Nine surveys of households in the United States between 1977 and 1990 show a declining proportion of the population who say they "go hunting." Twenty-two percent of the respondents to the General Social Survey (GSS) reported hunting in 1977 and this dropped to 17.5 in 1990. For males the decline was from 39% to 32%. Males were far more likely to hunt than females (32% vs 6%). Hunting participation among males is predicted to decline about 5.3% per decade. Only half of this decline is explained by socio-economic variables. Decreasing rural populations, increasing education, decreasing white population, decreasing family size, and a reduction in skilled manual occupation all decrease hunting participation. Only increased income and increased population in the mountain states slightly offset the decline. Among females, increases in hunting were due to increases in high-skilled manual occupations and mountain-state residence, and declining number of siblings, but were offset by changes in education, rural residence, and race similar to those for males. Given projections for social change, we expect the decline in hunting participation rates to accelerate in the United States.