I
f you are a hunter, it’s no surprise to you that a tremendous amount of money is spent pursuing this hobby, but you might not fully appreciate how wide ranging the economic stimulus is. A report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) documents how and where billions of hunters’ dollars flow into local, state and national businesses and governments. For instance, according to the report, Hunting in America, more than 680,000 jobs were supported by sportsmen (and women) in 2011. As well, hunters spent $38.3 billion in 2011 and generated $11.8 billion in taxes. Here’s something you don’t hear in the current gun-control debate: hunters also contribute more than $371 million annually to conservation efforts through a special excise tax on firearms and ammunition. Add in another $796 million on license and permit sales, plus $440 million in direct donations to conservation groups, according to the report. Altogether, hunters contribute $1.6 billion annually to conservation. The report also outlines the Top 10 states by resident hunters and non-resident hunters. Far outpacing all other states in resident hunters is Texas, with 1,079, 869 hunters who spent more than $1.9 billion in retail sales in 2011. However, residents of Michigan outspent the Texans at just over $2.3 billion spent by 501,421 resident hunters. The leader in non-resident hunters for 2011 was South Dakota, which brought in 143,531 hunters from out-of-state who spent a little more than $405 million. Wisconsin was second with 131,137 hunters brining in about $314 million to the state. Colorado ranked third with 115,491 hunters spending almost $196 million. Hunting in America also tracked the number of days spent hunting in 2011. Overall, Americans spent more than 282 million days hunting that year. On a state level, Texans spent the most days hunting – 20,372,473 – followed closely by New York and Pennsylvania – each around 18,000,000 days. In terms of what hunters bought, would you be surprised to know that the biggest category was pickup, camper, van, travel tent trailer and RV? Hunters spent just over $6 billion on those vehicles in 2011. Following right behind was land owned primarily for hunting, expenses and payments, also just a tick over $6 billion. Land leases, rifles, food and drink, transportation by private vehicle, off-road vehicles and ammunition each topped over $1 billion in 2011 expenditures. Between deer hunting, migratory bird hunting and upland gamebirds (quail, grouse and pheasants), which category did hunters spend more
on? The answer is no surprise. Deer hunters spent more than $18 billion on that species in 2011, compared to $3.4 billion on migratory birds and $2.9 billion on upland gamebirds. If you’d like to know more about the numbers for your state and other categories, download the Hunting in America full report at www.nssf.org/research.
Quick Facts
from Hunting in America • Sportsmen contribute nearly $8 million a day that goes to support wildlife agencies and conservation. • As of 2012, hunters and target shooters paid more than $7.2 billion in excise taxes through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, since it’s passage in 1937. • The first state hunting licenses ever issued were in Michigan and North Dakota in 1895. • U.S. hunters outnumber the populations of 46 states. Only Florida, New York, Texas and California have more residents that the combined popultion of U.S. hunters. • Hunters spent a total of $38.3 billion last year that had a total economic multiplier effect of $86.9 billion across the U.S. economy. • Hunting overall brought in more revenue ($38.3 billion) than Google ($37.9 billion) or Goldman Sachs Group ($36.8 billion.) • If hunting were a company, the amount spent by sportsmen to support their hunting activities would place it No. 73 on the Fortune 500 list.
May 2013 • theshowcircuit.com
225