Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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National Shooting

Sports Foundation

NSSF® Report

Understanding Activities that

Compete with Hunting and

Target Shooting

2011 Comprehensive Consumer Study

Fun

Social

Outdoors

Responsive Management

Full Report



UNDERSTANDING ACTIVITIESTHAT COMPETE WITH

HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CONDUCTED BY

NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION® (NSSF)

SOUTHWICK ASSOCIATES

RESPONSIVE MANAGEMENT

2011

© 2012 National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (NSSF®). All Rights Reserved. No part of thispublication may be republished, reproduced or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, except in the case of brief quotations in articles. NSSF members in good standing may share

this publication with their employees, including making it available for internal viewing or download via

their company intranet sites, provided 1.) the publication is offered in its entirety, including this

paragraph, and 2) is accompanied by the following notice: “This publication is made available to

employees for job reference purposes only, not for redistribution outside the company.” Organizations

wishing to share this publication with other parties must contact NSSF for prior written permission.



Acknowledgments

Southwick Associates and Responsive Management would like to thank Jim Curcuruto and

Melissa Schilling of the National Shooting Sports Foundation for their input, support, andguidance on this project.



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGYThis study was sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to examine the

activities that compete with hunting and target shooting—in other words, to examine the things

that people do when they do not go hunting or target shooting. This survey asked hunters and

target shooters to name the activities that are drawing them away from hunting and target

shooting, and it asked them about what attracts them to these alternatives. In short, this study

will help the NSSF know its competition.

Specifically, this research identified the activities that are competing with hunting and targetshooting, the types of satisfactions hunters and target shooters are deriving from these activities,

the benefits that encourage lapsed hunters and target shooters to return to hunting and target

shooting, and how future marketing efforts can help overcome the factors driving hunters andtarget shooters to other activities. The study entailed two telephone surveys: one of hunters and

one of target shooters. Each sample was stratified into active participants, intermittent

participants, and ex-participants.

Use of Telephones for the SurveysFor the surveys, telephones were selected as the preferred sampling medium because of the

almost universal ownership of telephones (both landlines and cell phones were called).

Additionally, telephone surveys, relative to mail or Internet surveys, allow for more scientificsampling and data collection, provide higher quality data, obtain higher response rates, are more

timely, and are more cost-effective. Telephone surveys also have fewer negative effects on the

environment than do mail surveys because of reduced use of paper and reduced energyconsumption for delivering and returning the questionnaires.

Questionnaire DesignThe telephone survey questionnaires were developed cooperatively by Responsive Management,

Southwick Associates, and the NSSF, based on the research team’s familiarity with hunting and

target shooting issues. Southwick Associates conducted an internal review of the questionnaires

for their wording, and Responsive Management conducted pre-tests of the questionnaires toensure proper wording, flow, and logic in the surveys.

Survey SampleThe study focused on six states representing a broad geographic spread, with a range of states

from those with increasing trends of hunting license holders to those with decreasing trends of

hunting license holders since 1990: Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire,and Washington. The sample of target shooters was taken from identified target shooters in a

database of outdoor recreationists maintained by Responsive Management.

Telephone Interviewing FacilitiesA central polling site at the Responsive Management office allowed for rigorous quality control

over the interviews and data collection. Responsive Management maintains its own in-house

telephone interviewing facilities. These facilities are staffed by interviewers with experienceconducting computer-assisted telephone interviews on the subjects of outdoor recreation and

natural resources.



ii Responsive Management

Interviewing Dates and TimesTelephone surveying times are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday

from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time. The survey was

conducted in January through April 2011.

Telephone Survey Data CollectionThe software used for data collection was Questionnaire Programming Language. ResponsiveManagement obtained a total of 2,228 completed interviews with hunters and 1,541 completed

interviews with target shooters.

Data AnalysisThe analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences as well as

proprietary software developed by Responsive Management and Southwick Associates. In the

survey itself and in the data analysis, each respondent was categorized as being an activeparticipant, an intermittent (or occasional) participant, or an ex-participant. The definitions were

as follows:

o A hunter who hunted 2 of the past 2 years was considered an active hunter, regardless of

whether he/she had hunted any of the 3 years previous to that. Also, a hunter who hunted

only 1 of the past 2 years but hunted 4 of the past 5 years was considered an activehunter.

o A hunter who hunted only 1 of the past 2 years was considered an intermittent hunter,

with the exception of the above (hunted 1 of past 2, but also hunted 4 of the past 5 years).

A hunter who did not hunt at all in the past 2 years was also considered an intermittenthunter if he/she had hunted all 3 of the years previous to that (i.e., 3 of the past 5 years).

o Finally, a hunter who did not hunt at all in the past 2 years and hunted no more than 2 of the past 5 years was considered an ex-hunter.

o A target shooter who went target shooting all 5 of the past 5 years was considered an

active target shooter.

o A target shooter who went target shooting 2 of the past 2 years but not all 5 of the past 5

years was considered an intermittent target shooter. Additionally, a target shooter whowent target shooting 1 of the past 2 years, regardless of whether he/she went target

shooting in the 3 years previous to that, was also considered an intermittent shooter.

Finally, a target shooter who did not go target shooting at all in the past 2 years but wenttarget shooting 3 of the past 5 years was considered an intermittent target shooter.

o Finally, a target shooter who did not target shoot at all in the past 2 years and went target

shooting no more than 2 of the past 5 years was considered an ex-target shooter.

During the analysis, two approaches were used to assign hunters into the categories above. First

was to assign them based on their reported rates of participation. The second approach assigned

them based on the years that they purchased hunting licenses in a particular state, according tothe data in the database. While both approaches have plusses and minuses, after all analyses

were complete, the findings and data interpretations were congruent in both approaches, lending

additional credence to all results.



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting iii

Types of Questions in the SurveyIn examining the results, it is important to be aware that the questionnaire included several types

of questions:

Open-ended questions are those in which no answer set is read to the respondents; rather,they can respond with anything that comes to mind from the question.

Close-ended questions have a response set from which to choose. Some questions allow only a single response, while other questions allow respondents to

give more than one response or choose all that apply. Those that allow more than a

single response are indicated on the graphs with the label, “Multiple Responses

Allowed.”

IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSThe findings point to many strategies that can be undertaken in the overall effort to recruit and

retain hunters and target shooters in those sports. Many of the strategies aim at very specificmarkets, while other strategies are more broad. Note that, because there are many different

target markets within the overall population, no one single strategy will suffice for all people,

issues, or needs.

The implications will be examined within the five major topic areas defined by the chapter titles.

These include the following:

o Participation in Outdoor Activities, Including Hunting and Target Shooting

o Specific Aspects of Participation in Hunting and Target Shooting

o Motivations for Participating in Activities, Satisfactions Derived From Them, andReasons for Increased Avidity

o Constraints to Participating in Activities, Dissatisfactions With Activities, and Reasonsfor Decreased Avidity

o Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

While this implications section examines many of the major issues, it is important that all

professionals involved in recruitment and retention should consult all the data contained herein.

There are many nuances of the data that may not be mentioned in this section.

Participation in Outdoor Activities, Including Hunting and Target Shooting The surveys asked all respondents to name their top three outdoor activities, and the

questions were open-ended, meaning that no response set was read to respondents.

In each survey, this question preceded any questions about hunting or target shooting so

as to not bias the results, allowing an accurate look at the activities in which sportsmenand sportswomen participate.

What is immediately clear is that nature-based outdoor recreation is of great importance tothese respondents. For both groups, hunters and target shooters, the top four activities are

nature-based: fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping.

For both the hunters and the target shooters who were surveyed, their top activities are

fishing and hunting. Fishing was named by a majority of hunters and target shooters, andhunting was named by a near-majority of hunters and a majority of target shooters.



iv Responsive Management

A second tier of activities consists of hiking and camping. In both the hunter and shootersurvey results, hiking and camping were named by substantially more respondents than

the next activity in the ranking.

Furthermore, many of the lesser activities are nature based:

o Activities named by respondents include gardening/landscaping, visiting a state or

national park, wildlife viewing/wildlife photography, cutting/splitting firewood andforestry work, SCUBA diving, rock/mountain climbing, trapping, crabbing/clamdigging, and wild harvesting (e.g., mushrooms)

While certainly some amount of hunting and target shooting participation is lost to hikingand camping, it may be that many of these intermittent and ex-hunters and target shooters

were hiking and camping all along. Nonetheless, the data suggest that other outdoorrecreationists, particularly anglers, constitute a quite important target market.

The findings described above suggest that the act of hunting or target shooting itself may notbe the primary goal for many participants. Hunting and target shooting may be a means to

enjoy and experience nature. If true, then hunting and target shooting could be easily

substitutable with other activities that also provide benefits associated with being outdoorsand close to nature. Factors that detract from hunting and target shooting or make it more

costly or complicated are likely to encourage some hunters and target shooters to increase

time spent in other outdoor pursuits.

One marketing strategy is to market hunting and target shooting as part of a total outdoor

experience. The “total outdoor experience” is a potential campaign theme, or part of one.

Identify and stress the unique selling points of hunting and target shooting. While part of a

total outdoor experience, there are unique aspects of and satisfactions derived from hunting

and target shooting that differentiate them from the other outdoor activities. The lack of

hunting and target shooting, with their unique selling points, would leave out a couple of thepieces of the “total outdoor experience.”

Also of moderate importance as a competing activity is boating, as well as snow sports and

golfing. Note that participation levels in these activities, however, is not high. The data does

not support the contention that hunters and target shooters are leaving hunting and target

shooting in droves in favor of these other activities.

The surveys explored another aspect of participation in outdoor recreation, askingrespondents about the types of hunting and target shooting that they would like to try.

Of foremost interest is that a majority of hunters and target shooters indicate no interest

in trying hunting/target shooting outside of their regular hunting and target shootingactivities. This leaves no more than about 2 in 5 participants indicating interest in other

types of activities within their sport.

In general, many of the hunters who wanted to try a different type of hunting named adifferent species from their typical game.

o For instance, elk is a top interest, which is certainly out of the realm of most hunters’

typical experience. Other types of hunting named included hunting for such things asmoose, boar, bighorn sheep, antelope, caribou, cougar, alligator, and wolf.



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting v

In general, target shooters named various other types of shooting that they would like totry rather than naming different types of firearms. In a finding that may be counter to the

prevailing perception of target shooters among some non-shooters, the survey did not

find that shooters simply wished to shoot bigger and more powerful firearms; rather, they

showed interest in different types of target shooting.

Note that changes in participation tend to be subtle. One does not go from being an active

hunter to an ex-hunter in a single day—one doesn’t simply wake up and declare that he/she isquitting hunting. Rather, the changes in participation level are gradual, not typically

triggered by a single event or by the sudden discovery of another type of outdoor recreation.

Specific Aspects of Participation in Hunting and Target Shooting This section explores some aspects of hunting and target shooting trips, including likely

companions. These questions pertain to the decision-making process when hunters and

target shooters decide whether to go hunting or target shooting.

The first aspect explored in this section is hunting and target shooting companions. Bothsurveys asked respondents about the amount of time that they hunt and target shoot with

others and the amount of time that they hunt and target shoot alone. Clearly, these activities

are predominantly done in groups rather than alone.

Very low percentages always hunt/target shoot alone.

A majority of each group always go hunting/target shooting with a companion.

Overall, hunting and target shooting are, for most participants, social activities,suggesting that other outdoor activities that can be shared with others could likely drawhunters and target shooters away from those sports. Efforts to encourage hunters and

target shooters to invite friends along, such as Step Outside, are important.

The next question concerns with whom these people engage in these activities. For both activities, family plays an important role (more so with hunting than target

shooting): a large majority of hunters who hunt at least some of the time with somebody

else typically hunt with a family member (not exclusive of also having a friend along),

and a slightly smaller majority of target shooters who shoot at least some of the time withsomebody else typically target shoot with a family member.

This is not to say that friends are not important, as a near-majority of hunters who huntwith others and a solid majority of target shooters who shoot with others named friends

as typical companions.

Another aspect related to planning of hunting and target shooting trips is how far ahead

people plan trips. Spontaneity is important to target shooting and, to a lesser extent, hunting. Less than a third of hunters plan their hunting trips more than a month ahead of time.

Additionally, about a third say that all of their trips are planned with less than 2 weeksnotice.

Among target shooters, less than 1 in 10 plan their target shooting excursions more than amonth ahead of time. Also, a majority of target shooters say that all of their trips are

planned with less than 2 weeks notice.



vi Responsive Management

Motivations for Participating in Activities, Satisfactions Derived From Them, andReasons for Increased Avidity It is important to not forget the “fun” part of hunting and target shooting. This is the top

motivation for hunting and target shooting.

For hunters, being close to nature is an important motivation, as is getting meat. When asked about why they hunt, more than a quarter of hunters gave an answer related

to being outdoors or being close to nature.

Although other studies have found that hunting for the meat is not a primary reason for

hunting among many hunters when they are asked to choose their single primary reasonfor hunting, the motivation of hunting for meat is, nonetheless, important. In an open-

ended question asking about motivations for hunting that allowed for more than oneresponse, hunting for meat was named by nearly a quarter of hunters.

For target shooters, increasing skills is an important motivation for going target shooting.

This includes increasing skills related to hunting. A substantial percentage of target

shooters mentioned hunting in their answer regarding reasons that they go target shooting(in an open-ended question in which respondents can say anything that comes to mind).

Finally, for both hunters and target shooters, camaraderie is an important motivation for

participating in hunting and target shooting. Related to this is the fact that being asked to gohunting or target shooting can increase one’s interest in the activities, as well as increase the

likelihood that he/she will go.

Marketing and advertising should stress the social aspects of hunting and target shooting.

Efforts to encourage hunters and target shooters to invite friends and family are asimportant as ever. Programs such as Step Outside that focus on this very theme are

important.

Compared to rural and urban hunters, suburban hunters appear to be more influenced byfriends and family members: of the three groups, suburban hunters were more likely to

say that being with friends and family is a motivation for hunting. Marketing the friendsand family aspects of hunting should be effective among suburban hunters.

There is some evidence that multiple satisfactions promote avidity. In other words, a personwho tries only one type of hunting and does not like that one type will desert the sport.

Another person who tries multiple types of hunting will be less likely to desert the sport

simply because one type was not well liked. The satisfactions that the latter person seeksmay be provided by some other type of hunting, if the first did not do so. Therefore, it is

important to address many motivations in overall recruitment and retention efforts rather than

focusing too much on one motivation at the expense of other motivations. In short,encourage hunters and target shooters to diversify when at all possible.

While specialization has its place in hunting and target shooting, particularly foradvanced hunters and shooters, too much early specialization to the exclusion of other

types hunting and shooting in recruitment efforts may not be effective and risks losing the

person if that one specialized type of hunting or target shooting is not to his/her liking.

There are obviously cross-marketing (between hunting and target shooting) opportunities,particularly to get hunters to go shooting outside of hunting. In particular, for hunters



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting vii

who are leaving the sport because of age, target shooting activities may be the nextnatural activity to engage their interest. Efforts to guide older hunters to target shooting

activities that are less physically demanding than hunting may increase target shooting

participation.

Recruitment of young hunters and target shooters is important, as evidence suggests thatmore avid hunters and target shooters are those who started at a younger age than did the less

avid (the mean starting age is higher for ex-participants than for intermittent or active

participants). It appears that hunters and target shooters who started at a young age derive

more satisfactions from hunting and target shooting, compared to those who started later in

life—in other words, some satisfactions become ingrained. Many hunters, for instance,responded that a motivation for hunting is tradition—that their father and their grandfather

did it. Some responded with, “I’ve always done it,” as the reason that they go hunting or

target shooting.

Apprentice licenses are important to allow young people to try hunting at an early age,perhaps even before requiring them to take hunter safety courses. (Those courses would

still be required to get a regular license; such an exception would apply only to apprenticelicenses.)

Constraints to Participating in Activities, Dissatisfactions With Activities, andReasons for Decreased Avidity Social constraints are of the most importance, rather than losing interest in hunting or target

shooting as well as rather than because other activities seem more interesting. Those who did

not participate in all of the past 5 years were asked about constraints.

More than a third of hunters who do not hunt every year cite time constraints/otherobligations as a reason for not hunting in some years. More than a quarter of target

shooters who do not target shoot every year cite time constraints/other obligations as a

reason for not target shooting in some years. One strategy aimed at the time issue is toencourage hunters and target shooters to put their plans to hunt or target shoot on the

calendar. In other words, encourage them to make hunting and target shooting a

structured activity—particularly before another activity claims their attention and time.

In a busy person’s life, things that are on the calendar are more likely to be done; thingsnot on a calendar easily fall by the wayside.

For both groups, age/health reasons cut into potential participation—the second-rankeditem in both surveys on this question. Consider alternative forms of participation for

hunters and target shooters who are older or not in optimum health, such as mentoring, tokeep them involved.

In short, because hunting and target shooting are often social activities—most hunting andtarget shooting is done in groups—they are also prone to social constraints.

One of the top non-social constraints, and a constraint over which agencies and industry mayhave more control than those cited above, is access. This is a constraint in both hunting and

target shooting.

The non-social constraint of access is of much less importance than the social constraint

of time (in both cases, “time constraints” was named over “access” by about 5 to 1);



viii Responsive Management

however, keep in mind that there is some amount of correlation between access and time.The research suggested that ex-target shooters typically had to travel farther to go target

shooting (when they went target shooting in the past) than do active target shooters (when

they go shooting now). In answer to how long it takes them to get to where they typicallyshoot, the mean amount of time was higher among ex-target shooters than among active

target shooters. This suggests that more distant access (measured in minutes) iscorrelated to a higher drop-out rate in target shooting. (An analogous question was notasked in the hunter survey because of concerns over survey length, but one would

intuitively conjecture that time to get to a hunting area may also be correlated to

participation in hunting.)

o Although access was not one of the top constraints, as noted, it is a constraint overwhich agencies and industry have considerable influence. It is important to provide

potential hunters nearby places to hunt and target shooters nearby places to target

shoot. If time is a constraint, then a shorter time to get to a place to hunt or targetshoot will help boost participation. (Assuming those nearby places are publicized.)

o Promote under-utilized hunting and target shooting areas. One way to do this is to

connect private landowners with interested hunters through lease arrangements,walk-in access, and so forth.

o Promote types of hunting with seasons that are relatively long, particularly relative to

deer season, which is the season with which most hunters are most familiar.

o The findings of a previous NSSF-sponsored study, Issues Related to Hunting Access

in the United States: National Results, have important findings to help address access.

Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting The greatest competition to hunting and target shooting are other outdoor activities,

particularly nature-based activities, such as fishing, camping, and hiking.

Fishing in particular is an activity that competes with hunting and target shooting. When

asked to name the three outdoor activities in which they participate the most, respondentsnamed fishing quite often. Clearly, anglers are very important in marketing hunting and

target shooting. However, that seeming competition can be used in the “total outdoor

experience,” with those activities complementing each other instead of competing.

Crossover participation between hunting and target shooting remains important. An

important market segment for hunting consists of target shooters. Likewise, an importantmarket segment for target shooting consists of hunters. This latter market segment is

particularly important, as it seems likely that many hunters could be encouraged to go

shooting outside of hunting on a regular basis, especially older hunters for whom hunting

may be too strenuous.

Events that combine these activities should do well, encouraging more crossoverparticipation.

While golfing had some participation that may have taken away from hunting and target

shooting, golfing was not taking vast numbers of hunters and target shooters away from

hunting and target shooting.

Furthermore, the data suggested that some of those who now prefer golf over hunting andtarget shooting are doing so because of age/health reasons: in short, golfing may be less



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting ix

strenuous for many people. As stated previously, these people are a good marketsegment for target shooting, an activity that may be less strenuous for some people.

Hunting and target shooting compete with more than just other activities. Hunting and targetshooting also compete against the benefits that those other activities provide relative to

hunting and target shooting, particularly if those benefits address social constraints.Therefore, other activities that are less constraining in certain areas will compete well againsthunting and target shooting. For instance, because time constraints are a problem to hunters

and target shooters, other activities that take less time will have an advantage over hunting

and target shooting. The biggest constraints and the activities that would take advantage of

them are listed below:

Time constraints. Fortunately for hunting and target shooting, many of the otheractivities in which respondents participate take much time: camping, hiking, boating,

golfing, and snow sports all are time-consuming. Nonetheless, activities that are

generally less time-consuming offer some competition to hunting and target shooting,such as fitness exercises, gardening, swimming, and fields sports, for instance.

Family-related constraints. Activities that involve the whole family may offer somecompetition to hunting and target shooting: camping, hiking, boating, snow sports, andswimming, for instance.



x Responsive Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology......................................................................................1Use of Telephones for the Surveys..........................................................................................1

Questionnaire Design ..............................................................................................................1

Survey Sample.........................................................................................................................2Telephone Interviewing Facilities...........................................................................................2

Interviewing Dates and Times.................................................................................................3

Telephone Survey Data Collection and Quality Control.........................................................3Data Analysis...........................................................................................................................3

Notes on Reading the Report...................................................................................................6Chapter 2: Participation in Outdoor Activities, Including Hunting and Target Shooting ..............8

Chapter 3: Specific Aspects of Participation in Hunting and Target Shooting ............................28

Chapter 4: Motivations for Participating in Activities, Satisfactions Derived FromThem, and Reasons for Increased Avidity...............................................................................38

Chapter 5: Constraints to Participating in Activities, Dissatisfactions With Activities,

and Reasons for Decreased Avidity.........................................................................................82

Chapter 6: Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting...................................107Chapter 7: Implications of the Findings......................................................................................131

Participation in Outdoor Activities, Including Hunting and Target Shooting.....................131

Specific Aspects of Participation in Hunting and Target Shooting.....................................133Motivations for Participating in Activities, Satisfactions Derived From Them, and

Reasons for Increased Avidity.......................................................................................133

Constraints to Participating in Activities, Dissatisfactions With Activities, andReasons for Decreased Avidity .....................................................................................135

Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting.............................................136

Appendix A: Survey Questionnaires ..........................................................................................138NSSF Shooting/Hunting Competition Survey: Hunter Survey..........................................139

NSSF Shooting/Hunting Competition Survey: Shooter Survey.........................................144Analogous Questions in Hunter and Shooter Survey..........................................................150

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1. Responses to Questions and Resulting Categories ........................................................4

Table 4.1. Things to Encourage Hunting Among All Hunters .....................................................52

Table 4.2. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Active Hunters................................................53

Table 4.3. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Intermittent Hunters .......................................54

Table 4.4. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Ex-Hunters......................................................55Table 4.5. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among All Target Shooters............................59

Table 4.6. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Active Target Shooters......................60Table 4.7. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Intermittent Target Shooters..............61

Table 4.8. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Ex-Target Shooters ............................62



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. States Included in Study...............................................................................................2

Figure 2.1. Top Activities of Hunters.............................................................................................9Figure 2.2. Top Activities of Target Shooters ..............................................................................11Figure 2.3. Primary Activities of Hunters Crosstabulated by Participation Status.......................13

Figure 2.4. Primary Activities of Target Shooters Crosstabulated by Participation Status..........14

Figure 2.5. Other Hunting Activities of Interest to Hunters .........................................................16Figure 2.6. Other Target Shooting Activities of Interest to Target Shooters................................18

Figure 2.7. Interest in Other Types of Hunting Crosstabulated by Participation Status...............20Figure 2.8. Other Hunting Activities of Interest to Hunters Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................21

Figure 2.9. Other Target Shooting Activities of Interest to Target ShootersCrosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................22

Figure 2.10. Target Shooters’ Favorite Types of Target Shooting ...............................................23Figure 2.11. Types of Target Shooting in Which Target Shooters Most Often Engage...............24Figure 2.12. Crossover Participation in Target Shooting and Hunting Among Hunters and

Target Shooters........................................................................................................................25

Figure 2.13. Crossover Participation in Target Shooting and Hunting Among Hunters and

Target Shooters, Crosstabulated by Participation Status.........................................................26Figure 2.14. Self-Identification as Hunters or Target Shooters Among Those Who Do Both.....27

Figure 2.15. Self-Identification as Hunters/Target Shooters Crosstabulated by


Figure 3.1. Percentage of Time That Respondents Hunt or Target Shoot Alone .........................28

Figure 3.2. Percentage of Time That Respondents Hunt or Target Shoot AloneCrosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................29

Figure 3.3. Typical Hunting Companions.....................................................................................30

Figure 3.4. Typical Target Shooting Companions........................................................................31Figure 3.5. Planning Time for Hunting and Target Shooting Trips..............................................32

Figure 3.6. Planning Time for Hunting Trips, Crosstabulated by Participation Status ................33

Figure 3.7. Planning Time for Target Shooting Trips, Crosstabulated by Participation Status ...34

Figure 3.8. Percentage of Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of Time .............................35Figure 3.9. Percentage of Hunting Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of

Time, Crosstabulated by Participation Status..........................................................................36

Figure 3.10. Percentage of Target Shooting Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of

Time, Crosstabulated by Participation Status..........................................................................37

Figure 4.1. Most Important Reasons for Hunting.........................................................................38Figure 4.2. Most Important Reasons for Target Shooting ............................................................39

Figure 4.3. Most Important Reasons for Hunting Crosstabulated by Participation Status...........40

Figure 4.4. Most Important Reasons for Target Shooting Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................41Figure 4.5. Reasons That Hunting Participation Increased...........................................................42



xii Responsive Management


LIST OF FIGURES (continued)

Figure 4.6. Reasons That Target Shooting Participation Increased..............................................43

Figure 4.7. Reasons That Hunting Participation Increased Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................44Figure 4.8. Reasons That Target Shooting Participation Increased Crosstabulated by


Figure 4.9. Advantages of Hunting and Target Shooting With Others ........................................46

Figure 4.10. Advantages of Hunting With Others, Crosstabulated by Participation Status .........47Figure 4.11. Advantages of Hunting With Others, Crosstabulated by Participation Status .........48

Figure 4.12. How Often Respondents Are Invited to Go Hunting or Target Shooting,Crosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................49

Figure 4.13. Percentage of Invitations to Go Hunting That Are Accepted,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................50Figure 4.14. Percentage of Invitations to Go Target Shooting That Are Accepted,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................51Figure 4.15. Items That Would Encourage Hunting Crosstabulated by Participation

