What percentage of gun-owners are hunters ? (Page 2 of 2)
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Originally Posted By Thrasymachus: There is going to a strong bias on this forum for recreational/home defense shooting. My completely wild guess in reality hunters make up 20-30% of shooters, with the vast majority owning a gun for little defined purpose. |
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I did some prairie dog hunting in college, but thats because we knew ranch manager that was cool with letting us come out there. I've never been hunting since. Mostly because of expense of it here in Texas. unless you own the land to hunt on, you are paying for a lease or guided hunts. which the money doesnt seem worth it to me. |
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"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary"
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"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary"
-Vince Lombardi
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Today, I'd guess about 1/5th. True Fudd here during the early days. Now I only go to the range for relaxation. Back in the '50s, duck hunted with my Dad and in the late '60s hunted Whitetails in FL for a short while with a Winchester .30-30. The areas were covered with dense Palmetto and long shots were a rarity. Then I bought a horse, which took up all my spare time. I did train her so I could fire a Ruger .38 Blackhawk off of her back without her going saddle bronc on me. |
"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
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| I shot for years and years before I ever got into hunting. I always wanted to hunt but given where I live I always thought it was for the rich man. Then I learned about how many public places we have not far away, and I think heroin would have been a less expensive habit. |
Watching the kids shoot Pieeater's 1919 was great. Nothing warms the heart more than seeing a little kid kneeling in a pile of brass and links.-Pthfndr after the Nov 13th NorCal shoot
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I grew up in Socal back in the 70s/80s. Nearest hunting was hours away from where I lived. My dad, uncles, and grandfathers weren't hunters. It wasn't introduced to me as a kid. At least they were pro gun and I had a BB gun by 10, followed by a couple 22s and a 20ga a few years later. Just to go shooting was a 45 minute drive from home. One grandparent had a small 20 acre farm near Sacramento. I killed a bunch of frogs, birds, and rabbit, but by the time I turned sixteen the county put an end to shooting. My grandparents had cows, pigs, goats, and chickens, that were butchered right on the farm. No need to hunt. Twenty years later, I've moved to Utah and figured I might take up deer hunting. I've picked up three hunting rifles over the years. The friends I've met here target shoot but don't hunt. I'm not even really sure where to start. I need to get the Hunter Safety class done, but have never made it a priority. Additionally, the wife absolutely does not like venison or elk. We've had it. It's a factor in my motivation to get going. I'm basically retired now, but when working I never had the seniority to get the one week off that Utah has for deer with rifles. Now that I've got the time maybe things will change. Edit: California, all the way back in the early 80s was already rather anti-gun. In 84', I had my license and went shooting at the place 45 minutes away. It was off the I-15 in Rancho Cucumunga. At that time there was nothing out there. Like the nearest house was miles away. There was even a shooting/hunting club not too far away. Thirty minutes after arriving, the San Bernardino Sheriff's show up and I'm given a misdemeanor charge and have to go by to court over it. Fines and community service. It's illegal to even shoot a BB gun in most of Southern California now. |
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Originally Posted By LRShooter: ...Additionally, the wife absolutely does not like venison or elk... Subscribe to hunting magazines. Almost all of them have recipe sections for preparing game. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is one. Natinal Deer Association is another. Besides, the articles make for excellent reading, and you're supporting herd and habitat improvment |
"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
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Originally Posted By Frank_B: Subscribe to hunting magazines. Almost all of them have recipe sections for preparing game. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is one. Natinal Deer Association is another. Besides, the articles make for excellent reading, and you're supporting herd and habitat improvment Thanks. |
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I'll hunt hogs from time to time, but that's more of an opportunity than a primary reason for owning firearms. I'll shoot matches sometimes, though not often and usually only a couple a year at this point. Neither activity is why I own or shoot. Edit; as far as deer, I've only ever bow hunted.  That was with Dad before I was 18, not something I'm inclined to do again. Even with a lot of private property I don't hunt deer. |
