What percentage of gun-owners are hunters ? (Page 3 of 3)
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Originally Posted By kpacman: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. Pro tip: dismissing the non-hunters as fat and lazy isn't going to make them want to join you. |
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Hunting and shooting are two entirely different activities, and I happen to enjoy both. I sure wish states actually managed land like they used to. Here in Indiana, it's different than when I was growing up, and I suspect other states are doing the same. Places I used to hunt are now all filled with undergrowth so thick you can hardly get through. Trails have been abandoned due to not having manpower to maintain, so I've been told. At least some logging has occurred almost everywhere and treetops are left blocking travel for us humans. Neglect is the word. They sell license plates and advertise the need for donations to purchase and conserve forest and wetlands. They even did away with lifetime hunting licenses, afraid they were losing income. Now they're wondering why new hunter numbers are lower than ever. |
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Originally Posted By Jayne_Cobb: Hunters are a cagey bunch. Their reasons are ...reasonable, but it makes it such that unless you grew up doing it, starting from zero, especially as an adult, is a rough and awkward road. Pro tip: dismissing the non-hunters as fat and lazy isn't going to make them want to join you. I know I painted non-hunters with a broad brush, but I'll tease out a bigger narrative. This not only pertains to hunting, but to generational changes that have taken place. There is another thread that discussed growing up with toy guys as kids. I owned pop guns, cap guns, and owned a BB gun when a bit older. We would take our toy guns out and play all day long. Later, after school, we would all meet at a field and play pick up football until it started getting dark and our parents wanted us home. These things just don't happen anymore. It wasn't an accusation that non-hunters are fat and lazy, it's just that generational changes have taken place, and there is little appeal for a teen these days to rise at 5:00 AM, hit the woods on a cold morning, and stay out there for hours. Like I said, years ago opening day sounded like a battle taking place with all the gunshots. I would probably hear 30-40 early on. Now I'm lucky to hear 3. |
| I occasionally hunt, but I'm not a big hunter. I go to the range more and also do some competitive shooting and also maintain instructor certifications. I'm probably more a collector than anything else. On the rare occasions when I will acknowledge that I am a gun owner, the competitive shooting and instruction activities are usually the most socially neutral. |
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I'm firmly in the get both... Back in the day a 4 moa rifle, (ok an sks with the projectile swap milsurplus to soft point lead was good 'nuf.) Fast forward to the late 90's and a 30-06 wearing a nice Leopold 3X9. Game changer at that point.. Way better than the interim 8mm Mauser. Between 2002 and now hunting rifles and not hunting rifles have both come a long way. It's synergy. |
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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. You also have to take into account people like me. When i turned 65, I no longer have to purchase a hunting license but I still go hunting. Just not as much as when I was younger. |
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Pretty blessed my Dad took me hunting a lot. He really likes to wingshoot. Doves, quail, ducks, geese. I went on my first dove hunt when I was three or 4. He took me deer hunting a few times but we never got one when I went. I did get to appreciate his two mounted bucks most my life. Had my first shotgun and shot it by myself in a dove field since I was 11. Killed my first woodduck at 15. Killed my first deer at 17. Lots of quail, duck, dove, and occasional squirrel hunts in high school. Dad took me with him on many traveling waterfowl hunts starting at 15. I loved duck hunting. Obsessed. Got into bow hunting deer in college. My little boy went on his first dove hunt this month. Three generations together. My little boy tracked a 8 pointer, i shot with my bow in the dark as snow was coming in at 4 years old. Mounted it for his 5th birthday. I love to squirrel hunt with air rifles and 22lr. Its been, maybe not a way of life, but surely a big part of my most cherished memories with family and friends. We always target shot some. I really got into it more in my late 20s. Hunting young builds maturity quickly if learned from solid teachers and provides life time of skills, patience, toughness and drive. |
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I hunt. I like being outdoors and going “off trail”. It has led to many experiences I could have had no other realistic way. I divide my firearms into broad categories, but there isn’t much crossover in my specialized hunting firearms. My grouse gun is not a wise choice for defense, for example. My old hunting buddy passed away seven years ago and that took much of the shine out of hunting season. I can’t go hunting and not think of him. I have yet to come across a person who is on the same frequency as him in the woods. I got shooting buddies but blasting steel plates isn’t the same as bumping a buck in the deep cedars. |
