Declining Interest In Inlines?

[michiganmuzzy]

Mi DNR booklet equipment regs.
"
Muzzleloading Deer Seasons
An individual hunting deer with a muzzleloading firearm during the
muzzleloading deer season shall only possess or carry afield, or take a deer
with a crossbow, muzzleloading rifle, muzzleloading shotgun, or black-powder
pistol, loaded with black-powder or a commercially manufactured black-powder
substitute. (Exception: in the CWD Management Zone and Core CWD Area
muzzleloader season is open to all legal firearms, see pgs. 44 – 45.) Only
certified hunters with a disability may use a crossbow or a modified bow during
the muzzleloading season in the Upper Peninsula, except in the UP Core CWD
Surveillance Area where crossbows may be used. See “Archery Deer Seasons”
for possession and carry of firearms during the coinciding late archery deer
season."

 

[SteveH]

You are certainly correct about prices. I have a friend who use to work there. He said it was more a case of managing inventory than anything else. As an example Cabelas use to carry hangon tree stands from eight different manufactures. Now it's I believe only two.

I was listening to an interesting podcast the other day. A well known author was fishing with the CEO of Bass Pro, John Morris, and mentioned that after the merger, he heard that some of the people working at Cabelas were complaining about the lack of hunting-related inventory they were getting. The response from Morris (and this is second-hand info) is that in his opinion, the future of Bass Pro/Cabelas is fishing, not hunting. So there you go.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I can't stand BPS. Now cabels is BPS in everything but name. I used to love the Gander Mntn. But they are crap now, too.

 

[ram2]

I was listening to an interesting podcast the other day. A well known author was fishing with the CEO of Bass Pro, John Morris, and mentioned that after the merger, he heard that some of the people working at Cabelas were complaining about the lack of hunting-related inventory they were getting. The response from Morris (and this is second-hand info) is that in his opinion, the future of Bass Pro/Cabelas is fishing, not hunting. So there you go.

I can believe that. My nearest Bass Pro has had a low inventory of guns for years, long before the BP/Cabelas merger.

 

[gle3105]

GM54-120 “Mine will out shoot many centerfires with little effort. ”
I love being at the range b4 deer season with my ML’s . While others are shooting patterns, my groups are what they wish there gun was shooting.
Eye opener for those that think they are no more than a 100 yard gun.
Starts for a good conversation and ml enlightment.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Some of the centerfire patterns i see at the range are downright scary to see. Some guys are lucky to hit the berm let alone the target.

 

[mnoland30]

GLE 3105 I used to love to sight in my 10" Contender pistol right before rifle season. It shot better groups than most CF rifles. The guys with the magnums would try to sight in their rifles, and every round their groups got bigger because of the flinch factor. When I was shooting 150 gr. of 777 behind a 400 gr. bullet, I started flinching too. I bought a Past shoulder pad and broke it in half on a cold morning. Now I use it behind a soft gel pad when I'm at the bench. Bench shooting puts you in a position to really feel the recoil. I finally figured out that putting a higher rest, so I sat up straighter, reduced felt recoil. Here in NM, smokeless isn't legal during ML season, and if you want to get drawn every year, you have to hunt with ML. I have 3 ML now, 20 differeent types of bullets, 4 different powders, and multiple primer systems. I guess I'm into it! Our Cabela's has a 10' ML section. Worthless. Most sporting goods stores are just clothing stores now days. I guess the markup must be tremendous. I buy my military surplus hunting clothes at Goodwill and Savers for next to nothing.

 

[BoinLV]

GLE 3105 I used to love to sight in my 10" Contender pistol right before rifle season. It shot better groups than most CF rifles. The guys with the magnums would try to sight in their rifles, and every round their groups got bigger because of the flinch factor. When I was shooting 150 gr. of 777 behind a 400 gr. bullet, I started flinching too. I bought a Past shoulder pad and broke it in half on a cold morning. Now I use it behind a soft gel pad when I'm at the bench. Bench shooting puts you in a position to really feel the recoil. I finally figured out that putting a higher rest, so I sat up straighter, reduced felt recoil. Here in NM, smokeless isn't legal during ML season, and if you want to get drawn every year, you have to hunt with ML. I have 3 ML now, 20 differeent types of bullets, 4 different powders, and multiple primer systems. I guess I'm into it! Our Cabela's has a 10' ML section. Worthless. Most sporting goods stores are just clothing stores now days. I guess the markup must be tremendous. I buy my military surplus hunting clothes at Goodwill and Savers for next to nothing.

