Shelbyville, Ill. — Fall hunting seasons are barely underway. But for a trio of hunter advocacy groups, 2006 is already being remembered as a trophy year.
The "trophy" is actually a collection of recent legislative and regulatory successes creating new opportunities for families to hunt together. Across 11 states, about 5 million licensed hunters, more than a third of the U.S. total, now have more opportunities than ever to introduce their sons, daughters or other newcomers to the sport.
"Perhaps never before have so many potential mentors, all within a relatively short time frame, enjoyed such a variety of new freedoms to share their passion for hunting," said Doug Painter, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
The new laws followed the launch of Families Afield, an initiative of NSSF, the National Wild Turkey Federation and U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance.
The three groups were galvanized in 2004 by research that forecasts state-by-state trends in hunter numbers. Nationally, for every 100 adult hunters who are active today, only 69 youth hunters are coming up to replace them. Some states are faring better, but many are faring worse. The research found a strong corollary between low hunter recruitment rates and laws that restrict youth from participating.
Laws such as minimum age restrictions and coursework mandates can be relaxed without compromising safety, statistics show.
Families Afield encourages states to eliminate these legal barriers for new hunters. Here’s a roundup of the 11 states that have taken up that challenge so far: Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Utah.
In Illinois, 306,588 licensed hunters, 2.2 percent of U.S. total, created an apprentice hunting license that permits experienced hunters to take newcomers age 10 and higher hunting for one year before completion of a hunter education course.
Since the launch of Families Afield, about 5 million hunters have seen additional opportunities to hunt with their children.
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