Decline in small game hunting

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:45 pm

I was reading the article in American Hunter about the decline in small game hunting, about 30% I think it was.

They cited a number of factors, such as limited access, decline in rural population, etc.

Myself, I want to hunt small game, but rarely get around to it. In LA county we have lots of restrictions, we can't hunt tree squirrels, can't take rabbits with rifles, etc. Most non-game birds are off-limits in CA. And now we can't even shoot ground squirrels with .22lr because of the condor issue. Game is scarce near me, and I have to drive a while to get to better areas. It takes just as much time and gas as going out for big game, so I rarely go.

Do you hunt small game? If so, what?

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:07 pm

I see a great spike in my near future.
All the widow ladies like game birds. A few like turkeys.
Couple more like cottontails.
The dogs like jackrabbits ( I won't give them to Snazzy )

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:09 pm

I do my hunting with a Kenworth T600. After six years of driving my tally is one coyote in Kansas, several squirrels, a redtail hawk in South Carolina, a dozen other flying critter birds, couple dozen wabbits and I think one shrew. I avoid rolling through DC as the variety of coyotes up there stink to high heaven.

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:37 pm

I love quail hunting! I love stompin' them up just as much as hunting over a good pointer!

bogie

deerwhacker444 · Post by **deerwhacker444** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:14 pm

DBW wrote:and I think one shrew.

Now I'm not gonna call you a liar, but if you can see a shrew run across the road......well then you've got better eyes than I.!

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:23 pm

I live in a space that should be flush with small game but we have Coyotes... and a bobcat or two.

My dog does a pretty good job chasing both... I really have to get up early to see the predatores that are eating up everthing worthwhile.

RKrodle · Post by **RKrodle** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:24 pm

mescalero1 wrote:I see a great spike in my near future.
All the widow ladies like game birds. A few like turkeys.
Couple more like cottontails.
The dogs like jackrabbits ( I won't give them to Snazzy )

Hey Mescalero 1, do the widow ladies cook'em up for you? You better be careful and not get with one likes what mixed up.

O.S.O.K. · Post by **O.S.O.K.** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:27 pm

Its the lack of access. Used to be you could ask a farmer to hunt their land and they'd likely say yes. No more. Too many idiots that sue for stepping in a hole or some other such self-inflicted thing and the landowners know that they put themselves at risk letting anyone on their property.

So, you can thank the darned laywers for one...

The other thing is that more and more land is going to 'corporations' and away from family ownership.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:38 pm

Thanks for the reminder, just ordered topo's for an area that looked promising last fall.
Two trips with the neice and nothing to show for it. I bought her an outfit, gear, boots,
spent probably $800 on her last year. Still haven't found a good area yet, everywhere I
used to hunt 20 years ago is now private property. I plan to do more scouting (and maybe
some varmit shooting (need to swap the 22HP barrel onto the Savage 99, 140 rounds and
new mould waiting on empty brass)) this spring as July first is the rabbit opener.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:41 pm

deerwhacker444 wrote:
DBW wrote:and I think one shrew.
Now I'm not gonna call you a liar, but if you can see a shrew run across the road......well then you've got better eyes than I.!

It was a shrew. Although I'm 44 my eyesight is slightly better than 20/20.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:55 pm

I love small game hunting, rabbits, squirrels, and other upland game. I spend more days afield after small game then I do with large game. Afield with a bow or .22lr after small game and it just does not get any better.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:57 pm

Ricky,
It's best not to hang around too long, them widow women get to talking and they don't shut up.

morgan in nm · Post by **morgan in nm** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:08 pm

Don't get many squirrels here in the high desert but I love rabbit hunting. No season on them just depends on what type of lice, ticks, or fleas you don't mind with your meat. I really like quail hunting. Going to try dove this fall as I have now got some land-owner permission. I don't hunt duck, geese, or cranes because I can't stand steel shot.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:18 pm

I keep forgetting how lucky I am, plenty of land to hunt.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:37 pm

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should get a "bean shooter"/wristrocket and use it as much as humanly possible.

If you can't get as good as that old guy in the video, then get 1/2 as good... that's plenty good to kill small game and other critters as necessary...

