Among the fall’s-around-the-corner indicators is the start of hunting season this week, although archers got a head start in some areas Aug. 25.

The game bird hunt opened Tuesday in mountain Wildlife Management Units and starts elsewhere Sept. 8. Otherwise, except for black bear which can be targeted Sept. 24 in the south and elk in WMUs east and south of Lethbridge this week, area big game hunters have until Oct. 25 to gear up.

And, if the jump in provincial wildlife certificate sales last year continues, more hunters will be out this year. Last year, sales rose 10 per cent to 110,000, the most ever.

Ted Feller, Marksman Guns and Sports owner for the past 25 years, says the boost may be a result of many hunters grudgingly accepting gun control legislation.

“Guys fought it but in recent years have been resigned to registering their guns because they missed hunting. It also helped for the Harper government to decriminalize gun control.”

Before that happened, “If you didn’t register your gun and got caught, you had a criminal record and that would keep you from going into the States. Now, they confiscate your gun and if your do the paper work, you might even get it back,” says Ted.

Gun control was blamed for a dramatic drop in hunters in the late ‘90s.

“It was taboo to hunt. None of my son’s friends would hunt. It wasn’t politically correct. Even today, if you stood in a bank wearing a golf shirt and shorts, no one would pay attention to you. But, if you had on hunting camos, they’d think you were robbing the bank.”

But, the wildlife certificate numbers suggest a rebound. And gun sales have risen steadily since 1997, when they bottomed to zero. They’re up probably 20 per cent since 1997 and 10 per cent over last year, Ted says.

Hunting can be expensive, approaching $400 for all the tags and licences on top of the basic WIN card and wildlife certificate.

Hunters going out this month will find temperatures slightly below average and slightly above in October, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. For tracking big game, historic averages support the likelihood of snow – 8 cm by late October and 18 through November.

This year for the first time, landowners in WMUs 108 and 300 are participating in a pilot Recreational Access Management Program (RAMP) providing access to hunters. Response from landowners exceeded the targeted 30-40 landowners and 130,000 acres. RAMP co-ordinator Grant Chapman expects a map to be posted online at www.srd.alberta.ca/ by late-September identifying private landowners contracted by the province to allow hunters access to their land.

“It’s a really good tool hunters will like,” he says. The map will provide information such as the location of the property, hunter sign-in box, access conditions, fence lines and mapped hazards. For unrestricted access, hunters need to access the sign-in box, read conditions and sign in. Restricted access requires hunters to schedule time through the landowner.

“We’re please with the response from landowners and from hunting groups.”

The province will pay landowners from $2,000 to $10,000 for access, and recognizing their contribution to wildlife habitat maintenance and enhancement.