So Bye-Bye Miss American Pie

[CZDiesel]

So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ol boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

The last 15 years or so were spent on my career and then on my health. Somewhere in that span everything changed! No more wood stocked rifles, no more scopes with normal turret caps as they all have adjustable turrets now, and most of all the hunting prospects are upside down!
Fifteen years ago an Elephant hunt was way out of reach but a Brown Bear hunt was attainable. A Buffalo hunt was a serious endeavor but a trophy Elk hunt was an easy get. Plains game was still an expensive deal and maybe a once in a lifetime hunt for someone where as a Mule Deer in a trophy unit could be had!
Now Elephant hunts are less expensive than Brown Bear hunts are! Elk hunts are as expensive as Elephant hunts in trophy units! Mule deer tags in trophy units are so scarce one can go a lifetime and not draw!
Brown Bear up to $50k! New Mexico Elk hunts up to $35k! Lottery Mule Deer $500,000+!!! And I won’t even go into what a Sheep hunt can cost SMH
One can hunt trophy Elephant, Buff, and most plains game for less?!?! Sometimes much much less

When was it the music died for North American hunts and firearms and accessories? It all happened so fast and not only did I see it pass me but I never thought it would happen!
I have to wonder what caused it all? Did the wars push all the black rifle craziness and silly turrets? Did the anti-hunters push the prices on trophy hunts to the point of being unattainable for most?
It’s now less expensive to hunt Africa than it is for trophy hunts in North America…

And them good ol boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die…

 

[coreydb]

Yep......how things changed

 

[CZDiesel]

Yep......how things changed

Sadly and ironically when I posted this thread a Trophy Kudu AND Gemsbock hunt comes up for $1800! SMH

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

I think modern war movies made the black plastic gun craze
And once they became feesible and attainable the craze took off

Its a sad state of affairs

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I’d say the change happened along about the same time as a mink coat went from ladies garment to political statement.

The prime suspect seems to be that everything hunting and firearm related got harder to do once the millennials started to vote. An entire generation of children raised indoors by technology and with a want to protest any and everything. The easy road seems to be to blame them and the generation that followed for there uneducated stance against all things outdoorsman love but to my mind a large portion of the blame should be laid at the feet of the generations who abandoned there children to raise themselves in front of television screens videogames and on social media.

 

[wildwilderness]

I see it as simple supply and demand. Many North American Baby Boomers are spending their money. The Demand for trophy hunts is high and supply low.

The populations of Western States have increased double the rate. Increasing Demand and sucking up all the general tags. Increased human populations take more habitat and especially critical winter range for western herds that are way more dependent on weather.

Sheep numbers have dropped (except Mexico) especially the thin horns where weather once again has a huge deleterious effect (AK has half the sheep they did 20 yrs ago) Mule deer have been in decades long decline. Elk herds peaked in the 2000s but game departments have brought numbers down to maybe help mule deer. Wolves have taken a toll as well.

Social media and Internet (this forum is an example!) has made hunting accessible to the masses! How to and where to used to be almost impossible with just a phone book and paper maps! It also drives the FOMO way higher than ever.

More effective weapons with instructions as well as tv shows makes shooting 1000 yards run of the mill coupled with ballistic calculators and wind meters nothing is safe anymore.

At the same time Africa figured out game ranching and increased the supply of many animals. Hard to get to countries are more accessible with internet, what’s app and websites creating more areas to hunt than before. It helps that very few African nations have a big local population that hunts and own guns.

Definitely see value in international hunts as long as the USD is strong