My young cousin Bobby Hamner has once again scored an awesome achievement for a young hunter by bagging his first deer at the age of 10. And to make it even more impressive he got it with just one shot using a black powder rifle.

Bobby has been enthusiastic about all aspects of the outdoors his whole life. Bobby, his parents, grandparents and extended family share a long tradition of hunting and fishing. It was on his grandfather’s farm where my two brothers and I first learned to shoot and hunt during winter vacations from our urban lives in Miami, Fla. My first time shooting a 410 shotgun off the porch of the farmhouse is one of my earliest and fondest memories. I think I was 4.

Bobby’s father has numerous impressive deer mounts on the wall of their farmhouse as well as a couple citations for trophy fish. His mom is quite the hunter, too. She bagged a bobcat last season, something neither his father nor grandfather can boast about. Bobby took his first turkey last spring on his grandfather’s property under the tutelage of another relative—Bill Hunter. Bill’s father, who recently passed away, was a park ranger at Sherando Lake and one of the most avid hunters I’ve ever met. Bobby’s younger sister Virginia will be 9 in December and she’s already been on several hunting excursions. It’s a sure bet the younger siblings, Vicky and Mikey, will soon follow.

It’s an unfortunate fact that enjoyment of the outdoor traditions of hunting and fishing is waning. Of course, here in Virginia, we are guaranteed the right to hunt and fish in the state constitution, but even with a written warranty the interest is dying.

According to a January 2011 article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Virginia has seen the sale of hunting licenses decrease 3.3 percent between 2009 and 2010. A three-year nationwide study by Harrisonburg-based Responsive Management found the future of hunting in question and declining participation in hunting is part of an overall trend of decreased participation in outdoor activities, such as fishing, camping and hiking. Some notable quotes on the subject came from William Sadler, president of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, who said, “The regular old meat hunter that was hunting for the kitchen pot is gone,” and “many young men are choosing to sleep in rather than go hunting.”

Nationwide the decline in hunting is pretty much proportional to the lifestyle and habitat of the citizens. In areas with vast undeveloped land and a rural lifestyle, such as Wyoming or the Dakotas, hunting is still holding its own, but in very urban states, such as New Jersey or Massachusetts, there are very few hunters left. Virginia, it seems, has some of both and you could say the urban demographics are beating out the rural.

Unfortunately the population of deer is taking off in all states and the only effective means of controlling the deer population is hunting. Kind of a Catch-22, wouldn’t you say?

It is true, that with very few exceptions, we no longer need to hunt for food, but choosing to sleep in? That laziness sets off a whole new controversy about obesity, diabetes, etc., and coincidentally some of Virginia’s urban areas have been declared the most overweight in the country. It’s almost as if the spirit of the outdoors is falling off thanks to the creature comforts of modern homes and cities.

It appears that Virginia needs more families like the Hamners. The season is upon us, try to spend as much time hunting this fall and winter as you can. After all, it is your right.