Who Are All These New Hunters?

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

It’s common knowledge that hunting participation has been on the decline for well over a decade.  As old-timers fade away to the vast hunting grounds in the sky, younger members of the hunting community simply were not stepping up to replace them in any appreciable numbers.  Through time, the traditions were typically passed down through family members to the younger generation, but for myriad reasons, the circle had been broken.  Not anymore.

A new study by onX Hunt, in partnership with Southwick Associates, has thoroughly researched the refreshing about-face that has invigorated a new age group’s acquaintance with the outdoors, since the onset of the pandemic.  In addition, onX Hunt also looked at more experienced hunters and their reactions to the new faces.

While it had become obvious that interest in the outdoors was in the process of rapid growth, the size of the resurgence was unknown until now:  year 2020 saw a 25 percent increase in the nation’s hunters.  Is it any wonder why the ammo shelves have been bare?

Not surprisingly, most of the new hunters cited COVID-related reasons for having the interest and time to take up hunting. What many may find surprising is the degree to which existing hunters are excited by this influx. Complaints of overcrowding or inexperienced hunters seemed plenty, but the data show that 65 percent of existing hunters support the new crop, compared to only 27 percent who had concerns.

With 17 percent of these new hunters being non-white, and 22 percent of them identifying as female, this new generation is also overwhelmingly motivated by the ability to harvest their own meat.  In fact, 47 percent have reported this as their primary motivation to hunt. As questions about food safety increase, so has the desire to control personal food chains.

Funny thing:  We never hear from those bellyachers who were screaming about Michigan’s increase in hunting license fees a few years ago.  Paying $20 for a deer tag can get a person 40 to 50 pounds of low-fat, high protein, unadulterated nutrition.  Compare that to any mystery meat in today’s inflated market, and it’s a hands-down winning alternative.  

A few numbers also stood out, primarily when hunters were asked where they turned for education and guidance. The impact of the past few decades of lost hunters is readily apparent, as family members only make up 20 percent of mentors for new hunters. Instead, this new generation has relied on friends who hunt (more than 40 percent) or a spouse/partner 20 percent of the time.

Also of note was the reliance on video and technology – both as learning and a hunting tools. Forty-one percent of 2020’s hunters specifically listed “hunting-specific apps or GPS” as the one tool they have to bring on a hunt (after a weapon and ammunition).

For many of the new hunters, hunting has become more than a new hobby or pandemic pastime. Some 63 percent felt an increased connection to the sport, compared with 56 percent of experienced hunters. Regardless of experience level, research found that younger hunters tend to identify more closely to the activity, which could translate into a long-term boom to the industry.  This all equates to better wildlife management with the increase in license-driven revenue for officials.

Furthermore, the report indicates that 99 percent of experienced hunters said they would hunt again in 2021.  Additionally, research found that 93 percent of the new hunters would be back and 94 percent of 2020’s first-time hunters would be hunting in 2021.  Through a most difficult time, we have discovered the silver lining.

Hunting

Torpor Aids Migrating Hummingbirds

New research reveals that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds use torpor to help increase their fat levels in advance of migration (photo by Paul Konrad).

A new study published in eLife describes how Ruby-throated Hummingbirds use the same energy-conserving strategy to survive overnight to accumulate body fat they need to fuel long migrations. The study proves a long-held suspicion among biologists and provides new insights about the processes Ruby-throats’ physiology uses to determine whether to conserve energy or store fat. To conserve energy overnight, the hummingbirds can shift into an energy-saving torpor to reduce their body temperature and slow their metabolism up to 95 percent.

“We wanted to know if hummingbirds use this same energy-saving mechanism to more quickly build the fat stores they use to power their 3,000-mile migrations between their North American nesting range and Central American wintering areas,” explained principal author Erich Eberts, a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

To study how and when the hummingbirds deploy this energy-saving strategy, Eberts and the team measured daily changes in the body, fat, and lean masses of 16 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds during 3 periods: 1) The nesting season, 2) late summer when the birds prepare to migrate, and 3) during the birds’ typical migration period. They also measured the hummingbirds’ oxygen consumption using a technique called respirometry to determine when they shifted into torpor.

