Achievement-oriented Motivations for Deer Hunting

[goosifer]

So I was doing some research on the future of deer hunting topic. This led me to a group at the Cornell Ag school, the Human Dimensions Research Unit, that puts out a lot of research on hunting, et al. This are academic journal studies. Very boring stuff. So for the heck of it I started perusing the article Taking a Non-traditional Path to Hunting in New York: Insights and Implications for Recruitment and Retention  from April 2016. It's about how people get into hunting through relationships other than the traditional parent-child relationship. They call these hunters "non-traditonal path hunters (NTPHs)". They surveyed 3,605 of these NTPHs. (I don't know how many "traditional path hunters" there were at the same point in time.) Some of the survey questions related to their motivation for hunting. Now granted this was from a subset of new hunters, but interesting nonetheless. (I tell ya, I hesitate to post this, but given I've posted some stuff that goes in the other direction, I guess this is an attempt to achieve balance.)

Their results on "Achievement-oriented Motivations for Deer Hunting" from page 18: 

Another interesting tidbit is that slightly more survey participants were interested in hunting turkey vs bow-hunting for deer (77.6% vs. 73.6%). #1 interest was gun-hunting deer at 90.6%. 

The full article is at  Taking a Non-traditional Path to Hunting in New York: Insights and Implications for Recruitment and Retention 

[Nomad]

Thanks I’ll read this later seems interesting.

Myself i want meat every year,which has occurred each year since the ‘80’s, with two,years I thought that would not occur and it freaked me out way more then not getting a “good” buck .

[Robhuntandfish]

Goal every year is to refill the freezer.  Although hoping for a big buck in the process, it certainly doesn't make or break the season. Enjoying the whole process from setup to sealer is what's its all about.

 

[wolc123]

Thanks for providing that evidence.  It is good to see "obtaining meat" up top and "obtaining a trophy" on the bottom for motivation to hunt.  Hopefully the DEC reads this and stops bringing up talk about mandatory AR's.  It would be interesting to see if anyone can come up with any contradictory evidence (ie: that obtaining a trophy is the top motivator).        

[goosifer]

10 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Thanks for providing that evidence.  It is good to see "obtaining meat" up top and "obtaining a trophy" on the bottom for motivation to hunt.  Hopefully the DEC reads this and stops bringing up talk about mandatory AR's.  It would be interesting to see if anyone can come up with any contradictory evidence (ie: that obtaining a trophy is the top motivator).        

The authors thanked several people from the DEC for their assistance. So I would think the DEC is aware of the findings of this research from 2016.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

3 hours ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Thanks I’ll read this later seems interesting.

Myself i want meat every year,which has occurred each year since the ‘80’s, with two,years I thought that would not occur and it freaked me out way more then not getting a “good” buck .

But go ahead and say you were not wanting to kill  the biggest buck possible?

[fasteddie]

The topic with "Achievement-oriented " in it threw me off especially after getting spammed by some "Orientals" . Whoa !!!!!!

 

[Four Season Whitetail's]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

Thanks for providing that evidence.  It is good to see "obtaining meat" up top and "obtaining a trophy" on the bottom for motivation to hunt.  Hopefully the DEC reads this and stops bringing up talk about mandatory AR's.  It would be interesting to see if anyone can come up with any contradictory evidence (ie: that obtaining a trophy is the top motivator).        

LOL...You make this post after the guy above you said ....hoping for the biggest buck possible.  Its obvious everybody wants meat but its that big buck they are hoping that meat comes from. Not the first fawn to walk out.

[Robhuntandfish]

of course you hope for a big buck , but its not what gets me out in the woods.  If it was I would never go, havent seen very many in my life.  When fishing you hope for a wall hanger but I am still fishing for perch.  Bowling you hope for a 300 - not why you went bowling.  Its the event , the fun, the adventure.  I can listen to music on my car radio- but people go to a concert for the event.  A huge buck is just a bonus, a chance, a goal someday, but not the reason i get up at 5 am and walk into the woods. 

Edited January 17, 2018 by Robhuntandfish

[Doc]

The prime motivator that involved me in hunting was the fact that everyone I knew hunted. It was the social thing to do at the time. That reason is long gone now, and what keeps me involved is the second category, "To test my outdoor skills". Being a huge fan of outdoor activities and the hunting heritage that I grew up in, that is a prime motivator for my hunting. Of course a trophy here and there is a bonus, but that is not the driver that gets me buying licenses and equipment and heading out in the woods.

[chas0218]

13 hours ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Thanks I’ll read this later seems interesting.

Myself i want meat every year,which has occurred each year since the ‘80’s, with two,years I thought that would not occur and it freaked me out way more then not getting a “good” buck .

This year was one for me, if you hunt for meat and are selective it is a very worrisome feeling not having any meat in the freezer late in the season.

[dbHunterNY]

i've put venison in the freezer every year since i was old enough to hunt. most of what we eat throughout the year is venison. i feel that not having meat that year is very much a reason for concern.  i don't necessarily care about the meat so much as what it might represent. if nothing goes in the freezer some year it means i'm no longer a provider that in mind my i want to be.  deer numbers might be lower.  i might have had unrealistic expectations.  most likely i didn't put enough time and effort into enjoying hunt for myself.  if my desire to hunt wanes then i have to think others less vested can or did too. i could think of other reasons too but all are bad.

