CHAGRIN FALLS — Hunting is a Giarrizzo family tradition that’s been passed down through the generations. 

Michael Giarrizzo grew up hunting with his father and grandfather and later taught his two sons, David and Dean. 

“When they were born, you know, they were coming with me basically when they could walk, and it just became a part of life,” said Michael Giarrizzo.

It’s a sport they credit for the close relationships they share with each other.

“It's about the experience, it's about the camaraderie together,” said Michael Giarrizzo. “I think today, it's more difficult than ever to get time with your family, it's hard to get time, one-on-one time, with your children. When you create the time with a sport, that gives you a lot of interaction, direct interaction, you know, you can't replace that, you just can't replace it. So, it's super wholesome from that standpoint, and you learn a lot about each other and about yourself. And I couldn't see it any other way.”

“I honestly don't know what I would do without hunting and the outdoors,” said Dean Giarrizzo, Michael’s son. “And I'm so glad that when we were 5 and 6 years old, probably driving them nuts, that he was taking us out hunting.” 

It’s a way of life for the Giarrizzo family, something that’s at the core of their existence. At this time of year, they’re hunting daily. 

“It’s just something that's just so, so special that until you've experienced it, it's almost hard to describe,” said Michael Giarrizzo.

The popularity of hunting is on the decline. According to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hunting license sales have fallen from a peak of about 17 million in the early ’80s to 15 million this year. 

Ohio is seeing a similar trend. Hunting license sales have been on a slow decline the past 10 years with a slight increase in 2020, likely because of the pandemic. 

(Source: ODNR)

A report from The Pew Charitable Trusts cites that a number of states saw a surge in hunting interest that coincided with pandemic, when many were forced to find new outdoor, COVID-friendly activities. The report cites a number of possible causes for this such as the availability of online courses, the waiving of in-person skills assessments or even just the need for sustenance amid financial insecurity and supply-chain shortages around the nation.

This increased interest came as many states were also contending with a seeming decline in interest in the tradition. Over the years, Ohio has seen dips in sales and was in another steady decline that began around 2013.

At that time, according to the Ohio Department of Nature Resources Division of Wildlife​, a total of 2,011,150 hunting/fishing licenses were sold for the year. At the low point of the decline, in 2018, that number had dwindled to 1,753,259 total licenses sold. This is roughly a 12.8 percent decrease in a matter of five years.

There have been sharp changes in the state before, such as in 2000 when license sales numbers were just more than two million and dropped to 1.7 million in 2001.

However, the decline that began around 2013 had been more gradual, slowly dipping below the 2 million rate that had been relatively steady for about eight years. What had been a minor uptick between 2018 and 2019 in license sales of about 8,000 saw another surge of 83,039 in 2020, nearly a 5 percent increase from the year before and coinciding with the wave of social restrictions due to COVID-19.

Whether this uptick represents a fluke as a result of the pandemic or the start of continuous growth of license sales for years to come remains to be seen.

The Giarrizzos said the sport of hunting gets a bad reputation. They said hunters are a vital wildlife management tool. They’re part of what keeps the wild, wild. 

“You go into the whole conservation side of things for the wildlife. They have to be hunted,” said Dean Giarrizzo. “Otherwise, populations would get out of control, diseases and stuff would kick in, and it wouldn't be good for the wildlife. But also nature's nature, things have to be hunted, there's got to be a food chain and for people to hunt game.”

The Giarrizzo family is trying to preserve the sport they're most passionate about. In 2012 Dean, David, Michael and Michael's brother, Jeff, started vlogging their hunts and turned it into a hunting lifestyle show called Tag N' Brag. It also acts as a social network for hunters and fishermen and women to connect, post pictures and videos and learn from one other.  

Tag N’ Brag has acquired more than 150,000 followers across four social media platforms, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, and is Dean and David's full-time job. They have a few hundred acres in Western New York where they do most of their filming, but they travel all around the country to hunt. 

“We want to change the hunting industry and change the view of the hunting industry,” said David Giarrizzo, co-founder of Tag N’ Brag. “We want to be able to show people that, you know, this can bring people together, it can bring families together, it can bring friends together, it's a pastime. And it's not all about taking, it's actually more about giving back to the land, giving back to the animals, preserving what we hunt, and, you know, respecting it.” 

(Photo/Taylor Bruck)

They now have a voice in the hunting industry and are working to inspire more people to join so they can grow the sport and have an unparalleled love for the sport and they want to share it with the world. 

“Can you tell? I, it's, this is what I've put my, what I've dedicated my life to at this point. I mean, hunting is what I'm extremely passionate about. The values that it's brought to me in my life and our family is second to none. And I want to be able to share that with other people so that they can experience the same thing,” said David Giarrizzo.

Hunting dates back to the beginning of time and this family wants to see it continue for generations to come.

“It needs to be passed on for generations to come, the next couple 100 years. We need to keep the sport of hunting alive,” said Dean Giarrizzo.

“My kids will be shooting a bow as they come out of the womb, that's for sure,” said David Giarrizzo. “The family tradition will live on.”

For more information about Tag N' Brag visit here. 

Cody Thompson, a Spectrum News planning editor, contributed to this reporting.