During the nesting season, the hummingbirds maintained lean body masses and only entered torpor when their fat levels fell below 5 percent of their body mass. This “energy-emergency strategy” was usually deployed on nights when they went to sleep with lower energy reserves.

But during the late summer, when Ruby-throated Hummingbirds typically increase their body mass by 20 percent to sustain themselves during their long migration across the Gulf of Mexico, they stop using the 5 percent threshold for entering torpor. Instead, they enter torpor more frequently and with higher levels of fat. This allows them to conserve energy and build up fat even as nights get progressively longer. “We learned that hummingbirds abandon the energy-emergency strategy during late summer and start using torpor to accumulate the fat stores they need for migration,” Eberts explained.

The authors added that learning more about this energy-saving strategy may be important for the conservation of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other migratory bird species that face increasing stress from climate change and habitat loss.

“Our findings that hummingbirds can use torpor to cope with different energy challenges throughout the annual cycle are important for understanding differences in how these and other migratory animals that don’t use torpor might respond to future environmental changes in food availability and temperature,” concluded Kenneth Welch Jr., Associate Professor, Acting Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and co-author of the study alongside Christopher Guglielmo, Professor at the University of Western Ontario.

Wildlife

Attract & Re-Attract Winter Birds

Keeping your feeders filled will provide a dependable food source to augment the natural foods birds find. If filling feeders becomes more of a chore than a fun break in your day, consider adding a larger feeder that doesn’t require filling as often.

With the advent of the new year, it’s a good time to renew our interest in our feeding stations to keep attracting the birds we enjoy day to day, and keep benefitting them as our coldest days of winter arrive – even in the Sunbelt. The bottom line is to keep your bird feeders well-stocked, and keep in mind, it’s not necessary to wait until a feeder is empty to fill it up. Then, make sure you are providing all the right options to be sure yours is the best yard for birds to stop over. Start by providing sunflower seeds, suet, thistle seeds, and fresh water during the winter season up north.

Same for the Sunbelt really, and a nectar feeder would be appropriate from southern California to south Texas and southern Louisiana – even if you don’t get hummingbirds. Other birds also appreciate sugar-water treats, including House Finches, and it’s never too early to prepare for the arrival of orioles. In fact, you may have some winter orioles in south Texas and Florida, and who knows what other birds will react to a little flash of red when you put your hummingbird feeder out. Providing fresh water is a lot easier in the southland – no heaters required. Water attracts the greatest variety of birds – and it’s cheap and easy to provide.

Overall, the idea is to attract and benefit interesting birds, and to keep them coming. Some birds may spend the season with you, others may stop for a day. But the potential of attracting short-stop winter visitors is a good option to be sure. An important element of feeding birds is to feed them year-round, not just during cold-weather seasons. Summer actually brings some of the most interesting and most colorful birds to our yard, and it helps to keep birds coming non-stop throughout the year. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan DNR offers variety of sponsorship and partnership opportunities

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources invites businesses and organizations to get involved as sponsors and partners in taking care of the state’s natural and cultural resources, while connecting with the millions of people who enjoy them.

With less than 15% of the DNR’s annual budget coming from general tax dollars, new and creative revenue sources are vital to fulfilling the department’s mission.

“We are open to a variety of sponsorships and partnerships to help people enjoy and appreciate Michigan’s natural and cultural resources and, at the same time, highlight the many businesses that are growing the outdoor recreation industry and the state’s economy,” said Kristin Phillips, DNR Marketing and Outreach Division chief. Read more

General

FN Recalls all FN M249S Rifles

(McLean, VA) FN America, LLC announces the mandatory recall of all FN M249S® semi-automatic, belt-fed rifles sold before January 1, 2022. An identified issue from a component in the FN M249S fire control group may adversely affect the rifle’s standard operation, and under certain circumstances, a reset failure within the hammer group may cause an unsafe firing event. To correct this condition and restore consistent and safe operation of the firearm’s fire control group, it is necessary for FN to replace specific components in all FN M249S rifles. Read more

Firearms

Davidson’s Exclusive Offering From Radical Firearms

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Davidson’s, one of the nation’s top firearms, ammunition, optics, and accessories wholesalers, is announcing a new Exclusive offering produced in conjunction with Radical Firearms.