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:42 pm

I would rather squirrel hunt than any other hunting. It is pure pleasure in the early fall when the weather is nice. No large dead animal to drag/dress. I like to ease along and spot a squirrel then put the sneak on him. It is fun and challenging.
The reasons I see that more folks aren't out there are many. Chief among them are access to a good place, someone to take kids, and hunting licenses. In my state of TN there is public land all over and not much pressure as far as small game. Anyone can probably hit some squirrel woods within 30 minutes. It is not like that everywhere though.
It has become hard to take kids hunting because they have to have a license and in order to get it you must go through hunter safety. It is three nights of torture. A lot of kids don't get started because no one will take them to hunter safety. If they could just buy a license it would be better.
A lot of kids don't have anyone to take them. I imagine there are a lot of boys wishing for someone to take them squirrel hunting who can't find anyone. I guess there are a lot of boys who want to play video games instead too.
Squirrel hunting is where you master basic hunting skills like land navigation, being invisible, shooting moving targets, all that stuff. When I started getting back into hunting after college I called the game warden and asked about some of the public land around here and what to expect.
He pretty much said expect to see about two other guys during squirrel season. I will take a kid with no license on private land, but you can't take them to public land without one. It should be easier.

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:44 pm

Another reason small game hunting is in decline, is because of MR. WHITETAIL BUCK.

In my area, a few will go dove hunting, if they have a decent spot, then pretty soon, bow hunting is open for deer, and that is all they hunt from then on. It's a lot different then when I was a kid. For one thing, there were not as many deer, and noone bow hunted, there wasn't even any muzzleloading, because there wasn't a special season for the front stuffers, and there wasn't any early youth hunts either. But now when you add it all up, you can deer hunt just about all of the time, everyone bow hunts, everyone has a frontstuffer, and the rifle season is almost an anti-climax. That doesn't leave much time for small game.

And the wild quail are pretty much gone, due to many factors, not the least of which are the coyotes, unchecked bobcats, wild housecats, and hawks, and some say different farming methods, and disease.

There are a lot of squirrels at times, and I would probaby hunt them more, if I had someone left who likes to cook and eat them. My wife won't cook them or eat them, anymore.

I do still love to pheasant hunt, so I will always plan at least one out of state hunt for them every year.

And last but not least, anyone that has any time left, after all of this deer hunting, goes turkey hunting, and with that added in, not mention all of the sports that the kids get involved in, there definately isn't any time left for small game hunting.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:19 pm

Old Ironsights wrote:Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should get a "bean shooter"/wristrocket and use it as much as humanly possible.

If you can't get as good as that old guy in the video, then get 1/2 as good... that's plenty good to kill small game and other critters as necessary...

I could practice all day every day and likely never even get close to being as good as that ol' boy. His shooting was impressive... especially if they didn't edit the footage too much cutting out the misses.

I've always wondered how long it would take during a crisis situation for the wildlife to be depleted by a larger number of hunters than there were in generations past. How many people, especially in the big cities, would starve to death.

iceman · Post by **iceman** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:43 pm

I like to roam around looking for ruffed grouse (we call them partridge). Nice walk, check out what the deer (if any) are up to, and if I'm luck some good eats. Population is declining lately but they are known to have cycles. I also do a little goose hunting if they happen to land in corn fields around my house. Pretty to hard to sneak up on them, but I got 3 last year using my old Mossberg 12ga bolt with a poly choke and 2 3/4" #1 steel loads.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:52 pm

What video ?

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:06 pm

I'll have to back up DBW on the shrew. Y'all would be amazed at how much you can see up high like we are in the big trucks, I forget myself sometimes. This afternoon the wife and I were coming home from a birthday party and I tried to show her just where I saw some little shoats. In the little Honda she drives I couldn't even see the shoulder of the road.

BAGTIC · Post by **BAGTIC** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:23 pm

DBW wrote:I do my hunting with a Kenworth T600. After six years of driving my tally is one coyote in Kansas, several squirrels, a redtail hawk in South Carolina, a dozen other flying critter birds, couple dozen wabbits and I think one shrew. I avoid rolling through DC as the variety of coyotes up there stink to high heaven.

Of course you realize killing red-tailed hawks is a serious federal crime.

Bigahh · Post by **Bigahh** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:25 pm

I am a bird hunter, mostly Grouse, and Ducks. I lost my Dog recently, and am taking a year off from Bird Hunting. I will concentrate on Deer this next fall, and plan on another Bird dog this time next year.

BAGTIC · Post by **BAGTIC** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:31 pm

It is not just the big corporate farms. Former working farms are being broken up into small holdings. There is a minimum size below which hunting becomes impractical because of congestion. We are breeding ourselves out of our heritage.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:55 am

Bagtic,
Sorry to hear about your friend.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:23 am

mescalero1 wrote:What video ?

Video someone posted a link to a while back. Some o'l boy from the Carolinas who can hit a tossed quarter with his slingshot...

