Biggest hurdle/barrier to entry into hunting?

[Hnthrdr]

I don’t believe you can be better equipped and have everything for $1000 haha but if you can that’s phenomenal

Easily,

Will it all be rokslide approved doo-dads and the most plush merino boxers and the softest goose down sleeping bags.

Nope

But will it give average joe the ability to kill animals from 0-350 yards and be pretty darn comfy doing it. Yep

 

[MallardSX2]

people want to be mentored, then they repay the mentor by taking their buddies to the mentor's spots.

I had this happen for sure. I no longer hunt with that individual.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I had this happen for sure. I no longer hunt with that individual.

Yep all too common unfortunately. Everyone wants to be handed honey holes on a silver platter…

 

[Customweld]

I believe there are a good number of people who have the desire to hunt, but they need mentors. Figuring out all the ins and outs of it is quite the learning curve and most are just too overwhelmed to wade in. Hell, I have a bunch of big game hunting friends and they're too intimidated to go wolf and cougar hunting on the winter ranges without substantial handholding. I also think that the economics of hunting deters urban people from starting hunting - the rural folks grow up with it. I've taken a good number of new hunters out for their first hunts. When I do, I leave guns and bows at home. This is always met by a question along these lines: "Why aren't you carrying a rifle?" To which I always respond , "Our success depends on you." That usually creates serious contemplation on the receiver's part.

My daughter volunteered me to take her best friends husband out this year. He's a first responder, so my initial reaction was sure, I'll take him. He's a guy in his late 20's with absolutely no gear (not even any simple camping gear) . The tag part is pretty simple, the rest feels really daunting to try and get this guy out there.

 

[RockAndSage]

I think the biggest barrier is that every time I talk to a prospective hunter, they mention getting into bowhunting deer/elk. I try to tell them to start with small game. There's less regulations, longer seasons, fewer gear requirements and you'll learn the things most of us started with.

No one is interested in that. They want to cut to the glory of the bigger success without the foundational building blocks.

It's like the want to jump straight from never worked out to body builder physique.

This is really good advice, OP. You'll learn just as much about being in the woods, stalking, and game care with squirrels or other small game and a .22 as you would going after a buck, but with lots of small bites of success and failure and skill gain.

Similarly, getting into various kinds of bird hunting is also gets you out in the field, with similar small bites of success, experience, failure, and skill.

And there is absolutely nothing preventing you from practicing following deer or elk sign, and picking up and honing that skill, while you're out with a .22 or shotgun.

All of this is cumulative, and mutually reinforcing.

 

[CorbLand]

Easily,

Will it all be rokslide approved doo-dads and the most plush merino boxers and the softest goose down sleeping bags.

Nope

But will it give average joe the ability to kill animals from 0-350 yards and be pretty darn comfy doing it. Yep

I agree that it is more doable for 1000 bucks in the west where public land is readily available. Maybe not so much in places that it’s not.

The bigger thing is whether or not one considers 1000 bucks to be a large sum of money and that is dependent entirely on a lot of circumstances.
The median wage in the US for someone in their 20s is about 42000. Someone making the most common wage in the US, a 1000s dollars is a significant amount of up front costs compared to someone that is making 100000.
Like someone said earlier. It’s a large outlay of cash for something you may or may not enjoy. There really isn’t a cheap way to try it out either. You have to outlay the money.

It’s all doable for most people. I just think it’s the biggest barrier. Not a barrier that can’t be overcome. Just the biggest.

If we keep going down the path that we have for the last 20 years, in about 10-15, it will be the ability to get tags.

 

[Blacktip]

A big part of the equation is where you live & access, esp. here in the East.

 

[Blacktail_]

Great point.

 

[T-Rex]

I'd say hunting influencers selling new guys stuff they don't really need. You don't need a RX10, full Sitka Gear, MKC knife, Crispi boots, custom rifle, etc. to start you hunting career. You can achieve success with an $800 budget all in (plus tags of course). Adjust gear as you gain experience.

I say all that to also say, I have everything listed above ....

 

[Ralphie]

Don’t have a mentor? Oh no! . How about a man card? Start going.

Given a back bone the biggest barrier is YouTube, podcasts, all the marketing, tag and mapping services, outdoor kindergarten classes etc. In short the only real barrier is tag availability which is in the tank. We are cannibalizing our sport.

 

[Blacktail_]

Don’t have a mentor? Oh no! . How about a man card? Start going.

Given a back bone the biggest barrier is YouTube, podcasts, all the marketing, tag and mapping services, outdoor kindergarten classes etc. In short the only real barrier is tag availability which is in the tank. We are cannibalizing our sport.

Tag conversation is tricky. Everyone wants multiple tags in their pockets in multiple states, the unit to themselves, and hunting to be “as good as it used to be back in the day” but all those things cannot exist simultaneously unfortunately

 

[HunterGatherer]

If we’re talking about western hunting … 10-20 years ago I would have said knowledge and experience were the biggest barriers to entry. Now it’s more about money, or at least the perception that someone NEEDS to buy all the gear and tags to be successful.

Nowadays, Frank in Minnesota can learn A LOT about how and where to hunt elk from the comfort of his living room. Then all he has to do is use a tag service to get him into the tag game, maybe go on a guided hunt or two. Buy a calling app and learn how to call like a world champion, etc etc. Knowledge is cheap and easy now.

You can hunt ,say a mule deer, for under $1000 or you can spend $10-20k of you get talked into thinking you absolutely need everything the internet says you do…so I think money is what people think is the biggest barrier now, although it’s mostly just perception.

 

[Coveyleader]

100%, without a mentor it’s easy to never get started.

This!

 

[Steve300xcw]

The biggest barrier to entry is the initial up front cost for someone that is starting from scratch. Even low end gear is expensive when you have to buy pretty much everything.

If youre a gear junkie maybe. Plenty of tags get punched very year by folks in carharrts, work boots and a $500 rifle

 

[Hnthrdr]

Tag conversation is tricky. Everyone wants multiple tags in their pockets in multiple states, the unit to themselves, and hunting to be “as good as it used to be back in the day” but all those things cannot exist simultaneously unfortunately

The current social media ecosystem has created this. 10–15-20 years ago very very few guys were hunting 2-6 states a year with 6 -12 tags and HAVING to fill them all! Now you have to do that, hence the self licking ice cream cone that we currently have

 

[Blacktail_]

100%

 

[Blowdowner]

The biggest hurdle is the distance to good spots for people that live in built-up areas. Make sure your state fish and game department is purchasing lands closer to the suburbs.