Declining Hunter Numbers?

[Mallard_maniac]

Numbers seem way down, not just this year but overall trend... When I look at my graduating class (small'ish school, rural MN) nearly everyone in our class hunted at some point, most would have hunted waterfowl at some point. Fast forward to 2018 and none of my kid's classmates or their parents are waterfowlers.... I remember the 4-lane both to and from places like Manitoba, Saskatch and ND being filled with boats and hunting trailers. You seem em now, but not like I remember from 80's and 90's.... I remember spending a fair bit of time in TinTown in the mid 90's. Everyone we talked to there was mid-50's and up. Everyone had kids and none of them came to hunt. Back then in my mind this was the world wide capital of waterfowling @ Delta Marsh.

I firmly believe we did this to ourselves. I fear for what's coming in waterfowl hunting, not because of the lack of ducks or anything like that. I'm scared that some pretty historic places are going to become just dots on a map and largely forgotten.

[Bullet21XD]

This is the first year I have noticed hunter numbers down. Usually I hunt a secluded spot on opener away from other hunters but after scouting decided to hunt a well known public area and there wasn’t much pressure compared to previous years. This Saturday I hunted a large, fairly well known marsh and there was only a couple other groups out. Usually there are a dozen or two. It was holding about 20k ducks too. Really hoping my late season spots are the same so I don’t have to wake up at 3-4 every morning.

I think i'm going the wrong direction! Luckily, the infamous Lake X is still mostly undiscovered...but damn...head out west or hunt the river, and it's still a clusterf**k.

[Hansen]

I agree with mallard_maniac. I grew up in Bloomington, may of my classmates hunting. We went after class down to rice lake or other close by spots. I'm sure spots are still crazy but other large public marshes are not that buys these days. Most hunters are old and getting older.

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Who knows, might come back if the bros keep pumping their hunting shows on youtube.

Honestly though, everyone just gets so lazy. I have several buddies that haven't even bought a license yet, 10 years ago it was every weekend party then go out hunting hung over. Now its go to bed at 9 swing into Caribou and be at hockey practice at 9 AM. I understand supporting your kids...but I think its an overused excuse for my friends...like the wifey cant take them to practice 1-2 times a season? Or go on an afternoon hunt?

Most the time I even have to kick the GF's ass out of bed cause "oh I work at 5 every morning it'd be nice to sleep in". Lazy

[Mallard_maniac]

There's certainly a lazy element to it but America has bred a society of greed as well. Not to get all too "old timer" on everyone but I can remember throwing 2 doz mallard dekes into the back of a cutlass and hunting most days after school. There was no sitka or 40hp surface drives. Just rubber waders and your feet. With many of the new waterfowl hunters I come across I'd have to take out a mortgage to finance just their wardrobe. Then the enormous spreads for every conceivable scenario field, water, late season, early, robos, etc... Then $1K worth of calls hangiing around the neck and...... you get the point. So as a new waterfowler looking to "get into it" we've lost most of the people before they even start. Instant gratification won't allow people to just build their way into it and the cost of a full body or water spread and everything that goes with it is astronomical. Ive often said if I were to start today, I don't know that I could justify the costs, at least to get where I'm at right now with equipment alone. Hunters by nature have become divas and for many the sole reason to hunt is to post a picture on facebook to show the world how masculine they are. If there's not an opportunity for a pile pic, it's not worth getting outta bed for. That and I truly don't believe most people enjoy eating waterfowl. Western big game is having the complete opposite problem we are in waterfowling right now. There's advocacy groups like BHA and TRCP beating the public land drum paired with a ginormous localvore movement and more people are hunting deer elk and goats then we've seen in a long time, if ever. Major hunting celebrities like Joe Rogan, Rinella and Cam Hanes are gettign a tremendous amount of publicity to the sport of hunting. Just look at point creep in states and it's obvious. Colorado is seriously considering dropping some of their OTC opportunity because there's SOOO many people doing it. But elk or deer or pronghorn can supplement other red meat in a diet.... waterfowl typically doesn't. So if the only reason to waterfowl hunt is because you enjoy it and it's ridiculously priced to start out most just say mehhh.... I'll watch football.