Status, Entire Series at a Glance ..............................................................................................56

Figure 4.16. Items That Would Encourage Target Shooting Crosstabulated by Participation

Status, Entire Series at a Glance ..............................................................................................63

Figure 4.17. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Hunting....................................................66Figure 4.18. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Hunting, Crosstabulated by


Figure 4.19. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Target Shooting .......................................68Figure 4.20. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by


Figure 4.21. Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting ...................................................70Figure 4.22. Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting, Crosstabulated by


Figure 4.23. Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Target Shooting ......................................74Figure 4.24. Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by


Figure 4.25. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Hunting .....................................78

Figure 4.26. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Hunting,Crosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................79

Figure 4.27. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Target Shooting.........................80

Figure 4.28. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Target Shooting,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status.....................................................................................81

Figure 5.1. Perceived Hassles Associated With Hunting .............................................................83Figure 5.2. Perceived Hassles Associated With Hunting, Crosstabulated by


Figure 5.3. Perceived Hassles Associated With Target Shooting.................................................86

Figure 5.4. Perceived Hassles Associated With Target Shooting, Crosstabulated byParticipation Status ..................................................................................................................87



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting xiii



Figure 5.5. Reasons for Not Hunting All 5 of the Past 5 Years....................................................88

Figure 5.6. Reasons for Not Hunting All 5 of the Past 5 Years, Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................89Figure 5.7. Reasons for Not Target Shooting All 5 of the Past 5 Years.......................................90Figure 5.8. Reasons for Not Target Shooting All 5 of the Past 5 Years, Crosstabulated by


Figure 5.9. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Hunting ........................................................92Figure 5.10. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Hunting, Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................93Figure 5.11. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Target Shooting .........................................94

Figure 5.12. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by

Participation Status ..................................................................................................................95Figure 5.13. Reasons That Hunting Is Not a Top Activity...........................................................96

Figure 5.14. Reasons That Hunting Is Not a Top Activity, Crosstabulated byParticipation Status ..................................................................................................................97

Figure 5.15. Reasons That Target Shooting Is Not a Top Activity ..............................................98

Figure 5.16. Reasons That Target Shooting Is Not a Top Activity, Crosstabulated by


Figure 5.17. Possible Reasons Why Hunters Might Participate in Other Activities ..................101Figure 5.18. Possible Reasons Why Hunters Might Participate in Other Activities,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status...................................................................................102

Figure 5.19. Possible Reasons Why Target Shooters Might Participate in Other Activities......103Figure 5.20. Possible Reasons Why Target Shooters Might Participate in Other Activities,


Figure 5.21. Non-Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting andTarget Shooting......................................................................................................................105

Figure 5.22. Non-Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and

Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status.......................................................106

Figure 6.1. Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target Shooting....107

Figure 6.2. Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target Shooting,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status...................................................................................108Figure 6.3. The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting.........................109

Figure 6.4. The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting,


Figure 6.5. The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Target Shooting............113Figure 6.6. The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Target Shooting,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status...................................................................................115Figure 6.7. Whether Another Activity Became More Interesting to Respondent Than

Hunting or Target Shooting...................................................................................................117

Figure 6.8. Whether Another Activity Became More Interesting to Respondent Than

Hunting or Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status ....................................118Figure 6.9. The Recreational Activities That Became More Interesting Than Hunting.............119



xiv Responsive Management



Figure 6.10. The Recreational Activities That Became More Interesting Than Hunting,


Figure 6.11. The Recreational Activities That Became More Interesting ThanTarget Shooting......................................................................................................................123

Figure 6.12. The Recreational Activities That Became More Interesting Than

Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status.......................................................125

Figure 6.13. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting ..............127Figure 6.14. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting,

Crosstabulated by Participation Status...................................................................................128Figure 6.15. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From

Target Shooting......................................................................................................................129

Figure 6.16. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away FromTarget Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status.......................................................130



Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGYThis study was sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to examine the

activities that compete with hunting and target shooting—in other words, to examine the things

that people do when they do not go hunting or target shooting. This survey asked hunters and

target shooters to name the activities that are drawing them away from hunting and target

shooting, and it asked them about what attracts them to these alternatives. In short, this studywill help the NSSF know its competition.

Specifically, this research identified the activities that are competing with hunting and targetshooting, the types of satisfactions hunters and target shooters are deriving from these activities,

the benefits that encourage lapsed hunters and target shooters to return to hunting and target

shooting, and how future marketing efforts can help overcome the factors driving hunters and

target shooters to other activities.

The study entailed two telephone surveys: one of hunters and one of target shooters. Each

sample was stratified into active participants, intermittent participants, and ex-participants.

Specific aspects of the research methodology are discussed below.

USE OF TELEPHONES FOR THE SURVEYSFor the surveys, telephones were selected as the preferred sampling medium because of thealmost universal ownership of telephones (both landlines and cell phones were called).

Additionally, telephone surveys, relative to mail or Internet surveys, allow for more scientific

sampling and data collection, provide higher quality data, obtain higher response rates, are moretimely, and are more cost-effective. Telephone surveys also have fewer negative effects on the

environment than do mail surveys because of reduced use of paper and reduced energy

consumption for delivering and returning the questionnaires.

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNThe telephone survey questionnaires were developed cooperatively by Responsive Management,

Southwick Associates, and the NSSF, based on the research team’s familiarity with hunting andshooting issues. Southwick Associates conducted an internal review of the questionnaires for

their wording, and Responsive Management conducted pre-tests of the questionnaires to ensure

proper wording, flow, and logic in the surveys. The questionnaires are shown in Appendix A.

The survey automatically moved respondents to the correct questions based on the respondent’s

answers to several questions. For instance, only those who indicated that their level of

participation increased were asked why it had increased. In addition, some questions had slightlydifferent wording among respondents, based on their level of participation in hunting and target

shooting. For instance, the wording is slightly different on some questions for those whoparticipated in the past 5 years versus those who participated “ever” but not in the past 5 years.An example of this is the question regarding species hunted. The question is coded as “Which

species did you hunt in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone hunting}?” The particular wording

the respondent got depended on whether he had participated in the past 5 years or not. Thesewording differences were automatically coded into the survey and were triggered by the

respondent’s answers to specific questions.



2 Responsive Management

SURVEY SAMPLEThe study focused on six states, chosen to include a broad geographic spread, as shown in

Figure 1.1, as well as to include a range of states from those with increasing trends of hunting

license holders to those with decreasing trends of hunting license holders since 1990. The statesincluded in the study are Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and

Washington. The sample of target shooters was taken from identified target shooters in adatabase of outdoor recreationists maintained by Responsive Management.

Figure 1.1. States Included in Study

As previously mentioned, both samples had three categories of respondents: active, intermittent,

and ex-participants. These categories were defined based on the respondents’ participation in theactivities in the past 5 years, as stated in the survey in answer to a series of questions. The

survey attempted to get a sufficient size sample in each of these categories rather than to obtain a

sample in the actual proportions of those categories. The specific parameters used to definethese categories is discussed in detail in a section later in this chapter, “Data Analysis.”

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING FACILITIESA central polling site at the Responsive Management office allowed for rigorous quality control

over the interviews and data collection. Responsive Management maintains its own in-house

telephone interviewing facilities. These facilities are staffed by interviewers with experience

conducting computer-assisted telephone interviews on the subjects of outdoor recreation andnatural resources.

To ensure the integrity of the telephone survey data, Responsive Management has interviewerswho have been trained according to the standards established by the Council of American Survey

Research Organizations. Methods of instruction included lecture and role-playing. The Survey

Center Managers and other professional staff conducted a project briefing with the interviewersprior to the administration of these surveys. Interviewers were instructed on type of study, study

goals and objectives, handling of survey questions, interview length, termination points andqualifiers for participation, interviewer instructions within the survey questionnaires, reading of

the survey questions, skip patterns, and probing and clarifying techniques necessary for specific

questions on the survey questionnaires.




INTERVIEWING DATES AND TIMESTelephone surveying times are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday

from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time. A five-callback

design was used to maintain the representativeness of the sample, to avoid bias toward peopleeasy to reach by telephone, and to provide an equal opportunity for all to participate. When a

respondent could not be reached on the first call, subsequent calls were placed on different daysof the week and at different times of the day. The surveys were conducted in January throughApril 2011.

TELEPHONE SURVEY DATA COLLECTION AND QUALITY CONTROLThe software used for data collection was Questionnaire Programming Language (QPL). Thesurvey data were entered into the computer as each interview was being conducted, eliminating

manual data entry after the completion of the survey and the concomitant data entry errors that

may occur with manual data entry. The survey questionnaire was programmed so that QPLbranched, coded, and substituted phrases in the survey based on previous responses to ensure the

integrity and consistency of the data collection.

The Survey Center Managers and statisticians monitored the data collection, including

monitoring of the actual telephone interviews without the interviewers’ knowledge, to evaluate

the performance of each interviewer and ensure the integrity of the data. The surveyquestionnaire itself contains error checkers and computation statements to ensure quality and

consistent data. After the surveys were obtained by the interviewers, the Survey Center

Managers and/or statisticians checked each completed survey to ensure clarity and completeness.

Responsive Management obtained a total of 2,228 completed interviews with hunters and 1,541

completed interviews with target shooters.

DATA ANALYSISThe analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences as well asproprietary software developed by Responsive Management and Southwick Associates. In the

survey itself and in the data analysis, each respondent was categorized as being an active

participant, an intermittent participant, or an ex-participant. The categorization depended onrespondents’ answers to several questions (or to their license buying data in the database from

which the sample was pulled—as noted by the asterisk in Table 1.1): whether they had

participated in the sport in the past 2 years, in the past 5 years, or ever, as well as the number of years of the past 2 that they had participated and the number of years of the past 5 that they had

participated. The possible combinations of responses and the resulting categories are shown in

Table 1.1 on the following page.




Table 1.1. Responses to Questions and Resulting Categories1st Question 2nd Question 3rd Question Results Categories

Have you doneany (hunting/

shooting) in thepast 2 years? If

not, in the past 5years? If not,

ever?

How many of thepast 2 years

have you(hunted/gone

targetshooting)?

How many of thepast 5 years

have you(hunted/gone

targetshooting)?

Possible responses: Possible responses: Possible responses:

Number ofyears in thepast 2 andthe past 5

thatrespondent

hunted /went targetshooting.

Categories*

(for huntingsurvey)

Categories

(for shootingsurvey)

5 years2 of past 2;

5 of the past 5Active Active

4 years2 of past 2;

4 of the past 5Active Intermittent

3 years2 of past 2;


2 years

2 years2 of past 2;


4 years 1 of past 2;4 of the past 5

Active Intermittent

3 years1 of past 2;

3 of the past 5Intermittent Intermittent

2 years1 of past 2;


In past 2 years

1 year

1 year1 of past 2;


3 years0 of the past 2;3 of the past 5

Intermittent Ex

2 years0 of the past 2;2 of the past 5

Ex ExIn past 5 years,but not past 2

(Theserespondents skip

this question.)

1 year0 of the past 2;

1 of the past 5

Ex Ex

Ever, but not inpast 5 years

(These respondents skip thesequestions.)

0 of the past 2;0 of the past 5

Ex Ex

*Another analysis used these same criteria regarding years of participation, but based the categorization on the

license database rather than responses to the survey.

The parameters for categorization differ slightly for hunters and target shooters because initialsurveying of the shooter sample found that the parameters that had been used for intermittent and

ex-hunters were too restrictive when applied to shooters—so few shooters would have qualified

for either of those categories that the final data samples would have been too small. After initialsurveying, the parameters were changed, and the respondents and their accompanying data that

had already been gathered for the shooter survey were re-categorized into the proper categories.

This meant that a few respondents had to be dropped from at most two questions in the datasetbecause they should not have gotten the questions based on their categorization. Specifically,ex-target shooters were not intended to be asked, “Has your amount of sport shooting increased,

decreased, or stayed the same over the past 5 years?” Therefore, the initially identified

intermittent shooters who dropped down to the “ex“ category when the new parameters wereadopted were removed from the data for this question, as well as either of the two follow-up

questions that they might have been asked (“Why has it increased?” or “Why has it decreased?”).




In summary, the definitions were as follows:

o A hunter who hunted 2 of the past 2 years was considered an active hunter, regardless of

whether he/she had hunted any of the 3 years previous to that. Also, a hunter who huntedonly 1 of the past 2 years but hunted 4 of the past 5 years was considered an active

hunter.o A hunter who hunted only 1 of the past 2 years was considered an intermittent hunter,

with the exception of the above (hunted 1 of past 2, but also hunted 4 of the past 5 years).

A hunter who did not hunt at all in the past 2 years was also considered an intermittent

hunter if he/she had hunted all 3 of the years previous to that (i.e., 3 of the past 5 years).

o Finally, a hunter who did not hunt at all in the past 2 years and hunted no more than 2 of the past 5 years was considered an ex-hunter.

o A target shooter who went target shooting all 5 of the past 5 years was considered an

active target shooter.

o A target shooter who went target shooting 2 of the past 2 years but not all 5 of the past 5

years was considered an intermittent target shooter. Additionally, a target shooter whowent target shooting 1 of the past 2 years, regardless of whether he/she went target

shooting in the 3 years previous to that, was also considered an intermittent target

shooter. Also, a target shooter who did not go target shooting at all in the past 2 years butwent shooting 3 of the past 5 years was considered an intermittent target shooter.

o Finally, a target shooter who did not target shoot at all in the past 2 years and went target

shooting no more than 2 of the past 5 years was considered an ex-target shooter.

As discussed previously, during the analysis, a second approach was used to assign hunters into

the categories above. The second approach assigned them based on the years that they purchasedhunting licenses in a particular state, according to the data in the license database from which the

sample was pulled, but kept the same criteria for assigning them into categories. While both

approaches have plusses and minuses, after all analyses were complete, the findings and datainterpretations were congruent in both approaches, lending additional credence to all results.

For any of the results that are shown among all hunters of any participation strata (active,intermittent, or ex), the data were weighted so that the states were in their proper proportions,

based on the number of hunting license holders in that state, according to Federal Aid in Wildlife

Restoration data. While this weighting plan applies well for active hunters, the plan was alsoused for intermittent and ex-hunters as a proxy, as there is no hard data on the actual number of

intermittent and ex-hunters in the various states.

For any results shown among all target shooters of any participation strata, the data wereweighted so that the states were in their proper proportions, based on the estimated number of

active target shooters in that state, according to the results of a target shooting participation study

previously conducted for the NSSF by Responsive Management (the analogous commentsregarding the use of the weighting plan as a proxy for intermittent and ex-target shooters applies

here, too). That study is Sport Shooting Participation in the United States In 2009 and can be

found on Responsive Management’s website at the following address:

http://www.responsivemanagement.com/download/reports/NSSF_Shooting_Participation_Report.pdf




NOTES ON READING THE REPORTTypes of QuestionsIn examining the results, keep in mind that the questionnaire included several types of questions:

Open-ended questions are those in which no answer set is read to the respondents; rather,they can respond with anything that comes to mind from the question.

Closed-ended questions have an answer set from which to choose. Some questions allow only a single response, while other questions allow respondents to

give more than one response or choose all that apply. Those that allow more than a

single response are indicated on the graphs with the label, “Multiple Responses

Allowed.”

Many closed-ended questions (but not all) are in a scale, such as excellent-good-fair-poor.

Many questions are part of a series, and the results are primarily intended to be examined

relative to the other questions in that series (although results of the questions individuallycan also be valuable). Typically, results of questions in a series are shown on a single

graph.

Responses That Involve NumbersOn questions that asked respondents to provide a number (e.g., respondent’s age), most graphs

show ranges of numbers rather than the precise numbers. Nonetheless, on most questions in thesurvey that asked for a number, each respondent provided a precise number, and the data set

includes this precise number, even if the graph only shows ranges of numbers. Note that the

calculation of means and medians used the precise numbers that the respondents provided.

Means and MediansAs indicated above, some graphs show an average, either the mean or median (or both). Themean is simply the sum of all numbers divided by the number of respondents. Because outliers

(extremely high or low numbers relative to most of the other responses) may skew the mean, the

median may be shown. The median is the number at which half the sample is above and theother half is below. In other words, a median of 150 means that half the sample gave an answer

of more than 150 and the other half gave an answer of less than 150.

Rounding on GraphsMost graphs show results rounded to the nearest integer; however, all data are stored in decimal

format, and all calculations are performed on unrounded numbers. For this reason, some resultsmay not sum to exactly 100% because of this rounding on the graphs. Additionally, rounding

may cause apparent discrepancies of 1 percentage point between the graphs and the reported

results of combined responses (e.g., when “strongly encourage” and “moderately encourage” are

summed to determine the total percentage who were encouraged to participate by a given factor).Questions that allow multiple responses may sum to more than 100% because respondents can

give more than one answer.




Decimals Shown on GraphsAs indicated above, most of the results are shown as integers. However, many of the open-ended

questions in this survey obtained detailed data. So as to not lose this detail, percentages below

2% are shown in decimal (as otherwise some would reduce to 0% if rounded to the nearestinteger). This is not to imply that the survey is accurate to the decimal place shown; it is simply

to show that a few people gave the responses shown. A duplicate study may not find those sameresults at those low percentages (e.g., that less than 1% of hunters participate in harvesting wildmushrooms) unlike it would the percentage of hunters who hunt for deer, the latter which would

be replicated in another study because the percentage who hunt for deer is high enough to move

out of the insignificant realm. Nonetheless, it is worth showing the small percentages as

decimals to see how many different activities are listed when one asks hundreds of people thetypes of activities in which they participate.




CHAPTER 2: PARTICIPATION IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES,INCLUDING HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING

One of the primary tasks of this study was to determine activities that are competing with and

replacing hunting and target shooting. An initial question regarding this simply asked

respondents to name their three top activities, regardless of whether these replaced hunting andtarget shooting or not (a later question specifically asked about activities that have replaced

hunting and target shooting). For both the hunters and the target shooters who were surveyed,their top activities are fishing and hunting (Figures 2.1 and 2.2). Fishing was named by a

majority of hunters (62%) and target shooters (70%), and hunting was named by a near-majority

of hunters (45% of them) and a majority of target shooters (71% of them).

A second tier of activities consists of hiking and camping. In both the hunter and shooter survey

results shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2, hiking and camping were named by substantially morerespondents than the next activity in the ranking. Among hunters, 17% named camping and 16%

named hiking (with the next activity having 9%), and among target shooters, 16% named hiking

and 15% named camping (with the next activity having 10%). Clearly, hiking and campingoccupy a second tier—not nearly as important as fishing and hunting, but nonetheless withsubstantial participation.

Also of moderate importance as a competing activity is boating (and boating-related activities):8% of hunters and 10% of target shooters named this. Certainly, some of the boating activities

are done in conjunction with fishing and, to a lesser extent, hunting.

Snow sports and golfing were the remaining activities of some importance as a competing

activity, with 7% of hunters and 5% of target shooters naming snow sports, and 9% of both

groups naming golfing. Below these, the activities listed are numerous, but done by relatively

small percentages—no more than 5% of respondents.

What is immediately clear is that nature-based outdoor recreation is of great importance to these

respondents. For both groups, hunters and target shooters, the top four activities are nature-based: fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping. Furthermore, many of the lesser activities

(hunters named 42 activities in the hunter survey, and target shooters named 35 activities in the

shooting survey) are nature based: gardening/landscaping, visiting a state or national park,wildlife viewing/wildlife photography, cutting/splitting firewood and forestry work, SCUBA

diving, rock/mountain climbing, trapping, crabbing/clam digging, and wild harvesting (e.g.,

mushrooms).




Q13. Can you please tell me the three outdoor

activities you have participated in most often for

fun, relaxation, or health during your non-work timein the past 2 years?

(Open-ended.) (Part 1)

5

5

7

62

45

17

16

9

8

4

4

4

3

2

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Hunting

Camping

Hiking

Golfing

Boating or water skiing or water tubing

Snow sports

Fitness exercises, such as jogging or trail walking

Off-highway driving / using an ATV

Shooting or target shooting

Bicycling or mountain biking

Gardening / landscaping

Swimming outdoors in pool or natural water body

Motocross / motorcycle riding / dirt biking

Field sports, such as football, soccer, or lacrosse

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.1 (Part 1). Top Activities of Hunters






fun, relaxation, or health during your non-work timein the past 2 years?


0.05

0.05

0.07

0.08

0.11

0.13

0.13

0.15

0.16

0.16

0.18

0.18

0.48

0.50

0.56

1.57

1.55

1.51

1.09

0.74

0.62

0.43

0.39

0.27

0.26

0.20

0.19

0 20 40 60 80 100

Baseball or softball

Horseback riding / horse-related activities

Visiting a state or national park

Walking

Wildlife viewing / birdwatching / photography

Farming / ranching

Cutting / splitting firewood / timbering / forestry work

Tennis

Auto racing / auto repair / auto restoration

Traveling / site-seeing / driving around (not off-road)

Basketball

Flying planes

Coaching

Church activities

Using an RV

Rock hunting / prospecting

Archery sports (outside of bow hunting)

SCUBA

Mountain climbing / rock climbing

Trapping

Crabbing / clam digging

Amateur archeology (e.g., hunting for arrowheads,

metal detecting)

Frisbee golf / disc golf

Skating / rollerblading / skate boarding

Flying model airplanes / radio controlled models

Cookouts / picnics

Mushrooming


Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.1 (Part 2). Top Activities of Hunters






fun, relaxation, or health during yournon-work time in the past 2 years?


3

4

4

9

10

15

16

70

71

9

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Hunting

Fishing

Hiking

Camping

Boating or water skiing or water

tubing

Golfing


Snow sports


Fitness exercises, such as jogging,

trail walking, etc.


Off-highway driving / riding an ATV


Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.2 (Part 1). Top Activities of Target Shooters






fun, relaxation, or health during yournon-work time in the past 2 years?


0.04

0.17

0.18

0.22

0.23

0.23

0.25

0.25

0.63

0.70

0.76

1.89

1.39

1.32

1.25

0.88

0.77

0.59

0.42

0.29

0.29

0.27

0.26

0 20 40 60 80 100

Swimming outdoors in pool or natural water body




Field sports, such as football, soccer, or lacrosse

Walking

Taking scenic automobile trips

Training dogs


Basketball

Farming / ranching

Tennis

Auto racing / repair / restoration

Rock climbing / mountain climbing

Archery

Photography

Clamming / crabbing

Watching wildlife / birding

Cooking out / grilling / BBQ / picnics

Cutting / splitting firewood / forestry-related activities

Hockey

Mushrooming / harvesting berries or other natural

foods

Volleyball


Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.2 (Part 2). Top Activities of Target Shooters




Another part of the analysis crosstabulates the above questions regarding primary outdooractivities by the participation status (i.e., active, intermittent, or ex-hunter/target shooter) to

determine if any important differences exist in primary activities according to status.

Specifically, in what activities are ex-hunters and ex-target shooters engaging at greater ratesthan their more avid counterparts. Figure 2.3 shows all the activities named by at least 2% of

respondents overall crosstabulated by participation status.

5

6

7

68

90

16

13

9

6

4

2

2

2

2

23

2

3

5

5

5

6

5

7

8

10

15

64

44

18

1

3

3

6

6

6

3

3

6

11

7

18

0

55

19

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Hunting

Camping

Hiking


Golfing

Snow sports



Fitness exercises, such as jogging, trail

walking, etc.



Swimming outdoors in a pool or natural

body of water

Motocross / motorcycle riding / dirt

biking

Field sports, such as football, soccer, or

lacrosse


Percent

Active (n=932)

Intermittent (n=633)

Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q13. Can you please tell me the three outdoor activities you

have participated in most often for fun, relaxation, or health

during your non-work time in the past 2 years?

(Open-ended.) (Shows only the activities named by at least

2% of hunters overall.)

Figure 2.3. Primary Activities of Hunters Crosstabulated by Participation Status

Other than hunting and, to a lesser extent, fishing, the differences between participation statusgroups is not markedly different. While active hunters are also more active anglers, compared to

intermittent and ex-hunters, they are slightly less active in hiking and camping. This suggests a

scenario whereby some hunters drop out of hunting but remain outdoorsmen by slightlyincreasing their hiking and camping participation. However, these differences are quite small, so




the number of hunters who are leaving hunting in favor of hiking and camping is not substantial.It seems likely that they may have camped and hiked all along, regardless of their trends in

hunting participation. The crosstabulation by participation status shows that ex-hunters are the

most likely of the three groups to go golfing. Again, however, the differences are small, so thedata does not support the contention that hunters are leaving the sport in droves to go golfing.

The crosstabulation of target shooter data by participation status shows that active target shootersare more active in fishing and hunting than are intermittent and ex-target shooters (Figure 2.4).

Again, all differences between groups, outside of for fishing and hunting, are slight.

3

5

14

75

82

17

18

11

8

3

3

4

02

3

2

5

5

6

12

8

7

19

68

66

16

4

2

5

5

5

4

0

11

9

15

56

65

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Hunting

Hiking

Camping


tubing

Golfing


Snow sports



trail walking, etc.



Swimming outdoors in a pool or

natural body of water

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s

A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q10. Can you please tell me the three outdoor activities you

have participated in most often for fun, relaxation, or health

during your non-work time in the past 2 years?

(Open-ended.) (Shows only the activities named by at least

2% of shooters overall.)

Figure 2.4. Primary Activities of Target Shooters Crosstabulated by Participation Status




The surveys explored another aspect of participation in outdoor recreation, asking respondentsabout the types of hunting and target shooting that they would like to try. Specifically, the

hunter survey asked hunters if there were other types of hunting that they do not currently do but

would be interesting in trying, and the shooter survey asked an analogous question of targetshooters (Figures 2.5 and 2.6). Of foremost interest is that 60% of hunters and 71% of target

shooters indicate no interest in trying hunting/target shooting outside of their regular hunting andtarget shooting activities. This leaves only 40% of hunters and 29% of target shooters indicatingany interest in other types of activities within their sport. For hunters, elk, wild turkey,

waterfowl, and bowhunting are of the most interest, while for target shooters, long-range, skeet,

competitive league, and target shooting at a formal range are of most interest. Note, however,

that none of the other interests were named by a high percentage of survey respondents, no morethan 3%. Because these graphs have rather long lists of responses, albeit named by low

percentages, the graphs are split into parts, with each part shown on a full page, starting on the

next page.