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Originally Posted By Thrasymachus: There is going to a strong bias on this forum for recreational/home defense shooting. My completely wild guess in reality hunters make up 20-30% of shooters, with the vast majority owning a gun for little defined purpose. Solid point. |
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Originally Posted By chase45: I went hunting once Keep saying im going to bag a deer with my 629 but I uh never end up going Theres some public land I could hunt but that doesn't seem very optimal or promising so idk It seems like a rich person's hobby even more so than shooting itself Public land can be great. I got two bucks and a bunch of does on public land last year. Last weekend I hunted public land for two days and passed on several does. I enjoyed watching a doe with triplets hanging out 30-yards from me for nearly an hour. Never saw a buck or a doe that didn’t have fawns though. Saw every color of squirrel, hawks, an eagle, rabbits, frogs, heard turkeys but didn’t see them. Had a pack of coyotes move by me so close I could have touched one. All on public land |
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I used to hunt. Both birds and deer/moose. I got plenty of birds. (Partridge) but never shot a deer. Couple people I hunted with have all got one. I like being out in the woods. I probably wouldn't shoot one now. I just don't really care. Plus it's a pain in the ass. Gotta field dress them which I don't know how to do. Then drag them back to the truck. I will just get venison or moose meat from friends 
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Originally Posted By FZJ80: Deer hunting in Michigan, during the firearm season, on public land, qualifies as competitive shooting. The Hmong show up in family groups of 12-16 people. Each having illegally hung at least two tree stands in the summer. When one gets a deer they get on the phone and others come running to help with field dressing and dragging out. My primary complaint is they will lie about where they are setting up. That’s a safety question. No one is trying to steal your spot. I want to avoid shooting in your direction and I can’t do that if you lie to me about where you are setting up for the evening hunt. I’m hunting from the ground shooting bonded 30-06 and there’s no hills. Now I just try to find their stands during preseason scouting and mark them on my maps. Some of them haven’t moved in 3-years. |
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Originally Posted By Jeffg: I've hunted my entire life but as I get older the thought of getting up at 4:30 to go sit in the cold woods just doesn't sound so appealing. Move to the country. I can sleep in, have a hot breakfast then shoot a deer from my front porch. I've hunted most all of my adult life, don't plan on stopping unless I get to the point I can't. |
Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. In the end, the one who wins is the one who thinks he can! - SCI, NRA
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Originally Posted By glocke12: yeah I realize that but GD still represents a good cross section of the population. I'd probably put the error for the poll here at around 10% which is good enough for me. Theres really no good place to put a poll like this in all honesty. A hunting forum would be biased towards hunters, etc..etc... There's a hunting subforum but it's fine tuned by game animal . There is no Hunting GD that would fit your needs |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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Originally Posted By WYPete: It’s called hunting not harvesting for a reason… it’s an art and science and not easy. This. I hunt probably 90-120 times a year. See tons of deer, but may only kill one or two. |
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
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Originally Posted By Oldgold: This. I hunt probably 90-120 times a year. See tons of deer, but may only kill one or two. Originally Posted By Oldgold: Originally Posted By WYPete: It’s called hunting not harvesting for a reason… it’s an art and science and not easy. This. I hunt probably 90-120 times a year. See tons of deer, but may only kill one or two. Yep, it’s as hard as you make it. Taking someone new I make sure they have enough gun and put them in a spot I know they will see several deer feeding less than 50-yards away. That’s entirely different than targeting a big buck and making it harder by using a handgun. It can be as easy or hard as you want it to be |
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Both Grandpa's hunted, both lived through the great depression. My Dad never did, felt it was a waste of time. Mom's parents owned 120 acres (family still owns) so I have the property I can hunt on. I went some in my early teens. Until I shot a doe deer about 20' away 4 times with a 12 gauge Ithaca feather weight pump. Spent the whole day hunting the deer and never found it. Swore then (Ohio was shotgun only at the time) I would not hunt again until I could use an Armalite Rifle model 15. I now have a 450 Bushmaster AR15, but do not really have the time nor desire. |