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:46 am

BAGTIC wrote:
DBW wrote:I do my hunting with a Kenworth T600. After six years of driving my tally is one coyote in Kansas, several squirrels, a redtail hawk in South Carolina, a dozen other flying critter birds, couple dozen wabbits and I think one shrew. I avoid rolling through DC as the variety of coyotes up there stink to high heaven.
Of course you realize killing red-tailed hawks is a serious federal crime.

Of course. But when the bird has it's eyes focused on it's prey and going in for the kill... and forgets about my big ol' red Kenworth bearing down on him as he swoops across the highway... end of bird.

Company policy regarding wildlife... do not swerve, hold your lane. Makes sense in that in a split second decision you might not see the minivan with mom and the soccer team hiding out in the blind spot. Better the animal than the people.

Rusty wrote:I'll have to back up DBW on the shrew. Y'all would be amazed at how much you can see up high like we are in the big trucks, I forget myself sometimes. This afternoon the wife and I were coming home from a birthday party and I tried to show her just where I saw some little shoats. In the little Honda she drives I couldn't even see the shoulder of the road.

I see a lot of pretty scenery on a warm, sunny day when convertibles ply the highways and byways. Blondes, brunettes, a few redheads...

kirkwood · Post by **kirkwood** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:14 am

Buy some cheap land that isn't good for development or farming or anything but hunting. Get several hunting buddies to go in with you if you need to. Spend a year or to improve it to attract wildlife by adding food sources, tree boxes, etc. Live trap wild critters elsewhere and bring them in.

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:20 am

I'm sure I would still enjoy small game like I did as a youngster, but I just don't have the time for it anymore. Well I guess that's not entirely true, I just need to make time for it.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:31 am

Dave wrote:It has become hard to take kids hunting because they have to have a license and in order to get it you must go through hunter safety. It is three nights of torture. A lot of kids don't get started because no one will take them to hunter safety. If they could just buy a license it would be better.

Yep - my kids can't hunt anywhere but our own property, because they don't have hunting licenses, so they miss out on hunting with other kids. It just isn't worth the time and fees, to be honest, and I'll bet you my kids are safer with guns than most of the people teaching the classes.

I wonder if any charitable "men's" group like the Lions, Moose, or whatever would ever consider 'adopting' kids who want to hunt and helping them at least go to the classes...?

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:29 am

AJMD429 wrote:
Dave wrote:It has become hard to take kids hunting because they have to have a license and in order to get it you must go through hunter safety. It is three nights of torture. A lot of kids don't get started because no one will take them to hunter safety. If they could just buy a license it would be better.
Yep - my kids can't hunt anywhere but our own property, because they don't have hunting licenses, so they miss out on hunting with other kids. It just isn't worth the time and fees, to be honest, and I'll bet you my kids are safer with guns than most of the people teaching the classes.

I wonder if any charitable "men's" group like the Lions, Moose, or whatever would ever consider 'adopting' kids who want to hunt and helping them at least go to the classes...?

Get the kids a license!! How bad can the fees be for a resident hunting license? If you don't want to pay full bore for a 1-year license, get a two day license good for say a weekend. How much does Hunter Safety cost?

afish4570 · Post by **afish4570** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:33 am

With the high costs of gas and lack of small game due to the hawks & owls in the sky and the coyotes & bobcats (&mountain lions that the state says aren't there)on the ground. You can blame the predators for the decrease in same game and causing the deer to run into the developements for refuge. The public lands and the big woods here in NY and Pa.are hard hit for lack of game,large & small. The antler restrictions 3 pts. on one side have taken there tole to. When you hunt deer why is it that you see so few non legal bucks. The young hunters are so wrapped up in the manliness of shooting big bucks that it is destroying the hunting tradition. The interest in the younger hunters carrying on the tradition can only be met if you give them something to shoot. The youth looses interest quickly. When I started hunting 50 yrs or more ago the hunting was about how it is now. Only the most dedicated will stick it out and hunt through these hard times......Just an ole guy mouthin off...afish4570

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:51 pm

I'm allways out hunting small game n' varmints. I was out yesterday for a 6mile walk around looking for fox but at this time of year I'm thinking of my bow and could not help but sneak up on acouple of rabbit that would of been good shots, one was in bramble and less than 5 yds! When I am out with the bow they will all be 100yds away

Bird season is over here except pest species so I'll take a rabbit with the 22 for curry meat and then there is supplying the butchers of rabbit every few weeks.
A walk around sniping crows n' magpies with centerfires in late spring/summer is good fun too.
Sometimes we are asked to thin a rabbit infestation in high summer with the 22lr's. We try to make it interesting by shooting off hand only, perfect for my lever