In general, many of the hunters wanting to try a different type of hunting named a more

seemingly exotic species (not to mean “exotic” as an introduced or invasive species, but exoticmeaning “strikingly different”). Elk is the top interest, which is certainly out of the realm of

most hunters’ experience and which has a limited geographic range—most hunters in the United

States do not even have elk in their local hunting areas. Granted, the next three species on thelist may be considered fairly ubiquitous—wild turkey, waterfowl, and deer—but these are

followed by such things as moose and boar, and the second part of this list includes bighorn

sheep, antelope, caribou, cougar, alligator, and wolf.

In general, target shooters named various other types of shooting that they would like to try

rather than naming different types of firearms. In a finding that may be counter to the prevailingperception of target shooters among some non-shooters, the survey did not find that target

shooters simply wished to shoot bigger and more powerful firearms; rather, they showed interest

in different types of shooting.




3

3

3

60

7

5

4

4

3

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

None / Not

interested in

others

Elk

Wild turkey

Waterfowl

Archery

Deer

Pheasant

Bear

Moose

Wild boar / feral

pigs

M u l t i p

l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q38/Q39. Are there types of hunting that you don't do now but

that you would be interested in trying? If yes, what species or

types of equipment are you interested in hunting or trying?


Figure 2.5 (Part 1). Other Hunting Activities of Interest to Hunters




0.01

0.02

0.03

0.09

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.13

0.14

0.18

0.25

0.33

0.630.63

0.81

1.75

1.53

1.30

1.20

1.11

1.11

0.53

0.48

0.45

0.41

0.34

0.33

0 20 40 60 80 100

Game birds in general

Other states / other locations / safari

Big game in general

Black powder / muzzleloaders

Any kind / anything different

Squirrel

Quail

Rabbit / hareSmall game in general

Dove

Coyote

Bighorn sheep

Different firearm

Antelope

Caribou

Grouse

Cougar / mountain lion

Mountain goat

Raccoon

Predators in general

Alligator

Game farm / hunting reserve

Prairie dog

Using dogs

Chukar

Partridge

Wolf


Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q38/Q39. Are there types of hunting that you don't do now

but that you would be interested in trying? If yes, what

species or types of equipment are you interested in hunting or

trying? (Open-ended.) (Part 2)

Figure 2.5 (Part 2). Other Hunting Activities of Interest to Hunters




Q46. Are there types of shooting that you don't do

now but that you would be interested in trying?


2

71

4

3

3

3

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

None / Not

interested in others

Long Range

Skeet

Competitive league

Target shooting atrange

Black powder /

muzzleloader

Sporting Clays


Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.6 (Part 1). Other Target Shooting Activities of Interest to Target Shooters







8

0.43

0.31

0.42

0.45

0.65

0.78

1.26

1.41

1.91

1.95

0.52

0.49

0.48

0 20 40 60 80 100

Trap

Cowboy Action

Either plinking or target shooting, but named a

type of firearm would like to try rather than a type

of shooting (other than archery or black powder)

Silhouette

NRA High Power

Bullseye

Benchrest

Hunting-related

Tactical

Five-Stand

Archery

IPSC or Practical shooting

Other

Don't know / did not name an activity


Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.6 (Part 2). Other Target Shooting Activities of Interest to Target Shooters




The questions about other hunting and other target shooting activities of interest werecrosstabulated by the participation status: active, intermittent, or ex. Figure 2.7 shows that

active hunters are more interested than are other hunters in trying other types of hunting.

Perhaps there were some thoughts that ex-hunters and intermittent hunters could be enticed tohunt by opportunities for other types of hunting; however, such opportunities appear to be more

likely to increase avidity among active hunters rather than among intermittent and ex-hunters.(Not to imply that encouraging greater avidity among active hunters is not a worthy goal.)

Q38. Are there types of hunting that you don't do


46

53

1

38

59

2

2

65

33

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.7. Interest in Other Types of Hunting Crosstabulated by Participation Status

Figure 2.8 shows the types of other hunting that respondents would like to try (among those who

indicated that they wanted to try another type of hunting) crosstabulated by the participation

status. Active hunters had the highest percentage of the three groups who wanted to try hunting

the aforementioned out-of-the-ordinary game: elk, bear, and moose, for instance. On the otherhand, ex-hunters had the highest percentage wanting to try deer, suggesting that some of the ex-

hunters were simply not very avid hunters to begin with and who had perhaps not progressed out

of the beginning stage of hunting wherein small game is targeted—almost as if their initiationinto hunting never progressed to big game. Overall, the differences between groups are

insubstantial on most responses (e.g., wild turkey, archery).




2

4

9

9

24

13

11

9

7

5

5

4

2

4

3

1

2

3

3

2

5

2

3

7

4

2

6

11

12

17

14

15

2

5

3

2

4

5

6

5

5

8

14

9

8

15

12

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Elk

Wild turkey

Waterfowl

Archery

Pheasant

Deer

Bear

Moose

Game birds in general

Wild boar / feral pigs

Other states / other locations / safari


Big game in general

Any kind / anything different

Squirrel

Quail

M u l t i p


Percent

Active (n=413)


Ex (n=215)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q39. What species or types of equipment are you interested in

hunting or trying? (Asked of those who say that there are

types of hunting that they don't do now but that they would beinterested in trying.) (Open-ended.) (Shows only those with a

total of at least 2%.)

Figure 2.8. Other Hunting Activities of Interest to Hunters Crosstabulated by

Participation Status




As was seen in the hunter survey, the shooter survey found that active target shooters are morelikely than are intermittent or ex-target shooters to say that there are other types of shooting that

they would like to try (Figure 2.9). For almost every type of shooting mentioned, active target

shooters had the highest percentage saying that they wanted to try that type of shooting, but thedifferences were quite small. Nonetheless, the differences, despite being small, offer some

insight in suggesting that active target shooters are showing more interest in other types of shooting relative to intermittent and ex-target shooters.



(Open-ended.) (Shows all responses given by at

least 1% of total.)

3

2

3

64

5

4

3

4

3

1

21

3

2

2

3

3

3

3

68

4

5

1

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

2

81

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

None / Not interested in others

Long Range

Skeet

Target shooting at range

Competitive league

Black powder / muzzleloader

Sporting Clays

Trap

Cowboy Action

Either plinking or target shooting, but named a type of

firearm would like to try rather than a type of shooting

(other than archery or black powder)

Silhouette

M u l t i p l e R e s

p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 2.9. Other Target Shooting Activities of Interest to Target Shooters Crosstabulated

by Participation Status




The shooter survey asked target shooters, after discussing the shooting activities in which theyengage, to indicate their single favorite type of target shooting. (Note that, because of

considerations of survey length, no analogous question was included in the hunter survey

regarding favorite type of hunting.) This is another measure of interest in other types of targetshooting, as it allowed for answers outside of the types of shooting that target shooters may

currently engage in most often. Figure 2.10 shows that target shooting at a range (24%) andsimple plinking (22%) top the list, with the next three items, sporting clays, trap, and skeet,combining for 29%. Note that each respondent could give only one answer to this question.

Q42. What is your favorite type of shooting?

(Open-ended.)

10

0.62

0.03

0.19

0.20

0.30

0.85

2

3

24

22

139

6

4

0.82

0.67

0.59

0.53

0.39

0.34

0 20 40 60 80 100


Plinking

Sporting ClaysTrap

Skeet

Hunting-related activities

Long Range

Bullseye

Competitive league

Benchrest

Archery


Silhouette

Tactical

Sighting a gun

IPSC or Practical shooting

NRA High Power

Five-Stand

Cowboy Action

Other

Don't know / did not name an activity

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

*Rounding on graph

causes apparent

discrepancy in sum.

29% *

Figure 2.10. Target Shooters’ Favorite Types of Target Shooting




When comparing the graph in Figure 2.10 previously shown with the results regarding the typesof shooting that target shooters do the most in Figure 2.11 below, a measure of latent demand is

produced. Note that a greater percentage of target shooters target shoot at a range (34% do this

the most) than say that target shooting at a range is their favorite type of shooting (24%, adifference of 10 percentage points). Plinking is similar in having no latent demand, with 29%

doing it the most compared to 22% saying it is their favorite type of shooting. On the otherhand, the three clay sports have latent demand: 23% do it the most, but 29% name one of theseas their favorite type of target shooting.

Q40. What type of shooting do you do the most?

(Open-ended.)

0.15

0.20

0.22

0.24

0.43

0.52

1.51

5

8

9

29

34

1.20

0.84

0.57

0.03

0.53

0 20 40 60 80 100


Plinking

Sporting Clays

Trap

Skeet

Bullseye

Sighting in gun / patterning shotgun

Long Range

Benchrest

Archery

Silhouette

Five-Stand

Tactical

NRA High Power

Competitive league

Cowboy Action

Other

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

*Rounding on graph

causes apparent

discrepancy in sum.

23% *

Figure 2.11. Types of Target Shooting in Which Target Shooters Most Often Engage




The surveys also explored the amount of crossover between hunting and target shooting, asshown in Figure 2.12. Specifically, the hunter survey asked hunters about participation in target

shooting (outside of hunting), and the shooter survey asked target shooters about their

participation in hunting. A little more than half of hunters (55%) indicate that they went targetshooting (separate from hunting) within the 2 years previous to the survey. Crossover was even

more among target shooters: 74% of target shooters indicated that they went hunting within the2 years previous to the survey.

Q57. Have you done any target or sportshooting in the past 2 years, includingjust plinking or sighting firearms, but

excluding hunting? In the past 5 years?Ever? (Asked of hunters.)

55

14

18

13

0 20 40 60 80 100

In the past 2

years

In the past 5

years, butnot the past

2 years

Ever, but not

in past 5

years

No, never

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q65. Have you done any hunting in the

past 2 years? In the past 5 years?Ever? (Asked of target shooters.)

74

11

12

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

In the past 2

years

In the past 5years, but

not the past2 years

Ever, but not

in past 5

years

No, never

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Target Shooters

It is not surprising that active hunters and active target shooters, compared to less avid hunters

and target shooters, are the most likely to have done crossover participation (Figure 2.13). Forinstance, 72% of active hunters have gone target shooting in the past 2 years, compared to 59%

of intermittent hunters and 37% of ex-hunters. Likewise, 89% of active target shooters went

hunting in the past 2 years, compared to 71% of intermittent target shooters and 56% of ex-target

shooters.





Target Shooters, Crosstabulated by Participation Status

Each survey included a follow-up question for those who participated in both hunting and target

shooting (Figure 2.14). The surveys asked respondents who participated in both activities to

identify themselves as either hunters or target shooters (but the survey allowed for those whosaid “both”). Those who did both activities more often identified themselves as hunters than

target shooters by a margin of about 3 to 1. In fact, both surveys had nearly identical results.

The crosstabulation of the question regarding self-identification as a hunter or target shooter

(crosstabulated by participation status) found some interesting differences between groups as

well as between surveys. As Figure 2.15 shows, the hunter survey found that active hunters,compared to intermittent and ex-hunters, are the most likely to consider themselves a hunter

(among those who did both hunting and target shooting). Meanwhile, ex-hunters are the most

likely to consider themselves a target shooter. It may be that there exists a group of not-avid

hunters who were mostly target shooters but tried hunting and then dropped hunting. Figure 2.15also shows the shooter survey results; there are only small differences between participation

groups on this question—a large majority of each shooter group answered that they consider

themselves to be hunters.

Q57. Have you done any target or sport

shooting in the past 2 years, includingjust plinking or sighting firearms, but

excluding hunting? In the past 5 years?

Ever? (Asked of hunters.)

72

8

9

10

12

59

16

13

29

18

37

16

0 20 40 60 80 100

In the past 2

years

In the past 5

years, but

not the past

2 years

Ever, but not

in past 5

years

No, never

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTERSURVEY

Q65. Have you done any hunting in the

past 2 years? In the past 5 years?Ever? (Asked of target shooters.)

89

5

5

1

2

71

15

11

21

19

56

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

In the past 2

years

In the past 5

years, but

not the past

2 years

Ever, but notin past 5

years

No, never

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTERSURVEY




Figure 2.14. Self-Identification as Hunters or Target Shooters Among Those Who Do Both

Figure 2.15. Self-Identification as Hunters/Target Shooters Crosstabulated by


Q58. Do you consider yourself more of a

target shooter or more of a hunter?

(Asked of those who both hunted and

went shooting in the past.)

73

16

10

1

2

59

15

23

33

13

45

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Hunter

Both

Target

shooter

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=839)


Ex (n=566)

HUNTER

SURVEY



(Asked of those who both went shooting

and went hunting in the past.)

62

19

19

0

2

62

15

21

19

9

68

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Hunter

Both

Target

shooter

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=487)


Ex (n=523)

SHOOTER

SURVEY



(Asked of those who both hunted and

went shooting in the past.)

59

15

21

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Hunter

Both

Target

shooter

Don't know

Percent (n=1,971)

HUNTERSURVEY



(Asked of those who both went shooting

and went hunting in the past.)

64

15

19

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Hunter

Both

Target

shooter

Don't know

Percent (n=1,485)

SHOOTER

SURVEY




CHAPTER 3: SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF PARTICIPATION INHUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING

The previous chapter explored the outdoor activities engaged in, as well as those activities in

which respondents wish to engage—all topics that directly pertain to activities that may compete

with hunting and target shooting. Chapter 3 explores some aspects of and target shooting trips,including likely companions. These questions pertain to the decision-making process when

hunters and target shooters decide whether to go hunting or shooting.

The first aspect explored in this chapter is hunting and target shooting companions. To start

with, both surveys asked respondents about the amount of time that they hunt and target shootwith others and the amount of time that they hunt and target shoot alone. Figure 3.1 shows the

“alone” side of the set of questions (the “with others” graphs are almost perfect reverse images of

those shown below and so are not included in the report). As the reader can see, very lowpercentages always hunt/target shoot alone: only 5% of hunters and 4% of target shooters.

Furthermore, a majority of each group always go hunting/target shooting with a companion:

63% of hunters and 55% of target shooters. Clearly, these activities are predominantly done ingroups rather than alone.

Figure 3.1. Percentage of Time That Respondents Hunt or Target Shoot Alone

The questions shown above in Figure 3.1 were also crosstabulated by participation status, asshown in Figure 3.2. This crosstabulation found that active hunters, compared to intermittent or

ex-hunters, are more likely to sometimes (even if not often) go hunting alone, as evidenced by

Q53. What percentage of the time do you

go shooting alone?

55

17

4

4

6

2

1

10

2

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent (n=1,541)

Mean = 19.18

Median = 0

SHOOTER

SURVEY


go hunting alone?

63

12

3

5

4

1

1

8

2

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent (n=2,228)

Mean = 16.70

Median = 0

HUNTER

SURVEY




the percent who answered “0%” (i.e., never). While only 57% of active hunters say that theynever go hunting alone, 64% of intermittent hunters and 70% of ex-hunters say that they never

go hunting alone. It appears that active hunters are more willing to go hunting, even if they have

nobody else to go with, than are intermittent and ex-hunters. The shooter survey found similarresults, with active target shooters more willing to target shoot alone: 46% of active target

shooters say that they never go target shooting alone, while 61% of intermittent target shootersand 64% of ex-target shooters say that they never go target shooting alone.

Figure 3.2. Percentage of Time That Respondents Hunt or Target Shoot Alone

Crosstabulated by Participation Status

The next question concerns with whom these people engage in these activities. For both

activities, family plays an important role (more so with hunting than target shooting): 71% of

hunters who hunt at least some of the time with somebody else typically hunt with a family

member (not exclusive of also having a friend along), and 64% of target shooters who targetshoot at least some of the time with somebody else typically target shoot with a family member

(Figures 3.3 and 3.4). But this is not to say that friends are not important, as a near-majority of

hunters who hunt with others (48%) and a solid majority of target shooters who target shoot withothers (57%) named friends as typical companions. For these questions, the crosstabulations by

participation status are not shown because there were no marked differences.


go hunting alone?

57

17

4

3

4

1

1

10

3

00

64

11

3

1

9

1

6

4

1

1

70

6

2

2

6

1

4

7

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

Means

Active = 16.67

Intermittent = 18.02

Ex = 16.32

HUNTER

SURVEY


go shooting alone?

46

21

5

4

7

2

1

11

2

01

61

14

3

1

8

2

3

5

2

2

64

13

2

2

8

1

4

4

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

Means

Active = 22.45


Ex = 15.66

SHOOTER

SURVEY




Q48. With whom do you typically hunt? (Asked of

those who go hunting with somebody else at least

part of the time.) (Open-ended.)

0.06

0.13

0.18

0.20

0.21

0.24

0.51

0.61

0.79

1.64

2

3

48

29

17

8

7

6

1.54

1.54

1.28

1.05

0.99

0.87

0 20 40 60 80 100

Friends

Family in general

Son

Father

Brother

Husband

Children (didn't specify son or daughter)

Grandchildren

Cousin

Brother-in-law

Wife

Son-in-law

Nephew

Daughter

Father-in-lawUncle

Spouse

Club

Mother

Grandfather

Sister

Aunt

Boyfriend

Daughter-in-law

M u l t i p


Percent (n=2,078)

HUNTER

SURVEY

71% name a

family

member

Figure 3.3. Typical Hunting Companions




Q57. With whom do you typically shoot? (Asked of

those who go shooting with somebody else at least

part of the time.) (Open-ended.)

0.66

0.74

0.76

0.771.33

1.73

2

3

5

16

32

57

2

2

1.76

0.66

0.36

0.32

0.26

0.23

0.22

0.16

0.15

0.10

0.08

0.08

0.08

0.06

0.01

0 20 40 60 80 100

Friends

Family in general

Son

Brother

Father

Grandson

Wife

Children in general

Daughter

Husband

Brother-in-lawNephew

Son-in-law

Club members

Grandchildren in general

Cousin

Spouse or fiance (did not specify gender)

Granddaughter

Sister

In-laws in general

Father-in-law

Uncle

Niece

Mother

Boyfriend

Sister-in-law

Grandfather

Girlfriend

Daughter-in-law


Percent (n=1,465)

SHOOTERSURVEY

64% name a

family

member

Figure 3.4. Typical Target Shooting Companions

Another aspect related to hunting and target shooting trips is how far ahead people plan trips, and

for the survey a trip is loosely defined as to include just a part of a day as a “trip.” This topic

was examined in two ways: the amount of lead-time for a typical trip, and then the portion of alltrips that are planned more or less “spur of the moment” (i.e., less than 2 weeks ahead of time).

It is not surprising that the answers rum the gamut from completely spontaneous to plans for trips




more than a year in advance, reflecting the entire range of personality types. So the questionbecomes determining the percentage of people and trips that are spontaneous and the percentage

that are carefully planned. Figure 3.5 shows the first question of the pair in each survey: how

far in advance people’s typical hunting and target shooting trips are planned. Spontaneity ismore important among target shooters than among hunters: while 45% of hunters plan typical

hunting trips no more than a week ahead, 78% of target shooters plan typical target shooting tripsno more than a week ahead.

Figure 3.5. Planning Time for Hunting and Target Shooting Trips

As shown in Figures 3.6 and 3.7, the crosstabulation of these questions by participation statusfound little difference between active, intermittent, and ex-hunters (for instance, the percentages

planning trips a week or less in advance are 43% for active, 48% for intermittent, and 47% for

ex). Among target shooters, active target shooters are just slightly more spontaneous: the

percentages planning trips a week or less in advance are 81% for active target shooters, 78% forintermittent target shooters, and 74% for ex-target shooters—differences that are not large.

Q68. How far in advance do you start

planning a typical shooting trip?

16

9

3

0

3

0

1

0

2

1

5

20

37

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than a year

1 year

7-11 months

6 months

4-5 months

2-3 months

1 month

2-3 weeks

1 week

5-6 days

3-4 days

1-2 days

Do not plan trips / just go

shooting that day

Don't know

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

11% plan a

month or more

ahead

78% plan a

week or less

ahead

Q60. How far in advance do you start

planning a typical hunting trip?

13

12

10

1

8

2

6

2

11

1

4

11

16

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than a year

1 year

7-11 months

6 months

4-5 months

2-3 months

1 month

2-3 weeks

1 week

5-6 days

3-4 days

1-2 days

Do not plan trips / just go

hunting that day

Don't know

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

39% plan a

month or more

ahead

45% plan a

week or less

ahead




Q60. How far in advance do you start planning a

typical hunting trip?

11

14

10

1

10

2

6

2

10

1

6

12

14

22

15

13

4

1

15

12

10

12

1

5

0

6

2

5

18

11

3

1

14

11

10

12

2

1

6

0

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than a year

1 year

7-11 months

6 months

4-5 months

2-3 months

1 month

2-3 weeks

1 week

5-6 days

3-4 days

1-2 days

Do not plan trips / just go hunting that

day

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 3.6. Planning Time for Hunting Trips, Crosstabulated by Participation Status




Q68. How far in advance do you start planning a

typical shooting trip?

18

8

2

0

3

0

1

0

3

0

5

22

36

22

35

19

4

2

18

9

4

1

0

2

1

2

1

4

38

17

4

1

13

9

5

3

0

1

3

0

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than a year

1 year

7-11 months

6 months

4-5 months

2-3 months

1 month

2-3 weeks

1 week

5-6 days

3-4 days

1-2 days

Do not plan trips / just go shooting

that day

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 3.7. Planning Time for Target Shooting Trips, Crosstabulated by Participation

Status




As indicated above, a second way to look at the lead-time for planning trips was included in thesurvey, which asked respondents to indicate the percentage of their trips that were planned less

than 2 weeks ahead of time (Figure 3.8). About a third of hunters are entirely spontaneous (31%

indicated that all of their trips are planned less than 2 weeks ahead of time). The hunter surveyhas an interesting finding in that almost as many who say that all their trips are planned within

that 2-week timeframe say that none of their trips are planned in that timeframe (30% indicatedthat none of their trips are planned less than 2 weeks ahead of time). In the shooter survey (alsoFigure 3.8), a majority of target shooters are entirely spontaneous (58% plan all of their trips less

than 2 weeks in advance).

Figure 3.8. Percentage of Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of Time

The crosstabulation of these questions by participation status finds that ex-hunters and ex-target

shooters, relative to their intermittent and active counterparts, are the most likely to say that noneof their trips are planned less than 2 weeks in advance, suggesting that they are more deliberate

in their planning of trips (when they last went hunting or target shooting) (Figures 3.9 and 3.10).

Q61. What percentage of your hunting

trips are planned less than 2 weeks in

advance?

30

13

3

31

8

2

1

6

2

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent (n=2,228)

Mean = 48.42

Median = 50

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q69. What percentage of your shooting

trips are planned less than 2 weeks in

advance?

10

7

2

58

10

2

1

5

2

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY




Q61. What percentage of your hunting trips are

planned less than 2 weeks in advance?

24

16

5

28

10

2

1

7

4

23

28

12

2

2

8

1

34

8

2

5

35

10

2

1

3

2

6

34

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

Means

Active = 48.16


Ex = 47.58

MediansActive = 40

Intermittent = 50

Ex = 25

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 3.9. Percentage of Hunting Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of Time,





Q69. What percentage of your shooting trips are

planned less than 2 weeks in advance?

6

7

3

59

12

3

2

5

2

12

10

5

1

2

4

1

63

9

2

4

17

7

2

1

5

1

6

56

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)Intermittent (n=493)

Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 3.10. Percentage of Target Shooting Trips Planned Less Than 2 Weeks Ahead of

Time, Crosstabulated by Participation Status




CHAPTER 4: MOTIVATIONS FOR PARTICIPATING INACTIVITIES, SATISFACTIONS DERIVED FROM THEM, ANDREASONS FOR INCREASED AVIDITY

A most basic question asked respondents to name the most important reasons that they go

hunting and target shooting. These were open-ended questions, and respondents answered withanything that came to mind, and they could give more than a single response. Figure 4.1 shows

that hunters’ most common motivations are for the simple fun provided by hunting (37%), to beclose to nature/in the outdoors (28%), for the meat (24%), to be with family (12%), and to be

with friends (8%). Note that multiple answers could be given, and many of those who gave the

nature-related answer also gave an answer pertaining to hunting being fun. Likewise, many of those who answered family did so in conjunction with friends, as well.

Q25. What would you say are your most important

reasons for participating in hunting? In other

words, what are your motivations?(Open-ended.)

0.99

1.21

1.43

37

28

24

12

8

4

0.87

0.86

0.22

1.46

1.98

0 20 40 60 80 100

For fun, relaxation, sport / enjoy it (without

giving nature or wildlife-related answer)

Gave an answer related to being close to

nature or being outdoors

For the meat

To be with family

To be with friends

Tradition

Conservation / help with game management

Exercise

Like to work dogs / other dog-related answer

Thrill / excitement of hunting / adventure

Challenge

Trophy / for antlers / to hang on wall / to get a

big buck

Other

No answer / don't know

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o

w e d

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.1. Most Important Reasons for Hunting




The shooter survey had a similar question regarding motivations for target shooting. In answerto this question, 56% of target shooters said they go target shooting for the simple fun of it

(Figure 4.2). This top answer was followed by to increase skill (24%), as an ancillary activity to

hunting (15%), and to be with family or friends (7%). Note that the hunting-related answer wascounted only if the respondent on his/her own mentioned hunting. The question was open-

ended, so no prompting was given, and 15% of target shooters, without prompting, indicated thatthey go target shooting to improve their hunting skills or to keep in practice when hunting is notin season.


reasons for participating in shooting? In other

words, what are your motivations?

(Open-ended.)

1.00

1.50

0.77

1.35

1.74

3

5

7

15

24

56

3

3

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

To have fun / for enjoyment

To increase skill

Mentioned hunting in response

To be with family or friends

Sighting gun or patterning shotgun /

checking out gun or loads

Tradition / have always done it

Mentioned self-defense in

response

To get outside

Mentoring

Mentioned firearm rights in

response

For the challenge

Competition

Other



Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.2. Most Important Reasons for Target Shooting

As with most questions in the two surveys, these questions were crosstabulated by participationstatus. There were no marked differences in motivations for hunting (Figure 4.3) or for target

shooting (Figure 4.4). If anything, perhaps active hunters and active target shooters are more




likely (compared to intermittent and ex-participants) to answer that they participate just for fun;however, the differences, as previously said, are very slight.

