Annie, Get Your Gun: 10 Unknown Benefits of Hunting as a Hobby

Annie, Get Your Gun: 10 Unknown Benefits of Hunting as a Hobby

Every year, there are more than 100 million Americans who take part in hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities.

There are some people who hunt on a regular basis to provide their families with food. This is one of the most basic benefits of hunting.

But it’s far from the only benefit that people get to enjoy when they make hunting a big part of their life. Hunting has so many different benefits that come along with doing it.

Take a closer look at 10 of the biggest benefits of hunting below.

1. Encourages People to Spend More Time Outdoors

Did you know that the average American only spends about 7 percent of their life outside? They’re at home, at work, or in their car the rest of the time.

If you find that you’re stuck inside more often than not these days, you can change that by going hunting. Hunting will allow you to spend a few hours outside soaking up all that Mother Nature has to offer.

It’ll also force you to put your cell phone, your laptop, and your tablet away so that you can connect with nature. It’ll give your brain a break and prove to be one of the best benefits of hunting.

2. Motivates People to Get Into Better Shape

Some people mistakenly believe that hunting is easy to do.

But it actually requires a lot of physical strength and endurance to walk around in the woods hunting. Even if you do most of your hunting from a tree stand, you’ll still have to put in the effort to get there and back while hunting.

Studies have shown that about 80 percent of people don’t get the recommended amount of exercise every week. Hunting shouldn’t be the only form of exercise you get. But it will push you to lead a healthier lifestyle when you do it enough.

3. Works Wonders for People’s Mental Health

If you suffer from depression, anxiety, or another mental health issue, hunting could be the answer to your prayers. Hunting can help ease your mind and boost your mood when you spend enough time doing it.

When you hunt, you’ll get access to plenty of sunlight. This will increase the vitamin D levels in your body and make you feel like a happier person.

You’ll also get access to lots of fresh air. Fresh air can make you feel sharper, provide you with more energy, and improve your mood dramatically when you get enough of it.

Bottom line: You’ll feel better than you have in months when you go out hunting for even just a day. You’ll be amazed by the impact it can have on your mental health.

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4. Allows Families and Friends to Spend Time Together

It’s rare to see a hunter go out on a hunting adventure on their own. More often than not, hunters prefer to travel in packs. They’ll tag along with family members and friends and go out hunting as a group.

This gives people an opportunity to bond with family members and friends. Fathers get to spend time teaching their sons and daughters about how to hunt, while hunting buddies get to swap stories over the course of a few days.

The bonds that are formed between hunters during hunting trips can never be broken. They’re able to make memories that will last a lifetime, even if they aren’t always able to take down deer, bears, or whatever else they’re hunting in the process.

5. Provides People With Something to Look Forward to

Hunting isn’t something that can be done all year round in most cases. There are certain “seasons” for the different animals that people enjoy hunting.

These seasons are set up so that hunters don’t take down too many animals throughout the course of a year. It’s important for hunters to stick to hunting during the specific seasons to avoid running into legal trouble.

But the good thing about these seasons is that they build up the anticipation for hunting. People have something to look forward to and wait all year to go hunting. They take off work, plan long weekends, and do whatever they can to spend as much time as they can hunting.

6. Teaches People to Be Responsible With Firearms

Gun ownership is a right for almost all Americans. But far too many people don’t know the first thing about gun safety.

Hunting is one of the easiest ways to teach a person about being responsible with a firearm. Whether they’re using Faxon Firearms while hunting or something else, they’ll need to be careful when they’re carrying a gun around.

Here are a few basic rules for anyone just learning about gun safety:

  • Make sure that a gun is always pointed down at the ground or in another safe direction when you’re holding it
  • Always treat a gun as if it’s loaded, even if you know it’s not
  • Resist the urge to put your finger on the trigger of a gun until you’re ready to take aim and fire it
  • Take a look at both your intended target and anything beyond your intended target before firing a gun
  • Maintain and clean your gun when you’re not using it to keep it in good condition

You’ll use these rules early and often while hunting. It doesn’t take people very long to learn how to handle a firearm the right way.

7. Makes It Easier to Manage Wildlife Populations

The wildlife population throughout America is always growing. If not for hunting, certain animal populations would grow out of control and cause all sorts of issues for the country.

Hunting allows for the U.S. to control wildlife populations so that they don’t get to be too big. As long as hunters operate within the limits of the law, they’ll be helping the conservation efforts made all across the country every year.

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8. Cuts Down on Auto Accidents Involving Animals

If you’ve ever been involved in an automobile accident with a deer or another animal, you know how scary it can be. It can do a lot of damage to your car and lead to a particularly painful death for an animal.

There are more than 1 million animal-related auto accidents every year. But that number has gone down in recent years thanks in part to hunting.

By controlling the wildlife populations throughout the country, hunters are able to limit the number of animal-related auto accidents that take place. There aren’t as many deer and other animals out there to cause problems for drivers.

9. Supplies the Economy With a Boost

As you might imagine, hunters spend quite a bit of money every year on hunting products. They drop more than $30 billion on everything from firearms and ammunition to tree stands and hunting clothes. This gives a big boost to the national economy.

Hunters are also required to purchase hunting licenses and permits in addition to paying certain taxes that are tied to them. This generates about $1 billion every year that goes directly to wildlife conservation efforts.

If hunting were to go away tomorrow, it would leave the country as a whole in a compromising position. It would also make it difficult for some organizations to make wildlife conservation a priority.

10. Gives People a Newfound Respect for Nature

Some anti-hunting advocates argue that hunters don’t seem to love nature. They think that, because hunters shoot animals, they’re in some way against nature.

But this couldn’t be further from the truth! When you hunt regularly, you develop a newfound respect and appreciation for nature and all that it has to offer. You want to spend more time out in nature enjoying everything it can provide for you.

This might just be one of the most important benefits of hunting. As we mentioned earlier, more and more people are choosing to stay inside these days instead of wandering out in nature. But hunting is putting people back where they belong and encouraging them to make Mother Nature their friend again.

Start Enjoying the Benefits of Hunting Today

If you’re an experienced hunter who has been hunting since you were a kid, you’re probably very familiar with the benefits of hunting listed here.

But if you haven’t had the opportunity to hunt much in your life, you might not know all that it can provide for you. Put your preconceptions to the side and give hunting a shot. It’ll shed new light on it once you see how beneficial it can be.

You’ll enjoy spending a ton of time outside in nature. You’ll also be shocked by how much you learn about handling firearms safely. And you’ll even feel like you’re doing something good for the world when you take down your first deer, bear, or other animal.

Read our blog to find out other ways you can become a healthier person by getting outdoors more.