Really good article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram this morning.

Here are a few of the statistics listed in it:

3 million Women hunt in the United States

20,000 Youth hunting licenses issued to girls under 17 in Texas in 2007, up 6,000 from 2003

82,901 Hunting licenses issued to females in Texas in 2007, up 5,947 from 2003

934,860Hunting licenses issued to males in Texas in 2007, down 26,502 from 2003

Sources: National Sporting Goods Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

While the overall number of hunters has dropped — 11 percent from 1991 to 2006 — the number of females who hunted with guns increased 72 percent between 2001 and 2005, according to national reports and surveys.

Add another to the women getting into hunting. Our daughter-in-law said she wants to hunt. Gave her my Parker Hale 243 to try. Pretty good shot for the first time. Now we need hunter education and the rest of the gear.

Ulterior motive, this gives the wife and I more time with the granddaughter!

In looking at these figures and doing some calculating, here is what things look like.

Population of Texas 1-Jan-2004 = 22,293,020.

Population of Texas (Est.) 29-Sept.-2008 = 23,728,510.

That equals a 4 year increase of 1,435,490 or an average yearly increase of 358,873.

Sales of Hunting licenses:

2003 Total Licenses sold, Men and women combined = 1,038,316

2007 Total Licenses sold, Men and Women combined = 1,017,761

Even with the increase in license sales to women, the decrease between 2003 and 2007 bin license sales was = 20555.

Over double the membership of this site.

It equals out to a decrease in hunter numbers yearly during that time period of 5139, over half the total number of members on this site.

Our state population is increasing on average by about the population of Fort Worth yearly.

Yet instead of hunter numbers increasing, they are declining.

Besides the pressure the increase in population is causing on the available land and other resources, it also means changes in attitudes toward hunting and its place in our modern society are also taking place.

I hope someone will do some research into how many total youth licenses are being sold.

If those are increasing and most of the decrease can be traced back to older hunters dying or no longer able to hunt, and people that have just given up on trying to hunt for whatever reason, than hunting may have a chance to survive. JMO.

Besides the pressure the increase in population is causing on the available land and other resources, it also means changes in attitudes toward hunting and its place in our modern society are also taking place.

ANY FACTS TO BACK THIS STATMENT UP? YOUR FACTS ABOUT THE INCREASE IN POPULATION AND DECREASE IN LISC. SALES ARE GOOD BUT THEY ARE JUST THAT, FACTS ABOUT INCREASING POPULATION AND LISCENSE DECLINE. WITHOUT MORE FACTS YOUR ABOVE STATEMENT IS JUST OPINION NOT FACT.YOU MIGHT CHECK TO SEE IF ANY OF THE OTHER OUTSIDE SPORTS ARE DECLINING A LITTLE ALSO (YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED) BEFORE YOU MAKE A CHICKEN LITTLE SKY IS FALLING STATEMENT LIKE ABOVE.

You believe what you want to Sir, I will believe what I want to, and I do not have to justify my opinion to you or anyone else. one last thing, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN HOW TO RESPOND TO POSTS WITHOUT SHOUTING???????

well here is Randall and OFB caught going at it, on the news

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BaAku4TDq8

This year 8 of our neighbors didn't buy license because of lease price-gouging. One couple, who has had their lease since '98, had to either ante up $500 more dollars or get out. They opted out.
The other six, which four are couples, decided that last year's lease cost was too much for the place and decided to resign.

Could be part of it.

Sorry for the outburst folks, but I have not seen anywhere in the rules that a persons opinions had to be based on facts.

In fact, and not to cause any friction, but IN MY OPINION, if anyone on this site places that high a value in my stinking opinions, then something is seriously wrong.

OFBHWG is entitled to his opinion, if he does not agree with me, that is great, that is one of the things this site was designed to do, get differing opinions on issues.

Just like I do not have to come up with facts to justify my opinions, he does not have to come up with facts to dispute my opinions.

I stand behind what I posted, it is my opinion as to why people are dropping out of hunting, everyone is free to draw their own conclusions.

Is some of what I theororize a "Chicken Little" approach, You Betcha.

IN MY OPINION, it is better to have somewhat of a "Chicken Little" attitude about the future of hunting in Texas and the US, then to mwalk around with an arrogant, Head Up The Arse Attitude, that things are not changing.

Whats a bladheaded white guy?

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.

Sorry for the outburst folks, but I have not seen anywhere in the rules that a persons opinions had to be based on facts.

NOW YOU AND I AGREE ON THAT FOR SURE.

Just another opinion here to support Crazyhorse

As revenues from hunters decrease (presumably because the registrations are decreasing), the argument that preserving public hunting is important begins to thin out. You see, there might be a huge resource drain on TPWD to support a thinning number of hunters. At some point they have to say "Well, we have 30% fewer hunters now, so lets get rid of 30% public hunting land" or whatever other valuable resource they are reserving for us to hunt. The argument is logical. The fewer our number, the lesser our voice. And the squeky wheel gets the grease so to speak. So when the anti-gun, anti-hunt majority speaks, it is greatly more difficult for us to have any authority if year after year our numbers are declining.