The Radical RAD-15 RDR is an AR-15 platform carbine that has a number of premium features at a very attractive price-point.

Equipped with the Davidson’s Exclusive 15” RDR (Radical Davidson’s Rail) M-LOK compatible aluminum forend and topped by a full-length picatinny rail, this 5.56 NATO-chambered carbine is ready for the user’s choice of optics, lasers, and other accessories.

The RAD-15 RDR features a low-profile gas block, mid-length gas system that provides extra reliability and softer shooting, B5 Bravo stock, B5 Type 23 grip, 16” barrel, and a forged 7075 T6 lower receiver. Read more

Firearms

onX Hunt Research Shows How Hunting Has Changed During Pandemic

Missoula, Montana — onX Hunt, in partnership with Southwick Associates, has completed a deep dive look into the new wave of hunters that have entered the space in the past few years, with a focus on those who started hunting at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. In addition, onX Hunt also looked at more experienced hunters and their reactions to the new faces.

While everyone acknowledges the pandemic has sparked a resurgence in interest in the outdoors, no one really had a handle on the size of this wave until now. 2020 saw a 25% increase in hunters in the United States. This comes after decades of decline that had hunting advocates and state agencies scrambling with R3 (Retain, Recruit, Reactivate) efforts.

Not surprisingly, most of the new hunters cited COVID-related reasons for having the interest and time to take up hunting. What many may find surprising is the degree to which existing hunters are excited by this influx. Complaints of overcrowding or inexperienced hunters seemed plenty, but the data show that 65% of existing hunters support the new crop, compared to only 27% who had concerns.

Diversity is also improving, with 17% of these new hunters being non-white, and 22% of them identifying as female. This new generation is also overwhelmingly motivated by the ability to harvest their own meat, with 47% reporting that as their primary motivation to hunt. As questions about food safety increase, so has the desire to control personal food chains. Read more

Hunting

SAAMI and USDOT-PHMSA Develop Guidance for Shippers of Ammunition, Component Parts

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute® (SAAMI®) is pleased to announce that a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and SAAMI has resulted in the development of educational resources that provide guidance for shippers of ammunition and components.

This PHMSA-SAAMI collaborative effort is timely and important because with the increased demand for ammunition and components, the amount sold online and shipped by small distributors, retailers and individuals has increased dramatically. By providing this information, PHMSA and SAAMI will help to ensure that shipments of small arms ammunition and components are done safely and in accordance with existing requirements under the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

The document, called “The Facts on Small Arms-related HAZMAT,” provides information on determining what items are considered hazardous materials, what “EX Approvals” are and how they are used, packaging of explosives, shipping smokeless and black powder, shipping primers/percussion caps, shipping ammunition and empty primed cases, and shipping using the “Limited Quantity” (“LQ”) exemption. Read more

Ammunition

Leupold Announces New RX-1500i TBR/W Laser Rangefinder

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Leupold & Stevens, Inc., provider of the world’s most rugged, lightweight, and clear sport optics, is pleased to announce the launch of its new RX-1500i TBR/W Laser Rangefinder, which enters the market as one of the most versatile, feature-rich rangefinders in its class.

With 1?2-yard accuracy, 6x magnification and Leupold’s True Ballistic Range/Wind (TBW/W) technology, the RX-1500i TBR/W will give you the confidence you need, shot after shot. It’s packed with features in a unit that’s as versatile as it is compact.

The RX-1500i is equipped with Leupold’s proprietary DNA ranging engine for lightning-fast accuracy. The TBR/W feature uses ballistically calculated ranges to keep you on target even when on the most extreme uphill and downhill shots. Other rangefinders use basic trigonometry to calculate a straight-line horizontal distance, meaning they may not produce a truly accurate range to your target. The wind feature provides 10 mph full value wind hold to help you calculate a hold value.

“If you’re going to be hunting or shooting in elevated terrain, you’re going to need a rangefinder that can calculate ballistic solutions, and fast,” said Eric Overstreet, Product Line Manager for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “The RX-1500i TBW/W does that and more–delivering an incredible value within its class.” Read more

Optics
1 … 538 539 540 541 542 … 1,907