Hunting 2.0: Changes, Challenges & Opportunities

We recently spoke with a few of our friends in the outfitting industry about the greatest opportunities and challenges that they currently face. The outfitting industry has changed over the past 20 years, just as the average hunter has changed. For better or worse, the sport of hunting is evolving. Here's a peek into the world that outfitters are seeing today.

Changes

There’s no doubt that the hunting industry as a whole is changing, and has changed significantly over the past several decades. Not all of it is bad. In fact, amid cultural decline, bad legislation, and other issues that all hunters face, there are some rays of hope.

For example, while the overall number of hunters has been in decline, many in the outfitting industry are seeing a drop in the average age of their hunting clients. More and more young people are adopting hunting, even among those whose parents didn’t hunt. These first-generation hunters are changing the way we look at the sport.

We see that trend reflected in popular hunting brands like Sitka Gear, and the media that these brands produce. In many ways, the “grip and grin” hunting photo is dead, or at least dying. When you look at current hunting photography, creative filmmaking and other trends, it’s clear that today’s young hunters are embracing the sport with a passion. And they’re in it for the right reasons.

The millennial hunter is in it for the adventure, the challenge and the camaraderie. They are adventurous and they are conservation-minded. They want to see raw, uncut images of wild places and the real challenges that we love about hunting. In part, that’s what we’re hoping to bring with Guidefitter TV.

This is Hunting 2.0. Sporting trucker hats and flannel shirts, today’s younger hunters look more like they belong to surf or ski culture than they do a typical beer-drinking hunter stereotype; unless of course, it’s small-batch craft beer.

In fact, trends in food are even having a profound effect on the millennial hunter and the messages we’re beginning to see in the industry. In a culture that’s increasingly concerned with food that’s local, organic and free-range, what could possibly be better than wild game? Hunters are becoming foodies, and vice versa.

This couldn’t be clearer than it is in the popularity of brands like Weston Products. With a freezer full of venison, a meat grinder and a charcuterie cookbook, the hunter is taking one step closer to the hipster.

For outfitters, these changes have come with growing pains. Reaching this new hunting audience is completely different than it was 20 years ago. Larry Amos, owner of Winterhawk Outfitters recently commented on these changes.

“You used to be able to put a hunter on any mangy old horse, stick him in a small tent, feed him SPAM and a moldy loaf of bread, and he’d say it was the greatest trip of his life,” Amos laughed. “Today’s hunters talk about how many grams of Thinsulate are in their boots, complain that their horse tried to buck them off, and spend the trip checking for cell phone service.”

Larry likes to joke about today’s hunters. But in reality, he has adapted to changes in the industry, affording him the ability to reach his audience in new ways, through online channels.

“I used to spend my entire off-season on the road attending hunting shows,” Larry told us. “Now, I’m able to keep up connections with my clients without ever leaving home.”

Outfits like Winterhawk are beginning to bridge that gap, and online communities like Guidefitter are quickly becoming the home of those outfitters and the new generation of hunters.

Challenges

The sport of hunting and the outfitting industry face plenty of challenges. Cultural changes, increasing costs, limited opportunity and growing government bureaucracy are all taking their toll.

“The biggest challenge today for outfitters is the price to lease land and how scarce quality private land is becoming,” said Lenny Miller, guide for Rawhide Guide Service and Guidefitter TV co-host. Lenny is a 17-year veteran of the industry.

Lenny's fellow Guidefitter TV co-host and owner of LOH Outfitters, Jerry Blake, echoed these same feelings. “My greatest challenge is finding good land for a reasonable price that blue-collar hunters can afford,” Jerry told us.

In addition to rising costs, opportunity is also becoming more limited. Sy Gilliland, owner of SNS Outfitter & Guides, says tag allocation and having enough opportunity for nonresident hunters is his key concern.

“For us, the greatest challenge is continuing to maintain enough hunting opportunity,” Sy said. “It’s becoming more difficult for nonresidents to enjoy hunting in western states with the licensing issues appearing across the west.”

Anti-hunting groups, predator issues and a number of other factors all pose threats to hunting as a whole. As outfitters and as hunters, we face some steep challenges. But there are opportunities as well.

Opportunities

Technology and the Internet have been a source of fear for many in the outfitting industry. But for those who have embraced it, web-based tools have changed the way many outfitters reach their clients, and even run their business. As hunters, it has changed the way we research and plan hunts.

Online communities have also served to make the hunting industry more cohesive. It has become easier for hunters from across the world to share stories, photos and information. As hunters, the ability to band together and communicate important messages is a valuable benefit. And for outfitters and other businesses in the industry, it has become easier to connect with an engaged audience.

As outfitters and hunters, we also have an opportunity to influence our culture through conservation. One of the greatest benefits of hunting has always been the impact that it has on habitat and wildlife. This has been, and should continue to be a banner issue for the sport. Let's continue to make tangible contributions to conservation through the support of organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Finally, we all have an opportunity and a responsibility to introduce today’s youth to hunting. As our country grows increasingly urbanized, there is a greater need for young people to experience the outdoors. Taking a kid hunting might be one of the most important things we do for the sport. Young people have an innate desire for adventure. As hunters, we can introduce them to places and pursuits where adventure can truly be found.

Whether you're, an outfitter, a guide or a hunter, it’s easy to focus on what’s going wrong. The challenges that we face are serious and we shouldn’t gloss over them. But there’s also something to be said for identifying what’s going well, and working to capitalize on those things.