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Lots of deer hunting in this area, but I don't have any desire to hunt. I remember my father going pheasant hunting in Ohio when I was a little kid. He never took me so I have no hunting tradition in the family. My son and grandkids are sport shooters only. |
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I've hunted in the past, but wouldn't consider myself a hunter. I don't have access to good private land and gamelands around here are borderline dangerous during rifle season. I'd rather go fishing. I could probably shoot two or three deer every morning but one of my neighbors is probably within the 150 yard minimum
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Done both. Got a state lifetime hunt/fish license years ago, only have to buy duck stamp, fur bearer on public land & few area specific additional permit/licenses if I want to hunt/fish there. It's still a lot cheaper than buying ammo, reloading gear & components for target shooting often. |
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I grew up hunting squirrel, rabbit & deer & target shooting. In my 20's, once a week I would spend 4-5 hours at the range shooting & talking to the Korean War range master & would deer hunt as much as possible. Now in my 40s I'm lucky if I go shooting once every 3-4 months & usually only 2-3hrs but I still try to deer hunt as much as possible. I think most gun owners aren't shooters, they have a gun & a box of ammo for "just in case", most hunters aren't shooters, they shoot 4-5 rounds to make sure they are sighted in & hunt with the rest of the box until it's used up & then buy a new box, & most shooters aren't hunters. |
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Originally Posted By Windustsearch: A quick search shows 15-16 million licenses sold annually, out of 80 million gun owners. So, not even a quarter. But there are probably actually more gun owners than that, its a number that is far harder to track. There are people that buy a license and never hunt, |
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Originally Posted By Windustsearch:A quick search shows 15-16 million licenses sold annually, out of 80 million gun owners. So, not even a quarter. But there are probably actually more gun owners than that, its a number that is far harder to track. |
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TX, USA
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Grew up hunting but haven't done it since high school (other than diving for lobster). Too much work and it's not cheaper than groceries. Defeats the entire purpose. Also really sick of eating game meats. I'd rather buy steak. That said, best thanksgiving turkey I ever had was back in 86 and it was one my cousin shot on a hunt. |
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Everyone I hunt with are huge gun nerds. It’s very common to try and get each deer for the season with different types of guns. “Well, I got my iron-sighted milsurp deer! Should the next one be scoped handgun, or suppressed AR?” Frequently have more guns than hunters in each blind “this one is if a deer comes in close, I have the AR-10 if there is a distance shot” Shit, the guns get kinda weird sometimes. |
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Originally Posted By bullsi191145: Everyone I hunt with are huge gun nerds. It's very common to try and get each deer for the season with different types of guns. "Well, I got my iron-sighted milsurp deer! Should the next one be scoped handgun, or suppressed AR?" Frequently have more guns than hunters in each blind "this one is if a deer comes in close, I have the AR-10 if there is a distance shot" Shit, the guns get kinda weird sometimes. |
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Nothing against hunting, just not something I grew up doing. I even went and took the safety courses and got a license with the intent of doing it, but it really is a pain to navigate land usage and things like that as an “outsider”. I don’t ever see myself becoming a regular hunter, but I would like to at least possess the skill set to take game, process it, and fill a freezer. I still think there is a pretty big divide between shooters and hunters. Most of the hunting crowd I talk to doesn’t shoot all that much and most of the shooters I see at the range on a weekly basis don’t really hunt. When you get away from this forum, the “fudd” mentality is still pretty prevalent as well. There is still some hostility to anything guns that isn’t hunting related; be that gas guns, long range shooting, or competition. |
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I'm absolutely shocked by the small percentage here that hunt. Hunting is what got me into guns and I hunted every season from when I was 15 yr. old and stopped three years ago at age 69. I loved hunting pheasants and deer when in season. I started noticing fewer and fewer hunters in the woods about 20 years ago, and during my final years I rarely saw a hunter or heard more than a shot or two on opening day. People are fat and lazy and the younger generations just want to play with their phones and stay warm indoors. |