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Originally Posted By SuperMoose: I've gotten into bird hunting the last few years. Been deer hunting three times in my life and will try to go again this year (took a doe last year). There's some other hunting I'd like to try to do at some point. I didn't grow up in a hunting household, so no one ever taught me. The number of hunters is declining from what I understand, so I'd say that percentage is getting smaller. I also hunt birds. Not as many doves as I use to. Now more invasive Crows and Grackles with the explosive varmint bullets out of a 223 to prevent ricochets. I do hunt deer. They are usually in my driveway. Easy to kill one, and I don't get greedy. |
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I have been hunting a few times when invited by others. I don’t find it particularly exciting. A friend in high school invited me duck hunting. I decided after that first time a duck has never even come close to wronging me so badly that I will put myself through that misery just to kill one. Lot of time and money and beef tastes better. I do get a kick out of the guys who “hunt to put meat on the table” as if we’re pioneer living and the 4x4, the four wheeler, the lease, the transportation, the time off work, the processing, the rifle, the goofy specialty ammo, the camo, the blind, the feeder, the corn, the decoys, etc. don’t add up to way more money than just getting some ground beef at Walmart. Everyone needs a hobby, but the justification as if that’s the only way the guy can afford to eat meat sounds absolutely absurd and silly to anyone not part of that “culture”. |
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Both but... Hunting taught me a lot about shooting - stealth, spotting the target under field conditions, setting up the shot, breath control, trigger control, field craft, the importance of that one good shot. Recreational & competitive shooting taught me next to nothing about hunting. Is it fun? Yes, it is. But it's a game compared to hunting, which is the intentional taking of a life. I also learned a lot more about myself from hunting. |
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Originally Posted By VeryAverage: I have been hunting a few times when invited by others. I don't find it particularly exciting. A friend in high school invited me duck hunting. I decided after that first time a duck has never even come close to wronging me so badly that I will put myself through that misery just to kill one. Lot of time and money and beef tastes better. I do get a kick out of the guys who "hunt to put meat on the table" as if we're pioneer living and the 4x4, the four wheeler, the lease, the transportation, the time off work, the processing, the rifle, the goofy specialty ammo, the camo, the blind, the feeder, the corn, the decoys, etc. don't add up to way more money than just getting some ground beef at Walmart. Everyone needs a hobby, but the justification as if that's the only way the guy can afford to eat meat sounds absolutely absurd and silly to anyone not part of that "culture". But I hate venison. I used to do a lot of bird hunting, but it definitely isn't cost worthy. Upland bird hunting absolutely sucks in this state as well, better off with grouse. |
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Originally Posted By Windustsearch: Most of the time, but it can be pretty cheap. I could go get a doe this year for gas (less than half tank) and a license and tag on public of timber company land. It'd be pretty cheap for the pounds of meat. But I hate venison. I used to do a lot of bird hunting, but it definitely isn't cost worthy. Upland bird hunting absolutely sucks in this state as well, better off with grouse. Hah! Wild game is the most expensive meat on the planet, per pound. Esp. birds. Unless you live in a very rural area where you can just walk right out the door and get something. Last season I spent $3k+ to take the kids and me quail/dove hunting. All told, we got maybe 7-8 lbs. of doves & quail, dressed. That was close to $400/lb., and worth every penny. 
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| I was big into hunting and fishing in my 20's and early 30's. Now, not so much. Id love to get an off shore boat to go fishing with but im really not that into it anymore. I guess all my buddies got married and moved away. Every time I think of doing something, doing it alone depresses me, so I dont do it. Im happy married, and we do plenty of activities, its just not the same. I also wouldn't trade it. Sadly my son has no interest in hunting, fishing or shooting. That depresses me most of all. I have a bunch of sentimental guns ill have to sell because he has zero interest. That's a hard pill to swallow. I tried, he just wasn't interested.... I've had to much to drink, I'm going to bed. |
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Originally Posted By glocke12: Don’t forget a large # of people have a SD firearm and never shoot it. Think of all the purse guns and waistband guns. The vast majority do not practice or hunt. Those that are complaining about 2 months of rifle/muzzleloader season shutting down the forest are not hunters or recreational shooters. They are usually anti gun and anti hunt. They contribute nothing to the dnr funds through permits or bulk ammo purchase. |
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These days I don't even get out to the range enough. More a collector than a shooter now that I'm stuck in The Big City(tm). Would like to learn more about hunting and getting out there, though from where I'm located it's a solid 2+ hours just to get away from city, suburbs, etc, and metro CA is not real keen on outdoor firing near populations. So as the economists say, "high barrier to entry" when it comes to that. Not something I could readily do on my weekends, sadly. But I'm working on getting us out. |
