Families in the Field: Good Numbers of Kids go Shooting, Hunting

MWO|
October 2016
|Radio Podcasts
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Many sportsmen have fond memories of special times outdoors hunting and shooting with a parent or grandparent. And it seems as adults, many are only too happy to provide those same great experiences for the younger generations. In a recent joint survey by ShooterSurvey.com and HunterSurvey.com, researchers learned that as many as 50 percent of sportsmen surveyed had taken a child shooting in the past 12 months, while 37 percent had taken a child hunting.

As we might expect, the majority of those children taken outdoors were the sons and daughters of those surveyed. About 47 percent of kids taken shooting were a son or daughter, and 54 percent of those taken hunting were a child of the respondent.

The numbers are encouraging when it comes to adults taking more than one child afield, with 17 percent of hunters taking more than one child out in the past 12 months, and 24 percent of recreational shooters taking more than one youngster shooting.

Interestingly, as many as 19 percent of hunters shared hunting with a young person not related to them, while 21 percent of shooters did. The remainder were grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

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“Passing a love for hunting and shooting along to the next generation is a vital part of the total outdoor experience,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com. “Everyone has special memories of time spent in the woods or at the range with their parents or other mentors as a young person, and it is clear today’s adults want to keep that tradition alive for their kids.”

To help continually improve, protect and advance hunting, shooting and other outdoor recreation, all sportsmen and sportswomen are encouraged to participate in the bi-monthly surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and/or AnglerSurvey.com.

Every other month, participants who complete the surveys are entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift certificates to the sporting goods retailer of their choice.