NSSF Report Understanding Activities that Compete with Hunting and Target Shooting

2011 Comprehensive Consumer Study National Shooting Sports Foundation

Executive Summary

Fun Outdoors Social

Responsive Management

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UNDERSTANDING ACTIVITIES THAT 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 this publication 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.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

BACKGROUND
This study was sponsored and funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to examine and understand the activities that compete with hunting and target shooting and to learn how people spend their time when they are not hunting or target shooting. This phone 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 hunting and recreational shooting community know its competition and better answer the question, How can we better compete for hunters and target shooters time? The study focused on six states, chosen to include a broad geographic spread, 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 states included in the study are Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Washington. NSSF thanks each participating state for their help with this study. In addition to the geographic spread, the study also examined both hunters and target shooters individually as well as in three participation levels: active participants, intermittent (or occasional) participants and ex-participants. For hunters, two approaches were used to determine participation level: self-reported participation in hunting, and license purchasing history within their state of residence as determined through state license records. Both approaches provided congruent conclusions, lending validity to the overall findings. Maintaining Americas hunting and recreational shooting traditions is important for many reasons, chief among them being that the hunting and sport shooting industries provide thousands of jobs annually. Also, hunters and target shooters are essential to species management and habitat conservation through the funds they donate to conservation, as well as the excise taxes they pay on hunting and shooting equipment. For this reason, it is essential that the American traditions of hunting and target shooting be continued. Each year millions of Americans take to the nations forests, fields and ranges to hunt and target shoot. The number is larger when a longer time frame is considered because many sportsmen do not hunt or target shoot every year. While the actual churn rate is hard to exactly quantify, it is manifested in the difference in number of hunters in the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in two time frames. The last such survey in 2007 found that about a third of those who had hunted in the previous 5 years had not hunted in the most recent year: 18.6 million had hunted in the previous 5 years, while 12.5 million had hunted in the single previous year. In addition, NSSF research found that while there were approximately 21.8 million people that purchased a hunting license at least once in the five year period 2005-2009, only an estimated 35% of hunters bought a license in the same state in 5 consecutive years (see A Portrait of Hunters and Hunting License Trends: National Report, published by Southwick Associates and NSSF). This study builds upon previous findings. (The full methodology is explained in the full companion report to this executive summary.)

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

The following summary report has 11 main points to consider:

1) 2) 3) 4) Other nature-based outdoor activities are competing with hunting and target shooting. Electronic and indoor recreation are a threat to recruiting new hunters and target shooters. Less time is not always the reason for losing hunters and target shooters. Hunting and target shooting are social activities; conversely, social issues can take away from hunting and shooting participation. 5) Dont forget the real reason people hunt and target shoot: fun 6) Think convenience and perception. 7) Diversify: Multiple satisfactions are important. 8) Start them young. 9) Access remains a major issue. 10) Losing hunters and target shooters to competing activities is a subtle process. 11) Cost is generally a minor issue.

Fun

Social

Outdoors

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

1. OTHER NATURE-BASED ACTIVITIES ARE COMPETING WITH HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING
The most basic open-ended question simply asked hunters and target shooters to name the top three outdoor activities in which they participate. Nature-based outdoor recreation is of great importance to hunters and target shooters. For both groups, the top four activities are nature-based: fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping. * 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 target shooter survey 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 and forestry work, SCUBA diving, rock/mountain climbing, trapping, crabbing/clam digging, and wild harvesting (e.g., mushrooms). Additionally, hunters and target shooters were asked about the activities in which they engage that take time that they formerly used for hunting and target shooting. Again, naturebased outdoor recreation is of utmost importance, taking the top three responses in both the graphs on the following pages (the first among hunters, the second among target shooters).

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting In recreation that took time away from hunting, notice the prominence of nature-based activities, particularly fishing.

Q100. What were the activities that took time that you previously used for hunting? (Asked of those who participated in activities that took time away that they previously used for hunting.) (Open-ended.) (Shows top 10 responses.)
25

Fishing

32 46 14

Multiple Responses Allowed

Camping

9 13 7

Hiking

10 12 8 7 8 7 8 7 5 8 5 8

Golfing

Boating or water skiing or water tubing Bicycling or mountain biking

Active (n=181) Intermittent (n=168) Ex (n=205)

Snow sports Anything with his/her children / familyoriented activities Field sports, such as football, soccer, or lacrosse Fitness exercises, such as jogging, trail walking, etc.

