Registered: Jun 2003
Location:
Posts: 415

Several years ago, I was at a Nite Hunt, talking to one of the older, long-time coonhunters. He was telling me how, back in the 1960's & 70's, a LOCAL club hunt would have between 50-70 dogs entered, & often more than that.

Nowadays, we are lucky to get 30-40 dogs at a State Championship, and maybe 10-20 dogs at a typical club hunt (I have been to many hunts with even fewer dogs entered).

I asked the man why this sport appeared to be dwindling, & his response was very interesting: he said that in our state, the average farmer is age 55 or older, & it was farmers, their adult family members (living nearby), friends, & neighbors (also farmers) that made up much of the coonhunting population. As these farmers retired & sold off all or part of their land, the hunters were left with not only fewer decent hunting areas, but they were areas now bordered by city people who had purchased 10 or 20-acre parcels, built new homes on them, then displayed their open hostility to hunters, their dogs, & the sport of hunting, by posting "No trespassing / No hunting" signs, reporting any barking dogs or gunshots to police, etc. etc.

Basically, these folks were city people now living on country acreage, but still carrying their 'city expectations' with them. Hunting & breeding Coonhounds does not fit their image of what is 'proper'...

The man then commented that he believes that "coonhunting is a dying sport", because "the older hunters are either dying off or are no longer physically able to hunt & care for a bunch of dogs, and the young people just aren't interested any more". He said that coonhunting was once "a way of life", and "that way is gone, and it is never coming back".

I told him that I found this to be very depressing, & he told me that if he were getting started (coonhunting) in today's world, he would not get a Coonhound - he would get a Cur. He said that you could hunt the smaller parcels of land with a Cur & "not get into as much trouble".

I think what this man told me is quite valid, at least for our state.
In addition, the elementary schools here have been providing a steady dose of Animal Rights and EnvironMENTALism over the past 20+ years, & we are now seeing the results of that; the kids (whose parents have never hunted or lived on farms) are bonding to technology, and not to nature.

The few chickens that we have left have finally come home to roost. So - no, Rough N Ready, it's not 'just you'...

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Registered: Nov 2012
Location: Laurel, IN
Posts: 1478

Man, I remember when I was 15. I was the same way. I often thought "I wonder why no one wants to hunt as hard as I do?" I just figured no one in Clay County loved hunting as much as I did and couldn't hang with me.

As I got older, I understand a whole lot more than I did then. You say you work 2 jobs and still hunt, but it's not the same. I also worked for farmers and had jobs in town since I was a teenager and still hunted. I didn't let the sleepless nights or poor performance worry me. What did I care? If I got fired, big whoop, I still had a place to live.

It makes a difference when you get married and a real big difference when you have kids. Now all the sudden job performance equals food in your kids mouths. I could care less about me but now I have a wife and two boys who depend on me, and my ability to make a living, to survive. I still love to hunt but I now have the sense to get some rest so I can do my best at whatever job I've held.

Also you have to make time for family. I've heard coonhunters say that "no woman" was going to slow their hunting down. The sad thing is, many of them are being truthful. That's why you see divorces happen. It's not always coonhunting but someone loves something more than they do their spouse. It may be hunting, or a job, or even a different person, but that's generally the cause. I have to make time to spend with my wife and boys.

I do take my boys hunting but my wife has no interest. Instead we do other things. Thankfully she likes baseball and basketball so we watch some games.

Now my oldest son is playing T Ball and I'm busier than ever. I've only missed a very few games and that's because I was on the road for work, not because I chose hunting over my son.

This time of year it's even harder in my opinion. It doesn't get dark until after 10 and I get up at 6 for work. Around here you just don't cut a dog out your back door, you generally have to drive about 30 minutes to get to a spot. Time you tree a couple, talk with your buddies, and drive home you're looking at 1 pretty dang easy. I wouldn't have even got warmed up by 1 when I was a teenager. I remember way too many nights going to work/school after just an hour or two (or no) sleep.

Has hunting declined in recent years? I'm sure it has. Too many older hunters can't go like they used to. Also hunting spots are getting harder to find, no one can deny that. But just because guys don't want to hunt quite as hard as you doesn't mean they don't love the sport as much, or more, than you do. They may just have other priorities in life that take precedence. I can't wait until my boys are a little older and can go more. They go now but not as much as they will be able to in a few years. Now I've going to spend time with them any way I can. I don't ever, ever want them to think daddy loved coonhunting more than he loved them.