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Originally Posted By merick: Anyone that is mediocre at competition shooting and has a loose grip on ethology won't find hunting to be much of a challenge. I agree. I can go for a hike with nothing but a pistol and just wander across deer. They aren’t very good at hiding, not smart enough to run very far, and I’ve never observed one attempt to take a shot at me. I’ve gotten with probably 20 yards of deer before just by walking quietly… well, as quietly as I can treading with a 30 pound pack. People claiming hunting teaches trigger control and breathing, but that they learn nothing from recreational shooting… that’s such a foreign concept to me. Sounds like an extremely few number of repetitions each year. It doesn’t seem like the art and craft some think it is… pretty sure I could have killed a number of deer over the years with a Glock 19. |
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Originally Posted By Lou_Daks: Hah! Wild game is the most expensive meat on the planet, per pound. Esp. birds. Unless you live in a very rural area where you can just walk right out the door and get something. Last season I spent $3k+ to take the kids and me quail/dove hunting. All told, we got maybe 7-8 lbs. of doves & quail, dressed. That was close to $400/lb., and worth every penny. Originally Posted By Lou_Daks: Originally Posted By Windustsearch: Most of the time, but it can be pretty cheap. I could go get a doe this year for gas (less than half tank) and a license and tag on public of timber company land. It'd be pretty cheap for the pounds of meat. But I hate venison. I used to do a lot of bird hunting, but it definitely isn't cost worthy. Upland bird hunting absolutely sucks in this state as well, better off with grouse. Hah! Wild game is the most expensive meat on the planet, per pound. Esp. birds. Unless you live in a very rural area where you can just walk right out the door and get something. Last season I spent $3k+ to take the kids and me quail/dove hunting. All told, we got maybe 7-8 lbs. of doves & quail, dressed. That was close to $400/lb., and worth every penny. It still costs tags and equipment, but they aren't losing wages or burning vacation hours. |
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Originally Posted By Jayne_Cobb: Hunters are a cagey bunch. Their reasons are ...reasonable, but it makes it such that unless you grew up doing it, starting from zero, especially as an adult, is a rough and awkward road. Pro tip: dismissing the non-hunters as fat and lazy isn't going to make them want to join you. I had the advantage of a father who was a great hunter. He taught me. I was tagging along with him before I ever held a gun. I was a "hunter" before I was a shooter. I encourage anyyone to be involved in the shooting sports, whether it's putting food on the table or just banging away on paper or steel. |
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I love and do both as much as possible, which isn’t nearly as much as I’d like between work and family commitments, not to mention financial constraints. They are different, however they are intertwined. When you hunt, being good at shooting isn’t just larping like it is for 95% of gun owners. I find that as technology advances, my psychological “need” to hunt, which is a time where I’m completely unplugged and solely focused on killing an animal, has exponentially increased. It would probably do a lot of arfcommers good to spend a week without cell coverage hunting. |
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I don't enjoy killing living things. I do eat meat and I have no Disney illusions about the cycle of life in the nature, but I'm happy to have the process outsourced for me. I even feel bad for the mice I have to experminate, they're cute. I do 'hunt' with a camera and wish I had training in tracking and stalking. |
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Originally Posted By Thrasymachus: I think you are way under estimating the bias on a site named ar15.com. I think the bias is in favor of the hunters and massively so. Poll says 52% hunt/ do both. There is no way 52% of gun owners nationally hunt. Maybe hunters are more likely to click on the thread, I don’t know. It’s pretty clear there’s massively more gun owners than hunters in this country. |
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Originally Posted By Canoeguy: The poll is showing about 50/50 but in the real world my guess is that is more like 10-15% of gun ownners hunt. Think of all of the people who own firearms leaning in a closet. This forum is for firearms enthusiasts so that skews the numbers. Exactly. Could also be that hunters are more likely to click on the thread. I suspect also this site gravitates a bit toward an older membership and older people probably hunt or have hunted regularly in the past. I don’t believe that even among firearm enthusiasts half of them hunt. Even here in Wyoming among my firearm enthusiast friends, majority of them don’t hunt. |
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Originally Posted By RifleCal30m1n00b: These days I don't even get out to the range enough. More a collector than a shooter now that I'm stuck in The Big City(tm). Would like to learn more about hunting and getting out there, though from where I'm located it's a solid 2+ hours just to get away from city, suburbs, etc, and metro CA is not real keen on outdoor firing near populations. So as the economists say, "high barrier to entry" when it comes to that. Not something I could readily do on my weekends, sadly. But I'm working on getting us out. |