Lastly, let's not overlook the power of money... rich people want to build homes on big empty spaces and those big empty spaces happen to be the same places we hunt.

I have never stated anywhere that my opinions were based on facts, just my observations on what I see taking place across the country from all the resources I have access to.

I have been living hunting/fishing and the Outdoors since the 50's.

I watched and lived thru all of the changes that have taken place with hunting/fishing/the outdoors/the population increases/the economic impact of all of the aforementioned, and I base my opinions on those factors.

When I state facts, I list that they are facts.

When I state opinions, I very clearly state that they are opinions, and I am not always right with my opinion, nor do I try to ram my opinion down anyone's throat.

They can disagree with my opinion, agree with my opinion, think it is the stupidest think they have ever heard or read, but there is a 99.999999% probablity that their opinion of my opinion, is not going to change my opinion in the slightest, until they come up with facts to prove me wrong, and if I am wrong I will admit it.

But as the article I original posted states, there is a continueing decline in overall hunting license sales, that equals to fewer hunters in the field, I don't believe that anyone can argue that point.

Also, my opinion as to what is causing that decline, while it is not based on any actual facts, it is based on very real and plausible reasons, as to why the numbers of hunters keep declining.

People get old and die, become disabled, can no longer afford it, lose interest for a variety of reason.

Now, if you can tell me or show me that none of the stuff I just listed are real/actual/plausible reasons that cause people to stop hunting and buying licenses, please do so.

You can't. That simple.

Just as simple, if, and I am gonna use Texas as an example, 5000+ people stop hunting every year, and 5000 new people are not there to take their place, license sales and the emphasis and interest in hunting is going to continue to decline.

Couple that loss of 5000+ hunters, with an increase in Texas' population of humans going up by around 1 million + every year, on to a finite amount of land, and demand for places to hunt is going to continue to decline, especially the Public Hunting areas.

TP&W and the Folks in Austin are going to look at their budgets and they will have to raise license prices to make up for the shortfall due to declining sales.

When they do that, guess what, more folks are going to drop out of hunting.

Right now, the trend has been 5000+ a year dropping out, but that was an average per year over the 2004 to 2008 time frame.

The real numbers may be a lot different, in that it is both possible and probably that the actual amount of people dropping out is increasing yearly.

As us older guys begin to die off at a greater pace, and as the states population increases with folks that have no background in hunting, there will be a growing movement away from hunting by the population of the state, and as that continues to evolve, the role and job of TP&W is going to evolve and change with it.

And those are my predictions today straight from little the nipple on the butt of my Crystal Javelina.

I DO NOT DISAGREE THAT THE NUMBERS OF HUNTERS ARE DOWN THERE ARE FACTS TO SUPPORT THAT.
YOU SAY THAT QTY OF HUNTERS REDUCE OUR VOICE AND THAT IS WHAT I DISAGREE WITH. LOOK AT THE $$$ SPENT ON HUNTING COMPARED TO THE SAME TIME FRAME CH IS TALKING ABOUT. YOU WILL FIND THAT THEY ARE UP. IT IS MY OPINION THAT $$$ SPEAKS LOUDER THAN ANY OTHER THING. ITS ABOUT THE MONEY.
COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PRICE OF LEASES GOING UP CONFUSE ME. HOW MANY FOLKS TURN DOWN RAISES AT WORK? WHAT ABOUT THE PRICE OF REAL ESTATE, HOMES ETC. HOW MANY FOLKS THAT HAVE SOMETHING FOR SALE SAY OH NO THATS TO MUCH ILL TAKE LESSie GUNS FOR SALE ON THIS FORUM LETS ALL CHARGE LESS BECAUSE THEY ARE FOR HUNTING!!!!! YEA RIGHT LIKE THATS GONNA HAPPEN.
STUFF GOES UP ALL STUFF GOES UP BREAD,LEASES,GAS, GUNS, HOMES. YES ITS MORE EXPENSIVE TO HUNT NOW THAN IN THE quote GOOD OLD DAYS BUT SO IS EVERYTHING ELSE.

I'm not good at reading "between the lines", but isn't this a good thing for me? Fewer hunters mean less competition for animals, for public hunting areas, and private leases, IMO.

It won't work out that way.

This won't happen overnight, it will be an on going thing for the next several years.

As the demand for Public Land to hunt on continues to decline, the easier it will be for the agencies governing that land to stop hunting on it all together.

While fewer people will be trying to lease places, lease prices are not going to start dropping.

The better places will continue to be leased and the other places will go to package hunts, or, if the states population continues to grow, places will be sold off to developers.

This is all just my opinion on what I see as the future of hunting in Texas and the US.

The thing that everyone needs to keep in mind when reading my opinions on this stuff, is that if am wrong, No Big Deal.

If however I am proven right, to almost any degree, it means we all suffer.

I am just trying to get the point across that hunters need to keep their heads up and paying attention to what is going on in Texas and across the nation, because it is going to affect us and most probably negatively in regards to gun ownership and hunting.