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Last edited by Paul Frederick on 06-27-2013 at 07:49 PM

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

All these post sure have taught me alot, I just hope once I get older ill still have time to hunt my dogs!

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Registered: Apr 2013
Location: My old Kentucky home
Posts: 171

I'll have to agree with everyone on this, but look at the view from the other side. You go after dark(most people like to sleep), you walk (sometimes a lot) to a tree to this dog that's barking, you shine the tree to either kill the coon or praise the dog, just to go back to the truck lol I love it myself but I can see why nobody wants to try it lol

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

i can understand that now, theres not a whole lot of people that like to coon hunt around my area except one of my friends me and him usually got out from dark till daylight. maybe thats why people never wanna go with me LOL!!

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Registered: Sep 2003
Location:
Posts: 2785

I still hunt alot , mostly mornings my myself .. housedogs are asleep and folks gotta be at work so if they are aggitated , it's gotta wait , lol.

I prefer it now .. we've lost some hunting , but gained some too on farms where city folks bought it for cattle or deer hunting and don't ever come out .

I will say more young folks are just involved in hunting for the hunts and don't pleasure hunt like we used to during the week .. and the few mentors are older and not able to mentor in the woods , but from the couch.

But , all things change ... terrain , style of dog and the type of folks that make up the demographic ... that is more normal than yall might think ... I'm still diggin' it as much as ever and don't miss most of the folks that have hung it up , it's a releif to me.

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

I have seen quite a few young hunters in nite hunts recently

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Registered: May 2012
Location: central ny
Posts: 205

I won't hide it, even tho I don't own my own dogs and haven't been hunting with coondogs for very long but I've hunted with guys for a couple seasons and a little heavier the last year or so and have never ran into other hunters. And when I go alone and ask a friend to go they tell me they'd rather stay home and sit down and do nothing and its not like I'm even that old!

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Registered: Mar 2008
Location: Sugarcreek,Oh
Posts: 125

If fur prices ever come back up on coon you will see more hunters! I like it the way it is now. My 8 year old will be a coonhunter and for the right reason....listening to them trail and walking to the tree!!

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

I bet more people would do more hunting with dogs if it was cheaper also

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Registered: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 587

Most of the factors listed have played a part over time of the number of participants in the dawg sports. However, in my opinion....and most definitely in our area.....the single most negative factor is the goat hunters. The media has made horn hunting the end all be all. Talk to kids and see how many chase wood goats. See how much of the land that is lost to dawg hunting has been lost to protect feeders and food plots that are now a year round operation. Much more inviting to sit in a stand, pull a trigger, carry out the trophy on an ATV, pay to process the meat, and enjoy quality tablefare as result. This versus the cost and responsibility of a dawg along with the fine and pleasant misery that comes with following him. Bottom line if you dawg hunt you gotta love it cause it ain't easy and folks tend to go with easy.

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Registered: Nov 2011
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Posts: 856

quote:

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Originally posted by Paul Frederick
Man, I remember when I was 15. I was the same way. I often thought "I wonder why no one wants to hunt as hard as I do?" I just figured no one in Clay County loved hunting as much as I did and couldn't hang with me.

As I got older, I understand a whole lot more than I did then. You say you work 2 jobs and still hunt, but it's not the same. I also worked for farmers and had jobs in town since I was a teenager and still hunted. I didn't let the sleepless nights or poor performance worry me. What did I care? If I got fired, big whoop, I still had a place to live.

It makes a difference when you get married and a real big difference when you have kids. Now all the sudden job performance equals food in your kids mouths. I could care less about me but now I have a wife and two boys who depend on me, and my ability to make a living, to survive. I still love to hunt but I now have the sense to get some rest so I can do my best at whatever job I've held.

Also you have to make time for family. I've heard coonhunters say that "no woman" was going to slow their hunting down. The sad thing is, many of them are being truthful. That's why you see divorces happen. It's not always coonhunting but someone loves something more than they do their spouse. It may be hunting, or a job, or even a different person, but that's generally the cause. I have to make time to spend with my wife and boys.

I do take my boys hunting but my wife has no interest. Instead we do other things. Thankfully she likes baseball and basketball so we watch some games.

Now my oldest son is playing T Ball and I'm busier than ever. I've only missed a very few games and that's because I was on the road for work, not because I chose hunting over my son.