Q25. What would you say are your most importantreasons for participating in hunting? In other

words, what are your motivations?

(Open-ended.)

1

2

2

41

29

22

13

8

5

0

1

0

1

11

1

1

0

2

1

1

2

5

6

14

33

32

24

4

2

0

1

1

0

1

1

4

8

25

26

35

11

0 20 40 60 80 100

For fun, relaxation, sport / enjoy it

(without giving a nature or wildlife-related

answer)Gave an answer related to being close to

nature or being outdoors

For the meat

To be with family

To be with friends

Tradition

Conservation / help with game

management

Exercise

Like to work dogs / other dog-relatedanswer

Thrill / excitement of hunting / adventure

Challenge

Trophy / for antlers / to hang on wall / to

get a big buck

Other


M u l t i p l e

R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.3. Most Important Reasons for Hunting Crosstabulated by Participation Status





reasons for participating in shooting? In other

words, what are your motivations?(Open-ended.)

2

4

4

61

26

15

5

3

3

2

1

0

2

01

1

1

1

1

2

3

3

5

7

10

52

26

13

2

1

1

2

1

2

3

3

3

7

15

22

51

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

To have fun / for enjoyment

To increase skill

Mentioned hunting in response

To be with family or friends

Sighting gun or patterning shotgun

/ checking out gun or loads

To get outside

Tradition / have always done it

Mentioned self-defense in

response

Mentoring

Mentioned firearm rights in

response

For the challenge

Competition

Other



Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.4. Most Important Reasons for Target Shooting Crosstabulated by Participation

Status




Another question that pertained to motivations asked hunters and target shooters whoseparticipation had recently increased to indicate why their participation had increased (Figures 4.5

and 4.6). Two answers predominate in both surveys: that respondents simply had more

time/more opportunities (42% of hunters whose hunting participation increased; 34% of targetshooters whose target shooting had increased) and that they had family who wanted to go

hunting (19%) or go target shooting (16%). This points out the importance of family in gettinghunters and target shooters to increase their avidity.

Q27. Why did your amount of hunting increase?

(Asked of those whose amount of hunting

increased.) (Open-ended.)

3

0.56

0.76

0.96

1.32

2

3

4

5

9

19

42

3

3

2

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Had more time / more opportunities

Had family who wanted to hunt

Simply because he/she likes it / enjoys it

Had more money

Needs more meat

Just started (i.e., can only increase)

Had friends doing it

More and/or better game to shoot

Gotten older and can hunt on my own / gotten

better at it

Had better access

Health improved

Seasons were expanded / bag limit increased

Trying new type of hunting

Getting back into the sport

Other

Don't know / no reason

M u l t i p l e R e s p o

n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=156)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.5. Reasons That Hunting Participation Increased




Q49. Why did your amount of sport shooting

increase? (Asked of those whose amount of

shooting increased.)(Open-ended.)

3

4

5

34

16

10

8

6

5

1.49

0.42

7

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

I have more time

Have family and/or friends that go

shooting more now

Became more interested / having fun

Bought or acquired a new or differentfirearm

Better access

Because I need practice

Better able to afford it

Tried something new

More opportunities (not specific to

access)

Just started or got back into it within

past 5 years (i.e., could only increase)

Better health

Other

Don't know


Percent (n=182)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.6. Reasons That Target Shooting Participation Increased




The question regarding reasons for the increase in hunting participation was crosstabulated byparticipation status. Only active and intermittent hunters can be compared, as too few ex-hunters

received the question (only those whose hunting participation increased were asked). What is

immediately apparent is that active hunters are much more likely to say that their huntingincreased because they had more time/more opportunities (Figure 4.7). It may simply be that

active hunters are more connected to other hunters and, ergo, have more opportunities presentedto them. It may also be that they are more amenable to finding the time to go.

Q27. Why did your amount of hunting increase?


increased.) (Open-ended.)

3

2

3

2

49

17

8

6

3

5

3

1

0

1

1

3

8

6

3

2

6

6

0

11

3

6

0

16

0

19

15

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Had more time / more opportunities

Had family who wanted to hunt

Simply because he/she likes it / enjoys it

Had more money

Just started (i.e., can only increase)

Needs more meat

Had friends doing it

More and/or better game to shoot

Had better access

Gotten older and can hunt on my own / gotten

better at it

Health improved

Getting back into the sport

Seasons were expanded / bag limit increased

Trying new type of hunting

Other

Don't know / no reason

M u l t i p l e R e s

p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=121)

Intermittent (n=27)

Only 8 respondents with the"ex" status received

question; therefore, those

results not valid to be shown

as percentages.

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.7. Reasons That Hunting Participation Increased Crosstabulated by Participation

Status




Similar to the above, the question regarding reasons for the increase in target shootingparticipation was crosstabulated by participation status. In this crosstabulation, there were no

marked differences (Figure 4.8).

Q49. Why did your amount of sport shootingincrease? (Asked of those whose amount of

shooting increased.)

(Open-ended.)

6

0

5

35

15

7

10

6

4

3

0

7

75

5

2

0

0

9

2

5

7

6

34

16

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

I have more time

Have family and/or friends that go

shooting more now

Bought or acquired a new or different

firearm

Became more interested / having fun

Better access

Tried something new

Because I need practice

Just started or got back into it within past5 years (i.e., could only increase)

Better able to afford it


access)

Better health

Other

Don't know


Percent

Active (n=99)

Intermittent (n=83)

No ex-shooters'

participation increased;

therefore, none wereasked the question.

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.8. Reasons That Target Shooting Participation Increased Crosstabulated by





The surveys delved into another aspect of motivations in the question that asked about theadvantages of going hunting or target shooting with somebody else (asked of those who go with

somebody else at least some of the time). While not directly pertaining to motivations, it does

shed light on a certain aspect of motivations for hunting and target shooting: camaraderie. Inboth surveys, when those who participated in hunting or target shooting with others were asked

to name the advantages of hunting/target shooting with somebody else, they most commonlygave an answer (in open-ended questioning) related to camaraderie/being with family or friends(Figure 4.9). The next most common answer in both surveys related to safety in having a

partner.

Figure 4.9. Advantages of Hunting and Target Shooting With Others

The crosstabulation of these questions by participation status find that all three groups (active,

intermittent, and ex) are about the same in their answers, with just slight differences(Figures 4.10 and 4.11). Active target shooters have a higher percentage of respondents giving a

mentor-related response (13% mention teaching or learning from a mentor as an advantage of

target shooting with somebody else, compared to no more than 6% of the other groups);otherwise, response rates do not vary much between the groups. In fact, for the most part, the

responses rates are remarkably similar among the groups on these questions.

Q56. What are the advantages of going

shooting with somebody else? (Asked of

those who go shooting with somebody else

at least part of the time.) (Open-ended.)

3

3

10

15

22

60

1.71

0.60

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Simple camaraderie

In case of accidents / havebackup / safer with others

More competition / more of a

challenge

Can mentor another or learn

from another

Need more than one person

for particular activity

Help each other (outside of

safety issues)

Able to pool resources /

access to more places to shoot

Other



Percent (n=1,465)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q47. What are the advantages of going

hunting with somebody else? (Asked of

those who go hunting with somebody else at

least part of the time.) (Open-ended.)

4

1.16

1.90

53

44

6

4

4

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Simple camaraderie

In case of accidents / have

backup / safer with others

Can cover a larger area / track

more game / flush game

Help retrieving game /

dressing game

Help in general (did not specify

flushing / retrieving game)

Can mentor another or learn

from another

Able to pool resources /

access to more land

Other



Percent (n=2,078)

HUNTER

SURVEY




Q47. What are the advantages of going hunting

with somebody else? (Asked of those who go

hunting with somebody else at least part of thetime.) (Open-ended.)

3

1

2

54

47

7

5

4

3

5

1

1

3

4

4

54

45

6

5

1

2

3

4

6

41

51

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Simple camaraderie

In case of accidents / have backup /

safer with others

Can cover a larger area / track moregame / flush game

Help retrieving game / dressing game

Help in general (did not specify either

flushing or retrieving game)

Can mentor another or learn from

another

Able to pool resources / access to

more land

Other


M u l t

i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=882)


Ex (n=609)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.10. Advantages of Hunting With Others, Crosstabulated by Participation Status




Q56. What are the advantages of going shooting

with somebody else? (Asked of those who go

shooting with somebody else at leastpart of the time.) (Open-ended.)

4

1

2

60

20

16

13

4

4

5

2

2

2

2

5

63

21

15

4

0

1

2

2

13

25

61

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Simple camaraderie

In case of accidents / have backup /

safer with others

More competition / more of achallenge

Can mentor another or learn from

another

Need more than one person for

particular activity

Help each other (outside of safety

issues)

Able to pool resources / access to

more places to shoot

Other



Percent

Active (n=476)


Ex (n=513)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.11. Advantages of Hunting With Others, Crosstabulated by Participation Status




One pre-survey conjecture was that active hunters and target shooters would have been invited togo hunting and target shooting more often than intermittent or ex-hunters and target shooters.

The surveys supported this conjecture, finding that, of the three groups, active hunters and target

shooters were the most likely to say that they are invited to go hunting/target shooting frequently,while ex-hunters and target shooters were the most likely to say that they are never invited

(Figure 4.12).

Figure 4.12. How Often Respondents Are Invited to Go Hunting or Target Shooting,


Not surprisingly, active hunters and active target shooters were more likely, relative to

intermittent and ex-participants, to take people up on their invitations. For instance, 34% of

active hunters always go when invited, compared to no more than 22% of the other groups

(Figure 4.13). Likewise, 39% of active target shooters always go when invited, compared to nomore than 31% of the other groups (Figure 4.14).

Q49. In the past 5 years, how often

would you say you were invited to go

hunting by a friend or family member?

56

22

13

2

6

11

8

3

43

27

17

1

22

22

21

28

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Frequently

A few times

A couple of

times

Once

Never / Not

invited

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q60. In the past 5 years, how often

would you say you were invited to go

shooting by a friend or family member?

42

32

16

1

8

11

11

3

24

37

24

2

22

24

30

16

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Frequently

A few times

A couple of

times

Once

Never / Not

invited

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY




Q50. About what percentage of the time would you

say you went hunting when invited by those friends

or family? (Asked of those who were invited to go

hunting by a friend or family member.)

4

6

3

34

21

10

4

13

3

22

10

14

5

4

21

5

22

8

8

3

34

17

3

5

11

3

6

16

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=861)


Ex (n=500)

Means

Active = 73.48


Ex = 35.60

Medians

Active = 80

Intermittent = 50

Ex = 20

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.13. Percentage of Invitations to Go Hunting That Are Accepted, Crosstabulated

by Participation Status




Q61. About what percentage of the time would you

say you went shooting when invited by those

friends or family? (Asked of those who were invited

to go shooting by a friend or family member.)

1

6

1

39

23

9

5

14

1

11

5

9

2

3

19

5

31

17

8

3

15

7

2

2

20

4

16

29

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

100%

76%-99%

75%

51%-74%

50%

26%-49%

25%

1%-24%

0%

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=447)


Ex (n=404)

Means

Active = 77.93


Ex = 60.74

Medians

Active = 90

Intermittent = 75

Ex = 75

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.14. Percentage of Invitations to Go Target Shooting That Are Accepted,


The surveys looked at another aspect of motivations for hunting and target shooting: things thatmight motivate somebody to go hunting and target shooting (or to go more). For this line of questioning, each survey asked a series of questions about things that might encourage the

respondent to go hunting or target shooting. For each question, the respondent indicated whether

the item would strongly encourage him/her, moderately encourage him/her, or not encourage

him/her to go hunting or target shooting (or to go more). Then, the items were examined relativeto each other. The order of the questions was randomized so that the respondents did not get all




the questions in the same order; this randomization eliminates order bias, which is the effect aquestion can have on subsequent questions.

For the hunter survey, 24 questions were asked; the results are shown in Table 4.1, ranked by thepercentages who say the items would strongly encourage them to go hunting or to go more.

Addressing access was the top item among hunters overall, as well as more opportunities forhunting and more opportunities to take game. There was some interest shown in the lottery forwinning a new firearm for purchasing a license, as well as for a mentoring license. Shading

shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.1. Things to Encourage Hunting Among All Hunters

Item that would strongly, moderately, or not encourage participation or more

participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t

Q89. Being connected with priv. landowners in their area who are looking for hunters 45 20 65 34

Q70. Getting an extra tag or taking additional game so that the meat could be donatedto a Hunters for the Hungry campaign

40 26 66 33

Q73. The hunting seasons provided additional days for hunting each year 39 21 60 40

Q71. The purchase of a hunting license automatically entered them in a drawing for a

new firearm36 26 62 37

Q72. Receiving information on under-utilized hunting locations near their home 34 26 61 38

Q69. They could mentor family member or relative using special discounted license 34 29 63 36

Q83. Wildlife management areas managed specifically to allow hunters to see a lot of

game33 27 60 38

Q76. Having GPS unit that can tell them if they are on land where hunting is allowed 32 23 55 44

Q75. A program that allowed public access to private lands 32 22 54 44

Q88. Their state wildlife agency had shooting ranges in their area where they could

practice before the hunting season

31 22 53 46

Q68. They got coupons for equipment discounts with their hunting license 30 30 60 39

Q74. Regulation changes that make it easier to take youth hunting, like areas limited

to youth and mentors30 23 52 46

Q67. Some type of family license package 27 19 46 52

Q84. Wildlife management areas managed for wilderness experiences 26 28 54 44

Q85. Having convenient access to public hunting area manager to discuss questions

about regulations, license requirements, places to hunt, and nearby businesses24 28 52 47

Q86. Having an online directory to guides, outfitters and game preserves where user

reviews were posted to help them choose the best opportunity20 25 45 54

Q82. More wildlife management areas managed specifically for trophy animals 19 21 39 59

Q80. Hunting opportunities were offered through their church, workplace, or club 18 30 48 50

Q77. Daily bag limits were increased 18 20 38 60

Q87. An experienced hunter was available to partner with them on the hunt 15 24 40 58

Q79. They could meet members of a local rod and gun club who are familiar with the

area for hunting trips or social gatherings14 29 43 56

Q90. They could borrow equipment, such as tree stands or decoys, to try different

types of hunting14 21 35 64

Q78. They could attend skill seminars for species that they have not hunted 13 26 39 60

Q81. A directory to local hunt clubs they could join 12 23 35 65




The series of questions discussed above were crosstabulated by participation status, and thisreport first looks at active hunters. The report then will examine intermittent hunters and

ex-hunters. Active hunters were much like hunters overall: access, opportunities for more days

or more harvest, a drawing for a firearm, and mentoring were high on the list (Table 4.2).Shading shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.2. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Active Hunters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t

Q89. They could be connected with private landowners in their area who are looking

for hunters54 20 74 26


Q70. They could get an extra tag or take additional game so that the meat could be

donated to a Hunters for the Hungry campaign49 26 75 25


new firearm 44 27 71 28


Q69. They could mentor a family member or relative using a special discounted

license42 28 70 28


game42 30 73 26


Q76. Having a GPS unit that can tell them if they are on land where hunting is

allowed39 24 63 36


to youth and mentors38 27 66 33


practice before the hunting season

37 21 59 41


Q85. Having convenient access to the public hunting area manager to discuss

questions about regulations, license requirements, places to hunt, and nearby

businesses

33 29 62 36









area for hunting trips or social gatherings 17 34 51 48


types of hunting17 25 42 58







Among intermittent hunters, access, more opportunities for harvest, having a GPS unit that canhelp with access, and wildlife management areas managed for more game were the top items in

the list ranked by the percent who would be strongly encouraged (Table 4.3). Shading shows

when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.3. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Intermittent Hunters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t






allowed38 25 63 37


game 37 29 66 33Q72. Receiving information on under-utilized hunting locations near their home 37 31 68 31





Q69. They could mentor a family member or relative using a special discounted

license35 34 69 29


practice before the hunting season34 23 57 42



Q74. Regulation changes that make it easier to take youth hunting, like areas limitedto youth and mentors

29 24 53 45



businesses

26 32 58 42









types of hunting 15 24 38 61








Among ex-hunters, the top items that would get them back into hunting include access,opportunities for more harvest or more days, a drawing for a firearm, and mentoring

opportunities (Table 4.4). Shading shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.4. Things to Encourage Hunting Among Ex-Hunters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t









Q69. They could mentor a family member or relative using a special discountedlicense

25 28 53 46


practice before the hunting season24 22 47 52


allowed24 22 46 54





game22 24 45 52


to youth and mentors

21 17 38 61




businesses

15 25 40 60









types of hunting 11 16 27 72Q78. They could attend skill seminars for species that they have not hunted 10 22 32 67






In comparing active hunters, intermittent hunters, and ex-hunters on this series of questions, twofindings are of particular interest: for almost every item, active hunters had a greater percentage

saying that the item would strongly encourage them to go hunting, compared to intermittent and

ex-hunters (in the two exceptions, intermittent hunters exceeded the active hunters by no morethan 2 percentage points). In short, active hunters show the most propensity to be encouraged to

go hunting. Conversely, on every item bar none, ex-hunters have the highest percentage who arenot encouraged. Indeed, on 19 of the 24 items, a majority of ex-hunters would not beencouraged to participate. These findings are evident in looking at Figure 4.15 (Parts 1

through 3), showing all the crosstabulated questions at a glance—the graphs are small because

the specific percentages are less important than the overall finding that the active hunters are

almost always the most encouraged and the ex-hunters are always the least encouraged, as can beseen when looking at the graphs together.

Q67. What about some type of family

license package?

1

45

22

33

51

22

25

2

3

22

15

60

0 20 40 60 80 100

Stronglyencourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=498)


Ex (n=324)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q68. What about if you got coupons for

equipment discounts with your huntinglicense?

0

31

33

36

31

37

32

0

1

23

26

51

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=492)


Ex (n=316)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q69. What about if you could mentor a

family member or relative using a specialdiscounted license?

1

28

28

42

29

34

35

2

1

25

28

46

0 20 40 60 80 100

Stronglyencourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=481)


Ex (n=319)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q70. What if you could get an extra tagor take additional game so that the meat

could be donated to a Hunters for theHungry campaign?

49

26

25

0

1

44

29

26

44

25

31

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=475)


Ex (n=322)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q71. What if the purchase of a huntinglicense automatically entered you in a

drawing for a new firearm?

1

28

27

44

36

27

36

0

0

28

26

46

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=467)


Ex (n=328)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q72. What about receiving informationon under-utilized hunting locations near

your home?

0

32

25

43

31

31

37

0

2

25

25

47

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=469)


Ex (n=318)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.15 (Part 1). Items That Would Encourage Hunting Crosstabulated by

Participation Status, Entire Series at a Glance




Q73. What about if the hunting seasons

provided additional days for hunting

each year?

1

27

20

53

31

32

35

1

0

26

18

56

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=470)


Ex (n=323)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q74. What about regulation changes that

make it easier to take youth hunting, like

areas limited to youth and mentors?

1

33

27

38

45

24

29

2

2

21

17

61

0 20 40 60 80 100

Stronglyencourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=474)


Ex (n=317)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q75. What about a program that allowed

public access to private lands?

2

36

22

40

35

27

36

2

1

22

21

55

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=469)

Intermittent (n=293)Ex (n=324)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q76. What about having a GPS unit that

can tell you if you are on land where

hunting is allowed?

2

36

24

39

37

25

38

1

1

24

22

54

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=457)


Ex (n=335)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q77. What about if daily bag limits were

increased?

2

50

26

22

59

24

15

1

2

14

14

70

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=451)


Ex (n=346)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q78. What if you could attend skill

seminars for species that you have not

hunted?

2

53

29

16

56

29

14

1

1

10

22

67

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=441)


Ex (n=341)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q79. What if you could meet members of

a local rod and gun club who are familiar

with the area for hunting trips or socialgatherings?

0

48

34

17

54

32

12

2

2

12

24

63

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=434)


Ex (n=339)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q80. What if hunting opportunities were

offered through your church, workplace,

or club?

1

39

37

23

49

28

22

1

2

13

24

61

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=440)


Ex (n=347)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q81. What about a directory to local hunt

clubs you could join?

0

57

27

15

62

24

14

0

1

8

19

72

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=451)


Ex (n=344)

HUNTER

SURVEY






Q82. What about more wildlife

management areas managed specifically

for trophy animals?

27

26

45

2

2

22

24

53

75

14

9

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=457)


Ex (n=341)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q83. What about wildlife management

areas managed specifically to allow

hunters to see a lot of game?

42

30

26

1

0

37

29

33

52

24

22

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=465)


Ex (n=335)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q84. What about wildlife management

areas managed for wilderness

experiences?

31

34

33

2

2

33

26

39

57

24

18

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=463)


Ex (n=345)

HUNTER

SURVEY

33

29

36

2

0

26

32

42

60

25

15

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=462)


Ex (n=340)

Q85. What about having convenient access to

the public hunting area manager to discuss

questions about regulations, license

requirements, places to hunt, and nearbybusinesses?

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q86. What about having an online

directory to guides, outfitters and game

preserves where user reviews wereposted to help you choose the best

opportunity?

26

29

43

1

2

22

26

50

65

22

13

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=458)


Ex (n=346)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q87. What if an experienced hunter was

available to partner with you on the

hunt?

16

31

51

2

1

18

26

55

66

18

14

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=463)


Ex (n=339)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q88. What about if your state wildlife

agency had shooting ranges in your area

where you could practice before thehunting season?

37

21

41

1

0

34

23

42

52

22

24

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=475)


Ex (n=328)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q89. What if you could be connected

with private landowners in your area

who are looking for hunters?

54

20

26

0

0

45

23

32

43

19

37

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=481)


Ex (n=317)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q90. What if you could borrow

equipment, such as tree stands or

decoys, to try different types of hunting?

17

25

58

0

1

15

24

61

72

16

11

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=491)


Ex (n=322)

HUNTER

SURVEY






All of the analyses conducted on the series of questions about things to encourage hunting weredone on the analogous series of questions in the shooter survey about things to encourage target

shooting. For the shooter survey, 16 questions were asked, and these results are shown in

Table 4.5, ranked by the percentages who say the items would strongly encourage them to gotarget shooting or to go more. The top items include a no-cost range, a range that was

neat/clean/well run, opportunities to take a youth target shooting, and discounted target shootingsupplies with the payment of a range fee. Shading shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.5. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among All Target Shooters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t

Q89. There was no cost to use a range 54 18 72 27

Q88. A shooting range was clean, neat, and well run 42 26 68 32

Q85. There were opportunities to take a youth shooting 36 25 61 39

Q77. The fee they paid to use a range allowed them to get a discount for ammunitionor other shooting supplies

33 32 65 34

Q87. A shooting range encouraged them to attend and made them feel welcome to be

there32 31 63 36

Q81. Nearby shooting areas were less crowded or had more shooting lanes 32 24 55 43

Q79. Loaner firearms were available at a range for them to try, including types they

haven't shot before31 26 56 43

Q90. Their local parks and recreation department offered a target shooting group

class29 28 58 41

Q75. Some type of family day at a range 29 27 56 44

Q84. There were opportunities to shoot clay targets in a non-competitive environment

at their leisure29 32 61 39

Q86. Shooting opportunities were offered through their church, workplace, club 28 27 56 43

Q80. A nearby range offered additional types of target shooting activities 28 35 63 37

Q76. They got coupons for equipment discounts with the purchase of a pass at a

range25 33 58 41

Q78. More shooting instruction or self-defense courses were available at a convenient

range25 24 49 50

Q82. They could reserve a private time or place at the range for their family or

friends25 25 50 49

Q83. There was a competitive shooting league offered nearby 17 24 41 59




The series was crosstabulated by participation status. The results for active target shooters areshown in Table 4.6. Like target shooters overall, cost, having a range that was neat/clean/well

run, opportunities to take a youth target shooting, and discounted shooting supplies with the

range fee were all considered important. Having a less-crowded shooting range also was amongthe top items among active target shooters. Shading shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.6. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Active Target Shooters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t






there

40 30 69 30

Q77. The fee they paid to use a range allowed them to get a discount for ammunition

or other shooting supplies38 36 74 25









class32 31 63 37


range 30 27 57 42Q76. They got coupons for equipment discounts with the purchase of a pass at a

range30 37 67 33


friends29 29 58 41





Among intermittent target shooters, cost, having a range that was neat/clean/well run,opportunities to take a youth target shooting, discounted shooting supplies with the range fee,

and a family day at a range were the top items (Table 4.7). Shading shows when a majority is in

the table cell.

Table 4.7. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Intermittent Target Shooters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t







Q90. Their local parks and recreation department offered a target shooting groupclass 34 30 64 35








there29 33 62 36


range28 32 60 39


Q82. They could reserve a private time or place at the range for their family orfriends

26 26 52 48


range24 27 51 49





As for ex-target shooters, cost, having a range that was neat/clean/well run, opportunities to takea youth target shooting, target shooting classes, and discounted shooting supplies with the range

fee were the top items (Table 4.8). Shading shows when a majority is in the table cell.

Table 4.8. Things to Encourage Target Shooting Among Ex-Target Shooters


participation

S t r o n g l y

M o d e r a t e l y

S t r o n g l y o r

M o d e r a t e l y

N o t





class25 24 48 51




there 23 32 55 44










friends19 21 39 60


range18 19 38 62


range17 28 45 54


In the analogous comparison of active target shooters, intermittent target shooters, and ex-target

shooters on this series of questions, two findings are of particular interest: for all items but two,

active target shooters had a greater percentage saying that the item would strongly encourage

them, compared to intermittent and ex-target shooters (in both exceptions, intermittent targetshooters exceeded the active target shooters by no more than 2 percentage points). Ex-target

shooters always had the lowest percentage being strongly encouraged, and ex-target shooters

always had the highest percentage being not encouraged. In short, as with the hunter survey, theshooter survey found that active target shooters show the most propensity to be encouraged.

These findings are evident in looking at Figure 4.16 (Parts 1 and 2), showing all the

crosstabulated questions at a glance. Again, the graphs are small because the specificpercentages are less important than the overall view. The major finding is that the active target

shooters are almost always the most encouraged and the ex-target shooters are always the least

encouraged.




