Another rambling idiocy cooked by a Liberal:

The best thing for hunters would be the erosion of the National Rifle Association’s clout, which suddenly looks possible amid widespread protests calling for new gun laws.
This past fall, I needed a specific tool for my muzzleloader and blackpowder season was a few days out. My friend and I were running errands and finding said tool became a bit of an odyssey. We stopped at no less than four gun shops before giving up.

Alexander: NRA is a threat to hunting

He manage to brutally contradict himself in the first paragraph. Or more likely he is betting his readers are uninformed enough that his lies go unnoticed.

Let me start with the tool for his muzzleloader. Mr. Alexander apparently has not hear about this magnificent invention used by many to locate both items and people: The Telephone.  I don’t know you guys, but If I am gonna try to find some item locally and I know there are specific stores that may carry it, I rather dial the digits that jump in my car with a friend in tow and run around town looking for it. You know, the whole “Let your fingers do the walking.”? That one!

Next, raise your hand if you have gotten NRA notifications in your Email regarding Federal and State attempts to restrict or ban hunting… OK, Y’all can put your hands down.

From 1,000% tax on ammunition to banning any ammunition that uses lead, the Left has been trying without success to outright kill  hunting and the NRA has fought it every time. The continuous push to get lead regulated by the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act has come snake eyes every time because of the efforts of the NRA and not the goodness of the hearts of the D.C. politicians.

So, is there an issue with hunting? Are the numbers down from previous years? Yes. But the explanation lies somewhere else rather than the alleged secret campaign by gun store to drive hunters away according to Jon Alexander. I am just going to give you two reasons as not to make this post too long.

Population has shifted from rural areas to urban/suburban areas. According to the Census Bureau, in the 1910s, the population was almost evenly split between urban (45.6) and rural areas (54.4). By the 1990, it had turned 75.2% urban and 24.8% rural and now we stand at 80.7 percent urban versus 19.3 rural. Last I heard, hunting in Urban areas (although tempting in some cases) is forbidden by the law.  So a combination of lack of opportunity and descent of the rural population has influenced the decline in hunting. That unless Mr. Alexander wants to blame  the NRA on the abandonment of our rural areas.

Refrigeration, Supermarkets and an overall elevation of the standard of living. For many years hunting was not just a sport but the means to put protein on the family table. If you wanted to eat turkey at Thanksgivings, you had to get your shotgun and be lucky out there in the field rather than chasing Butterball in the aisles of your local supermarket.  Refrigeration meant your meat took a long time to spoil. The prices for steak and ground chuck dropped when it was no longer necessary to rush the transfer and processing of a cow to serve before it became a bed for maggots.  And the same applied to game caught in the hunt: once butchered, it no longer had to be processed (salted/smoked) but neatly packed and put in the bottom of the freezer and consume leisurely. And then come the lazy people like me that do not hunt and will obtain animal protein via the supermarket because it is more convenient.  Last I heard, the NRA does not have a stake in supermarkets nor sell refrigerators or freezers.

But hunting is not dwindling as much as they are trying to make it look. The members of Gun Culture 2.0 are starting to discover hunting and enjoying it. And not only doing so with muzzleloaders and other old-school military-style weapons, but with the evil AR 15 also.  There is a reason why AR-15 receivers are marked as multi caliber, right? And I hear the .50 Beowulf round will take most of the game found in the US.

We will never have the same percentage of hunters as we had 100 years ago, but I do predict (if the antis’ friends of Mr. Alexander do not get their way) that we will see their numbers increase but it is going to take time.

Hat Tip Armatus Rebellio‏ @ArmatusRebellio