[dbHunterNY]

it'd be interesting to know how the non-traditional path hunters vary in reasons they hunt. as in ones that have been doing it now for a while and joined others. one's that just started.  i'd think many start for simple minded goals that are listed above but once they've been doing it they realize other reasons they're do it all factor in?  i know they're achievement based and with context more aimed at the person.  i look at a bank of memories, helping others tag something, and leaving the deer and/or habitat in a better place all achievements.

Edited January 17, 2018 by dbHunterNY

[goosifer]

There was another part of the survey that asked the participants their beliefs about hunting, and what they "approve of". Surprisingly, only 25.9% approved and 38.7% disapproved of "to obtain a trophy" as a reason to hunt. If I'm understanding this correctly, this goes against the grain of "you can hunt whatever you want to, as long as it's legal". I note that 45.1% of the respondents were below the age of 31. Again, this is a subset of new hunters, and a small subset of all hunters, in 2016. Interesting.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have many reasons for hunting. Meat is not the one at the top of the list, and neither is a big buck. They are both in the top 5 though.

[goosifer]

10 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

it'd be interesting to know how the non-traditional path hunters vary in reasons they hunt. as in ones that have been doing it now for a while and joined others. one's that just started.  i'd think many start for simple minded goals that are listed above but once they've been doing it they realize other reasons they're do it all factor in?  i know they're achievement based and with context more aimed at the person.  i look at a bank of memories, helping others tag something, and leaving the deer and/or habitat in a better place all achievements.

There is a lotof data and different questions in the study that talk about the things you've raised. i just didn't want to do a data dump and overwhelm the thread.

[Jdubs]

6 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

it'd be interesting to know how the non-traditional path hunters vary in reasons they hunt. as in ones that have been doing it now for a while and joined others. one's that just started.  i'd think many start for simple minded goals that are listed above but once they've been doing it they realize other reasons they're do it all factor in?

For me, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.  I find the meat/meals as delicious and satisfying as any, but moreover value the strong friendships that have grown from the whole experience.  

[goosifer]

15 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

it'd be interesting to know how the non-traditional path hunters vary in reasons they hunt. as in ones that have been doing it now for a while and joined others. one's that just started.  i'd think many start for simple minded goals that are listed above but once they've been doing it they realize other reasons they're do it all factor in?  i know they're achievement based and with context more aimed at the person.  i look at a bank of memories, helping others tag something, and leaving the deer and/or habitat in a better place all achievements.

I think this is the sort of info you were talking about. None of the response choices were mutually exclusive. They just grouped them into various categories.

 

 

[goosifer]

23 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

i've put venison in the freezer every year since i was old enough to hunt. most of what we eat throughout the year is venison. i feel that not having meat that year is very much a reason for concern.  i don't necessarily care about the meat so much as what it might represent. if nothing goes in the freezer some year it means i'm no longer a provider that in mind my i want to be.  deer numbers might be lower.  i might have had unrealistic expectations.  most likely i didn't put enough time and effort into enjoying hunt for myself.  if my desire to hunt wanes then i have to think others less vested can or did too. i could think of other reasons too but all are bad.

Yeah, there is a self reliance angle to hunting that doesn't really get directly addressed as much as it should.

Relatedly, one thing about hunting that gives me a lot of satisfaction is processing my own deer and being able to say I took care of everything from field to freezer. I know exactly where it came from, how it was trimmed, how much fat is in it, etc.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

14 minutes ago, goosifer said:

I think this is the sort of info you were talking about. None of the response choices were mutually exclusive. They just grouped them into various categories.

 

 

Funny thing is that any and all of the above can be done without a gun in your hand or an animals life being taken.

[dbHunterNY]

9 minutes ago, goosifer said:

Yeah, there is a self reliance angle to hunting that doesn't really get directly addressed as much as it should.

Relatedly, one thing about hunting that gives me a lot of satisfaction is processing my own deer and being able to say I took care of everything from field to freezer. I know exactly where it came from, how it was trimmed, how much fat is in it, etc.

this past year i won a free deer processing at a banquet.  they did a great job, but not compared to what i would do myself.  it's not practical for any deer processor to vest the time into each deer like i do with my own though.  i trim like a lunatic even for ground meat which we use a lot of.  the quality of ground venison i got from the processor wasn't as good as my own. it was much more "gamey" tasting without trimming deer fat other tissues as much as i do.  it's a disappointment that's sticking with me. partly because i've never otherwise had a deer cut up by anyone other than myself.

[goosifer]

Once you've processed your own, it's hard to let someone else do it. Once I got a deer and because of warm temps and that I wasn't going home for two days, I had to have it processed. My hunting buddy advised me to just ask the processor to quarter the deer. That worked out as I was able to pick up the venison on the way home and do the rest of the processing myself. 

[Dinsdale]

Thanks for posting; I fit their study group back when I started so found paper interesting.

[Five Seasons]

I don't understand "to use my hunting equipment". If you weren't a hunter why do you have these things? I'm a traditional path hunter but I've never once hunted because I felt I needed to put my expensive gear to use...

hunting for meat for a nsph seems right on though. Generally a modern hunter sees the value in the pursuit of the free range organic and animal that "has a chance" vs the hormone pumped up cow.

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, Real World Hunter said:

Funny thing is that any and all of the above can be done without a gun in your hand or an animals life being taken.

I bet most of us hunters spend equal or more time walking, scouting and prepping than we do hunting. The hunting part is the award for the work. Plus there is no challenge to sit in a tree in march. There is a challenge to harvesting a deer.

I personally enjoy the woods therapy more than anything, but not far behind is the challenge and excitement when I achieve my goals. 3rd is good meat for the family.