The Premier Online Resource For The Outdoor Sportsman

Blog/

Hunting Ain’t just for Rednecks

It seems that today’s hunters are thrown in a group associated with the term Redneck.  The name is a disparaging term that refers to a person who is stereotypically Caucasian and of lower social-economic status in the United States and Canada, particularly referring to those living in rural areas. 

 Most people see Rednecks as people who hunt and kill any animals, drive big trucks and carry big guns in the back of their trucks while drinking a beer.  Rednecks do exist and for the most part are hard working flag honoring outdoor folks that respect wildlife and would turn a poacher in if given the opportunity.  Most people will tell they are proud to be a Redneck and wouldn’t have it any other way.

 More and more hunters today both men and woman are involved with wildlife conservation as well land conservation and look nothing like the sterotypical name of the term Redneck.  These hunters support many great causes that benefit our lands and wildlife and donate more dollars than any other group.  License fees are the largest portion of the sportsman’s contributions that contribute to the state fish and game departments presently furnishing them with more than 1.1 Billion dollars a year.

Hunting means so much to so many people that it is hard to define. It is even harder to explain to people who have never hunted or never really understand its importance. Hunting is both a lifestyle and a tradition. It’s more than the morning mist, the thrill of a pursuit, the use of one’s forest knowledge. It’s primal and modern. It is raw cunning passed down from wood-wise veterans steeped in skill and interpretation of smallest details.

Hunting is more than anything, an opportunity to bond, to teach and to share. In an age of disconnected families and divorce, who could argue then with the value of a father teaching his son or daughter the respectful ways to hunt with integrity and purpose, as well as proper use and care of a firearm and cleaning one’s own catch.

On a national level 34 million sportsmen age 16 and older spent more than 76 billion in 2006, supporting 1.6 million jobs. If a single corporation grossed as much as hunters and anglers spend. It would be among America’s 20 largest, ahead of Target, Costco and AT&T. The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equals and astounding 1.6 million a day being pumped into the state’s economy

Spending by sportsman benefits not only manufactures of hunting and fishing related products, but everything from local mom and pop businesses to wildlife conservation. Because most hunting and fishing takes place in rural areas, much of the spending benefits less affluent parts of the state. When sportsman spending is thought in business terms and compared to other sectors of the economy, it is quite remarkable. From small rural towns scattered across our country’s landscape to the bottom line of fortune 500 companies located in major cities, taking away hunting and fishing removes the equivalent of a multi-billion dollar corporation.