Nearly Half of All Sportsmen took a
Kid Hunting In the Past Year
Hunting is a rich American tradition often passed
down from generation to generation. A recent survey by HunterSurvey.com reveals that passing that
heritage along to younger people is still alive and
well with nearly 46 percent of surveyed sportsmen
having taken at least one child hunting in the past
year. The common perception that those children
are almost always a son or daughter, however, may
not be completely accurate.
When asked how many children they had taken
hunting within the past 12 months, 21 percent reported they had taken one. Fifteen percent had taken two children in the past year, 5 percent had taken
three, two percent had taken four, while just over
two percent had taken five or more. Meanwhile,
54 percent reported they hadn’t taken any children
hunting in the past 12 months.
So what was the relation of these children to the
hunter? Traditionally, it is thought boys and girls
most often learn to hunt from a parent and in 59
percent of the reported cases that is absolutely
true. But sportsmen aren’t just teaching their kids
how to track a buck, shoot a duck or call in a turkey;
they’re introducing the outdoors to other relatives
and friends as well. After a son or daughter, the next
highest response was taking an unrelated young
person with 27 percent of respondents reporting
they had taken a girl or boy hunting with them that
was not related to them, 20 percent took a nephew
or niece and 17 percent took a grandchild. Nearly
four percent took a child as part of an organized activity such as through scouting or as part of a church
group event.
“Sportsmen have long sought to share their love for
the outdoors with the people in their lives, particularly young people, and when it comes to hunting,
introducing kids to the outdoors isn’t limited to just
immediate family members,” says Rob Southwick,
president of Southwick Associates, which designs
and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com,
ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com.
To help continually improve, protect and advance
hunting, shooting and other outdoor recreation, all
sportsmen and sportswomen are encouraged to
participate in the bi-monthly surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and/or AnglerSurvey.
com. Every other month, participants who complete the surveys are entered into a drawing for one
of five $100 gift certificates to the sporting goods
retailer of their choice.
About AnglerSurvey.com, HunterSurvey.com and
ShooterSurvey.com: Launched in 2006, AnglerSurvey.com, HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.
com help the outdoor equipment industry, government fisheries and wildlife officials and conservation organizations track consumer activities and
expenditure trends. Survey results are scientifically
analyzed to reflect the attitudes and habits of anglers and hunters across the United States. Follow
them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/huntersurvey and http://facebook.com/anglersurvey or on
Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AnglerSurvey and
https://twitter.com/#!/HunterSurvey.