LYNDEBOROUGH — The Pinnacle Mountain Fish and Game Club celebrated national hunting and fishing day Saturday with an open house aimed to get more children involved in the declining tradition of shooting sports.

More than 75 people, whose ability ranged from first-time shooter to experienced hunter, participated in marksmanship games. Some children who had never held a firearm before, like Amanda and Nicole Flanagan, learned to shoot a .22-caliber rifle with the help of club volunteers.

The Pinnacle Mountain Fish and Game Club hasn’t had trouble recruiting members, even in recent years, but club president Michael Cady admitted hunting, at least, isn’t nearly as popular as it once was in the region — especially among younger people.

“It is sad to say, but it is dying and dwindling. The number of people who hunt in this country is declining. New hunters are declining,” Cady said.

It was those potential new outdoor sportsmen that the club was hoping to attract at Saturday’s event. One of the biggest factors that contributes to children getting involved in hunting or fishing is whether their parents introduced them to the activity at a young age, Cady said. Events like the open house, and the two annual fishing derbies the club hosts, can be helpful in getting children involved even if their parents don’t hunt or fish, he said.

“If you don’t catch them early, they get involved in other things and I think they actually become afraid of the woods and the outdoors,” Cady said. “We’re not trying to brainwash them, we’re just trying to make sure they have a good experience.”

The number of hunters in the country has been on the decline for at least the last two decades. In 2006 there were 12.5 million hunters in the country, compared to 14 million in 1996 and a high of 19.1 million in 1975, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The number of people who fish dropped from 35 million in 1996 to 30 million in 2006.

Part of the solution to recruiting more young people to hunt and fish is to get more women involved in outdoor activities, Cady said.

“Let’s face it, women are still the primary caregivers, and if they get involved in hunting and fishing, they’re going to get their kids involved,” Cady said. “A lot of girls, especially, didn’t get the experience of hunting or fishing as a kid, because it was a father-son activity. The biggest percentage of people who want to learn about hunting these days is women.”

There is some evidence to suggest the decline in hunting and fishing hasn’t been as rapid in rural areas of the country, although Cady said he sees kids turning to other activities even in the Monadnock region.

“A lot of kids these days are growing up with nature deficit disorder,” Cady said. “Kids are more interested in video games or computer games than going outside to play. Whether you hunt or not, just getting out into the woods can be an eye-opening experience. Just go for a walk.”