As a sullivan county guy I support the AR. I see both sides though. While at a buddy's house this weekend I realized that AR might detour new hunters. My buddy's wife is going to start hunting and they have 10 acres. She wants to use a rifle and hunt her own property, doesn't care the size of the deer she just wants the meat and experience. There are no rarely 3h doe tags handed out (where they live) and her property has ok doe traffic. Only 2 legal bucks passed thru on their game camera and were at night during the rut. These types of situations make me wish there were exceptions for 1st year hunters. If a new hunter is in this situation, they may try hunting a year or two then give up. I only started in 2017 and have had success on public land this year but not everybody has the time and will power to study maps, listen to hunting podcast and read books. She just wants to sit out opening day and fill the freezer. That tradition is going to continue to have less and less people as the years go on. AR adds one more reason for a new hunter to get discouraged. I need to convince her to get a crossbow instead and maybe a small food plot and set a blind over it. That should hopefully assist in filling the freezer.