Q75. What about some type of family day

at a range?

33

28

40

0

1

35

26

38

53

25

22

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=374)Intermittent (n=351)

Ex (n=399)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q76. What about if you got coupons for

equipment discounts with the purchaseof a pass at a range?

30

37

33

0

1

28

32

39

54

28

17

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=380)


Ex (n=405)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q77. What about if the fee you paid to

use a range allowed you to get adiscount for ammunition or other

shooting supplies?

38

36

25

0

1

35

33

31

48

27

24

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=376)


Ex (n=407)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q78. What about if more shooting

instruction or self-defense courses were

available at a convenient range?

30

27

42

0

0

24

27

49

62

19

18

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=380)


Ex (n=422)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q79. What if loaner firearms were

available at a range for you to try,

including types you haven't shot before?

38

28

35

0

1

33

29

37

56

23

20

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=368)


Ex (n=427)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q80. What if a nearby range offered

additional types of target shooting

activities?

35

37

27

0

1

28

36

34

50

31

19

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=358)


Ex (n=425)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q81. What if nearby shooting areas were

less crowded or had more shooting

lanes?

40

21

37

2

4

33

26

37

52

26

20

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=362)


Ex (n=420)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q82. What if you could reserve a private

time or place at the range for your family

or friends?

29

29

41

1

1

26

26

48

60

21

19

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=363)


Ex (n=413)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q83. What if there was a competitive

shooting league offered nearby?

21

29

49

1

0

18

29

53

73

16

10

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=365)


Ex (n=410)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.16 (Part 1). Items That Would Encourage Target Shooting Crosstabulated by





Q84. What if there were opportunities to

shoot clay targets in a non-competitiveenvironment at your leisure?

35

33

32

0

0

33

37

30

51

29

19

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=373)


Ex (n=405)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q85. What if there were opportunities to

take a youth shooting?

44

28

27

1

1

38

22

40

53

22

25

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=372)


Ex (n=414)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q86. What if shooting opportunities

were offered through your church,workplace, club?

34

29

35

1

1

30

29

40

55

24

20

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=378)


Ex (n=414)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q87. What if a shooting range

encouraged you to attend and made you

feel welcome to be there?

40

30

30

1

2

29

33

36

44

32

23

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=384)


Ex (n=417)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q88. What if a shooting range was clean,

neat, and well run?

49

25

25

0

0

44

24

32

42

26

31

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=380)


Ex (n=418)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q89. What if there was no cost to use a

range?

62

16

21

1

1

58

19

22

36

20

41

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=381)


Ex (n=412)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Q90. What about if your local parks and

recreation department offered a target

shooting group class?

32

31

37

1

1

34

30

35

51

24

25

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly

encourage

Moderately

encourage

Not

encourage

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=370)


Ex (n=404)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.16 (Part 2). Items That Would Encourage Target Shooting Crosstabulated by





Another question that gives insight into motivations asked about advantages that other activitieshave over hunting (in the hunting survey) and target shooting (in the shooting survey), among

those who had indicated that there were other activities that had advantages over hunting and

target shooting. As shown in Figure 4.17, a motivation for participating in activities is theease/ability to do the activities—while this may seem rather obvious, it is important to note that

hunters’ most commonly named advantage of an “other” activity is the ease of doing it. This isparticularly true of intermittent and ex-hunters rather than active hunters, as shown in thecrosstabulation in Figure 4.18. Again, being able to participate in an activity with the whole

family is important among some hunters, particularly active hunters. Fun and exercise also show

up in this graph as important motivations, and note in the crosstabulation graph that exercise is

named by active hunters more often than it is by intermittent or ex-hunters. This latter finding,combined with findings about age/health being a constraint (this will be delved into in more

detail in Chapter 5), suggests an ironic scenario among some hunters whereby they feel hunting

does not provide enough exercise when they are young, but they gradually get to the age wherehunting is too strenuous. These graphs are followed by the discussion of the analogous questions

in the shooting survey.




Q96. What advantages do those other activities

have over hunting? (Asked of those who say that

other activities have advantages over hunting.)

(Open-ended.)

8

5

4

5

6

18

14

14

13

8

6

4

3

3

1.05

0.37

0.28

0 20 40 60 80 100

Easier to do

No seasonal / time-of-day restrictions

Can include more family time

More fun / more relaxing

Offer more exercise

Don't have any access problems / are more

accessibleCheaper

Don't have to travel as far

Don't require as much planning

More friends do other activities

Take less time

Don't entail being in bad weather

Safer

More peaceful

Don't need license / permission

Other


M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e

d

Percent (n=1,062)

HUNTERSURVEY

Figure 4.17. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Hunting





have over hunting? (Asked of those who say that

other activities have advantages over hunting.)

(Open-ended.) (Shows all responses with at least5% of total respondents.)

3

3

10

17

17

12

11

5

4

9

7

8

12

19

18

11

7

6

7

5

11

11

24

14

0 20 40 60 80 100

Easier to do

No seasonal / time-

of-day restrictions

Other activities can

include more family

time

Other activities are

more fun / more

relaxing

Other activities offer

more exercise

Don't have any

access problems /

are more accessible

Cheaper

Don't have to travel

as far


Percent

Active (n=381)


Ex (n=346)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.18. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Hunting, Crosstabulated byParticipation Status

In the shooting survey, commonly named advantages that other activities have over targetshooting (among those who said that other activities had advantages) include being more

enjoyable, offering more exercise, and being able to be done with family (Figure 4.19). Ease of

the “other” activities is of less importance in the shooting survey relative to the hunting survey.




The obvious implications are that exercise is an important motivation for participating inactivities and that being with family is an important motivation. The crosstabulation in

Figure 4.20 finds that the different groups—active, intermittent, and ex—are about the same in

naming advantages of other activities with a couple of exceptions. The exceptions are that thefamily-related answer is more often given by active and intermittent target shooters compared to

ex-target shooters, and the easier-to-do answer is more often given by ex-target shooters.


have over shooting? (Asked of those who say that

other activities have advantages over shooting.)

(Open-ended.)

2

4

4

5

6

29

12

12

10

9

7

3

2

1.90

1.74

1.08

0.74

0 20 40 60 80 100

They are more enjoyable

They provide more exercise

They are cheaper

They have better access / are closer to

home

More family can participate

They are less physical / easier

They provide food

They are more convenient

More in the outdoors

More friends do it

They are more exciting / challenging

They are not seasonally restricted

They are perceived to be safer

They require less equipment / already

have equipment for other activity

They entail less time

Other



Percent (n=765)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.19. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Target Shooting





have over shooting? (Asked of those who say that

other activities have advantages over shooting.)(Open-ended.) (Shows all responses with

at least 5% of total respondents.)

6

7

27

11

14

10

12

3

5

4

7

12

8

31

14

13

4

6

12

5

10

11

31

11

0 20 40 60 80 100

They are more

enjoyable

They are

cheaper

They provide

more exercise

They have better

access / are

closer to home

More family can

participate

They are less

physical / easier

They provide

food

They are more

convenient

M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=225)


Ex (n=270)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.20. Advantages Other Activities Have Over Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by





A question that is similar to the question just discussed was asked of those respondents who hadindicated in a precursor question that some other activity had become more interesting to them

than hunting (in the hunting survey) or target shooting (in the shooting survey). It reiterates

many of the results above. Most commonly, hunters who said that another activity became moreinteresting than hunting gave as a reason that the other activity was more enjoyable/more

interesting (Figure 4.21). Other reasons include that the other activity was easier (about a thirdof those who gave the “easier” response mentioned it in context of age/health), that they could gowith their whole family, and that it offered more exercise. Many of the remaining reasons

pertained to some constraint to hunting rather than to a motivation for doing the other activity.

(So as to not lose any data on this question, many categories of answers were created in the

analysis, albeit given by small percentages of respondents; therefore, the results are shown ontwo graphs.)

Q109. What were the reasons that these other

activities won out over hunting? (Asked of those

who said another activity became more interesting

to them than hunting.)


4

4

4

32

14

8

8

6

4

3

3

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Enjoy it more / have more interest in

other activities

Easier (but did not mention age or health)

Can go with family

Easier (specifically mentioned age or

health)

Does not have seasonal / time

restrictions

Lost interest in hunting

Better / easier access

Necessity (e.g., have to work, school)

Offer better exercise / more physical

Is cheaper / costs less

Requires less planning

More friends do it


w e d

Percent (n=442)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.21 (Part 1). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting






who said another activity became more interestingto them than hunting.)


0.53

0.61

0.98

2

2

2

2

1.56

1.16

0.52

0.50

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Don't need to be out in bad weather

Requires less time

Don't need to kill / don't like to kill animals

Is perceived to be safer

Enjoy it more (specifically mentioned

more exciting or more challenging)

Can do it alone / don't need partners

Don't need to travel as far

Has fewer restrictions

Don't have hunting equipment

Can't legally own firearm

Don't need license

Other

Don't know / no answer


Percent (n=442)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.21 (Part 2). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting




The crosstabulation shows some interesting differences in groups defined by their participationstatus (Figure 4.22). Active hunters were more likely than intermittent or ex-hunters to say that

other activities offered more exercise. On the other hand, none of the active hunters gave as a

reason that they can go with the whole family; this was a response given by intermittent andex-hunters in about even percentages. (Access also shows some differences among groups, but

this is really more of a constraint to hunting rather than a motivation to participate in otheractivities.)






4

11

12

39

10

0

3

4

11

0

3

3

0

5

5

4

0

6

4

5

5

6

7

32

9

11

2

2

2

5

2

3

3

3

6

9

15

32

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Enjoy it more / have more interest in

other activities

Easier (but did not mention age or

health)

Can go with family

Easier (specifically mentioned age

or health)

Does not have seasonal / time

restrictions

Better / easier access

Offer better exercise / more physical

Necessity (e.g., have to work,

school)

Is cheaper / costs less

Lost interest in hunting

Don't need to be out in bad weather

Requires less time

Don't need to kill / don't like to kill

animals


Percent

Active (n=35)


Ex (n=276)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.22 (Part 1). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting, Crosstabulated by









0.00

3.43

0.00

3.73

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

7.38

0.005.22

5.67

0.00

0.00

0.38

1.92

0.38

3.07

0.00

3.31

2.24

2.17

4.42

4.72

0.62

0.65

0.32

0.46

1.38

0.73

1.59

2.87

2.39

2.50

0 20 40 60 80 100

More friends do it

Requires less planning

Enjoy it more (specifically mentioned

more exciting or more challenging)

Is perceived to be safer

Don't need to travel as far

Can do it alone / don't need partners

Has fewer restrictions

Don't have hunting equipment

Can't legally own firearm

Don't need license

Other



Percent

Active (n=35)


Ex (n=276)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.22 (Part 2). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Hunting, Crosstabulated by





Target shooters were asked about reasons that other activities won out over target shooting.Most commonly, target shooters who said that another activity became more interesting than

target shooting gave as a reason that the other activity was more enjoyable (Figure 4.23). Other

reasons pertaining to motivations include that the whole family can participate, that the otheractivity is easier, and that it offers more exercise. Many of the remaining reasons pertained to

some constraint to target shooting rather than to a motivation for doing the other activity.


activities won out over shooting? (Asked of those


to them than shooting.)

(Open-ended.)

9

7

0.91

1.14

1.17

1.37

2

3

3

34

13

6

6

6

3

2

1.85

1.69

1.67

1.42

1.41

0 20 40 60 80 100

They are more enjoyable / more fun

Family can participate

They are less active / easier

They have better access

More people to do them with

They are more active / provide exercise

They are cheaper

They are more convenient

Different / something new

They require less time

They don't have seasonal / time restrictions

They are more in the outdoors

They are more exciting

Weather-related answer (e.g., can do it in all

weather)

They provide food

They are more peaceful

They offer more opportunities (not specific to access)

They are more challenging / more competition

They are safer

Other

No reason given / don't know

M u l t i p l e R

e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=473)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.23. Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Target Shooting




The crosstabulation found a few notable differences. Active target shooters were the most likelyof the three groups to say that another activity won out over target shooting because there were

more people with whom to do the other activity—pointing to camaraderie as a top motivation for

participating in activities (Figure 4.24).




to them than shooting.)


2

2

1

31

17

4

3

13

2

2

3

3

1

1

1

5

7

2

8

38

12

9

1

3

3

4

4

3

3

8

11

34

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

They are more enjoyable / more fun

Family can participate

They are less active / easier

They have better access

More people to do them with

They are cheaper

They are more active / provide

exercise

More convenient

They require less time

Different / something new

They are more in the outdoors

M u l t i p l e R e

s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=106)


Ex (n=226)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.24 (Part 1). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Target Shooting,







who said another activity became more interestingto them than shooting.)


8.63

1.62

1.13

0.92

3.80

1.13

1.05

2.13

0.92

10.6411.20

5.18

0.54

0.00

0.00

1.56

0.86

1.08

1.53

1.97

6.76

5.28

0.49

1.29

1.83

0.72

1.46

0.55

2.41

1.82

0 20 40 60 80 100

More exciting

They don't have seasonal / time

restrictions

Weather-related answer (e.g., can doit in all weather)

They provide food

More peaceful

More challenging / more competition


access)

Safer

Other



Percent

Active (n=106)


Ex (n=226)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.24 (Part 2). Reasons Other Activities Won Out Over Target Shooting,





A final question pertaining to motivations used a close-ended questioning format. The surveysread 12 items to hunters and target shooters. For each item, the respondent indicated if he/she

regularly does any activity that offers the item more so than does hunting or target shooting.

Specifically, the survey went as follows (each survey used identical wording with the exceptionof either “hunting” or “shooting”):

Some activities are preferred over (hunting/shooting) because they offer greaterbenefits of thrills, while others are preferred because they have fewer hassles

associated with them. Compared to (hunting/shooting), please tell me if you

regularly do other recreational activities that...

o Offer more thrills?

o That offer more benefits?

o That offer more exercise?

o That are cheaper?

o etc. (The survey included 12 items.)

It is important to note that this question was closed-ended, meaning the list was read torespondents, requiring each respondent to give an opinion on each item. (Many of the other

questions in this chapter were open-ended, allowing any response that came to mind.)

The results of this line of questioning in Figure 4.25, as they pertain to motivations, suggest that

certain percentages of hunters are motivated to participate in other activities for camaraderie with

family and friends (43% of hunters said that they regularly do activities other than hunting that

are preferred by family members and friends), for a different experience (38%), for moreexercise (33%), for thrills (29%), to be part of a group in which they are comfortable (28%), for

benefits of some sort (26%), and for the challenge (22%). (The remaining items in the listpertain to constraints.)

The crosstabulation of this question for those items in the list pertaining to motivations foundthat motivations do not greatly differ between active hunters, intermittent hunters, and ex-hunters

(Figure 4.26). The items that have the greatest difference among groups pertain more to

constraints to hunting rather than motivations for participating in other activities; these arediscussed in more detail in the next chapter of the report.

In examining differences between urban, suburban, and rural hunters, some findings stand out.Suburban hunters are more likely than urban and rural hunters to regularly participate in

activities that offer more benefits (32% of suburban hunters, compared to 22% of urban and 20%

of rural hunters). Both urban and suburban hunters are more likely than rural hunters to

participate in other activities that offer new experiences and to participate in other activities thatdo not have as many hassles.




29

32

33

44

43

38

38

33

33

28

26

22

20

0 20 40 60 80 100

Have fewer seasonal restrictions

Are preferred by family members

or friends

Are cheaper

Offer new or different experiences

Offer more exercise

Are safer

Don't have as many hassles

Don't involve as much travel

Offer more thrills

Allow you to be with people you're

more comfortable with

Offer more benefits

Are more challenging

None of these

M u l t i p l

e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=2,228)

Q112. Some activities are preferred over hunting because

they offer greater benefits or thrills, while others are

preferred because they have fewer hassles associated with

them. Compared to hunting, please tell me if you regularly do

other recreational activities that...

List was read to

respondents, whocould answer to

"yes" to all that

applied.

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.25. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Hunting




27

26

32

43

44

38

38

29

32

25

25

21

2116

27

26

31

32

40

39

35

40

40

54

48

44

19

22

27

29

30

37

29

34

35

37

40

42

36

0 20 40 60 80 100


Are preferred by family members or

friends

Are cheaper


Are safer

Offer more exercise



Offer more thrills



Offer more benefits


None of these

M u l t i p


Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

Q112. Some activities are preferred over hunting because they

offer greater benefits or thrills, while others are preferred

because they have fewer hassles associated with them.

Compared to hunting, please tell me if you regularly do other

recreational activities that...

List was read to

respondents, who

could answer to

"yes" to all that

applied.

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.26. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Hunting, Crosstabulated by





Among target shooters in this line of questioning, as they pertain to motivations, the results inFigure 4.27 suggest that certain percentages of target shooters are motivated to participate in

other activities for more exercise (54%—by far the top answer among target shooters), for a

different experience (47%), for camaraderie with family and friends (42%), for benefits of somesort (35%), for thrills (34%), for the challenge (33%), and to be part of a group in which they are

comfortable (26%). (The remaining items in the list pertain to constraints.)

The crosstabulation of this question for those items in the list pertaining to motivations found

that motivations among target shooters differ among groups identified by participation status

(Figure 4.28). In particular, doing other activities that offer more exercise is a response more

often given by active target shooters than by intermittent or ex-target shooters. Likewise, activetarget shooters more often participate in other activities that offer a different experience,

compared to intermittent and ex-target shooters. Otherwise, the remaining responses related to

motivations do not greatly differ among the groups.

28

29

33

54

47

43

42

35

34

28

26

26

14

0 20 40 60 80 100

Offer more exercise


Are cheaper


friends

Offer more benefits

Offer more thrills



Are safer





None of these


Percent (n=1,541)

Q112. Some activities are preferred over shooting because

they offer greater benefits or thrills, while others arepreferred because they have fewer hassles associated with

them. Compared to shooting, please tell me if you regularly

do other recreational activities that...

List was read to

respondents, who

could answer to

"yes" to all that

applied.

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.27. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Target Shooting




27

24

34

58

51

45

42

34

33

30

24

25

1314

24

23

27

27

28

35

35

38

42

53

45

42

15

27

31

28

32

34

32

36

36

40

41

48

43

0 20 40 60 80 100

Offer more exercise


Are cheaper


friends

Offer more benefits

Offer more thrills



Are safer





None of these

M u l t i p l

e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

Q112. Some activities are preferred over shooting because

they offer greater benefits or thrills, while others are

preferred because they have fewer hassles associated with

them. Compared to shooting, please tell me if you regularly

do other recreational activities that...

List was read to

respondents, who

could answer to"yes" to all that

applied.

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 4.28. Reasons Other Activities May Be Preferred Over Target Shooting,





CHAPTER 5: CONSTRAINTS TO PARTICIPATING INACTIVITIES, DISSATISFACTIONS WITH ACTIVITIES, ANDREASONS FOR DECREASED AVIDITY

The previous chapter looked at motivations for participating in and satisfactions derived from

activities. Chapter 5 looks at constraints to activities, particularly hunting and target shooting.The first examination of constraints will use the graphs shown in the previous chapter of the

report in which 12 items were read to respondents, who indicated if they participated in activitiesthat offered those items over hunting or target shooting (Figures 4.25 through 4.28 previously

presented).

As those figures showed, important constraints to participation in hunting include that it is

seasonal (44% of hunters said that they do other activities that do not have seasonal restrictions),

the cost (38% do activities that are cheaper), that hunting is perceived to be unsafe (33%), that

hunting has hassles associated with it (33%), and that hunting involves too much travel (32%)(Figure 4.25 previously presented).

The crosstabulation of that question showed that the seasonality of hunting is a particularconstraint to intermittent hunters, compared to active hunters (54% of intermittent hunters said

that they participate in activities that have fewer seasonal restrictions, compared to 43% of active

hunters) (Figure 4.26 previously presented). Meanwhile, active hunters are not as concerned asare intermittent hunters or ex-hunters about the safety of hunting (only 29% of active hunters

participate in activities that are safer than hunting, compared to 40% of intermittent hunters and

35% of ex-hunters). Likewise, the hassles of hunting are of less importance to active huntersthan they are to intermittent and ex-hunters (only 26% of active hunters participate in activities

that have fewer hassles than hunting, compared to 40% of intermittent hunters and 37% of ex-hunters). Finally, too much travel is more of a concern to intermittent hunters than it is to

active hunters or ex-hunters: 39% of intermittent hunters participate in activities that involveless travel, compared to 32% of active hunters and only 29% of ex-hunters.

Another examination of the data looked at differences among urban, suburban, and rural hunters.

Urban hunters were more likely than were suburban or rural hunters to cite seasonal/time

restrictions and to say that hunting takes too much time. In a perhaps related finding, urbanhunters also are more likely than their counterparts to cite weather as a hassle with hunting.

The shooting survey found that cost (43%) is the most important constraint (Figure 4.27previously presented). This is followed by seasonal restrictions—because there are not actual

seasons associated with target shooting as there are in hunting, it is assumed that target shooters

were referring to the weather being too cold to comfortably target shoot (29%), safety concerns(28%), too much travel associated with target shooting (28%), and hassles associated with target

shooting (26%).

The crosstabulation found that the most marked differences existed in the “travel” responseamong target shooters (Figure 4.28 previously presented). While only 24% of active target

shooters indicated participating in other activities that involve less travel, 28% of intermittent

target shooters and 34% of ex-target shooters said this.




In those previous questions, one of the items in the list that was read to respondents was whetherthey participated in other activities (other than hunting or target shooting) that “don’t have as

many hassles.” Respondents who indicated participating in activities that do not have as many

hassles were asked in a follow-up question to name the hassles associated with hunting (in thehunting survey) or with target shooting (in the shooting survey). The results directly pertain to

constraints.

As shown in Figure 5.1, the top hassles associated with hunting among the respondents who got

this question include access issues (other than just the distance), travel distance, the amount of

preparation, the cost and the effort of getting licenses and permits, the amount of time hunting

itself takes, various perceived issues with the regulations and restrictions, the weather, the costs,and the need for equipment/maintenance of equipment.

Q113. You said that you do recreational activities

other than hunting that have fewer hassles. What

hassles are associated with hunting? (Asked of

those who do other recreational activities that have

fewer hassles than does hunting.)

(Open-ended)

4

2

0.32

0.37

1.04

1.85

3

7

8

8

29

14

11

10

9

9

6

5

5

5

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Access issues

Travel distance

Needing to plan / amount of preparation

Getting a license / permits / cost of license / permits

The amount of time it takes

Regulations / restrictions

Weather-related answer re: having to be outside

during fall / winter

Costs (in general or other than for license)

Need for equipment / maintaining equipment

Hunting is physically demanding

Seasonal / time restrictions

Getting up early

Danger / poor behavior of other hunters

Getting the animal out of the woods / dressing /

skinning

Overcrowding

Having to pack things in / carry camp stuff

Lack of game / chance of not harvesting

Is not family-oriented

Checking game

Anti-hunting sentiment

Other

Don't know

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w

e d

Percent (n=728)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.1. Perceived Hassles Associated With Hunting




In the crosstabulation of the “hassles” question, ex-hunters were the most likely to complain of access issues (other than travel distance), but the difference between groups is small (Figure 5.2).

On the other hand, ex-hunters were the most likely to name as a hassle that hunting is physically

demanding. With so many responses listed, these results are shown in two graphs.



hassles are associated with hunting? (Asked of


fewer hassles than hunting.)


6

5

12

26

19

13

11

8

8

3

6

37

6

4

6

11

7

11

11

14

26

17

10

5

4

9

7

8

8

7

9

10

9

32

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Access issues

Travel distance

Needing to plan / amount of preparation

Getting a license / permits / cost of

license / permits

The amount of time it takes

Weather-related answer re: having to

be outside during fall / winter

Regulations / restrictions

Costs (in general or other than for

license)

Need for equipment / maintaining

equipment

Hunting is physically demanding

Getting up early

Getting the animal out of the woods / dressing / skinning

M u l t i p l e R e s p

o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=223)


Ex (n=259)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.2 (Part 1). Perceived Hassles Associated With Hunting, Crosstabulated by







hassles are associated with hunting? (Asked ofthose who do other recreational activities that have

fewer hassles than hunting.)


1.99

0.64

0.00

7.52

4.92

4.67

2.19

2.57

1.24

2.39

4.822.71

3.47

2.41

0.00

0.34

0.00

2.13

3.44

3.11

3.54

2.01

2.89

1.13

2.70

0.21

0.64

1.24

1.27

5.54

4.27

3.83

2.59

0 20 40 60 80 100

Seasonal / time restrictions

Overcrowding

Danger / poor behavior of other hunters

Having to pack things in / carry camp

stuff

Lack of game / chance of not harvesting

Is not family-oriented

Checking game

Anti-hunting sentiment

Answer not applicable / not a hassle

intrinsic to hunting (e.g., family

obligations)

Other

Don't know

M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=223)


Ex (n=259)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.2 (Part 2). Perceived Hassles Associated With Hunting, Crosstabulated by





The same question about hassles was asked in the shooter survey. The most commonly namedhassles associated with target shooting were access, cost, getting and maintaining equipment, the

poor behavior of other shooters, that target shooting is time-consuming, crowding, and having to

pack/travel/set-up to go target shooting (Figure 5.3).


other than shooting that have fewer hassles. What

hassles are associated with shooting? (Asked of


fewer hassles than does shooting.) (Open-ended.)

5

2

3

1.97

2

3

5

7

10

12

15

49

5

3

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Access

Cost

Getting equipment / maintaining equipment

Safety / behavior of other shooters

Time-consuming

Crowding

Packing equipment and travelling and set-up

(but not an access problem)

Hard to find somebody to go with

Anti-firearm attitudes of others

Requires too much planning

Weather-related answer

Noise

Answer not applicable / not a hassle intrinsic

to shooting (e.g., family obligations)

Other


M u l t

i p l e R e s p o n s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=386)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.3. Perceived Hassles Associated With Target Shooting

The crosstabulation showed similar results between the groups. There was a slightly lower

percentage of ex-target shooters, compared to active and intermittent target shooters, who namedgetting and maintaining equipment as a hassle, and ex-target shooters were also less likely to

name crowding as a hassle with target shooting (Figure 5.4).





other than shooting that have fewer hassles. What

hassles are associated with shooting? (Asked of


fewer hassles than does shooting.) (Open-ended.)

