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Post by bowman0717 on Oct 18, 2019 7:55:32 GMT -5
Curious, has anyone experienced changes or differences in hunting over the years as it relates to a changing weather and climate?
(Also, full disclosure, this is Sarah Bowman with the Indianapolis Star, but want to know if this is something that people have experienced.)
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Post by soinguy28 on Oct 18, 2019 9:33:20 GMT -5
I have been hunting for over 35 years and have not noticed any changes related to weather or climate. The numbers of deer, turkey and quail all seem to be up from the time I started. I would attribute this to better management more than anything. Or maybe I've actually improved at hunting since I started.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2019 9:43:03 GMT -5
I've been hunting since 1983 and little to no difference in weather. Some years better than others. If there was a difference then a little wetter and cooler.
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Post by bill9068 on Oct 18, 2019 10:30:17 GMT -5
No difference, on a side note have you noticed that most of the near extinct game animals are from countries other than the USA? Elephant, Tigers etc. our big game are flourishing due to hunter involvement in the the habitat.
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 18, 2019 10:48:06 GMT -5
I started hunting 70 years ago when I killed my first rabbit at age 10.
I started seriously hunting in 1968.
The only "weather change" that I can think of that had a major impact on hunting was the blizzards of 1977 and 1978 when the quail population and a lot of rabbits were wiped out.
Habitat loss is a MUCH more important subject. The once very populous Grouse are almost extinct in Indiana because of the improper forest management. While very pretty old growth forests provide very little good wildlife habitat.
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Post by jjas on Oct 18, 2019 11:31:12 GMT -5
Does it seem to rain more than it used to around me? Yes.
Here's the running total...
2014 +8.91 inches
2015 +20.05 inches
2016 +9.83 inches
2017 +10.11 inches
2018 +31.4 inches
2019 +20.11 inches (to date, and that included having .10 inches for the entire month of September).
So for the last 5 (almost 6 years) I am above normal for rain (which were I live is 45.54 inches per year) by 100.41 inches. That equates to 2.2 years of extra rain in the last 5 (almost 6 years).
How does that effect the wildlife? I'm not a biologist so I can't say, but I would have to think it would have a negative effect on plants and animals.
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Post by buckert on Oct 18, 2019 11:54:43 GMT -5
Wild game populations rebounding (particularly deer and turkey) are huge success stories that have occurred in the past few decades. So general long term sentiment in the hunting community would be that populations have gotten much better but hunting opportunities and interest are beginning to diminish for several reasons totally unrelated to climate change.
Purdue’s climate change projections are calling for wetter winters and springs and drier summers with a climate in Indiana similar to that of Tennessee by 2050. If those projections come true it could take some time to see or determine population level changes relative to climate change.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2019 12:07:12 GMT -5
Wild game populations rebounding (particularly deer and turkey) are huge success stories that have occurred in the past few decades. So general long term sentiment in the hunting community would be that populations have gotten much better but hunting opportunities and interest are beginning to diminish for several reasons totally unrelated to climate change. Purdue’s climate change projections are calling for wetter winters and springs and drier summers with a climate in Indiana similar to that of Tennessee by 2050. If those projections come true it could take some time to see or determine population level changes relative to climate change. Weather forecasters can't forecast that day a lot of times and seldom 7-10 days out. One thing that did change is weather forecasting. The old timers did a lot better job without computers and models. |
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Post by hardwood on Oct 18, 2019 12:16:49 GMT -5
I'm not one to debate climate change and whatnot, but I do think hunting is a sustainable way to provide protein for our families. One of the reasons I got into hunting was after traveling out west and seeing the cattle feed lots I thought 'I can eat better than this." The politicians tell me to quit eating meat in order to save the environment but there's plenty of tasty creatures roaming around that I can eat.
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Post by esshup on Oct 18, 2019 13:07:15 GMT -5
I've been hunting since the early 1970's when I was a kid. I see a much greater change in wildlife populations due to habitat loss and habitat change than any weather related event. Even if the weather is bad for a year, if the habitat is there the wildlife will rebound. Clean farming, no more wooded fence rows, less variable density cover plays a huge part in habitat for wildlife. Most wildlife here in Indiana lives near the edge of cover, not in the middle of the mature forest.
Invasive plant species and the lack of control of them in our parks is becoming a HUGE problem for our native plants and wildlife. There are large stands of Russian Olive and Asian Honeysuckle in our State Parks that are crowding out the natural plants.
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Post by stevein on Oct 18, 2019 14:42:14 GMT -5
Thank you for coming here to ask. This is a great group of guys.
I am from the Ft Wayne area. I have been hunting since 1964 mostly around here. Started hunting on my own in 1970.
In the 60s if you killed a deer you got your picture in the paper. Now it is just another thing.
Quail have really suffered but it is more due to loss of habitat than weather. The blizzards Woody mentioned and habitat loss really did them in.
We did not have resident geese in the 60s. Now there are reduction seasons for them.
All game flourishes where there is habitat. All Indiana game does well clear down to the Gulf of Mexico so I don't see them suffering much for the most part.
Also several species have made a comeback like deer, turkeys, coyotes and non-game species like Bluebirds an Hummingbirds.
The lakes still ice over in late December and usually there is safe ice into March.
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Post by coaldust on Oct 18, 2019 14:52:49 GMT -5
I feel the climate has changed for sure. I dont remember hunting when I was younger & it was 65 during gun season. As far as problems with habitat & better farming equipment thats for real. My uncle & grandpas 1960'- 1970's
combines would drop more grain than they would pickup. Now the habitat that isnt destroyed everyone wants to destroy. these dipsticks want to destroy 1000s of acres for windmill fields & solar fields.
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Post by darinfry on Oct 19, 2019 23:05:28 GMT -5
On the drier summer and falls we see blue tongue disease like we have seen this year. Also warmer falls mean deer stay more nocturnal, making them harder to hunt. Flooding and colder than average springs can hurt turkey hatches and survival. All that being said habitat is still and will always be the most important factor for wildlife
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Post by duff on Oct 20, 2019 6:34:16 GMT -5
I have not noticed the climate change so voids the question.
How do you define climate change? If I can link that to observations I have made I will.
Like many others already pointed out, there have been big shifts in 30 yrs that I have hunted. Some good bad and neutral. None that I feel are linked to climate.
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Post by greghopper on Oct 20, 2019 7:36:19 GMT -5
I am just glad to live in a state where we can enjoy the different seasons ..... some in the USA never experienced that.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2019 10:57:42 GMT -5
I started hunting 70 years ago when I killed my first rabbit at age 10. I started seriously hunting in 1968. The only "weather change" that I can think of that had a major impact on hunting was the blizzards of 1977 and 1978 when the quail population and a lot of rabbits were wiped out. Habitat loss is a MUCH more important subject. The once very populous Grouse are almost extinct in Indiana because of the improper forest management. While very pretty old growth forests provide very little good wildlife habitat. I was going to add my thoughts, but this has summed it up quite nicely. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2019 11:04:43 GMT -5
I have not noticed the climate change so voids the question. How do you define climate change? If I can link that to observations I have made I will. Like many others already pointed out, there have been big shifts in 30 yrs that I have hunted. Some good bad and neutral. None that I feel are linked to climate. I`m with you. The earth has cyclical changes, that are normal and natural for it`s cycle. I remember as a young man in the early 1970`s, the "experts" were screeching out dire warnings that we were approaching another ice age. Fast forward to today, and the experts had to change their myth of "global warming", to just "climate change" because they couldn`t match up actual climate data with their pre-determined outcome. |
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