Steve,
Dont lose too much hope. I'm 33 and before I was 30 I never hunted a day in my life save for being a devout fly fisher on the hunt for trout. I have a good friend I met through work who has about 25 years on me, he "likes" to fly fish and so I took him out with me a few times and showed him some "tricks to the trade" In return he convinced me to take a hunters safety course and to join him in October for some Grouse hunting here in Maine. That was a mistake as now I have more doubles then I need and a disappointed wife who claims she doesn't see me from October through December ( she had already given up on me during trout season). I love to chase the bird so much I spend countless hours ground pounding for "pats" every free moment I get during the season, and to make sure I have the free time, I actually fish less now a days. So there is new enthusiasm out there. If I knew how fun this was when I was twenty... ah but alas I did not.
I do see younger people hunting birds though, but this is where I think a difference in ethical standards comes in. Here in Maine w/ all of our logging roads, people don't bother to walk them up any more, and most of the people I see, young or old are aptly labeled "Road Hunters" Four guys in a car shooting the first grouse they see on the road doesn't meet my personal definition of sporting, but thats me. I'll be dammed to shoot one on the road, when there are enough to move on your own or with dogs by finding an old tote road through a cut or a stand of new growth. However, I do notice that the practice keeps them on the road and I RARELY see another person in actually hunting in the woods.
If you find yourself w/ business in ME from October through December, shoot me a PM
-Chris