2

2

6

50

16

15

9

5

7

1

3

5

3

2

46

4

3

0

1

3

2

5

4

8

9

12

45

15

17

5

2

4

2

2

3

5

2

6

2

8

8

14

50

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Access

Cost

Getting equipment / maintaining equipment

Safety / behavior of other shooters

Time-consuming

Crowding

Packing equipment and travelling and set-up (but

not an access problem)

Requires too much planning

Hard to find somebody to go with

Noise

Weather-related answer

Anti-firearm attitudes of others

Answer not applicable / not a hassle intrinsic to

shooting (e.g., family obligations)

Other



Percent

Active (n=122)


Ex (n=153)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.4. Perceived Hassles Associated With Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by


Many additional questions in the surveys pertained to constraints, including many open-ended

questions asking about reasons for not hunting/target shooting in some years but not others (for

those who did not hunt/target shoot every year of the past 5 years), reasons for participation




decreases in recent years (among those whose participation decreased), reasons hunting or targetshooting was not a top activity (of those who did not name it as one of their three top outdoor

activities), and potential reasons for doing activities other than hunting or target shooting (among

those who named hunting or target shooting as one of their three top outdoor activities).

The first of those open-ended questions to be examined is the question regarding reasons for nothunting or target shooting in all 5 of the past 5 years. As Figure 5.5 shows, the most importantconstraints to hunting participation are social reasons: lack of time/other obligations (37% of

hunters who did not hunt all 5 previous years gave this as a reason why) and age/health (23%).

Other important constraints are a loss of interest in hunting (10%), access problems—one of the

few non-social constraints (7%), cost (6%), and lack of a hunting partner (5%). Acrosstabulation by location found that age/health to be less of a problem among urban hunters

compared to suburban and rural hunters. On the other hand, access was more of an issue for

urban hunters.

Q24. Is there a specific reason why you hunt in

some years but not others? (Asked of those who

did not hunt all 5 of the past 5 years.)

(Open-ended.)

10

2

0.32

0.39

0.42

1.22

1.30

1.65

37

23

10

7

6

5

1.11

0.72

0.59

0.51

0.48

0.48

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lack of time / work, family, and/or school

obligations

Age / health

No longer enjoy hunting as much / losing interest

Access problems

Cost / can't afford it

Don't have anybody to hunt with

Lack of opportunity / can't get tags / didn't get draw

Other activities

Depends on amount of game

Moved

Weather

Hunting areas too crowded

No longer have hunting dog(s)

Have enough game meat / don't like meat much

Doesn't like some aspect of regulations (e.g., low

bag limit, seasons too short)

Hunting is not convenient

Can't have firearms (either a felon or wife forbids it)

Equipment problems / lack of equipment

Other

Don't know / no reason given


Percent (n=1,544)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.5. Reasons for Not Hunting All 5 of the Past 5 Years




The crosstabulation of this question by participation status is interesting in that active hunters arethe most likely of the three groups (active, intermittent, and ex) to claim that time constraints or

other obligations prevent their hunting every year (Figure 5.6). Otherwise, for every major

constraint, active hunters are the least likely to say it is a reason for not hunting every year. Inparticular, age/health is a much greater problem among ex-hunters and intermittent hunters than

among active hunters.

Q24. Is there a specific reason why you hunt in


did not hunt all 5 of the past 5 years.)

(Open-ended.) (Shows only responses given by at

least 5% of all respondents to the question.)

51

16

1

3

3

4

5

6

8

40

20

4

5

6

14

27

32

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lack of time / work,

family, and/orschool obligations

Age / health

No longer enjoy

hunting as much /

losing interest

Access problems

Cost / can't afford it

Don't have anybody

to hunt with


Percent

Active (n=251)


Ex (n=660)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.6. Reasons for Not Hunting All 5 of the Past 5 Years, Crosstabulated by





The same top five reasons given by hunters for not hunting every year were given by targetshooters as reasons for not target shooting every year: time constraints/other obligations (28% of

target shooters who did not target shoot every year of the past 5 years gave this reason),

age/health (16%), loss of interest (11%), lack of access (6%), and cost (5%) (Figure 5.7). Again,social reasons predominate.

Q22. Is there a specific reason why you shoot in


did not shoot all 5 of the past 5 years.)

(Open-ended.)

1.57

2

3

28

16

11

6

5

4

1.31

0.62

0.49

0.32

3

24

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints / obligations

Age / health

Lack of or losing interest / did not feel like

going

Access

Cost

Don't feel the need to shoot every year /

just shoot when need to sight gun

Nobody to go with

Participate in other activities

No opportunity (not specific to access)

Just started or got back into it within past 5

years (i.e., could not shoot all 5 years)

Don't own firearm

Not convenient

Weather

Other

Did not give reason


Percent (n=1,042)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.7. Reasons for Not Target Shooting All 5 of the Past 5 Years




The crosstabulation could only compare intermittent and ex-target shooters, as active targetshooters were not asked the question. Nonetheless, age/health was a greater problem among

ex-target shooters than among intermittent target shooters (Figure 5.8). On the other hand, time

constraints were worse among intermittent target shooters than among ex-target shooters.

Q22. Is there a specific reason why you shoot in


did not shoot all 5 of the past 5 years.)

(Open-ended.)

4

2

4

32

10

4

6

4

5

2

0

0

1

3

2822

3

0

1

1

1

0

2

3

4

5

6

26

19

13

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints / obligations

Age / health

Lack of or losing interest / did not feel

like going

Access

Cost

Don't feel the need to shoot every year /

just shoot when need to sight gun

Nobody to go with

Participate in other activities

Just started or got back into it within past

5 years (i.e., could not shoot all 5 years)

No opportunity (not specific to access)

Don't own firearm

Not convenient

Weather

Other

Did not give reason


Percent


Ex (n=549)

Active shooters were

not asked the

question.

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.8. Reasons for Not Target Shooting All 5 of the Past 5 Years, Crosstabulated by





The results above are reiterated by the questions asking about reasons for participation declinesover the past 5 years, among those whose participation in hunting and target shooting declined.

Figure 5.9 shows the results of the hunting survey, and Figure 5.10 shows the crosstabulation of

that question by participation status. Time constraints/other obligations, age/health, loss of interest, lack of access, cost, and lack of hunting partners are the major constraints.

Q28. Why did your amount of hunting decrease?


decreased.) (Open-ended.)

1.53

1.89

1.41

1.76

4

37

30

10

8

7

5

0.83

0.83

0.45

0.43

0.36

0.34

0 20 40 60 80 100

Had less time / more obligations

Age / health

Lost interest

Had less access / land was closed

Cost

Lost hunting partners / lack of people to

go with

Lack of game

Other interests

Dislike some aspect of regulations / game

management

Crowding / too many other hunters orrecreationists

Weather was bad

Can't have firearms anymore

Don't have dogs anymore

Moved to different state / don't know

where to hunt

Don't have equipment or it is in disrepair

Other



Percent (n=1,239)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.9. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Hunting




Q28. Why did your amount of hunting decrease?


decreased.) (Open-ended.)

1

2

2

2

5

40

33

3

7

8

4

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

2

0

0

1

0

2

1

1

3

3

4

9

8

39

29

9

2

2

1

1

0

1

0

1

1

1

3

5

6

14

28

34

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Had less time / more obligations

Age / health

Lost interest

Had less access / land was closed

Cost

Lost hunting partners / lack of people to

go with

Lack of game

Other interests

Dislike some aspect of regulations /

game management

Weather was bad

Moved to different state / don't know

where to hunt

Crowding / too many other hunters or

recreationists

Don't have dogs anymore

Can't have firearms anymore


Other



Percent

Active (n=304)


Ex (n=519)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.10. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Hunting, Crosstabulated by





In the shooting survey, these questions found that the important constraints were timeconstraints, age/health, and cost (Figure 5.11). The crosstabulation found that cost was a much

greater concern to active target shooters than to intermittent and ex-target shooters (among target

shooters whose participation had declined over the past 5 years) (Figure 5.12).


decrease? (Asked of those whose amount of

shooting decreased.)

(Open-ended.)

1.51

1.96

0.72

3

5

5

18

30

40

2

2

1.29

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints

Age / health

Cost

Lack of access

Other interests / activities

Nobody to go with

Not interested / losing interest

Moved to new area and don't

know where to go

Availability of ammunition

Did not / does not have firearm

Other

No reason / don't know


Percent (n=306)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.11. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Target Shooting





decrease? (Asked of those whose amount of

shooting decreased.)(Open-ended.)

0

3

1

40

32

22

4

5

1

2

2

21

3

1

1

2

5

5

5

7

37

28

16

4

0

0

4

0

2

10

4

6

30

43

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints

Age / health

Cost

Lack of access

Other interests / activities

Nobody to go with

Not interested / losing interest

Moved to new area and don't knowwhere to go

Did not / does not have firearm

Availability of ammunition

Other

No reason / don't know


Percent

Active (n=107)


Ex (n=33)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.12. Reasons for Participation Decreases in Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by





Another question that delved into constraints to hunting and target shooting participation askedthose who did not name hunting (in the hunting survey) or target shooting (in the shooting

survey) as one of their three top outdoor activities why it is not a top activity. This reiterates the

previous findings about constraints: lack of time/other obligations (26%), age/health (23%), lack of interest (14%), access issues (7%), and cost (6%) are again important constraints to hunting

participation (Figure 5.13). One new finding in this question is that the fourth-ranked item wasother activities (11% gave this answer). In other words, only about 1 in 10 hunters who did notname hunting as a top activity are doing other activities instead; otherwise, a variety of reasons

prevent hunting from being a top activity.

8

30.16

0.21

0.41

1.75

3

4

26

23

14

11

7

6

0.98

0.90

0.52

0.48

0.46

0.46

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lack of time / other obligations

Age / health

Lack of interest

Other activities

Access issues

Cost

Nobody to go with

Because of seasons / only can do part of the

year

Lack of game

Dislike some aspect of regulations

Crowding

Poor behavior of other hunters


Can't have firearm

Weather

Don't like the meat / don't eat game

Don't get draw

Dog died / dog old / don't have dogs

Other


M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e s A

l l o w e d

Percent (n=1,132)

Q93. You mentioned that you went hunting but did not

mention hunting as being one of your top three outdoor

activities. What are the reasons that hunting is not one of

your top activities? (Asked of those who went hunting but did

not indicate that hunting is a top activity.)

(Open-ended.)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.13. Reasons That Hunting Is Not a Top Activity




The crosstabulation of this question by participation status finds some differences in responses(Figure 5.14). Not surprisingly, age/health is more of a problem for intermittent and especially

ex-hunters than it is to active hunters. One interesting finding is that doing other activities

instead of hunting was mentioned more often by active hunters than by intermittent orex-hunters, suggesting that active hunters are simply more active in all outdoor recreation

compared to their counterparts.

12

2

22

13

4

17

8

3

5

6

3

7

12

27

21

12

2

4

7

6

16

25

26

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lack of time / other

obligations

Age / health

Lack of interest

Other activities

Access issues

Cost

Nobody to go with

Because of seasons / only can do part of the

year

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n s e

s A l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=98)


Ex (n=663)

Q93. You mentioned that you went hunting but did not

mention hunting as being one of your top three outdoor

activities. What are the reasons that hunting is not one of your

top activities? (Asked of those who went hunting but did not

indicate that hunting is a top activity.)

(Open-ended.) (Shows only those responses given by at least

3% of respondents.)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.14. Reasons That Hunting Is Not a Top Activity, Crosstabulated by Participation

Status




The shooter survey asked target shooters whose top activities did not include target shooting tosay why target shooting was not a top activity. The top answer in Figure 5.15 is time constraints

(18% of target shooters whose top activities did not include target shooting). Following that, the

next most common answer is that target shooting was not named as a top activity because it isdone in conjunction with hunting—in short, hunting is the primary activity with target shooting

being an ancillary activity (15%). Also at 15% is that other activities take primacy over targetshooting, with a third of that 15% doing fishing as one of the other activities. Other constraintsthat have turned up prior to this question are here as well: cost, lack of interest, age/health, and

access.

17

1.910.20

0.21

1.24

5

6

18

15

15

11

10

9

1.20

1.16

1.00

0.78

0.59

0.48

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints

Do it in conjunction with hunting

Other activities (excludes when hunting is the sole

"other" activity)

Cost

Not interested in doing it more

Age / health

Access issues

Mentioned fishing in response (subset of "Other

activities")Requires too much planning / difficult in general /

hassles

Just do it to sight in the gun or when get new gun

Nobody to go with

Weather-related answer / seasonal (including

winter being too cold)

Lack of opportunities (not specific to access)

Don't own firearm

Don't want to waste ammunition

Safety concerns

Not physical enough

Other



l l o w e d

Percent (n=1,407)

Q93. You mentioned that you went shooting but did not

mention shooting as being one of your top three outdoor

activities. What are the reasons that shooting is not one of

your top activities? (Asked of those who went shooting but

did not indicate that shooting is a top activity.)

(Open-ended.)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.15. Reasons That Target Shooting Is Not a Top Activity




The differences in the crosstabulation by participation status finds that target shooting inconjunction with hunting is a more common answer among active target shooters than among

intermittent or ex-target shooters (Figure 5.16). Age/health is an answer more commonly given

by ex-target shooters than by active target shooters.

5

6

16

15

21

11

6

4

5

5

8

10

13

22

19

11

5

7

16

15

9

14

19

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Time constraints

Other activities (excludes when

hunting is the sole "other" activity)

Do it in conjunction with hunting

Cost

Not interested in doing it more

Age / health

Access issues

Mentioned fishing in response (subset

of "Other activities")



Percent

Active (n=421)


Ex (n=551)

Q93. You mentioned that you went shooting but did not

mention shooting as being one of your top three outdoor

activities. What are the reasons that shooting is not one of

your top activities? (Asked of those who went shooting but

did not indicate that shooting is a top activity.)

(Open-ended.) (Shows only those responses given by at least

5% of respondents.)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.16. Reasons That Target Shooting Is Not a Top Activity, Crosstabulated by





The question that was discussed above was asked of those who did not list hunting (in thehunting survey) or target shooting (in the shooting survey) as one of their top three outdoor

activities. A similar question was asked of those who did list hunting or target shooting as one of

their top activities: the respondent was asked in an open-ended question about any possiblereasons that they might do other activities instead of hunting or target shooting.

Strictly speaking, the question does not necessarily have to pertain to constraints to hunting ortarget shooting participation—in answer to the open-ended question, the respondent could have

instead made a positive statement about another activity, and some respondents did this—but

most responses pertained to a constraint to hunting or target shooting participation. In the

hunting survey, the top answer is a positive statement about another activity (they enjoy the otheractivities more or have more interest in the other activities), but many of the remaining answers

pertained to a constraint to hunting participation: because hunting is seasonal, hunting does not

include the whole family, the weather could be bad during hunting trips, hunting takes a lot of time, access issues, cost of licenses and ammunition and equipment, crowding, and safety

concerns (Figure 5.17).

The crosstabulation of the question finds slight differences on a few responses. Figure 5.18

shows that possible enjoyment of other activities as a reason hunters might participate in other

activities was given as an answer more often by intermittent hunters than by active hunters.Also, intermittent hunters more often than active hunters said that age/health might prompt them

to participate in other activities.




Q94. You mentioned that hunting is one of your top

activities. Can you tell me any reasons that you

might do other activities instead of hunting?(Asked of those who indicated that hunting is a top

activity.) (Open-ended.)

0.51

0.75

1.25

1.49

1.94

1.97

3

3

4

7

12

26

2

2

2

0.26

0.26

0.19

3

33

0 20 40 60 80 100

Enjoy other activities more / have more interest in

other activities

Because hunting is seasonal / can't do it all the time

Other activities can include whole family

If the weather was bad

Because I have to / obligated to do other things

Because other things take less time than hunting

Access issues

Other activities offer more exercise

If cost of license or ammo increases / cost of other

things was less

Because other activities are more convenient

Age / health problems make hunting difficult

Friends or family do other things

Because other activities are closer to home / easier to

get to

If game were scarce

If I lost interest in hunting

Crowding

If I did not like some aspect of regulations

Poor behavior of other hunters / safety concerns

Other



Percent (n=1,092)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.17. Possible Reasons Why Hunters Might Participate in Other Activities




2

2

1

24

13

7

4

3

3

3

2

6

6

3

3

33

11

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Enjoy other activities more / have more

interest in other activities

Because hunting is seasonal / can't do it all

the time



Because I have to / obligated to do other

things

Because other things take less time thanhunting

Age / health problems make hunting difficult

Access issues

If cost of license or ammo increases / cost of

other things was less


Percent

Active (n=831)


No respondents with

the "ex" status

received question.

HUNTER

SURVEY

Q94. You mentioned that hunting is one of your top activities.

Can you tell me any reasons that you might do other activities

instead of hunting? (Asked of those who indicated that

hunting is a top activity.) (Open-ended.) (Shows only thoseresponses given by at least 2% of respondents.)

Figure 5.18. Possible Reasons Why Hunters Might Participate in Other Activities,





In the shooting survey, the results about possible reasons for doing other activities are similar tothe results in the hunting survey. Target shooters most commonly said that a possible reason is

that some other activities may be more enjoyable or more interesting—the top answer by far—

with many succeeding reasons being constraints to target shooting participation: other activitiescan include the whole family, access issues, cost of ammunition, because target shooting is

seasonal (Figure 5.19).

The crosstabulation shows that active and intermittent target shooters are remarkably similar in

responses, with one exception: some intermittent target shooters mentioned that other activities

provide more exercise than target shooting, while no active target shooters gave that answer

(Figure 5.20).

Q94. You mentioned that shooting is one of your

top activities. Can you tell me any reasons that you

might do other activities instead of shooting?

(Asked of those who indicated that shooting is a

top activity.) (Open-ended.)

1.35

1.96

3

35

6

5

4

4

3

1.32

1.28

3

37

0 20 40 60 80 100




Because I have to / obligated to do

other things

Access issues


If cost of ammo increases / cost of other

things was less

Because shooting is seasonal / can't do

it all the time

Age / health problems make shooting

difficult



Because other activities are more

convenient

Other



w e d

Percent (n=134)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.19. Possible Reasons Why Target Shooters Might Participate in Other Activities




Q94. You mentioned that shooting is one of your

top activities. Can you tell me any reasons that you

might do other activities instead of shooting?(Asked of those who indicated that shooting is a

top activity.) (Open-ended.)

1

4

3

35

6

6

0

4

3

1

3

3

36

42

3

0

2

2

0

2

3

2

7

37

7

1

0 20 40 60 80 100




Because I have to / obligated to do other

things



If cost of ammo increases / cost of other

things was less

Because shooting is seasonal / can't do

it all the time

Access issues

Because other activities are more

convenient


Age / health problems make shooting

difficult

Other


M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=76)

Intermittent (n=58)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 5.20. Possible Reasons Why Target Shooters Might Participate in Other Activities,





On question directly pertained to the amount of time available to go hunting and target shooting.Each survey asked respondents if non-recreational activities take time that they previously used

for hunting/target shooting. About a third of hunters and a fourth of target shooters reported

such time constraints (Figure 5.21). Certainly, then, time constraints remain problematic for asubstantial portion of hunters and target shooters.

Figure 5.21. Non-Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target

Shooting

The crosstabulations of these questions found some notable differences between groups (active,

intermittent, and ex) in the hunting survey, but not the shooting survey. In the hunting survey,

intermittent and ex-hunters were more likely than were active hunters to say that non-recreational activities take time away from hunting (Figure 5.22). This did not hold true for the

shooting survey (also Figure 5.22).

Q102. Do non-recreational activities take

time that you previously used for

hunting?

33

66

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY



shooting?

28

71

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY




Figure 5.22. Non-Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target

Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status

Finally, while discussing constraints, recall in Figure 4.21 shown in Chapter 4 that some

respondents discussed a constraint to hunting rather than a motivation for participating in other

activities, when they were asked why other activities had “won out” over hunting, and the topconstraints include not being able to participate in hunting with the whole family, seasonal

restrictions, access, and costs.

Also recall in Figure 4.23 shown in Chapter 4 that some respondents discussed a constraint to

target shooting rather than a motivation for participating in other activities, regarding why other

activities had “won out.” The top constraints include not being able to participate in targetshooting with the whole family and access issues.



shooting?

30

69

1

27

72

1

1

74

26

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY



hunting?

29

71

1

41

59

0

1

64

35

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY




CHAPTER 6: ACTIVITIES THAT COMPETE WITH HUNTINGAND TARGET SHOOTING

In addition to discussing participation in outdoor activities, motivations for participating, and

constraints to participation, the surveys asked very specific questions about whether other

activities had replaced hunting and target shooting—the very heart of this study. One questionsimply asked respondents if recreational activities other than hunting (in the hunting survey) and

target shooting (in the shooting survey) had taken time that they had previously used for hunting/ target shooting. The results show that a quarter of hunters and just less than a quarter of target

shooters say that other recreational activities take time away from hunting and target shooting

(Figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1. Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target Shooting

The crosstabulation shows that ex-hunters and intermittent hunters are more likely than areactive hunters to say that other recreational activities take time away from hunting (Figure 6.2).

The shooter crosstabulation does not find great differences in groups; in particular, active targetshooters and ex-target shooters are about the same.

Q97. Do recreational activities other than

shooting take time that you previously

used for shooting?

22

77

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=1,541)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


hunting take time that you previously

used for hunting?

25

74

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=2,228)

HUNTER

SURVEY




Figure 6.2. Recreational Activities Taking Time Away From Hunting and Target Shooting,


Three more questions delved into activities that are replacing hunting and target shooting, all of them open-ended questions. The first of those three questions asked respondents (in follow-up to

the above question) to name the activities in which they participated that were taking time away

from hunting and target shooting. Among hunters, the most commonly named activity takingtime away from hunting is fishing—the top answer by far among those who said an activity was

taking time from hunting (Figure 6.3). This is followed by two other nature-based activities:

hiking and camping. Other activities named by at least 5% of respondents to this questioninclude golf, boating and related activities like water skiing, snow sports, and bicycling/mountain

biking. Because many activities were named (the question was open-ended, and respondents

could name any activity that came to mind), even responses given by small percentages are

shown on the graph, which, by necessity, is in two parts.


shooting take time that you previously

used for shooting?

22

78

0

19

81

1

1

74

24

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=497)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


hunting take time that you previously

used for hunting?

19

80

1

27

73

1

1

68

31

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=932)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTER

SURVEY




Q100. What were the activities that took time that

you previously used for hunting? (Asked of those

who participated in activities that took time awaythat they previously used for hunting.)


4

4

5

38

12

10

8

7

6

3

3

3

3

3

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Camping

Hiking

Golfing


Snow sports


Anything with his/her children / family-oriented

activities


lacrosse

Fitness exercises, such as jogging, trail walking,

etc.


Gardening




M u l t i p


Percent (n=554)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.3 (Part 1). The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting








0.68

0.76

0.95

1.90

1.49

1.43

1.41

1.07

1.05

12

0.91

0 20 40 60 80 100

Swimming outdoors in a pool or natural body of

water


Cruising / driving / site-seeing by automobile

Basketball

Scouting (boy, cub, girl, etc.)

Shooting

Auto racing / auto repair / auto restoration

Church activities

Photography

Other

Don't know

M u l t i p


Percent (n=554)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.3 (Part 2). The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting




One crosstabulation of data by location (urban, suburban, or rural) found that urban hunters moreoften gravitated to boating and camping than did suburban or rural hunters. Urban and suburban

hunters were more likely than rural hunters to say that hiking took time previously used for

hunting.

Another crosstabulation of the above question found that the most marked difference occurs infishing participation, among those who got the question (they had to have previously indicatedthat another recreational activity took time away from hunting): ex-hunters have the highest

percentage naming fishing as an “other” recreational activity, and active hunters have the lowest

Figure 6.4). Other minor differences occur in field sports (not done much by ex-hunters) and

fitness exercises (done the most by intermittent hunters).



who participated in activities that took time away

that they previously used for hunting.)


8

6

8

25

14

7

8

7

5

1

3

6

13

3

6

9

5

6

4

8

8

7

32

9

10

3

1

2

3

1

2

4

5

7

12

13

46

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Camping

Hiking

Golfing


tubing


Snow sports

Anything with his/her children /

family-oriented activities

Field sports, such as football,

soccer, or lacrosse


trail walking, etc.




biking


l l o w e d

Percent

Active (n=181)


Ex (n=205)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.4 (Part 1). The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting,









1.90

0.63

2.13

0.08

2.57

1.92

1.92

2.59

1.08

0.00

0.00

13.69

1.410.50

12.74

0.00

0.66

0.50

1.40

0.90

2.60

0.80

0.30

1.31

3.57

3.16

0.72

10.09

1.27

1.24

0.50

1.24

1.11

0.60

0.90

0.78

1.05

5.38

2.92

0 20 40 60 80 100

Gardening



Horseback riding / horse-related

activities


Cruising / driving / site-seeing by

automobile

Shooting

Basketball

Scouting (boy, cub, girl, etc.)

Auto racing / auto repair / auto

restoration

Church activities

Photography

Other

Don't know


Percent

Active (n=181)


Ex (n=205)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.4 (Part 2). The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting,





The shooter survey likewise asked about recreational activities that may have taken time awayfrom target shooting, as shown in Figure 6.5. Target shooters’ most common “other” activities

are nearly the same as hunters’ common activities. Target shooters’ activities include fishing

(the top answer by far), camping, hiking, golf, boating and related activities, and “family-oriented activities” (a perhaps somewhat odd activity that was, nonetheless, named by many

target shooters in this open-ended question). A few named ATV-riding, and a few namedhunting.


you previously used for shooting? (Asked of those


that they previously used for shooting.)


4

4

4

44

15

13

11

9

6

3

3

3

2

2

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Camping

Hiking

Golfing


Family-oriented activities


Hunting


Basketball




Snow sports


walking, etc.

M u l t i p l e R e s p o n

s e s A l l o w e d

Percent (n=340)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.5 (Part 1). The Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Target

Shooting






who participated in activities that took time awaythat they previously used for shooting.)


