Private, Public Land and Property Size Critical for Hunters

While public land access remains a persistent and major challenge for many sportsmen, privately owned land provides the majority of opportunity for today’s hunters.

A  recent study conducted by SouthwickAssociates, a research firm that specializes in hunting, shooting, sportfishing and outdoor recreation, found that two thirds of hunters surveyed most often used privately owned properties compared to one third who utilized public lands the majority of the time.

These findings do not diminish the important role federal and state-owned lands play in providing hunting opportunities.  While public land hunters account for a quarter of the overall sportsmen surveyed, they still far outnumber those who hunt land they own or lease. In fact, public land hunters outnumber them even when combined. Only those who hunted a friend or family member’s land outnumbered public land hunters.  The breakdown by type of land hunted was as follows:

I hunted most often on a friend or family member’s property – 39 percent
I hunted most often on public property – 30 percent
I hunted most often on property I own – 16 percent
I hunted most often on property I lease –11 percent
I hunted other types of land most often (employers properties, out-of-country, etc.) – 5 percent

 “Both private and public land access remains critical in providing opportunity for our nation’s hunters,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates.   “With half of all hunters dependent on lands owned by others, the results also underscore the importance of encouraging private landowners to permit free or fee hunting on their properties if America’s hunting heritage is to be maintained.”

As part of that same survey, hunters were asked to describe the size of the property they hunted the past 12 months. Forty percent said they hunt lands less than 100 acres in size, while another 21 percent hunt lands between 100 acres and 200 acres. Only 39 percent of those hunters surveyed hunted lands larger than 200 acres.
For information on how to participate in the Southwick bi-monthly surveys visit HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and/orAnglerSurvey.com. Participants who complete the surveys are entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift certificates to the sporting goods retailer of their choice.