Hunting license sales in California WAY down in 2019.

[Bigolwiggler]

As most of us know , hunting license sales in California have been in steady decline for many years overall, generally by a couple thousand a year.
Last year when the ban on using lead for hunting came into full effect, I made a prediction that license sales would drop significantly. Well, last year sales dropped by more than 35,000 !!!! That is a big drop in revenues for DFG ( DFW ) .
Was the lead ban the main reason why ? I think so . My next prediction is that the cost for hunting licenses will increase MORE than normal to make up for the revenue loss. California , gotta love it : /

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=59821&inline

Also see :

License Statistics

wildlife.ca.gov

BOW

 

[snoopdogg]

Yeah, I think its more than that. The current leadership/legislature of this state is regularly beating hunting and guns down at every corner. Trapping, bobcats, lead ban, ammo and firearm restrictions add to the bad juju here in California. It sucks. Doesn't paint a positive or welcoming picture for hunters.

 

[chessie]

Are US hunters becoming an endangered species?

Are US hunters becoming an endangered species?

Fewer Americans hunt now, partly due to growing urbanisation, leading some advocates to fear it's dying out.

www.bbc.com

Get kids involved.

 

[Bigolwiggler]

the question is … why the substantial drop in license sales for 2019 ? Maybe the people in charge ( our E L E CT E D officials ) kinda want "us" ( the dumb, country bumpin' people ) to stop hunting for food .
Maybe then , they can then control us much easier ? ; ) I hunt for food and strive to be less dependent on society. Have been doing pretty good at it legally for quite a while .
BOW

 

[Bigolwiggler]

Yeah, I think its more than that. The current leadership/legislature of this state is regularly beating hunting and guns down at every corner. Trapping, bobcats, lead ban, ammo and firearm restrictions add to the bad juju here in California. It sucks. Doesn't paint a positive or welcoming picture for hunters.

Yep snoop , all of those things have been goin on for quite a while which would attribute the slow loss of Cali hunting license sales ........ then ... the total Lead ban .... and 35,000 less in License sales .... all in the SAME year !? It all adds up though.

 

[socalcowboy]

WOW - Looking at total numbers lowest its been in 10 years.... And next year take out the slush fund bobcat tags... I think the DFW will need to start laying people off cause they wont be able to survive these trends...

I have been saying this for years as the tags decrease and price increases so they can keep in business...

QUESTION - when is enough enough..... Breaking point? So for $60 a year I can upland game hunt in California and spend more money for background check to purchase ammo, pay a high price for ammo because its steel and only allowed to be purchased in California......... OR pay $160 for a combo hunting and fishing license for AZ and not have to worry about all the other restriction.

I have points for Deer hunting and I will buy a license till I use them, But strongly thinking of dumping all my hunting in California rather spend my money in a state that supports my hobby.

Thats all I have to say about that.

SoCalCowboy....

 

[GUNDOGLOVER]

WOW - Looking at total numbers lowest its been in 10 years.... And next year take out the slush fund bobcat tags... I think the DFW will need to start laying people off cause they wont be able to survive these trends...

I have been saying this for years as the tags decrease and price increases so they can keep in business...

QUESTION - when is enough enough..... Breaking point? So for $60 a year I can upland game hunt in California and spend more money for background check to purchase ammo, pay a high price for ammo because its steel and only allowed to be purchased in California......... OR pay $160 for a combo hunting and fishing license for AZ and not have to worry about all the other restriction.

I have points for Deer hunting and I will buy a license till I use them, But strongly thinking of dumping all my hunting in California rather spend my money in a state that supports my hobby.

Thats all I have to say about that.

SoCalCowboy....

I went that rout in 2007 or so. Won't hunt cal. ever again. F um. Plus they don't have Aholes for wardens, at lease not from my experiences. I'm sure they exist.

 

[Bigolwiggler]

QUESTION - when is enough enough..... Breaking point? So for $60 a year I can upland game hunt in California and spend more money for background check to purchase ammo, pay a high price for ammo because its steel and only allowed to be purchased in California......... OR pay $160 for a combo hunting and fishing license for AZ and not have to worry about all the other restriction.



SoCalCowboy....

It appears that tens of thousands of California hunters hit their breaking point last year . I am just trying to decide which state that I will be moving to in the next few years. I sure hope that some DFW folks visit this forum and read these threads. I hope that the info is passed onto their superiors .
Also , as you can see , in the early 70s they were selling 600,000 resident licenses yearly. In 2019 they sold less than 200,000 !? a 2/3rd decrease ! ......WOW . There are a lot of reasons why. After hunting Idaho I soon found out that their DFW works FOR the hunters and fisherman....not against them like they seem to do in California.
BOW

 

[JNDEER]

They can increase tag/lic prices- but I believe only by a set percentage amount each year (which they do and have been).

 

[mouthcallinmatt]

Glad I got a lifetime license 16 years ago but all the other BS sure makes it harder to swallow these days. I'd be down with hunting other states but having to travel that far sucks too.