4 4 6 6 2 8 5 1 1 9 3

HUNTER SURVEY

20

40 Percent

60

80

100

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

In recreation that took time away from target shooting, again notice the prominence of fishing and other nature-based activities.

Q100. What were the activities that took time that you previously used for shooting? (Asked of those who participated in activities that took time away that they previously used for shooting.) (Open-ended.) (Shows top 10 responses.)
Fishing
17 15 14 15 14 10 7 42 43 47

Camping Multiple Responses Allowed Golfing Hiking

12 15 13

Boating or water skiing or water tubing

5 4 7 5 6 5 6 2 5 3 4 5

Active (n=114) Intermittent (n=88) Ex (n=138)

Family-oriented activities

Baseball or softball

Off-highway driving / riding an ATV

Hunting Fitness exercises, such as jogging, trail walking, etc. 0

1 4 1 6 3

SHOOTER SURVEY

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

Social obligations and other constraints are also in competition with hunting and target shooting. It is not solely other recreational activities that compete with hunting and target shooting, but other non-recreational activities do so as well. Lack of time because of family or work obligations is a major constraint to participation.
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.) (Shows only responses given by at least 5% of all respondents to the question.)
Lack of time / work, family, and/or school obligations
51 40 32

16

Age / health

20 27

Multiple Responses Allowed

No longer enjoy hunting as much / losing interest

1 4 14

Active (n=251) Intermittent (n=633) Ex (n=660)

Access problems

8 7

Cost / can't afford it

6 6

HUNTER SURVEY

Don't have anybody to hunt with

4 5 5

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

There are several tactical strategies to address the above issues. These include: Identifying and stressing hunting and target shootings Unique Selling Points over other outdoor activities will be an effective marketing strategy. It is important to stress the benefits that hunting and target shooting provide to recreationists that are not offered through other outdoor recreation. A potential campaign theme (or part of an overall campaign theme) that would be effective in this regard is to promote hunting and target shooting as part of a total outdoor experience. Other outdoor recreationists constitute a prime target market for hunting and target shooting participation. Such an effort would include marketing hunting to target shooters and target shooting to hunters, as well as marketing to those who engage in outdoor recreation other than hunting and target shooting. Evidence suggests that it would be easier to get a firearm in the hands of other outdoor recreationists (e.g., anglers, campers, hikers) than it would be for a person who does not engage in outdoor recreation (the proverbial couch potato). Alternative forms of participation for older hunters and target shooters, such as mentoring, should be considered.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

2. ELECTRONIC AND INDOOR RECREATION ARE A THREAT TO RECRUITING NEW HUNTERS AND TARGET SHOOTERS
The focus of this study is in keeping current hunters and target shooters active. This study does not directly examine youth recruitment; nonetheless, a few facts from a 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation are worth noting. Todays youth are plugged in: o It is estimated that todays youth 8 to 18 years old spend an average of 53 hours a week on electronic media entertainment. o Nearly three-quarters (71%) of youth have a television in their bedroom. The tactical strategies to address this issue are detailed below. Rather than trying to stop youth from using electronic media, the hunting and target shooting industry should use those media to its advantage. For instance: o The industry should use social media and web sites to raise interest and help youth find ways to hunt and target shoot. o The industry should team with current online media firms to take advantage of their reach and their abilities to communicate with youth. o Because youth are online to be entertained, messages that emphasize fun should be used in this setting.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

3. LESS TIME IS NOT ALWAYS THE REASON FOR LOSING HUNTERS AND TARGET SHOOTERS
Time is a relative issue. People who do not have time for one activity will find time for another activity, despite being confronted by the same time constraints for either activity. In other words, time is an issue of priorities: people will find time for higher-priority activities. Having less time is not always the primary cause of desertion from hunting and target shooting; rather, it may be a manifestation of other issues, including but not limited to the following: Shifting interests: Peoples interests and preferences change, causing activities to become higher or lower priorities. These shifts can decrease or increase the time someone has available for hunting and target shooting. Increasing costs and hassles: Related to shifting interests, when the costs and hassles associated with shooting sports increase or decrease, peoples priorities change along with the time allocated for these activities. Limited marketing and promotions: Hunting and target shooting may be desirable activities; however, when people commit to other activities and events, the time they have available for hunting and target shooting diminishes. Efforts are needed to help people commit to a weekend or afternoon of hunting or target shooting before other activities snare their time. Many hunters and target shooters, even active ones, report that the shooting sports are no longer among their top three preferred activities. Many of the reasons for this in the tabulations that follow relate to the lower priority given to the shooting sports wherein time is shifted to other activities.

Reason That Hunting Is Not a Top Activity (Percent of Hunters Who Gave Reason) (Ranked by Ex-Hunters) Age / health Lack of time / other obligations Lack of interest Other activities Access issues Nobody to go with Cost Can only hunt part of the year Dislike some aspect of regulations Lack of game Poor behavior of other hunters Dont get draw Dont know / no answer

Active Hunters 28 4 6 15 12 2 0 8 3 6 4 3 10

Intermittent Hunters 21 24 11 10 3 7 3 2 1 3 0 0 12

Ex-Hunters 29 22 14 11 6 4 4 3 2 1 1 0 10

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

Reason That Target Shooting Is Not a Top Activity (Percent of Target Shooters Who Gave Reason) (Ranked by Ex-Target Shooters) Time constraints Other activities are of greater interest Age / health Not interested in doing it more Cost Do it in conjunction with hunting Access issues Nobody to go with Requires too much planning / difficult in general / hassles Just do it to sight in the gun or when get new gun Weather-related answer / seasonal (including winter being too cold) Dont know / no answer

Active Target Shooters 16 20 4 6 11 21 6 0 1 1 1 22

Intermittent Target Shooters 22 24 8 10 13 11 5 1 1 1 1 17

Ex-Target Shooters 19 18 16 16 11 9 7 2 2 1 1 11

There are several tactical strategies to address this issue. These include: It is important that promotions reach customers at least one month in advance of hunting seasons, before other activities are chosen ahead of hunting and target shooting. The promotion of under-utilized hunts and hunting activities that provide new experiences, such as hog hunting, predator calling and so forth, may increase interest and may lessen excuses for not hunting. Likewise, the introduction of new forms of shooting to shooters may increase interest. Promote scheduling time to go hunting or target shooting in advance on calendars, similar to how people schedule other activities such as golf or youth baseball and soccer games in advance. Finally, encouraging older hunters to take up target shooting is important.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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4. HUNTING AND TARGET SHOOTING ARE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES; CONVERSELY, SOCIAL ISSUES CAN TAKE AWAY FROM HUNTING AND SHOOTING PARTICIPATION
Evidence abounds that hunting and target shooting, particularly the former, are social activities. The surveys found that people rarely hunt alone and, for the most part, rarely target shoot alone. For example, a majority of hunters and a majority of target shooters always go hunting/target shooting with a companion. This camaraderie is a very important motivation for and a benefit of hunting and target shooting, as shown in the graphs that follow. Indeed, in both the hunter and shooter 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 commonly gave an answer (in open-ended questioning) related to camaraderie/being with family or friends.
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.)
Simple camaraderie 54 54 51 47 45 41 7 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 5 5 0 20 40 60 80 100 Active (n=882) Intermittent (n=587) Ex (n=609)

In case of accidents / have backup / safer with others Can cover a larger area / track more game / flush game Multiple Responses Allowed 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

HUNTER SURVEY

No answer / don't know

Percent

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

11

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.)
Simple camaraderie 20 21 25 16 15 13 13 5 6 4 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 0 4 5 4 0 20 40 60 80 100 Active (n=476) Intermittent (n=476) Ex (n=513) 60 63 61

In case of accidents / have backup / safer with others More competition / more of a challenge Multiple Responses Allowed 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

SHOOTER SURVEY

No answer / don't know

Percent

Related to camaraderie is the fact that being asked to go hunting or target shooting can increase ones interest in the activities, as well as increase the likelihood that he/she will go. An overwhelming majority of hunters are invited to go hunting at some time, as shown in the graph Q49 on the following page. Very low percentages of hunters are never invited to go hunting. o Among hunters who were invited, a follow-up question asked how often they took the person up on the invitation(s): the proportion of the time that they accept the invitation is three-quarters of the time among active hunters, just more than half of the time among intermittent hunters and about a third of the time among ex-hunters.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

12

Q49. In the past 5 years, how often would you say you were invited to go hunting by a friend or family member?

56

Frequently
28 22 27 21

43

A few times

A couple of times
2 3 6

13 17 22

Active (n=932) Intermittent (n=633) Ex (n=663)

Once

Never / Not invited

1 1 1 0

6 8 22

HUNTER SURVEY

Don't know

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

The converse of the fact that hunting and target shooting are social activities is that social issues may also often interfere with hunting and target shootingsuch as family obligations or work obligations. For more information, see The Future of Hunting and the Shooting Sports: Research-Based Recruitment and Retention Strategies, published by Responsive Management and the NSSF. The tactical strategies to address these issues are discussed below. They include: The social aspects of hunting and shooting in marketing and advertising are of utmost importancemore important than the utilitarian aspects (e.g., meat for the freezer). As part of addressing the social aspects, efforts to encourage hunters and target shooters to invite friends and family are highly important and effective in recruitment. Programs such as Step Outside emphasize this social aspect. More than a third of hunters who do not hunt every year cite time constraints/other obligations as a reason for not hunting in some years. More than a quarter of target shooters who do not shoot every year cite time constraints/other obligations as a reason for not shooting in some years. One strategy aimed at time constraints is to encourage 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 structured activitiesparticularly before another activity claims their attention and time. In a busy persons life, things that are on the calendar are more likely to be done; things not on a calendar easily fall by the wayside. Put it on the calendar could be a potential campaign theme. Aldo Leopold, considered the father of wildlife management in the United States, recognized the importance of the social aspects of wildlife management when he wrote in A Sand County Almanac, Recreational development is a job not of building roads into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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5. DONT FORGET REASONS MANY PEOPLE HUNT AND TARGET SHOOT. INCLUDE FUN, SOCIAL AND OUTDOORS ASPECTS IN MESSAGING
It is important to remember the fun part of hunting and target shooting. Not surprisingly, having fun is a top motivation, so it should be used as a draw. Spending time in an outdoor setting is also a top benefit derived from hunting. For both hunters and target shooters, the top answers regarding reasons for hunting and target shooting relate to having fun and, for hunting, being outdoors as well. Being with family and/or friends also was said by substantial percentages of respondents. Hunting and target shootings top competition, discussed earlier, offer the same benefits. It is important to ensure that hunting and target shooting are regularly seen as the best way to have fun outdoors with family and friends. When promoting hunting and shooting sports, diversify images. Photos of a single individual with a trophy kill or one person showing a stern face in the middle of the woods may be fine for core customers but may not be the best way to attract newcomers. Such messages and imagery do not communicate why many people hunt and target shoot. Following two graphs are presented for hunters and target shooters; note the same top item.
Q25. What would you say are your most important reasons for participating in hunting? In other words, what are your motivations? (Open-ended.) (Shows responses given by at least 5% of all respondents.)
For fun, relaxation, sport / enjoy it (without giving a nature or wildliferelated answer) 41 33 35 29 32 26 22 24 25 13 14 11 8 6 8 5 5 4 0 20 40

Gave an answer related to being close to nature or being outdoors Multiple Responses Allowed

For the meat

Active (n=932) Intermittent (n=633) Ex (n=663)

To be with family

To be with friends

HUNTER SURVEY

Tradition

60

80

100

Percent

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting Like the previous graph regarding hunting, the fun aspects of target shooting are important.
Q39. What would you say are your most important reasons for participating in shooting? In other words, what are your motivations? (Open-ended.) (Shows those responses given by at least 3% of respondents.)
61 To have fun / for enjoyment 52 51 26 26 22 15 13 15 5 To be with family or friends 10 9 3 7 7 3 5 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 0 20 40 60 80 100 Active (n=497) Intermittent (n=493) Ex (n=551)

14

To increase skill

Multiple Responses Allowed

Mentioned hunting in response

Sighting gun or patterning shotgun / checking out gun or loads

To get outside

Tradition / have always done it

SHOOTER SURVEY

Mentioned self-defense in response

Percent

Another analysis, as shown in the tabulations that follow, examines hunters motivations from a different view. The reasons in the tabulations were presented to each survey respondent. The percentages of active, intermittent and ex-hunters responding to each reason, or motivation, were averaged. This mean percent was then multiplied by ten to provide data demonstrating the relative importance of one reason over others as a motivation for hunting. For example, hunters were much more likely to state being outdoors was a most important reason for hunting compared to for meat.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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Reasons or Motivations for Hunting (multiple responses allowed) For fun or relaxation/ for sport / like it / enjoy it (without giving a nature or wildlife-related answer) To be with friends / to be with family Gave an answer related to being close to nature or being outdoors For the meat Tradition Thrill / excitement of hunting / adventure Exercise Challenge Conservation / help with game management Trophy / for antlers / to hang on wall / to get a big buck Like to work dogs / other dog-related answer Other Reasons or Motivations for Target Shooting (multiple responses allowed) To have fun / for enjoyment To increase skill Mentioned firearm rights in response To get outside Sighting gun or patterning shotgun / checking out gun or loads / related to hunting To be with family or friends Tradition / have always done it No answer / don't know For the challenge Other Competition Mentioned self-defense in response Mentoring

Relative Importance of One Reason Compared to Others 3.8 3.7 2.9 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 Relative Importance of One Reason Compared to Others 5.5 2.5 0.6 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.4 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1

This issue of putting fun and camaraderie back into hunting and target shooting can be addressed by the tactical strategies listed below. All promotions must emphasize having fun, including hunting and shooting promotions in general, product advertisements or news releases for media. Promotions will be effective that show photographs of people smiling with friends (not alone) in the outdoors. It is important to make hunting and target shooting accessible and fun; it should not be made to look complicated or extreme.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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6. THINK CONVENIENCE AND PERCEPTION

One way to consider convenience is that convenience = time + ease. Quite simply, convenience includes both time as well as the effort required. People will not always choose to participate in their favorite activity. Often, activities that offer greater convenience will be chosen over favored pastimes. An illustration of this is that many hunters today still consider themselves hunters despite not having hunted in years. Think why people pay more for a gallon of milk at a convenience store, or about the popularity of drive-through windows at fast food restaurants and banks. Activities that take less time and have fewer hassles are often chosen over other activities. Many of hunting and target shootings top competitors may not offer as many benefits, but they take less time and have fewer hassles. The tabulations below show the results of questions that asked respondents to name the advantages that other activities in which they participate have over hunting and target shooting. Of the top advantages that activities have over hunting, the most commonly named item by ex-hunters directly relates to convenience: that the other activity is easier to do. Also related to convenience are having no seasonal or daily time restrictions, not having as far to travel, not having access problems, not needing as much planning, not taking as much time: all of these were named as advantages that other activities have over hunting. Though not as critical with target shooting, convenience-related issues are named as advantages that other activities have over target shooting by substantial percentages of target shooters: better access, more convenient and not seasonally restricted.

Advantages Other Activities Have Over Hunting (Percent of Hunters Who Gave Reason) (Ranked by Ex-Hunters) Easier to do No seasonal / time-of-day restrictions More fun / more relaxing Can include more family time Offer more exercise More friends do other activities Cheaper Dont have to travel as far Dont have any access problems / are more accessible Dont entail being in bad weather Dont require as much planning Take less time More peaceful Perceived to be safer

Active Hunters 13 18 18 13 5 2 4 3 10 4 5 5 2 1

Lapsed Hunters 17 13 10 17 6 3 6 4 5 2 8 4 1 1

Ex-Hunters 17 16 15 13 8 6 6 5 4 3 2 2 0 0

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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Advantages Other Activities Have Over Target Shooting (Percent of Target Shooters Who Gave Reason) (Ranked by Ex-Target Shooters) More enjoyable Less physical / easier Better access / closer to home Cheaper More exercise Provide food More family can participate More in the outdoors More convenient More friends do it More exciting / challenging Not seasonally restricted Require less equipment / already have equipment for other activity Perceived to be safer Entail less time

Active Target Shooters 27 3 10 11 14 7 12 5 6 3 3 2 1 2 1

Lapsed Target Shooters 31 7 8 14 13 4 12 3 5 4 2 3 0 2 0

Ex-Target Shooters 31 12 11 11 10 6 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 1 1