This time of year it's even harder in my opinion. It doesn't get dark until after 10 and I get up at 6 for work. Around here you just don't cut a dog out your back door, you generally have to drive about 30 minutes to get to a spot. Time you tree a couple, talk with your buddies, and drive home you're looking at 1 pretty dang easy. I wouldn't have even got warmed up by 1 when I was a teenager. I remember way too many nights going to work/school after just an hour or two (or no) sleep.

Has hunting declined in recent years? I'm sure it has. Too many older hunters can't go like they used to. Also hunting spots are getting harder to find, no one can deny that. But just because guys don't want to hunt quite as hard as you doesn't mean they don't love the sport as much, or more, than you do. They may just have other priorities in life that take precedence. I can't wait until my boys are a little older and can go more. They go now but not as much as they will be able to in a few years. Now I've going to spend time with them any way I can. I don't ever, ever want them to think daddy loved coonhunting more than he loved them.

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Registered: Nov 2011
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Posts: 856

I would just rather these young guys around here quit hunting.
You give most of them a 22 and a feeder bucket, it don't matter how many coons that is up that tree that any old yard dog could have treed, they are hitting the ground. Senseless and disgusting, and trust me, most of the young boys around where you live that coon hunt for a few years then quit are the same way!

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Registered: May 2012
Location: central ny
Posts: 205

quote:

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Originally posted by garminguru
I would just rather these young guys around here quit hunting.
You give most of them a 22 and a feeder bucket, it don't matter how many coons that is up that tree that any old yard dog could have treed, they are hitting the ground. Senseless and disgusting, and trust me, most of the young boys around where you live that coon hunt for a few years then quit are the same way!

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

Well first off you don't know where I come from. Let me tell you something all these boys that hunt around here are die hard coon hunters and I can guarantee that they ain't gonna quit untill the day they die. And when I put my mind to something you can guarantee I'm gonna finish it. I have well over two grand that I put into my dog, and kennel. So if you think I'm gonna quit in a "few" years, you're wrong.

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Registered: Nov 2011
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You can get upset all you want to. Just because you are young and in the minority does not mean that most young guys do not do exactly what I said they do!
Without even trying, I can think of at least 10 young guys between the ages of 17-21 that began AND ended their coon hunting career within about 2-3 seasons. And yes, most of these guys will kill the you know what out of coons but thankfully most of them never own a decent dog to start with.
I am trying to think of a young person in that specified age range who has stuck with it and can't!

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Registered: Nov 2011
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quote:

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Originally posted by nybluetickboy
I'm not trying to start an argument but not all us young guys are the same, when I take my huntin buddies dogs out by myself I'll leave one in the tree if there's more than one, usually the smaller one ill leave and when I'm hunting alone I try not and hunt feeder buckets

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quote:

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Originally posted by Rough N Ready
Well first off you don't know where I come from. Let me tell you something all these boys that hunt around here are die hard coon hunters and I can guarantee that they ain't gonna quit untill the day they die. And when I put my mind to something you can guarantee I'm gonna finish it. I have well over two grand that I put into my dog, and kennel. So if you think I'm gonna quit in a "few" years, you're wrong.

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

Alright well what's your phone number? Because in a couple years ill call you and prove that ill still be hunting my dogs just as hard as I do now! In my opinion there's no need for you to be cocky when I'm only 15 and your more than likely much older than me

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quote:

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Originally posted by Rough N Ready
Alright well what's your phone number? Because in a couple years ill call you and prove that ill still be hunting my dogs just as hard as I do now! In my opinion there's no need for you to be cocky when I'm only 15 and your more than likely much older than me

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: North GA
Posts: 14388

Still a good many hunters around here. I bet money any night of the week I could call around and find a couple to go. If I wanted to. I've helped run our local coon club for over a decade now. We were the younger generation pretty much when we started. Only like 5 of us made it through. I've seen a ton of folks come and go. No telling what that number would be. I expect to keep seeing that. However, we have more youth coming right now than we've ever had. I hope they keep coming!

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

I got the wrong message from you I thought you were trying to say I was gonna quit and all kinds of other stuff, I got fired up over nothing. My apologies

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quote:

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Originally posted by Rough N Ready
I got the wrong message from you I thought you were trying to say I was gonna quit and all kinds of other stuff, I got fired up over nothing. My apologies

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Last edited by garminguru on 07-01-2013 at 10:42 PM

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: western pa
Posts: 241

I'm working on that now! My dog ain't the best but she will tree coon, she's getting better every time I take her out. I've never owned a video game in my life so you don't gotta worry bout that!

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