Nath.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:51 pm

When I was young, my parents would not let me have a bb gun, let alone a true firearm of any sort. I was allowed a wrist rocket sling shot and bow/arrows. I hunted in the small patch of woods in and around my home. I still shoot both. I carry a sling shot with me when ever I hunt. Can't tell you how often I have taken a squirrel that was trying to give away my position in a tree stand while bow hunting or any other type of hunting. I agree that it is a skill that is very useful in this day and age.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:37 pm

Here's the video:

http://www.guzer.com/videos/the-slingshot-man.php

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:14 pm

OI,
Thank you, guy is amazing.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:23 pm

Up here, in North California, there is no shortage of great public lands to hunt on, as well as plenty of private ground, either owned by us, or others. I love to hunt quail and ducks, of course, but leave the squills and bunnies alone. We have thousands of cotton bunnies on the ranches, but the darned things are so tame 'ya gotta kick 'em out of the way. I can't hardly bang away at those, can I ? Jacks, on the other hand, are smacked and left for pig and 'yote fodder. Ground squills are slaughtered by the dozens and make good buzzard fodder. I still use the .22s down in CC, too.

Condors DO NOT eat dead squills, but gather 'round when a cow dies. We even had old No 1 come for dinner, all the way from Sespe. Condors are pure grace when soaring, but look downright silly on the ground. Each one has a big white paint mark on the back, with a number on it. That, and a tag and receiver, to boot. The "Condor Crew" follow them around with antennas, keeping track of the bird's wanderings. We don't let 'em come in the gate, though. Poor birds get no privacy.

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:41 pm

I still love to hunt small game, bows, rifles and handguns. Problem is there is not much around anymore. Quail almost gone on the place and few rabbits but plenty of yotes and a few bobcats now. Squirrel holding there own. Many times, my fall bowhunts for deer turn into squirrel hunts. I just can't seem to resist them big fox squirrels, they are made for my longbow.

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:53 pm

Old Ironsights wrote:Here's the video:

http://www.guzer.com/videos/the-slingshot-man.php

Amazing

Thanks.

Nath.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:07 pm

This looks like a pretty cool Slingshot... only 3oz...

http://www.slingshotsusa.com/product_in ... ts_id=1148

Probably faster to get into play than a wrist-supported sling...

I've got to size those .36 pistols then get the right size mould... my sling likes .440 or smaller.

86er · Post by **86er** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:22 pm

I find that in general it is the Mom's nowadays that put the cabash on small game hunting. I know several guys that are hunters through and through. Their wives don't interfere with the husbands hunting but they don't want the kids going. Sometimes it is a matter of the Mom's perception. Any age kid can accompany a small game hunt if the hunter is safe and plans accordingly. Around 7 or 8 years old that kid could likely shoot small game if properly instructed and supervised. A bunch of Mom's have self imposed a "no hunting until your 13 (or even 16 years old) rule. The Dad's give in and abide by it. Another rule that Mom's tend to have on a regular basis is "no shooting cute little critters" like rabbits, squirrels, coons. I think the role and influence women in the household today is stronger/greater than in decades past as far as setting rules and parameters for the children. Maybe it's just me but my Dad decided when we could go hunting and what we could shoot. Mom didn't get much say so in that decision. I actually see a bunch of clients each year that bring their spouse or girlfriend. The lady will scoff at the hunters choice of animal declaring it "cute, defenseless, pitiful, etc and the hunter will change his mind and shoot something else.

On a good note, while the Mom's and Lady's influence is stronger I do see more women actually participating in hunting than I have in the past 20 years.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:43 pm

86er wrote:... Another rule that Mom's tend to have on a regular basis is "no shooting cute little critters" like rabbits, squirrels, coons. ... The lady will scoff at the hunters choice of animal declaring it "cute, defenseless, pitiful, etc and the hunter will change his mind and shoot something else. ....

Never let them see Fur... unless it's on a Designer Coat. Even if it means throwing away the hide. A lost hide is better than a lost opportunity.

A skinned rabbit/squirrel/whatever does not engender the "poor fuzzywuzzy" response.

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:49 pm

Red squirrel, mountain pigeon, quail, dove, turkey, cotton tail,fox, coyote, bobcat, feral hog and the dern skunks!..can't shoot any of 'em in the forested area I live because it's full of houses! I didn't mention the deer infestation...

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:49 pm

There is a video running around on the net about an ole boy, I think from the south, shooting his slingshot. He's pretty good with it. I don't remember where I saw it. It might of even been on this forum.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:31 pm

That were me that posted that.. on this thread even.

I'm upgrading to the "black" bands on mine.