0.46

0.71

0.82

1.90

1.32

1.07

1.06

1.02

0.96

0 20 40 60 80 100




Field sports, such as football, soccer,

or lacrosse


activities

Training dogs

Archery

Site-seeing in automobile / cruising

around

Home improvement



Percent (n=340)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Shooting




The crosstabulation did not find great differences among groups on this question. Golf wasnamed by slightly more ex-target shooters than active target shooters, whereas boating and

boating-related activities as a category was named by active target shooters more often than by

ex-target shooters (Figure 6.6).




that they previously used for shooting.)


5

5

5

42

17

15

7

13

7

1

2

3

2

22

1

4

5

6

1

3

6

5

5

12

43

15

14

3

4

1

3

3

4

4

2

6

4

10

14

47

15

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Camping

Hiking

Golfing





Hunting


trail walking, etc.


Basketball


biking

Snow sports


Percent

Active (n=114)

Intermittent (n=88)

Ex (n=138)

SHOOTER

SURVEY








who participated in activities that took time awaythat they previously used for shooting.)


0.00

0.76

1.13

2.78

2.06

1.68

0.04

1.47

1.13

0.71

1.13

2.35

1.103.15

1.95

1.10

0.85

0.00

0.00

1.35

1.20

0.05

2.20

1.35

0.00

2.55

1.16

2.73

3.58

0.00

1.68

1.32

0.61

0.75

1.32

0.00

2.11

2.39

1.50

0 20 40 60 80 100




or lacrosse


around




activities

Training dogs

Archery

Home improvement


No answer / did not name outdoor

activity

Other

Don't know


Percent

Active (n=114)

Intermittent (n=88)

Ex (n=138)

SHOOTER

SURVEY






Each survey also asked respondents about activities that may have become more interesting tothem than hunting (in the hunting survey) and target shooting (in the shooting survey), among

those who did not name hunting or target shooting as one of their three top activities. The survey

first asked those respondents if any activity had become more interesting than hunting or targetshooting, then it asked the follow-up question wherein respondents named those more interesting

activities. In the initial question, 41% of hunters and 33% of target shooters indicated thatanother activity had become more interesting (Figure 6.7).


Hunting or Target Shooting

The crosstabulation did not find much of a difference between groups defined by their

participation status (active, intermittent, and ex) in the hunting survey, but in the shooting

survey, ex-target shooters were the most likely to say that another activity had become more

interesting (Figure 6.8).

Q104. Would you say that another

activity became more interesting to you

than shooting? (Asked of those who did

not name shooting as a top activity.)

33

65

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=1,407)

SHOOTER

SURVEY



than hunting? (Asked of those who did

not name hunting as a top activity.)

41

58

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent (n=1,133)

HUNTER

SURVEY





Hunting or Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status

The results regarding the particular activities reiterate those results shown above regarding

activities that took time away from hunting and target shooting. These more interesting activitiesare shown in Figures 6.9 through 6.12.



than shooting? (Asked of those who didnot name shooting as a top activity.)

26

72

3

33

65

2

3

57

40

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=421)


Ex (n=551)

SHOOTERSURVEY



than hunting? (Asked of those who didnot name hunting as a top activity.)

36

63

0

37

62

1

2

56

42

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Active (n=98)


Ex (n=663)

HUNTERSURVEY




Q107. What were the activities that became more

interesting to you than hunting? (Asked of those



3

4

4

40

10

7

6

5

4

3

3

2

2

2

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Golfing

Camping


Hiking



Gardening

Shooting



Snow sports


Travel / site-seeing / RV


walking, etc.

M u l t i p


Percent (n=442)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.9 (Part 1). The Recreational Activities That Became More Interesting Than

Hunting








0.48

0.69

0.73

1.72

1.65

1.53

1.28

1.24

0.83

0.45

0.36

0.36

5

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Playing music


lacrosse


activities

Auto racing / auto repair / restoration

Photography

Basketball


body of water

Woodworking

Computer games / video games

Landscaping / working on house


Flying planes

Other

Don't know

M u l t i p


Percent (n=442)

HUNTER

SURVEY


Hunting








0

4

7

24

10

11

14

7

7

7

8

0

0

0

4

3

1

4

4

2

5

4

3

5

3

2

9

29

12

9

1

3

2

2

3

2

4

4

3

4

5

6

10

43

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Golfing

Camping


Hiking


Gardening


biking

Shooting



tubing

Snow sports


Travel / site-seeing / RV


or lacrosse

M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=35)


Ex (n=277)

HUNTER

SURVEY


Hunting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status









0.00

0.00

2.52

6.56

3.73

6.91

7.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.14

10.815.20

10.96

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.65

0.00

1.89

0.20

1.81

1.17

2.01

2.08

5.82

4.75

0.44

0.44

0.59

0.90

0.75

0.82

0.26

1.50

1.00

1.50

1.62

0.71

0 20 40 60 80 100


trail walking, etc.

Playing music


activities

Auto racing / auto repair / restoration

Photography

Landscaping / working on house

Basketball

Woodworking

Swimming outdoors in a pool ornatural body of water

Computer games / video games


Flying planes

Other

Don't know

M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=35)


Ex (n=277)

HUNTER

SURVEY


Hunting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status





interesting to you than shooting? (Asked of those



2

2

2

2

5

5

7

7

11

45

4

3

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Golfing

Hunting

Camping

Hiking


tubing



Snow sports


biking


Fitness exercises, such as

jogging, trail walking, etc.

Archery


Percent (n=473)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Target Shooting








0.88

0.88

0.93

1.96

1.78

1.50

1.38

1.28

0.95

0.63

0.30

9

2

0 20 40 60 80 100


Basketball


body of water



Training dogs


around


lacrosse

Walking



Other

Don't know


Percent (n=473)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Target Shooting








3

2

5

41

6

8

10

5

8

0

2

2

3

31

1

2

2

4

5

3

2

5

7

6

44

12

8

2

2

3

3

3

2

4

4

3

5

6

14

48

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishing

Golfing

Hunting

Camping


tubing

Hiking



Snow sports


trail walking, etc.

Archery



biking



Percent

Active (n=106)


Ex (n=226)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status








0.00

0.71

0.92

3.46

2.54

1.42

1.63

0.00

1.62

0.00

2.04

10.04

2.751.31

10.08

4.60

0.54

0.00

1.53

0.54

1.56

0.77

0.80

0.86

1.56

0.00

2.07

8.42

3.18

0.45

1.62

0.35

1.11

0.35

1.77

1.91

0.49

0.84

1.27

0 20 40 60 80 100

Basketball






around

Training dogs

Field sports, such as football,

soccer, or lacrosse


activities

Walking


No answer / did not name outdoor

activity

Other

Don't know


Percent

Active (n=106)


Ex (n=226)

SHOOTER

SURVEY


Target Shooting, Crosstabulated by Participation Status




While the above questions asked about recreational activities, another question asked aboutnon-recreational activities. For hunters and target shooters, typical non-recreational activities

that take time away from hunting or target shooting primarily include work and family

obligations, with little difference found in the crosstabulations by participation status. Thesegraphs are shown in Figures 6.13 through 6.16.

Q103. What were the non-recreational activities that

took time that you previously used for hunting?

(Asked of those who indicated that

non-recreational activities took time away that they

previously used for hunting.) (Open-ended.)

0.31

0.33

0.44

62

16

6

6

3

0.60

4

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Work

Family obligations

School

Landscaping / working on yard /

working on house / home

improvement

Church-related activities

Gardening

Altruistic activities / volunteering

Cutting firewood / forestry-related

activities

Cooking / baking

Other

No answer / don't know / did notname non-recreational activity



Percent (n=760)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.13. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting





took time that you previously used for hunting?

(Asked of those who indicated thatnon-recreational activities took time away that they

previously used for hunting.) (Open-ended.)

0

0

0

65

16

6

3

4

0

5

109

3

1

1

1

2

4

6

63

17

7

11

5

0

0

1

0

1

5

15

59

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Work

Family obligations

School

Landscaping / working on yard /

working on house / home

improvement

Church-related activities

Altruistic activities / volunteering

Gardening

Cutting firewood / forestry-related

activities

Cooking / baking

Other

No answer / don't know / did not

name non-recreational activity


Percent

Active (n=269)


Ex (n=230)

HUNTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.14. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Hunting,






took time that you previously used for shooting?

(Asked of those who indicated that

non-recreational activities took time away that they

previously used for shooting.)

(Open-ended.)

4

65

21

6

1.82

1.47

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Work / business

Family activities / obligations / household chores

Gardening / landscaping / home

improvement

Church

School

Other


M u l t i p l e


Percent (n=438)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.15. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Target

Shooting





took time that you previously used for shooting?

(Asked of those who indicated thatnon-recreational activities took time away that they

previously used for shooting.)

(Open-ended.)

5

5

64

21

5

2

1

4

3

6

3

0

3

67

19

6

4

6

2

4

7

21

63

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Work / business

Family activities / obligations /

household chores

Gardening / landscaping / home

improvement

School

Church

Did not name non-recreational

activity

Other


M u l t i p l e


Percent

Active (n=153)


Ex (n=148)

SHOOTER

SURVEY

Figure 6.16. The Non-Recreational Activities That Took Time Away From Target





CHAPTER 7: IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

The findings point to many strategies that can be undertaken in the overall effort to recruit andretain hunters and target shooters in those sports. Many of the strategies aim at very specific

markets, while other strategies are more broad. Note that, because there exist many different

target markets within the overall population, no one single strategy will suffice for all people.

The implications will be examined within the five major topic areas defined by the previous

chapters. These include the following:

o Participation in Outdoor Activities, Including Hunting and Target Shooting

o Specific Aspects of Participation in Hunting and Target Shooting

o Motivations for Participating in Activities, Satisfactions Derived From Them, and

Reasons for Increased Avidity

o Constraints to Participating in Activities, Dissatisfactions With Activities, and Reasons

for Decreased Avidity

o Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

While this implications chapter examines many of the major issues, it is important that all

professionals involved in recruitment and retention should consult all the data contained herein.

There are many nuances of the data that may not be mentioned in this section.

PARTICIPATION IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING HUNTING AND TARGETSHOOTING

The surveys asked all respondents to name their top three outdoor activities, and the

questions were open-ended, meaning that no response set was read to respondents.

In each survey, this question preceded any questions about hunting or target shooting soas to not bias the results, allowing an accurate look at the activities in which sportsmenand sportswomen participate.

What is immediately clear is that nature-based outdoor recreation is of great importance tothese respondents. For both groups, hunters and target shooters, the top four activities are

nature-based: fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping.

For both the hunters and the target shooters who were surveyed, their top activities are

fishing and hunting. Fishing was named by a majority of hunters and target shooters, and

hunting was named by a near-majority of hunters and a majority of target shooters.

A second tier of activities consists of hiking and camping. In both the hunter and shooter

survey results, hiking and camping were named by substantially more respondents thanthe next activity in the ranking.

Furthermore, many of the lesser activities are nature based:

o Activities named by respondents include gardening/landscaping, visiting a state ornational park, wildlife viewing/wildlife photography, cutting/splitting firewood and

forestry work, SCUBA diving, rock/mountain climbing, trapping, crabbing/clam

digging, and wild harvesting (e.g., mushrooms)




While certainly some amount of hunting and target shooting participation is lost to hikingand camping, it may be that many of these intermittent and ex-hunters and target shooters

were hiking and camping all along. Nonetheless, the data suggest that other outdoor

recreationists, particularly anglers, constitute a quite important target market.

The findings described above suggest that the act of hunting or target shooting itself may not

be the primary goal for many participants. Hunting and target shooting may be a means to

enjoy and experience nature. If true, then hunting and target shooting could be easilysubstitutable with other activities that also provide benefits associated with being outdoors

and close to nature. Factors that detract from hunting and target shooting or make it more

costly or complicated are likely to encourage some hunters and target shooters to increasetime spent in other outdoor pursuits.

One marketing strategy is to market hunting and target shooting as part of a total outdoor

experience. The “total outdoor experience” is a potential campaign theme, or part of one.

Identify and stress the unique selling points of hunting and target shooting. While part of atotal outdoor experience, there are unique aspects of and satisfactions derived from hunting

and target shooting that differentiate them from the other outdoor activities. The lack of

hunting and target shooting, with their unique selling points, would leave out a couple of the

pieces of the “total outdoor experience.”

Also of moderate importance as a competing activity is boating, as well as snow sports and

golfing. Note that participation levels in these activities, however, is not high. The data does

not support the contention that hunters and target shooters are leaving hunting and target

shooting in droves in favor of these other activities.

The surveys explored another aspect of participation in outdoor recreation, askingrespondents about the types of hunting and target shooting that they would like to try.

Of foremost interest is that a majority of hunters and target shooters indicate no interestin trying hunting/shooting outside of their regular hunting and shooting activities. This

leaves no more than about 2 in 5 participants indicating any interest in other types of activities within their sport.

In general, many of the hunters who wanted to try a different type of hunting named adifferent species from their typical game.

o For instance, elk is a top interest, which is certainly out of the realm of most hunters’typical experience. Other types of hunting named included hunting for such things as

moose, boar, bighorn sheep, antelope, caribou, cougar, alligator, and wolf.

In general, target shooters named various other types of shooting that they would like totry rather than naming different types of firearms. In a finding that may be counter to the

prevailing perception of target shooters among non-shooters, the survey did not find thattarget shooters simply wished to shoot bigger and more powerful firearms; rather, they

showed interest in different types of shooting.




Note that changes in participation tend to be subtle. One does not go from being an activehunter to an ex-hunter in a single day—one doesn’t simply wake up and declare that he/she is

quitting hunting. Rather, the changes in participation level are gradual, not typically

triggered by a single event or by the sudden discovery of another type of outdoor recreation.

SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF PARTICIPATION IN HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING This section explores some aspects of hunting and target shooting trips, including likely

companions. These questions pertain to the decision-making process when hunters andtarget shooters decide whether to go hunting or target shooting.

The first aspect explored in this section is hunting and target shooting companions. Bothsurveys asked respondents about the amount of time that they hunt and target shoot with

others and the amount of time that they hunt and target shoot alone. Clearly, these activities

are predominantly done in groups rather than alone.

Very low percentages always hunt/target shoot alone.

A majority of each group always go hunting/target shooting with a companion.

Overall, hunting and target shooting are, for most participants, social activities,suggesting that other outdoor activities that can be shared with others could likely drawhunters and target shooters away from those sports. Efforts to encourage hunters and

target shooters to invite friends along, such as Step Outside, are important.

The next question concerns with whom these people engage in these activities.

For both activities, family plays an important role (more so with hunting than targetshooting): a large majority of hunters who hunt at least some of the time with somebody

else typically hunt with a family member (not exclusive of also having a friend along),and a slightly smaller majority of target shooters who target shoot at least some of the

time with somebody else typically target shoot with a family member.

This is not to say that friends are not important, as a near-majority of hunters who huntwith others and a solid majority of target shooters who target shoot with others namedfriends as typical companions.

Another aspect related to planning of hunting and target shooting trips is how far aheadpeople plan trips. Spontaneity is important to target shooting and, to a lesser extent, hunting.

Less than a third of hunters plan their hunting trips more than a month ahead of time.Additionally, about a third say that all of their trips are planned with less than 2 weeks

notice.

Among target shooters, less than 1 in 10 plan their target shooting excursions more than a

month ahead of time. Also, a majority of target shooters say that all of their trips are

planned with less than 2 weeks notice.

MOTIVATIONS FOR PARTICIPATING IN ACTIVITIES, SATISFACTIONS DERIVEDFROM THEM, AND REASONS FOR INCREASED AVIDITY

It is important to not forget the “fun” part of hunting and target shooting. This is the top

motivation for hunting and target shooting.




For hunters, being close to nature is an important motivation, as is getting meat.

When asked about why they hunt, more than a quarter of hunters gave an answer relatedto being outdoors or being close to nature.

Although other studies have found that hunting for the meat is not a primary reason for

hunting among many hunters when they are asked to choose their single primary reason

for hunting, the motivation of hunting for meat is, nonetheless, important. In an open-ended question asking about motivations for hunting that allowed for more than oneresponse, hunting for meat was named by nearly a quarter of hunters.

For target shooters, increasing skills is an important motivation for going target shooting.

This includes increasing skills related to hunting. A substantial percentage of targetshooters mentioned hunting in their answer regarding reasons that they go target shooting

(in an open-ended question in which respondents can say anything that comes to mind).

Finally, for both hunters and target shooters, camaraderie is an important motivation for

participating in hunting and target shooting. Related to this is the fact that being asked to go

hunting or target shooting can increase one’s interest in the activities, as well as increase thelikelihood that he/she will go.

Marketing and advertising should stress the social aspects of hunting and target shooting.

Efforts to encourage hunters and target shooters to invite friends and family are asimportant as ever. Programs such as Step Outside that focus on this very theme are

important.

Compared to rural and urban hunters, suburban hunters appear to be more influenced by

friends and family members: of the three groups, suburban hunters were more likely tosay that being with friends and family is a motivation for hunting. Marketing the friends

and family aspects of hunting should be effective among suburban hunters.

There is some evidence that multiple satisfactions promote avidity. In other words, a personwho tries only one type of hunting and does not like that one type will desert the sport.

Another person who tries multiple types of hunting will be less likely to desert the sportsimply because one type was not well liked. The satisfactions that the latter person seeks

may be provided by some other type of hunting, if the first did not do so. Therefore, it is

important to address many motivations in overall recruitment and retention efforts rather thanfocusing too much on one motivation at the expense of other motivations. In short,

encourage hunters and target shooters to diversify when at all possible.

While specialization has its place in hunting and target shooting, particularly for those

who wish to specialize or who really like a certain type of hunting and target shooting,

too much early specialization to the exclusion of other types hunting and target shooting

in recruitment efforts may not be effective and risks losing the person if that onespecialized type of hunting or target shooting is not to his/her liking.

There are obviously cross-marketing (between hunting and target shooting) opportunities,

particularly to get hunters to go shooting outside of hunting.

Recruitment of young hunters and target shooters is important, as evidence suggests that

more avid hunters and target shooters are those who started at a younger age than did the lessavid (the mean starting age is higher for ex-participants than for intermittent or active




participants). It appears that hunters and target shooters who started at a young age derivemore satisfactions from hunting and target shooting, compared to those who started later in

life—in other words, some satisfactions become ingrained. Many hunters, for instance,

responded that a motivation for hunting is tradition—that their father and their grandfatherdid it. Some responded with, “I’ve always done it,” as the reason that they go hunting or

target shooting. Apprentice licenses are important to allow young people to try hunting at an early age,

perhaps even before requiring them to take hunter safety courses. (Those courses wouldstill be required to get a regular license; such an exception would apply only to apprentice

licenses.)

CONSTRAINTS TO PARTICIPATING IN ACTIVITIES, DISSATISFACTIONS WITHACTIVITIES, AND REASONS FOR DECREASED AVIDITY

Social constraints are of the most importance, rather than losing interest in hunting or target

shooting as well as rather than because other activities seem more interesting. Those who didnot participate in all of the past 5 years were asked about constraints.

More than a third of hunters who do not hunt every year cite time constraints/otherobligations as a reason for not hunting in some years. More than a quarter of target

shooters who do not target shoot every year cite time constraints/other obligations as areason for not target shooting in some years.

o One strategy aimed at the time issue is to encourage hunters and target shooters to put

their plans to hunt or target shoot on the calendar. In other words, encourage them tomake hunting and target shooting a structured activity. In a busy person’s life, things

that are on the calendar are more likely to be done; things not on a calendar easily fall

by the wayside.

For both groups, age/health reasons cut into potential participation—the second-ranked

item in both surveys on this question. Consider alternative forms of participation for

hunters and target shooters who are older or not in optimum health, such as mentoring, tokeep them involved.

In short, because hunting and target shooting are often social activities—most hunting and

target shooting is done in groups—they are also prone to social constraints.

One of the top non-social constraints, and a constraint over which agencies and industry may

have more control than those cited above, is access. This is a constraint in both hunting and

target shooting.

The non-social constraint of access is of much less importance than the social constraint

of time (in both cases, “time constraints” was named over “access” by about 5 to 1);

however, keep in mind that there is some amount of correlation between access and time.The research suggested that ex-target shooters typically had to travel farther to go target

shooting (when they went target shooting in the past) than do active target shooters (when

they go shooting now). In answer to how long it takes them to get to where they typicallyshoot, the mean amount of time was higher among ex-target shooters than among active

target shooters. This suggests that more distant access (measured in minutes) is

correlated to a higher drop-out rate in target shooting. (An analogous question was notasked in the hunter survey because of concerns over survey length, but one would




intuitively conjecture that time to get to a hunting area may also be correlated toparticipation in hunting.)

o Although access was not one of the top constraints, as noted, it is a constraint over

which agencies have considerable influence. It is important to provide potentialhunters nearby places to hunt and target shooters nearby places to target shoot. If

time is a constraint, then a shorter time to get to a place to hunt or target shoot willhelp boost participation. (Assuming those nearby places are publicized.)o Promote under-utilized hunting and target shooting areas. One way to do this is to

connect private landowners with interested hunters through lease arrangements,

walk-in access, and so forth.

o Promote types of hunting with seasons that are relatively long, particularly relative todeer season, which is the season with which most hunters are most familiar.

o The findings of a previous NSSF-sponsored study, Issues Related to Hunting Access

in the United States: National Results, have important findings to help address access.

ACTIVITIES THAT COMPETE WITH HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING

The greatest competition to hunting and target shooting are other outdoor activities,particularly nature-based activities, such as fishing, camping, and hiking.

Fishing in particular is an activity that competes with hunting and target shooting. Whenasked to name the three outdoor activities in which they participate the most, respondents

named fishing quite often. Clearly, anglers are very important in marketing hunting and

target shooting.

However, that seeming competition can be used in the “total outdoor experience,” withthose activities complementing each other instead of competing.

Crossover participation between hunting and target shooting remains important. Animportant market segment for hunting consists of target shooters. Likewise, an important

market segment for target shooting consists of hunters. This latter market segment isparticularly important, as it seems likely that many hunters could be encouraged to goshooting outside of hunting on a regular basis, especially older hunters for whom hunting

may be too strenuous.

Events that combine these activities should do well, encouraging more crossover

participation.

While golfing had some participation that may have taken away from hunting and target

shooting, golfing was not taking vast numbers of hunters and target shooters away fromhunting and target shooting.

Furthermore, the data suggested that some of those who now prefer golf over hunting and

target shooting are doing so because of age/health reasons: in short, golfing may be lessstrenuous for many people. As stated previously, these people are a good market

segment for target shooting, an activity that may be less strenuous for some people.

Hunting and target shooting compete with more than just other activities. Hunting and target

shooting also compete against the benefits that those other activities provide relative to

hunting and target shooting, particularly if those benefits address social constraints.Therefore, other activities that are less constraining in certain areas will compete well against




hunting and target shooting. For instance, because time constraints are a problem to huntersand target shooters, other activities that take less time will have an advantage over hunting

and target shooting. The biggest constraints and the activities that would take advantage of

them are listed below:

Time constraints. Fortunately for hunting and target shooting, many of the other

activities in which respondents participate take much time: camping, hiking, boating,golfing, and snow sports all are time-consuming. Nonetheless, activities that are

generally less time-consuming offer some competition to hunting and target shooting,such as fitness exercises, gardening, swimming, and fields sports, for instance.

Family-related constraints. Activities that involve the whole family may offer somecompetition to hunting and target shooting: camping, hiking, boating, snow sports, and

swimming, for instance.




APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

The computer code associated with these questionnaires has been removed, leaving only thequestions and statements made to respondents. Note that Questionnaire Programming Language

(QPL) software automatically numbers each computer “statement,” which include the actual

questions and statements read to respondents, as well as skip controls, error checkers, andcomputation statements. For this reason, some question numbers are skipped. For readability,

an indication of who was asked the question in included in brackets [ ] in place of the computer

skip controls, for those questions that were not asked of all respondents. Other notes explainingthe questions, such as indications of open-ended questions, are included in brackets, as well.

The order of the questions in series, meant primarily for assessing each question relative to the

others in that series, were randomized so that respondents received questions in different orders,

thereby eliminating “order bias” on these questions. Order bias is the effect that one questionhas on subsequent questions.

Some questions use wording substitutions to tailor the question to each respondent, and these are

automatically inserted by QPL. These substitutions are indicated by braces { } in the questionwording.

Additional wording within the questions and instructions to the interviewers, which appear onthe screen during the survey, are shown in parentheses ( ).

In summary:

[ ] brackets are for explanations to the reader; these did not appear to the interviewer

{ } braces are for wording substitutions that QPL inserted into the interviewer based onprevious responses; interviewers saw only the appropriate words, depending on the

respondent’s previous responses to questions( ) parentheses are for instructions to the interviewer; these appeared on the screen to

the interviewer

There were separate surveys administered to hunters and to target shooters. The hunter survey is

shown first, followed by the shooter survey. Following the surveys is a tabulation showingquestions that are similar in the two surveys.




NSSF SHOOTING/HUNTING COMPETITION SURVEY: HUNTER SURVEY

4. Hello, my name is ____________, and I'm calling to conduct a survey in participation with the

National Shooting Sports Foundation. We are calling about outdoor recreation. We are notselling anything, or asking for donations. Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions

for me? Your answers are entirely confidential.

13. Can you please tell me the three outdoor activities you have participated in most often for

fun, relaxation, or health during your non-work time in the past 2 years? (CHECK UP TO

THREE; PROMPT FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION)

16. Have you done any hunting in the past 2 years? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF NOT)

Ever?

20. How many of the past 2 years have you gone hunting? [ASKED OF THOSE WHO WENT

HUNTING WITHIN THE PAST 2 YEARS.]

21. How many of the past 5 years have you gone hunting? [ASKED OF THOSE WHO WENT

HUNTING WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS; NOTE THAT QUESTIONS 16, 20, AND 21

WERE USED TO DETERMINE THE PARTICIPANT STATUS—ACTIVE,INTERMITTENT, AND EX-. THESE QUESTIONS ALSO WERE USED TO SCREEN

SOME PEOPLE OUT OF THE SURVEY, AS EXPLAINED IN THE BODY OF THIS

REPORT.]