I said back in the early 2000's companies like avery/GHG will be shooting themselves in the foot. It's happening now. It drove a spike between the upper class waterfowlers and everyone else. The one's that could afford it bought giant spreads, leased areas, bought big boats and the middle class waterfowlers have been dieing off since. Obvioulsy there's other companies, but they're an easy giant target.

mic dropped.....

[Quack]

Numbers seem way down, not just this year but overall trend... When I look at my graduating class (small'ish school, rural MN) nearly everyone in our class hunted at some point, most would have hunted waterfowl at some point. Fast forward to 2018 and none of my kid's classmates or their parents are waterfowlers.... I remember the 4-lane both to and from places like Manitoba, Saskatch and ND being filled with boats and hunting trailers. You seem em now, but not like I remember from 80's and 90's.... I remember spending a fair bit of time in TinTown in the mid 90's. Everyone we talked to there was mid-50's and up. Everyone had kids and none of them came to hunt. Back then in my mind this was the world wide capital of waterfowling @ Delta Marsh.

I firmly believe we did this to ourselves. I fear for what's coming in waterfowl hunting, not because of the lack of ducks or anything like that. I'm scared that some pretty historic places are going to become just dots on a map and largely forgotten.

2/3 of the states waterfowlers live in the metro. State population is growing fast, Waterfowler numbers are shrinking fast. Odds are against knowing a lot of waterfowlers.

You’re right, people aren’t driving to the provinces anymore. They’re flying. I made a random old guy friend this spring. He drives to Sask at the end of September and drives home when it gets cold. In the meantime his buddies fly up for a few days at a time to keep him company.

Far as Minnesota... decreasing opportunities and declining habitat forces the ducks and remaining hunters into smaller spaces.




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[Hansen]

I don't know. I love the simplicity of a bag of decoys, maybe a spinner and walking into a duck marsh. That's about all I do when I go to North Dakota, keep it simple. I see these dudes trailer 2 boats, a pick-up full of crap. Of course I do all this with a little sitka but it helps keep you out there for as long as it takes.

[Mallard_maniac]

Of course I do all this with a little sitka but it helps keep you out there for as long as it takes.

Yea I'm with you on the simplicity stuff. My point wasn't to disparage sitka or any other company for that matter. Just to point out that we've outpriced ourselves. Waterfowlers, perhaps more than any other hunting discipline, are consumed by crap.... The amount of "stuff" we "need" is overwhelming. I'd assume most on here can see through enough of the garbage and make educated decisions on what they need vs what they don't but as a newcomer thinking about taking up the sport I can't imagine what goes through their heads. No other hunting I'm familiar with deals with this much crap.

I can't cast stones. I'm the same way with snow geese in spring. The last decade I've just refused to participate because I won't buy a 1500snow spread, vortex's and ecallers. I have the mentality that if I ever really want to spring snow goose hunt I'll go through an outfitter. It's just not worth it for me to do otherwise. It's the exact same mentality that's killing general waterfowling.

[Hansen]

I hear you man. You can still be a great waterfowl hunter with 2 dozen mallards decoys, a pair of waders etc. Just need to learn how to scout.

[Mallard_maniac]

I've been very fortunate & blessed in life to have been given the opportunity to hunt all over the country and a couple Canadian provinces unguided. Ive been on some incredible hunts and have seen some fantastic things in the waterfowl world. Some of the best hunting I've had my entire life, if not the best has been the last 8-10 years with a cheap boat and minimal decoys 10mins from home. About 1/2 the time it's been on public as well. That's not to brag, just to say the opportunity is there... I genuinely believe we're living in the golden age for waterfowling.

I hear you man. You can still be a great waterfowl hunter with 2 dozen mallards decoys, a pair of waders etc. Just need to learn how to scout.

we know this, but most newcomers that rely on social media or youtube to gain their knowledge don't.