 

[Bigolwiggler]

They can increase tag/lic prices- but I believe only by a set percentage amount each year (which they do and have been).

Roger That JNDEER..... yes they have . Just paid $51 for a dern Fishing License !

 

[Ducky's Dad]

The hassle and difficulty of hunting in CA has seemed to affect AZ. I live in CA but have been hunting in AZ for 20 years or more. This last dove season (2019) was in some ways spoiled by all the CA hunters who descended on AZ and who brought their CA entitlement attitude with them. The level of assholery went up exponentially from 2018 and it was always associated with vehicles having CA plates. Lack of hunting ethics was the biggest issue, with lots of encroachment on other hunters, skybusting, leaving trash everywhere, wasting game (not even attempting to retrieve downed birds), driving too fast down dusty dirt roads, etc. It was so bad that our group is thinking about just skipping the 9/1 opener to avoid the fools.

The only reason I buy a CA license any more is for waterfowl and the occasional wild pheasant hunt, maybe a pig if I can find the time. CA's gooberment is killing the sport, but that seems to be their intent.

 

[SCREWLOOSE]

It’s actually a drop of closer to 45,000 when you add in junior, disabled, veteran and all the other class of licenses. 5K fewer juniors is going to hurt in the future.

 

[SCREWLOOSE]

Crunching some of these numbers, looks like the deer hunter number are close to the same based on tags sold. Pig tag numbers are way down, about 16k.

19,000 fewer duck stamps sold last year. Where are the duckers at?

 

[weekend warrior]

Obviously CA numbers are down , steel ammo , coupled with background checkes to even buy the ammo , poorly managed reserves it all equates to quality over quantity or fewer but better hunts out of state.

Be intersting to pull the licensing data from surronding states , AZ ,NV , UT etc.. to see if the decrease in CA is found in an increase for the other states.

 

[BOWUNTR]

They are winning... as intended. Ed F

 

[DKScott]

I think its mainly the steel ammo requirement and ammo background checks. This affects bird hunters the most because of the amount of ammo used, the requirement that all gauges and shot sizes now be non-lead and also the fact that many older shotguns cant shoot steel shot. The fact that deer tag sales were about the same supports this. A couple boxes of ammo is a near lifetime supply for most casual deer hunters and the non-lead requirement for rifles has been in effect for awhile now. Not sure why duck stamp sales are down.

And yes, it is working as intended. We have a legislature controlled by the Loony Left, a nutbag governor and a DFW that has apparently been infiltrated or is otherwise controlled by HSUS.

This is life in a one party banana republic dictatorship. Losing two more neighbors and they don't even hunt, they're leaving for a better quality of life and less cost. One is moving to as soon as escrow closes on their house, the other as soon as their youngest finishes school in June. Both are moving to Washington where a brother of one already moved to (also from my block). Nice folks, all of them. California's loss, Washington's gain.

 

[Bigolwiggler]

DKScott….... I like your below quote a lot ….I just now read it and soaked it in . I do know that better things can absolutely be even better beyond this finite plane , its hard to imagine sometimes , but they can be , I believe it whole heartedly ….. and they will be for me and many Many others and anyone who wants it ; ) Thanks for the quote .

"One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards."
― Edward Abbey

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Not sure why duck stamp sales are down.

At least in So Cal, it probably has a lot to do with the scarcity of ducks. Duck numbers around here seem to have been on a steady decline over the last twenty or so years. Doesn't mean duck populations are down, just that they are not getting here like they used to. Loss of habitat, loss of feed sources, night glow in places like San Jacinto and the Prado Basin, plus the added hassle of dealing with CA regs. Just this afternoon I was talking with a younger guy who hunts doves with us in AZ because he expressed some interest in going out for ducks. I reminded him that he'll need some waders, plus a CA license and both fed and CA duck stamps, and that he can't use his fixed choke M/F O/U unless he buys the expensive non-tox instead of steel. And that he'll need to get a day pass if we go to a refuge. His comment: "Sure is a hassle to hunt ducks in CA."

 

[Bigolwiggler]

Not sure why duck stamp sales are down.

At least in So Cal, it probably has a lot to do with the scarcity of ducks. Duck numbers around here seem to have been on a steady decline over the last twenty or so years. Doesn't mean duck populations are down, just that they are not getting here like they used to. Loss of habitat, loss of feed sources, night glow in places like San Jacinto and the Prado Basin, plus the added hassle of dealing with CA regs. Just this afternoon I was talking with a younger guy who hunts doves with us in AZ because he expressed some interest in going out for ducks. I reminded him that he'll need some waders, plus a CA license and both fed and CA duck stamps, and that he can't use his fixed choke M/F O/U unless he buys the expensive non-tox instead of steel. And that he'll need to get a day pass if we go to a refuge. His comment: "Sure is a hassle to hunt ducks in CA."

Seems like the people in charge here really don't want us to hunt AND protect AND build healthy wildlife populations . They are trying to build their supposed "eutopia " . They have not a clue.
BOW