24. Is there a specific reason why you hunt in some years but not others? [OPEN-ENDED;

ASKED OF THOSE WHO HUNTED FEWER THAN 5 OF THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

25. What would you say are your most important reasons for participating in hunting? In other

words, what are your motivations? [OPEN-ENDED.]

26. Has your amount of hunting increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past 5 years?

27. Why did it increase? (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport hunting

increase?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO SAID THEIR AMOUNT OF

HUNTING INCREASED.]

28. Why did it decrease? (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport hunting

decrease?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO SAID THEIR AMOUNT OF

HUNTING DECREASED.]

32. Which species did you hunt in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone hunting}?

36. What types of firearms did you hunt with in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone hunting}?

38. Are there types of hunting that you don't do now but that you would be interested in trying?




39. What species or types of equipment? (What types of hunting that you don't do nowwould you be interested in trying?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO SAID THAT

THERE ARE OTHER TYPES OF HUNTING THAT THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN

TRYING.]

40. What percentage of time that you go hunting do you go with friends or family?

43. What percentage of the time do you go hunting alone?

47. What are the advantages of going hunting with somebody else? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED

OF THOSE WHO GO HUNTING WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY AT LEAST PART OF THETIME.]

48. With whom (do/did) you typically hunt? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO GOHUNTING WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY AT LEAST PART OF THE TIME.]

49. In the past 5 years, how often would you say you were invited to go hunting by a friends orfamily member?

50. About what percentage of the time would you say you went hunting when invited by thosefriends or family? [ASKED OF THOSE WHO WERE INVITED TO GO HUNTING BY

FRIENDS OR FAMILY WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

53. How old were you when you first went hunting?

56. Which species did you first hunt? [OPEN-ENDED.]

57. Have you done any target or sport shooting in the past 2 years, including just plinking or

sighting firearms, but excluding hunting? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF NOT) Ever?

58. Do you consider yourself more of a target shooter or more of a hunter? [ASKED OF THOSE

WHO HAVE DONE ANY TARGET OR SPORT SHOOTING, IN ADDITION TO THEIRHUNTING, WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

59. Over the past 5 years, would you say the non-work time you spend at and around home hasincreased, remained about the same, or decreased?

60. How far in advance do you start planning a typical hunting trip?

61. What percentage of your hunting trips are planned less than 2 weeks in advance?

64. Do you have children 17 years or younger living in your household? (We are asking so youdon't get questions about children if you don't have any living with you.)




===========================================================65. Now I'm going to ask about things that might encourage you to go hunting, and I'd like to

know if each would strongly, moderately, or not encourage you to go hunting or to hunt more.

FOR EACH ITEM: Would this encourage you to go hunting or to hunt more?Answer set:

Strongly encourage

Moderately encourageNot encourage

[THE STARTING POINT WITHIN THIS SERIES OF QUESTIONS WAS RANDOMIZED SO THAT NOT

EVERY SURVEY WAS EXACTLY THE SAME IN PRESENTING THIS LIST, THEREBY ELIMINATING

“ORDER BIAS,” WHICH REFERS TO THE EFFECT THAT ONE QUESTION HAS ON SUBSEQUENT

QUESTIONS.]

67. What about some type of family license package?68. What about if you got coupons for equipment discounts with your hunting license?

69. What about if you could mentor a family member or relative using a special discounted

license?70. What if you could get an extra tag or take additional game so that the meat could be donated

to a Hunters for the Hungry campaign?

71. What if the purchase of a hunting license automatically entered you in a drawing for a newfirearm?

72. What about receiving information on under-utilized hunting locations near your home?

73. What about if the hunting seasons provided additional days for hunting each year?74. What about regulation changes that make it easier to take youth hunting, like areas limited to

youth and mentors?

75. What about a program that allowed public access to private lands?

76. What about having a GPS unit that can tell you if you are on land where hunting is allowed?77. What about if daily bag limits were increased?

78. What if you could attend skill seminars for species that you have not hunted?79. What if you could meet members of a local rod and gun club who are familiar with the area

for hunting trips or social gatherings?

80. What if hunting opportunities were offered through your church, workplace, or club?81. What about a directory to local hunt clubs you could join?

82. What about more wildlife management areas managed specifically for trophy animals?

83. What about wildlife management areas managed specifically to allow hunters to see a lot of game?

84. What about wildlife management areas managed for wilderness experiences?

85. What about having convenient access to the public hunting area manager to discuss questionsabout regulations, license requirements, places to hunt, and nearby businesses?

86. What about having an online directory to guides, outfitters and game preserves where user

reviews were posted to help you choose the best opportunity?

87. What if an experienced hunter was available to partner with you on the hunt?88. What about if your state wildlife agency had shooting ranges in your area where you could

practice before the hunting season?

89. What if you could be connected with private landowners in your area who are looking forhunters?

90. What if you could borrow equipment, such as tree stands or decoys, to try different types of

hunting?===========================================================




91. We're interested in any activities that you might do instead of hunting. With that in mind...

93. You mentioned that you went hunting but did not mention hunting as being one of your top

three outdoor activities. What are the reasons that hunting is not one of your top activities?[OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO DID NOT NAME HUNTING AS ONE OF

THEIR TOP THREE ACTIVITIES IN QUESTION 13.]

94. You mentioned that hunting is one of your top activities. Can you tell me any reasons that

you might do other activities instead of hunting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO

NAMED HUNTING AS ONE OF THEIR TOP THREE ACTIVITIES IN QUESTION 13.]

95. Thinking about activities other than hunting, are there any advantages that those other

activities have over hunting for you?

96. What advantages do those other activities have over hunting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF

THOSE WHO INDICATED THAT OTHER ACTIVITIES HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER

HUNTING.]

97. Do recreational activities other than hunting take time that you previously used for hunting?

100. What were the activities? (What other recreational activities other than hunting take time

that you previously used for hunting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO

INDICATED THAT OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES TAKE TIME THAT THEY

PREVIOUSLY USED FOR HUNTING.]

102. Do non-recreational activities take time that you previously used for hunting?

103. What were the non-recreational activities? (What other non-recreational activities take time

that you previously used for hunting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHOINDICATED THAT NON-RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES TAKE TIME THAT THEY

PREVIOUSLY USED FOR HUNTING.]

104. Would you say that another activity became more interesting to you than hunting?

107. What were the activities? (What other activities became more interesting to you thanhunting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO INDICATED THAT ANOTHER

ACTIVITY BECAME MORE INTERESTING TO THEM THAN HUNTING.]

109. What were the reasons that these other activities won out over hunting? [OPEN-ENDED;ASKED OF THOSE WHO INDICATED THAT ANOTHER ACTIVITY BECAME MORE

INTERESTING TO THEM THAN HUNTING.]




112. Some activities are preferred over hunting because they offer greater benefits or thrills,while others are preferred because they have fewer hassles associated with them. Compared to

hunting, please tell me if you regularly do other recreational activities that... (READ LIST)

1. Offer more thrills?2. Offer more benefits?

3. Offer more exercise?4. Are cheaper?5. Are more challenging?

6. Offer new or different experiences?

7. Don't have as many hassles?

8. Are safer?9. Allow you to be with people you're more comfortable with?

10. Don't involve as much travel?

11. Have fewer seasonal restrictions?12. Are preferred by family members or friends?

113. You said that you do recreational activities other than hunting that have fewer hassles. Whathassles are associated with hunting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO INDICATED

IN QUESTION 112 THAT ANOTHER ACTIVITY IS PREFERRED OVER HUNTING

BECAUSE IT HAS FEWER HASSLES ASSOCIATED WITH IT—RESPONSE #7.]

118. Do you consider your place of residence to be a large city or urban area, a suburban area, a

small city or town, a rural area on a farm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm or ranch?

119. Do you consider the area in which grew up to be a large city or urban area, a suburban area,

a small city or town, a rural area on a farm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm or ranch?

120. How long have you lived in your current state of residence?

123. The last time you moved, how far did you move? [ANSWERS GIVEN IN MILES]

125. May I ask your age?

129. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

133. (OBSERVE AND RECORD RESPONDENT'S GENDER.)




NSSF SHOOTING/HUNTING COMPETITION SURVEY: SHOOTER SURVEY

4. Hello, my name is ____________, and I'm calling to conduct a survey in participation with the

National Shooting Sports Foundation. We are calling about outdoor recreation. We are notselling anything, or asking for donations. Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions

for me? Your answers are entirely confidential.

10. Can you please tell me the three outdoor activities you have participated in most often for

fun, relaxation, or health during your non-work time in the past 2 years? (CHECK UP TO

THREE; PROMPT FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION)

13. Have you done any recreational shooting in the past 2 years, excluding hunting? (IF NOT) In

the past 5 years? (IF NOT) Ever?

17. For the rest of the survey, make sure you don't include hunting in your responses when

talking about shooting.

18. How many of the past 2 years have you gone shooting? (Not including hunting.) [ASKED

OF THOSE WHO WENT SHOOTING WITHIN THE PAST 2 YEARS.]

19. How many of the past 5 years have you gone shooting? (Not including hunting.) [ASKED

OF THOSE WHO WENT SHOOTING WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS; NOTE THAT

QUESTIONS 13, 17, AND 18 WERE USED TO DETERMINE THE PARTICIPANT

STATUS—ACTIVE, INTERMITTENT, AND EX-. THESE QUESTIONS ALSO WEREUSED TO SCREEN SOME PEOPLE OUT OF THE SURVEY, AS EXPLAINED IN THE

BODY OF THIS REPORT.]

22. Is there a specific reason why you shoot in some years but not others? [OPEN-ENDED;

ASKED OF THOSE WHO WENT SHOOTING FEWER THAN 5 OF THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

26. I'd like to know the types of shooting that you have done in the past {5 years / when you’ve

gone shooting}, other than hunting. Have you shot a rifle? A handgun? A shotgun? Amuzzleloader?

29. When you shot a rifle in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone shooting}, what shootingactivities did you do with a rifle? (Not including hunting.) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE

WHO INDICATED SHOOTING A RIFLE IN QUESTION 26.]

33. When you shot a handgun in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone shooting}, what shootingactivities did you do with a handgun? (Not including hunting.) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF

THOSE WHO INDICATED SHOOTING A HANDGUN IN QUESTION 26.]

37. When you shot a shotgun in the past {5 years / when you’ve gone shooting}, what shooting

activities did you do with a shotgun? (Not including hunting.) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF

THOSE WHO INDICATED SHOOTING A SHOTGUN IN QUESTION 26.]




39. What would you say are your most important reasons for participating in shooting? In otherwords, what are your motivations? [OPEN-ENDED.]

40. What type of shooting do you do the most? (OPEN-ENDED; ENTER ONLY ONEACTIVITY)

42. What is your favorite type of shooting? (Even if you don't do it the most.) (OPEN-ENDED;ENTER ONLY ONE ACTIVITY)

46. Are there types of shooting that you don't do now but that you would be interested in trying?

(IF YES: What types?) [OPEN-ENDED.]

48. Has your amount of sport shooting increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past 5

years?

49. Why did it increase? (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport shooting

increase?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO SAID THEIR AMOUNT OFSHOOTING INCREASED.]

50. Why did it decrease? (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport shootingdecrease?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO SAID THEIR AMOUNT OF

SHOOTING DECREASED.]

51. What percentage of time that you go shooting do you go with friends or family?

53. What percentage of the time do you go shooting alone?

56. What are the advantages of going shooting with somebody else? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED

OF THOSE WHO GO SHOOTING WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY AT LEAST PART OF THETIME.]

57. With whom (do/did) you typically shoot? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO GOSHOOTING WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY AT LEAST PART OF THE TIME.]

58. In minutes, how long does it take you to get to where you typically go shooting? (One way,not round trip.)




60. In the past 5 years, how often would you say you were invited to go shooting by a friends orfamily member?

61. About what percentage of the time would you say you went shooting when invited by thosefriends or family? [ASKED OF THOSE WHO WERE INVITED TO GO SHOOTING BY

FRIENDS OR FAMILY WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

64. Do you currently have a membership at a range?

65. Have you done any hunting in the past 2 years? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF NOT)

Ever?

66. Do you consider yourself more of a target shooter or more of a hunter? [ASKED OF THOSE

WHO HAVE DONE ANY HUNTING, IN ADDITION TO THEIR TARGET OR SPORTSHOOTING, WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS.]

67. Over the past 5 years, would you say the non-work time you spend at and around home hasincreased, remained about the same, or decreased?

68. How far in advance do you start planning a typical shooting trip?

69. What percentage of your shooting trips are planned less than 2 weeks in advance?

72. Do you have children 17 years or younger living in your household? (We are asking so youdon't get questions about children if none live with you.)




===========================================================73. Now I'm going to ask about things that might encourage you to go shooting, and I'd like to

know if each would strongly, moderately, or not encourage you to go shooting or to shoot more.

(FOR EACH ITEM: Would this encourage you to go shooting or to shoot more?)|__| 2. Strongly encourage

|__| 3. Moderately encourage

|__| 4. Not encourage[THE STARTING POINT WITHIN THIS SERIES OF QUESTIONS WAS RANDOMIZED SO THAT NOT

EVERY SURVEY WAS EXACTLY THE SAME IN PRESENTING THIS LIST, THEREBY ELIMINATING

“ORDER BIAS,” WHICH REFERS TO THE EFFECT THAT ONE QUESTION HAS ON SUBSEQUENT

QUESTIONS.]

75. What about some type of family day at a range?

76. What about if you got coupons for equipment discounts with the purchase of a pass at a

range?

77. What about if the fee you paid to use a range allowed you to get a discount for ammunitionor other shooting supplies?

78. What about if more shooting instruction or self-defense courses were available at a

convenient range?

79. What if loaner firearms were available at a range for you to try, including types you haven'tshot before?

80. What if a nearby range offered additional types of target shooting activities?81. What if nearby shooting areas were less crowded or had more shooting lanes?

82. What if you could reserve a private time or place at the range for your family or friends?

83. What if there was a competitive shooting league offered nearby?84. What if there were opportunities to shoot clay targets in a non-competitive environment at

your leisure?

85. What if there were opportunities to take a youth shooting?

86. What if shooting opportunities were offered through your church, workplace, club?87. What if a shooting range encouraged you to attend and made you feel welcome to be there?

88. What if a shooting range was clean, neat, and well run?89. What if there was no cost to use a range?90. What about if your local parks and recreation department offered a target shooting group

class?

===========================================================

91. We're interested in any activities that you might do instead of shooting. With that in mind...

93. You mentioned that you went shooting but did not mention shooting as being one of your topthree outdoor activities. What are the reasons that shooting is not one of your top activities?

[OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO DID NOT NAME SHOOTING AS ONE OF

THEIR TOP THREE ACTIVITIES IN QUESTION 10.]

94. You mentioned that shooting is one of your top activities. Can you tell me any reasons that

you might do other activities instead of shooting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHONAMED SHOOTING AS ONE OF THEIR TOP THREE ACTIVITIES IN QUESTION 10.]

95. Thinking about activities other than shooting, are there any advantages that those other

activities have over shooting for you?




96. What advantages do those other activities have over shooting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OFTHOSE WHO INDICATED THAT OTHER ACTIVITIES HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER

SHOOTING.]

97. Do recreational activities other than shooting take time that you previously used for

shooting?

100. What were the activities? (What other recreational activities other than shooting take time

that you previously used for shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO

INDICATED THAT OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES TAKE TIME THAT THEY

PREVIOUSLY USED FOR SHOOTING.]

102. Do non-recreational activities take time that you previously used for shooting?

103. What were the non-recreational activities? (What other non-recreational activities take time

that you previously used for shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO

INDICATED THAT NON-RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES TAKE TIME THAT THEYPREVIOUSLY USED FOR SHOOTING.]

104. Would you say that another activity became more interesting to you than shooting?

107. What were the activities? (What other activities became more interesting to you than

shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO INDICATED THAT ANOTHER

ACTIVITY BECAME MORE INTERESTING TO THEM THAN SHOOTING.]

109. What were the reasons that these other activities won out over shooting? [OPEN-ENDED;ASKED OF THOSE WHO INDICATED THAT ANOTHER ACTIVITY BECAME MORE

INTERESTING TO THEM THAN SHOOTING.]

112. Some activities are preferred over shooting because they offer greater benefits or thrills,

while others are preferred because they have fewer hassles associated with them. Compared to

shooting, please tell me if you regularly do other recreational activities that...1. Offer more thrills?

2. Offer more benefits?

3. Offer more exercise?4. Are cheaper?

5. Are more challenging?

6. Offer new or different experiences?

7. Don't have as many hassles?8. Are safer?

9. Allow you to be with people you're more comfortable with?

10. Don't involve as much travel?11. Have fewer seasonal restrictions?

12. Are preferred by family members or friends?




113. You said that you do recreational activities other than shooting that have fewer hassles.What hassles are associated with shooting? [OPEN-ENDED; ASKED OF THOSE WHO

INDICATED IN QUESTION 112 THAT ANOTHER ACTIVITY IS PREFERRED OVER

SHOOTING BECAUSE IT HAS FEWER HASSLES ASSOCIATED WITH IT—RESPONSE #7.]

117. Do you consider your place of residence to be a large city or urban area, a suburban area, asmall city or town, a rural area on a farm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm or ranch?

118. Do you consider the area in which grew up to be a large city or urban area, a suburban area,

a small city or town, a rural area on a farm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm or ranch?

119. How long have you lived in your current state of residence?

122. The last time you moved, how far did you move? [ANSWERS GIVEN IN MILES]

124. May I ask your age?

128. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

132. (OBSERVE AND RECORD RESPONDENT'S GENDER.)




ANALOGOUS QUESTIONS IN HUNTER AND SHOOTER SURVEYHUNTER SURVEY SHOOTER SURVEY

13. Can you please tell me the three outdoor

activities you have participated in most oftenfor fun, relaxation, or health during your non-

work time in the past 2 years? (CHECK UPTO THREE; PROMPT FOR OUTDOOR

RECREATION)

10. Can you please tell me the three outdoor

activities you have participated in most oftenfor fun, relaxation, or health during your non-

work time in the past 2 years? (CHECK UPTO THREE; PROMPT FOR OUTDOOR

RECREATION)

16. Have you done any hunting in the past 2years? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF

NOT) Ever?

20. How many of the past 2 years have you

gone hunting?21. How many of the past 5 years have you

gone hunting?

13. Have you done any recreational shootingin the past 2 years, excluding hunting? (IF

NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF NOT) Ever?

18. How many of the past 2 years have you

gone shooting? (Not including hunting.)19. How many of the past 5 years have you

gone shooting? (Not including hunting.)

24. Is there a specific reason why you hunt in

some years but not others? [OPEN-ENDED]

22. Is there a specific reason why you shoot

in some years but not others? [OPEN-ENDED]

25. What would you say are your most

important reasons for participating in hunting?

In other words, what are your motivations?[OPEN-ENDED]

39. What would you say are your most

important reasons for participating in

shooting? In other words, what are yourmotivations? [OPEN-ENDED]

26. Has your amount of hunting increased,decreased, or stayed the same over the past 5

years?

48. Has your amount of sport shootingincreased, decreased, or stayed the same over

the past 5 years?

27. Why did it increase? (PROBE FORSPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport

hunting increase?) [OPEN-ENDED]

49. Why did it increase? (PROBE FORSPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport

shooting increase?) [OPEN-ENDED]28. Why did it decrease? (PROBE FOR

SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport

hunting decrease?) [OPEN-ENDED]

50. Why did it decrease? (PROBE FOR

SPECIFICS) (Why did your amount of sport

shooting decrease?) [OPEN-ENDED]

38. Are there types of hunting that you don't

do now but that you would be interested intrying?

39. What species or types of equipment?

(What types of hunting that you don't do nowwould you be interested in trying?) [OPEN-

ENDED]

46. Are there types of shooting that you don't

do now but that you would be interested intrying? (IF YES: What types?) [OPEN-

ENDED]

40. What percentage of time that you gohunting do you go with friends or family?

51. What percentage of time that you goshooting do you go with friends or family?

43. What percentage of the time do you gohunting alone?

53. What percentage of the time do you goshooting alone?

47. What are the advantages of going huntingwith somebody else? [OPEN-ENDED]

56. What are the advantages of goingshooting with somebody else? [OPEN-

ENDED]




HUNTER SURVEY SHOOTER SURVEY

48. With whom (do/did) you typically hunt?

[OPEN-ENDED]

57. With whom (do/did) you typically shoot?

[OPEN-ENDED]

49. In the past 5 years, how often would yousay you were invited to go hunting by a

friends or family member?

60. In the past 5 years, how often would yousay you were invited to go shooting by a

friends or family member?50. About what percentage of the time would

you say you went hunting when invited by

those friends or family?

61. About what percentage of the time would

you say you went shooting when invited by

those friends or family?

57. Have you done any target or sport

shooting in the past 2 years, including justplinking or sighting firearms, but excluding

hunting? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IF

NOT) Ever?

65. Have you done any hunting in the past 2

years? (IF NOT) In the past 5 years? (IFNOT) Ever?

58. Do you consider yourself more of a target

shooter or more of a hunter?

66. Do you consider yourself more of a target

shooter or more of a hunter?

59. Over the past 5 years, would you say thenon-work time you spend at and around home

has increased, remained about the same, ordecreased?

67. Over the past 5 years, would you say thenon-work time you spend at and around home

has increased, remained about the same, ordecreased?

60. How far in advance do you start planninga typical hunting trip?

68. How far in advance do you start planninga typical shooting trip?

61. What percentage of your hunting trips areplanned less than 2 weeks in advance?

69. What percentage of your shooting tripsare planned less than 2 weeks in advance?

64. Do you have children 17 years or younger

living in your household? (We are asking soyou don't get questions about children if you

don't have any living with you.)

72. Do you have children 17 years or younger

living in your household? (We are asking soyou don't get questions about children if none

live with you.)67. What about some type of family license

package?

75. What about some type of family day at a

range?

68. What about if you got coupons for

equipment discounts with your hunting

license?

76. What about if you got coupons for

equipment discounts with the purchase of a

pass at a range?

74. What about regulation changes that make

it easier to take youth hunting, like areaslimited to youth and mentors?

85. What if there were opportunities to take a

youth shooting?

80. What if hunting opportunities were

offered through your church, workplace, or

club?

86. What if shooting opportunities were

offered through your church, workplace,

club?90. What if you could borrow equipment,such as tree stands or decoys, to try different

types of hunting?

79. What if loaner firearms were available ata range for you to try, including types you

haven't shot before?





93. You mentioned that you went hunting but

did not mention hunting as being one of your

top three outdoor activities. What are thereasons that hunting is not one of your top

activities? [OPEN-ENDED]

93. You mentioned that you went shooting

but did not mention shooting as being one of

your top three outdoor activities. What are thereasons that shooting is not one of your top

activities? [OPEN-ENDED]94. You mentioned that hunting is one of your

top activities. Can you tell me any reasonsthat you might do other activities instead of hunting? [OPEN-ENDED]

94. You mentioned that shooting is one of

your top activities. Can you tell me anyreasons that you might do other activitiesinstead of shooting? [OPEN-ENDED]

95. Thinking about activities other than

hunting, are there any advantages that those

other activities have over hunting for you?

95. Thinking about activities other than

shooting, are there any advantages that those

other activities have over shooting for you?

96. What advantages do those other activitieshave over hunting? [OPEN-ENDED]

96. What advantages do those other activitieshave over shooting? [OPEN-ENDED]

97. Do recreational activities other than

hunting take time that you previously used forhunting?

97. Do recreational activities other than

shooting take time that you previously usedfor shooting?

100. What were the activities? (What otherrecreational activities other than hunting take

time that you previously used for hunting?)

[OPEN-ENDED]

100. What were the activities? (What otherrecreational activities other than shooting

take time that you previously used for

shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED]

102. Do non-recreational activities take time

that you previously used for hunting?

102. Do non-recreational activities take time

that you previously used for shooting?

103. What were the non-recreational

activities? (What other non-recreationalactivities take time that you previously used

for hunting?) [OPEN-ENDED]

103. What were the non-recreational

activities? (What other non-recreationalactivities take time that you previously used

for shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED]104. Would you say that another activity

became more interesting to you than hunting?

104. Would you say that another activity

became more interesting to you than

shooting?

107. What were the activities? (What other

activities became more interesting to you than

hunting?) [OPEN-ENDED]

107. What were the activities? (What other

activities became more interesting to you than

shooting?) [OPEN-ENDED]

109. What were the reasons that these other

activities won out over hunting? [OPEN-ENDED]

109. What were the reasons that these other

activities won out over shooting? [OPEN-ENDED]

112. Some activities are preferred over

hunting because they offer greater benefits orthrills, while others are preferred because they

have fewer hassles associated with them.Compared to hunting, please tell me if you

regularly do other recreational activities that...

(READ LIST)

112. Some activities are preferred over

shooting because they offer greater benefitsor thrills, while others are preferred because

they have fewer hassles associated with them.Compared to shooting, please tell me if you

regularly do other recreational activities

that... (READ LIST)





113. You said that you do recreational

activities other than hunting that have fewer

hassles. What hassles are associated withhunting? [OPEN-ENDED]

113. You said that you do recreational

activities other than shooting that have fewer

hassles. What hassles are associated withshooting? [OPEN-ENDED]

118. Do you consider your place of residenceto be a large city or urban area, a suburban

area, a small city or town, a rural area on afarm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farmor ranch?

117. Do you consider your place of residenceto be a large city or urban area, a suburban

area, a small city or town, a rural area on afarm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farmor ranch?

119. Do you consider the area in which grew

up to be a large city or urban area, a suburban

area, a small city or town, a rural area on afarm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm

or ranch?

118. Do you consider the area in which grew

up to be a large city or urban area, a suburban

area, a small city or town, a rural area on afarm or ranch, or a rural area NOT on a farm

or ranch?

120. How long have you lived in your current

state of residence?

119. How long have you lived in your current

state of residence?123. The last time you moved, how far did

you move? [IN MILES]

122. The last time you moved, how far did

you move? [IN MILES]

125. May I ask your age? 124. May I ask your age?

129. What is the highest level of educationyou have completed?

128. What is the highest level of educationyou have completed?

133. (OBSERVE AND RECORDRESPONDENT'S GENDER)

132. (OBSERVE AND RECORDRESPONDENT'S GENDER)

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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Transcript of Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting