The future of hunting in America depends upon replacing aging Boomers with younger sportsmen and women. Until now, one way youth and young adults have been exposed to hunting has been to require them to take an accredited hunter safety course prior to purchasing a hunting license. The assumption has always been that those who pass the class will become committed hunters. However, a 2021 report prepared by Southwick & Associates on behalf of the Sportsman’s Alliance Foundation and International Hunter Safety Association tells a different story. According to this report, while only 5 percent of hunter education graduates did not intend to hunt prior to taking the course, 39 percent of hunter education graduates do not purchase a license in the seven years after graduation.
Think about that. This means that 34 percent of all students who pass the course intend to hunt, but never purchase a hunting license. The questions become, why? And what do we do about that?
The study rightly points out that not all students who take a hunter education course have the same motivations for doing so, and that treating all hunter ed students the same means that instructors will connect with some students while overlooking others. In fact, the “average” student may not actually exist. To help better understand what students want from hunter education, the study segmented graduates into four unique personas based on their motivations. These groups were termed Locavores, Legacy Hunters, Curious Students and Reactivators.
The study found that Locavores — those who want to be self-reliant and harvest sustainable, often local, organic meat — made up 38 percent of the group. Legacy hunters — students from hunting families or communities that take the course to satisfy legal requirements — made up 30 percent. Curious Students were 19 percent of the group and defined as those that were the least interested in hunting, taking the course more out of curiosity than an immediate desire to hunt. These students often included parents and others wanting to accompany a student through the program. Finally, Reactivators — people with prior hunting experience who need to take the course to begin hunting again — made up 19 percent of the group. Often their experience was limited to following hunters one or two times when very young, but interest was planted back then.
Locavores are the low-hanging fruit for the hunting community. They are attracted to hunting to secure their own meat, and they are less likely to see hunting as a tradition and/or lifestyle. Their top motivations included spending time outdoors (79 percent), securing their own meat (72 percent) and spending time with family/friends (70 percent.) They want to learn more about their harvest, pick up basic woodcraft skills, and learn specific hunting techniques. However, only two-thirds of them ever buy a hunting license.
More than any other segment, the Legacy Hunter comes from a hunting family and community, and they need less support than the other segments to become a lifelong hunter. They typically take the course as a teenager because they need it to be able to buy a future license; only 9 percent never buy a hunting license. They hunt to spend time outdoors and spend time with family and friends.
Curious Students have the lowest post-graduation engagement and the least interest in hunting. Their top motivations include spending more time with family/friends and outdoors (77 percent and 76 percent) and securing their own meat (64 percent). They want to learn how to care for their meat (39 percent), spend more time at a shooting range, and learn about firearms safety (24 and 23 percent.) An important note about this group: They often provide the means and support for other new hunters and can become hunting’s public champions, even if they do not hunt themselves.
With 92 percent buying licenses, Reactivators — the most experienced prior to taking hunter education, with 69 percent having hunted or accompanied hunters in the field at some point — are the most engaged in hunting post-graduation. They take hunter education to earn points in big game lotteries, to learn more about hunting, and to support family members. Their top motivations for hunting include securing their own meat (90 percent), spending time outdoors (86 percent) and spending time with family/friends (77 percent).
After passing their course class, students said three of the top five support items they needed to help them become hunters involved introduction, including being introduced to mentors or instructors; organizations that could contact the graduate regarding mentored hunts; and other new hunters. The desire for mentors has been identified in other recent research as well, showing that potential new hunters desire some “graduate school” advanced instruction. In fact, “additional classes/modules for advanced training” was a common desire among non-hunters. These modules can be made evergreen and not impose a long-term burden on instructors. The desire for mentored hunts also shows that while the hunter education course can give them skills, it cannot provide them with a place to hunt. Connecting with other hunters falls in line with today’s younger generations’ desires to stay in touch with like-minded people, which they often do via social media.
If you or your staff are volunteer hunter education instructors — what a great way to introduce potential new customers to your business — this study shows that follow-ups with students after their course completion can go a long way to bringing them into the fold. It can also serve as a way to make these new hunters comfortable with you and your staff, encouraging them to come to your business when they have questions and seek more information from “expert” sources. Or you might be able to refer them to a local sportsman’s club that can give them advanced information and skills training.
What’s your take on hunter education classes and how they can affect hunter recruitment and retention? Are you or any of your staff volunteer hunter education instructors? Drop me a note at editor@grandviewoutdoors.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
