get a real secure permission situation, hunt secluded public ??

Whatever is the answer. I do know a few friends that complain about it and then cruise past me in a $70,000 truck .

Bottom line —how important is it to you ?
 
Human population, greed, and technology are ruining hunting. All equals money. Use of internet is the time everything changed quickly for the worse.
It will not change and go back to the old days . So a guy has to adapt to make it best for him and his family . If that means buy a farm, lease a farm, get a real secure permission situation, hunt secluded public ??

Whatever is the answer. I do know a few friends that complain about it and then cruise past me in a $70,000 truck .
I agree, money talks! TV personalities have exploded too the past 20 years. Those without owning their own properties to hunt have to change their tactics and adapt just like the deer.

It was much cheaper back in the day, a box of chocolates would get you permission. Some farmers would let you hunt for free just to control the crop losses.
 
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