Comments on: Maybe Because We Live In 2007

By: Salmo

Salmo — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 04:43:46 +0000

Hunting is part of rural culture - perpetuated in suburbia for a while as a means of reconnecting with rural roots. That is dying out. Some rural kids still hunt, but most seem to view camo as a fashion statement. The disturbing part of this is that the classist elements of hunting become clearer. It is increasingly a rich man’s activity.

By: stm177

stm177 — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:04:05 +0000

The black rifle crowd disparages hunters by calling them “Fudds”. That is from Elmer Fudd of Looney Tunes fame. The gun culture in the US is moving away from being associated with hunting, and moving more towards gun eroticism and militia fetishism.

(Black rifles are rifles with a stock made from black composite plastic.)

By: mdhatter

mdhatter — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:04:48 +0000

There must be an ammunition shortage, or else a couple hundred thousand Americans are just DONE with shooting things.

By: OxyCon

OxyCon — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 16:04:06 +0000

Less hunters, but more guns. Now that’s odd.

By: Kurt Montandon

Kurt Montandon — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 00:14:49 +0000

A lot of this actually probably has to do with property rights - there’s simply less rural lands available for the sort of hunting that most suburban & urban dwellers participate in. Fewer farms, decreasing waterfowl populations, etc.

A lot of traditional hunting grounds for pheasant, dove, and quail in central California, for example, have been plowed under for sub-developments. And quite a few farms that used to be open for public hunting now are corporatized, and very strict about not allowing passage for any reason.

Add in that more and more kids are being raised without a common sense approach to firearms - a minority are taught that guns are objects of worship, a larger number are brought up thinking that guns are only for the criminally insane, with a decreasing middle ground …

Of course, it could just be that there’s still a significant population of 16-and-under hunters, but that it’s becoming more common that they lose interest later in life.

By: Carol

Carol — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 00:13:17 +0000

Maybe it’s also because of the loss of places to hunt. Between subdivisions and nature preserves, there just isn’t that much untouched wilderness anymore. Plus hunting is a father-to-son activity: more households are headed by women, fewer of whom hunt or have the time to.