Increased convenience of hunting and target shooting may translate into more hunting and target shooting participation. Several strategies are suggested based on the research: Hunting and target shooting should not appear to be inconvenient: it is important to not make them look complicated or extreme. Improving ease of access will greatly improve the convenience of hunting and target shooting. Toward this end, it may be effective to work with ranges, connect private landowners with interested hunters and remind retail customers of local opportunities that they can pass along to customers. It is important to make all efforts to have a range within 30 minutes of current and potential hunters and target shooters. The data suggest that a travel time longer than 30 minutes is a big disincentive to participation. The research found that ex-shooters typically had to travel farther to go target shooting when they went shooting than do active shooters when they go now. In answer to how long it takes them to get to where they typically target shoot, the mean amount of time was higher among ex-shooters than among active shooters. In short, distant access can translate into more time required to participate, and more time to participate may translate into a higher drop-out rate. The offering of multi-year hunting licenses may increase convenience. Changing public perception regarding the time it takes to go hunting or target shooting may also help increase participation. It takes approximately five hours for a foursome to play a round of golf where that same foursome could easily go target shooting in less time, yet the perception held by much of the public is that it is more convenient to play golf or some other fun, social and outdoor activity that compete with hunting and shooting.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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7. DIVERSIFY: MULTIPLE SATISFACTIONS ARE IMPORTANT

Hunters and target shooters who are more active in multiple hunting/target shooting-related activities are more avid overall and less likely to become ex-hunters or ex-shooters. In short, diversified hunters and target shooters (by both species and equipment) are less likely to lapse or quit. Major findings include: Active hunters and target shooters participated in more different types of activities (by species and by equipment) than did intermittent or ex-hunters/shooters. Active hunters and target shooters are more likely to have crossover participationin other words, active hunters are more likely than intermittent or ex-hunters to have gone target shooting, and active target shooters are more likely than intermittent or ex-shooters to have gone hunting.
Q57. Have you done any target or sport shooting in the past 2 years, including just plinking or sighting firearms, but excluding hunting? In the past 5 years? Ever? (Asked of hunters.)
Q65. Have you done any hunting in the past 2 years? In the past 5 years? Ever? (Asked of target shooters.)

In the past 2 years

72 59 37

In the past 2 years

89 71 56

In the past 5 years, but not past 2

8 16 18
Active (n=932) Intermittent (n=633) Ex (n=663)

In the past 5 years, but not past 2

5 15 19
Active (n=497) Intermittent (n=493) Ex (n=551)

Ever (but not in past 5 years)

9 13 29 HUNTER SURVEY

Ever (not not in past 5 years)

5 11 21

10

No, never

12 16

No, never

2 5

SHOOTER SURVEY

20

40

60

80

100

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

Percent

Intermittent and ex-hunters and target shooters express interest in other types of hunting and target shooting. While active hunters express more interest in other types of hunting than do intermittent or ex-hunters, a substantial percentage of the latter groups, nonetheless, express interest in other types of hunting: 38% of intermittent hunters and 33% of ex-hunters. Among target shooters, 32% of intermittent participants and 19% of ex-participants express interest in other types of shooting.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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There are several tactical strategies to address the above issues. These include: T.A. Heberlein, who conducted research on satisfactions derived from hunting, noted that the quality of a hunt is judged by the hunter based on several hierarchal factors that collectively determine the perception of the quality of the hunt. In other words, it is multiple satisfactions rather than satisfaction with a single factor that determines overall satisfaction. For this reason, it is important that multiple satisfactions are considered. Heberlein cautioned stakeholders to not focus on one thing. It is important for stakeholders to work against over-specialization to the exclusion of other hunting and shooting activities. Quite simply, a hunter or target shooter who becomes too specialized may limit the satisfactions he/she derives from the sport, which in turn may lead to desertion if that single satisfaction is interrupted. A sportsman who derives multiple satisfactions from hunting or target shooting will be less likely to become dissatisfied based on only one factor going wrong. As part of this effort to diversify the activities of sportsmen, the promotion of underutilized hunts that allow for longer seasons will tend to diversify a hunters activities. Another part of the effort toward diversification involves cross-marketing various hunting and target shooting opportunities. Increased or sustained participation may occur by marketing turkey hunting to deer hunters or sporting clays to IDPA participants.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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8. START THEM YOUNG

While the link between competing activities and age of initiation can only be inferred from the data in the study, it would appear that activities that compete with hunting are less of a threat among those hunters who started hunting at an early age simply because they are more devoted to hunting. There is a clear link between avidity and age of initiation in hunting, as demonstrated below.

Mean Age of Hunting Initiation

21 18

15.1 12.7

15.7

Years old

15 12 9 6 3 0

Active

Intermittent

Ex

One could conjecture that other activities that compete with hunting and target shooting have less draw among hunters and target shooters who started hunting and shooting at an early age. The priority that sportsmen place on their sportwhich is greater among those who started earliersimply means that other activities will have less priority relative to hunting and target shooting. There are several tactical strategies regarding initiation. These include: To help hunting and target shooting get a head start over other activities, stakeholders such as managers and manufacturers should target programs toward youth 12 years old and younger. This is the time that youth are being targeted with competing activities. It is important to consider more hunting and target shooting recruitment programs aimed at middle school level, or earlier. Programs that have helped in hunting and target shooting recruitment should be implemented; for instance, it is important to implement more youth programs like Families Afield and apprentice licenses. See Factors Related to Hunting and Fishing Participation Among the Nations Youth, published by Responsive Management under a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for more information about youth recruitment.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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9. ACCESS REMAINS A MAJOR ISSUE

Any constraint to hunting and target shooting participationi.e., a difficulty with participating in these activitiesobviously affects how hunting and target shooting compete with other activities. Access is a constraint over which government and industry have some influence, and easier access allows hunting and target shooting to better compete with other activities, as well as to compete against time constraints, because better access would mean less time would be required to plan the hunting/shooting trip and get to the hunting/target shooting area. Access is the top-named hassle associated with hunting and target shooting.
Q113. What hassles are associated with hunting? (Asked in follow-up of those who do other recreational activities that have fewer hassles than hunting.) (Open-ended.) (Shows top 10 responses.)

Access issues

26 26 32 19 17

Travel distance

Needing to plan / amount of preparation Multiple Responses Allowed 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 0

13 10 10 11 14

11 9

8 11 12

Active (n=223) Intermittent (n=246) Ex (n=259)

7 8 5

11 8

6 6 7 3 4

HUNTER SURVEY

9 20 40 60 80 100

Percent

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting Access is a huge issue in participation in target shooting in the graph below, just as it was in hunting in the previous graph.
Q113. What hassles are associated with shooting? (Asked in follow-up of those who do other recreational activities that have fewer hassles than shooting.) (Open-ended.) (Shows top 10 responses.)

22

Access
16 15 14 15 17 8 9 12 10 5 9 8 7 8 2 6 4 6 2 5 2 2 2 5 1 3 3

50 45 50

Cost Getting equipment / maintaining equipment Multiple Responses Allowed Safety / behavior of other shooters

Time-consuming

Crowding Packing equipment and travelling and set-up (but not an access problem) Requires too much planning

Active (n=122) Intermittent (n=111) Ex (n=153)

Hard to find somebody to go with

SHOOTER SURVEY

Noise 0

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

A quarter-hour is all it takes to lose a target shooter. The research suggested that ex-shooters typically traveled farther to go target shooting (when they did shoot) than do active shooters (when they shoot now). In answer to how long it takes them to get to where they typically target shoot, the mean amount of time was higher among ex-shooters than among active shooters. In short, it appears that more distant access is related to a higher dropout rate. In particular in the graph on the following page, focus on the means (a 14-minute difference) and medians (a 10-minute difference). (The mean is simply the sum of all answers divided by the number of

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

23

respondentsthe most common average that people generally discuss; the median is the response at which half of respondents gave an answer above and half below. In the hunting graph below, half of active hunters gave an answer at or below 20 minutes, and the other half gave an answer above 20 minutes.)
Q58. In minutes, how long does it take you to get to where you typically go shooting?

More than an hour 46-60 minutes 31-45 minutes 21-30 minutes 16-20 minutes 11-15 minutes 6-10 minutes 5 minutes 4 minutes 3 minutes 2 minutes 1 minute Less than a minute Don't know 0
1 0 0 1 0 1 3 3 3 5 5 3 4 2 2 1 3

8 8

14

8 10 8 9 10 9 16 17 20 11 13 9 10 10 10 11 10 8 7 8 8

Minutes

Means Active = 28.93 Intermittent = 34.14 Ex = 43.17 Medians Active = 20 Intermittent = 20 Ex = 30

Mean Travel Time to Go Shooting

50 40 30 20 10 0 Active Target Shooters Intermittent Target Shooters Ex-Target Shooters 28.9 34.1 43.2

Active (n=497) Intermittent (n=493) Ex (n=551)

10

SHOOTER SURVEY

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

Tactical strategies related to access include the following: Make all efforts to have a range within 30 minutes of all current and potential hunters and target shooters (consider both physical and social/psychological aspects of access). Implement the findings and recommendations of the NSSF/Responsive Management 2010 report Issues Related to Hunting Access in the United States (e.g., walk-in access programs, mapping and atlas programsthese programs were proven to be successful in that study). Help connect private landowners with interested hunters (e.g., lease arrangements, fee hunting, open lands).
NSSF members may access this report at www.nssf.org/members

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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10. LOSING HUNTERS AND TARGET SHOOTERS TO COMPETITION IS A SUBTLE PROCESS

Losing a hunter or target shooter is not an overnight action, nor is it a simple matter of his/her decision to suddenly take up another activity instead. Do recreational activities other than hunting take time previously used for hunting? o While 20% of active hunters say that other recreations are stealing away from hunting, 35% of ex-hunters say this. However, this latter amount leaves 65% who do not say that other activities are stealing time away from hunting. If huntings competition was its only challenge, rather than one of many challenges, then 100% of ex-hunters would report that other activities stole time from hunting. Quite simply, there is more at play than another activity simply stealing hunters and target shooters from those activities. Another subtlety in the decline in hunting and target shooting participation is the losing of ones hunting or target shooting partners: 5% of those who said their hunting decreased in the past 5 years attributed the decrease (at least in part) to losing their hunting partners/not having anybody to go with, and this amount was 3% among target shooters regarding going target shooting. While these are not large percentages, they illustrate the slow chipping away of participation for various reasons and the perhaps slow process that leaving the sports can be. In short, this is generally not an overnight process; rather, the social circle gradually shrinks as individual members leave hunting and target shooting, each for his or her own reason (including age/health and even death). There are several tactical strategies to address the subtle process of losing participants. These include: Keep hunting and target shooting Top of Mind all year long. o An effective strategy to keep hunting and target shooting in sportsmens minds is to promote hunting and target shooting year-round. o Additionally, an effective strategy entails promoting hunting and target shooting in venues where customers go when they are not thinking about hunting and target shooting, such as in fishing magazines, on golf websites and so forth. o Other ancillary activities to hunting and target shooting have a place in keeping sportsmen engaged in these sports. In short, the industry can help keep sportsmen engaged in the off-season or when their buddies cant go by promoting re-loading, sporting clays, seminars and consumer shows. o Encourage hunters and target shooters to put their plans to hunt and target shoot on the calendar, thereby making hunting and shooting structured activitiesparticularly before other activities claim their attention and time. Things that are on the calendar are more likely to be done; things not on a calendar are more likely to be ignored or put off. Put it on the calendar could be a potential campaign theme. It is also important to encourage the social aspects of hunting and target shooting, and help facilitate social interaction among those who may have lost hunting or target shooting partners.

Understanding Activities That Compete With Hunting and Target Shooting

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11. COST IS GENERALLY A MINOR ISSUE

Hunting and target shooting equipment is specialized and sometimes costly. However, sales of such equipment have been robust, suggesting that cost is not a major issue. Other evidence suggests that cost as a whole is not an important constraint. For instance, only 2.4% of ex-hunters blamed high costs as a reason for not hunting. Additionally, only 4.1% of active hunters complained about costs as taking away from hunting. In target shooting, costs are a little more of a concern, but generally cost is still not a great concern, as just 10% of target shooters cite costs as a reason for less participation in target shooting. An exception regarding costs is that fuel prices are a concern, particularly in the past few years. Almost half of those who named cost as a hassle associated with hunting mentioned gas prices or the cost of travel. There are several tactical strategies to address cost-related issues. These include: Outreach should not talk about cost but should instead emphasize benefits and satisfactions with hunting and target shooting. A low cost should not, in general, be a primary focus of any campaign to encourage greater participation, as many other issues come into play before cost. o A prime issue that is of more importance than cost is the fun and enjoyment derived from hunting and target shooting. Toward this end, promotion of the fun, social, and outdoor benefits of hunting and target shooting will resonate better than any costrelated promotion. o It is important that local retailers remind customers of good local hunting and target shooting opportunities. o To help address fuel costs, the provision of shooting ranges close to population centers to reduce the effect of fuel costs would be effective.

Report provided by NSSF Research. For additional research materials, please visit www.nssf.org/research

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