I'm reasonably impressed with Sportsman's Warehouse here - far better selection and prices than the evil merger giant...

 

[James Sparhawk]

I cannot convince any of my friends to try muzzle loaders. They all say that it is too much work.

 

[LarryBud]

Could the decline be associated with th decline in hunting all together?

In my work, church and social groups, there are very few hunters left in the fold.... and I live in KS!! Not exactly the NYC.

I chalk it up to families being removed from the farm. We’ve now gone a generation or two now and without land access, the interest fades fast. Lots of other reasons too. It’s a shame.

 

[ENCORE50A]

Could the decline be associated with th decline in hunting all together?

In my work, church and social groups, there are very few hunters left in the fold.... and I live in KS!! Not exactly the NYC.

I chalk it up to families being removed from the farm. We’ve now gone a generation or two now and without land access, the interest fades fast. Lots of other reasons too. It’s a shame.

Probably sums it up. I know Michigan has lost a ton of hunters and to a lessor degree, fishing numbers are also declining. One good thing, the numbers of female hunters are increasing, but slowly. In 1998 MI sold 785,000 deer licenses. In 2017 MI deer license sales dropped to 621,000.
Way to much emphasis on big, monster bucks but most of all, access. Years ago a guy could walk up to a farm house, introduce themselves and ask, and normally receive permission to hunt. Today things are soooooooo different. Even farming practices have changed. State land in MI looks like a pumpkin patch on opening day and much of the state land is very poorly taken care of. Now that's not to mean that whitetails aren't harvested from State lands, but access is a major issue. Years ago, businesses and some schools used to close for opening day, not so much any more.
On top of all that, you now have all the anti-gun groups polluting the younger generations.

 

[dbowling]

Same around here in Indiana everything is about big bucks and leasing ground, you used to be able to get permission to hunt just by taking the time to knock on a few doors, now for the most part its about how much money you want to spend.. cant even hardly get permission to squirrel hunt because land is leased up and dont want anyone disturbing the deer.
Kids that are starting out hunting by their younger fathers are having it put in their heads to hunt big bucks only and its a shame because they lose what hunting is all about and lose interest..
My Grand kids cant get their nose out of their phones long enough to go outside and enjoy it, again a shame because they will never learn to appreciate nature. Hunters are a dying breed which I think in 3-4 generations will be gone for the most part.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Yes lack of access and also many of my friends have stopped hunting because they fear the CWD and TB "outbreaks". In spite of the fact that not a single person that I know, knows anyone first hand who had a deer test positive for either. My brother in law lives in central Michigan and keeps claiming the deer population has been decimated (his words). I see the same numbers of deer as always whenever i visit him, tho. Fear seems to be a factor in not hunting. As well as expense, it takes hard work and much patience to be successful. Its easier to buy meat and sit in front of the tv watching football and drinking. Most of the younger hunters that I know do it with their families more like reunions than deer camps in some cases.

 

[phenix78_99]

I think another thing that a lot of us hunters don't want to admit is that the population of RESPONSIBLE hunters is on the decline, and private landowners are sick of dealing with the crap that comes along with letting irresponsible and disrespectful hunters use their property. This leaves many hunters relegated to hunting public land. The hunting population, just like society, has an ever decreasing number of people with decent morals, values, and ethics. I mean, in my neck of the woods, very few landowners let hunters on their private property to hunt, and for good reason. Out here, hunting another's property is usually limited to neighbors with whom there is a good relationship. Here, it is common for people with permission to hunt one's property to bring their drinking buddies and relatives with them, which many landowners don't like. The only folks out here who let truly unfamiliar folks use their property for hunting are landowners who don't live here, but have large parcels of timbered property, and they charge good money for it. Even then, some of the leases are lost because these irresponsible hunters cut unauthorized truck trails for lining the property when doing hound drives. The other reason they lose the leases is because many of them also hunt the properties adjoining the lease, and the folks who live here complain to the parcel owners.