Annually, about one-quarter of the previous year’s hunters do not purchase a hunting license in the following year. Retaining these hunters would benefit conservation, industry, and help increase support for hunting. However, by not understanding how and why other activities often are preferred over hunting, our ability to retain hunters will remain limited.

To help find answers, a survey was fielded to a random sample of hunters within 20 states who purchased at least one hunting license in the past ten years. In this survey, hunters were asked a variety of questions to better understand what outdoor activities they participate in and why, what they enjoy or dislike about hunting, and if and why they hunt more or less than they did in the past.

Read report below to understand what activities are competing with avid, infrequent, and lapsed hunters.