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Hunters with hunting equipment going away through rural field towards forest at sunset during hunting season in countryside
Hunting season never really closes in Kentucky. A few species, including coyotes and wild hogs, can be taken legally year-round, and wildlife officials generally encourage the removal of these critters. Hogs are a particular nuisance.
Wild turkeys can be hunted in the fall but are most successfully pursued during the spring season. Squirrel hunters also enjoy a split season.
Generally, though, hunting is a fall and wintertime activity. Squirrel season, the state’s longest, opened in mid-August and runs through February. September opens with dove season and unofficially marks the beginning of the fall hunting campaign. Archery deer (Sept. 7) and crossbow deer (Sept. 21) open this month. September also ushers in fall archery turkey (Sept. 7), early duck and teal season (Sept. 21), crow (Sept. 1) and bull elk firearm (Sept. 28, draw only).
Upland game, furbearers and waterfowl seasons arrive in November.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the state governing body that oversees wildlife management, lists more than 30 species for which hunting seasons are offered, from American woodcock and black bear to weasels and wild pigs. Deer are the state’s most sought-after game, and state wildlife officials strive to structure seasons to satisfy deer hunters of every stripe. We have hunting blocks for archers, crossbow shooters and muzzleloader aficionados as well as a modern gun season, during which all deer hunting tools are welcome.
Most Kentuckians, however, don’t hunt. State wildlife officials estimate that Kentucky is home to about 350,000 hunters. Kentucky enjoys a better hunter retention rate than many other states, but nationwide, hunter numbers are declining. Among other things, this ultimately will not bode well for wildlife conservation. Many conservation efforts are funded through hunting-generated revenue.
Reasons for the decline in hunter numbers vary, but it generally isn’t due to lack of game. During the 2018, 16-day modern gun deer season, for example, Kentucky deer hunters tagged 106,797 whitetail deer. That was an all-time high. Deer numbers are surging nearly statewide—turkey numbers, too. Other critter numbers are strong.
Game numbers are relatively strong nationwide as well. Every five years for the past six decades, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted a National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. In the 2016 report, a copy of which is available at www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/fhwar/publications/2016/fhw16-nat.pdf, the service calculated the number of hunters age 16 and older at 11.5 million. This was a decrease of 16 from the 2011 count of 13.7 million. That’s about 5 percent of the U.S. population.
According to the USFWS, only 1.1 million of the nation’s 11.5 million hunters are women. Not only are most of us hunters men, the vast majority are graying men. The 2016 count showed that 60 percent were age 45 or older (22 percent were 45-54; 24 percent—the highest of all age groups—were 55-64; and 14 percent were 65 or older).
More bad news: The national survey also breaks down hunter numbers by race. Of the 11.5 million hunters in the U.S., 11.1 million were classified as “white.” The sample size for African Americans and Asians was too small to report. The ambiguous “other” category garnered 0.2 million. I don’t know what happened to the other 0.3 million.
This racial breakdown is shameful, and the age bulge favoring the 45-plus crowd is worrisome.
The solution to these woeful numbers is easy. Invite someone to join you afield. I learned to hunt with my father and older brother, but as demographics shift and populations became increasingly urbanized, those connections may not always be readily available. Recruitment of young hunters is critical, but don’t limit your invitation to youngsters. Hunting is ageless. Invite a coworker, a fellow worshipper or a retired neighbor. They don’t have to carry a gun or a bow. The smells, sounds and sights of the woods are intoxicating enough. Invite someone. The future of hunting and our open spaces depends on it.
For more information, including upcoming Kentucky hunting season dates, bag limits, license requirements and location of public hunting lands, visit fw.ky.gov or call 1-800-858-1549.