The “Orange Army” is an Economic Force that Provides For All Wildlife. If hunting was its own corporation, it would rank 95th on the Fortune 500 list.

By David Hart

If you have a deer tag in your wallet, you’re likely a married white male between 35 and 44. You attended college, and you and your spouse earn a combined income of $50,000 to $75,000. According to a 2006 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, you aren’t afraid to spend some of that money. The average deer hunter spent $885 on gear, guns and gadgets designed to help find, fool and kill more deer.
The orange army is an economic force unto itself. Ten million of us spent $8.9 billion on trips and equipment in 2005, the last time the USFWS examined deer hunter demographics and spending patterns. That’s more than the combined total revenue of Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops in 2013. It’s more than the entire gross domestic product of dozens of countries. If hunting was its own corporation, it would rank 95th on the Fortune 500 list, ahead of such giants as DirecTV, Time Warner Inc. and Nike. By itself, deer hunting would rank higher than nearly 200 corporations on that list. Overall, America’s hunters spent a whopping $33.7 billion in 2010, an average of more than $2,500 per person on hunting-related expenses. 

The 60 or so deer hunters who book with outfitter Gene Pearcy each season likely spend more than twice that. Like countless other outfitters who have built businesses around America’s insatiable appetite for big whitetails, Pearcy has made a career of helping hunters fulfill their dreams. Despite the lagging economy, his business is thriving. He figures his clients spend an average of $6,000 each on outfitter fees, travel, tips and other expenses. Pearcy spends that much just on food plots each year. He’s not alone. According to a 2010 USFWS survey, hunters spent $703 million, or two percent of the total expenditures, on “plantings.” That’s a lot of clover and chicory, and the Whitetail Institute, which started the food plot phenomenon in 1988, has benefitted, along with fertilizer and lime producers and many other businesses. And one thing that isn’t talked about enough is that all wildlife benefit from this effort and investment. “You have to remember that food plots don’t just benefit deer and deer hunters,” Whitetail Institute Vice-President Steve Scott said. “All wildlife that lives on the land take advantage of the food plot and habitat work conducted by deer hunters. It’s money well spent for the conservation community, and it undoubtedly benefits local economies, because people who plant food plots buy fertilizer, lime and equipment from their local farm stores.” 

Our money doesn’t just go to food plots, outfitters, Cabela’s and the hundreds of mom-and-pop hunting stores around the country. We buy licenses that pay for the agencies entrusted to manage deer and other wildlife. Ohio deer hunters, for example, spent more than $10 million on licenses in 2014, nearly one-sixth of the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s entire revenue. As with most state wildlife agencies, the money goes into the agency’s general fund, where it is used for various purposes. However, our money is vital to their missions, and much of it goes directly to deer management, recruitment programs and enforcement efforts. Wisconsin has four dedicated deer biologists on staff. The Mississippi Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks also has four biologists whose primary duties focus on deer management. We spend the rest of our money on things such as leases and land purchases, which totaled $7.1 billion for hunting in 2010. Dan Perez, who founded Whitetail Properties 11 years ago, said the recreational land business is booming and is driven largely by deer hunters. He started his company in response to the growing interest in trophy deer management and hunters seeking their own place to do it. 

Despite the protracted economic downturn, Perez said plenty of hunters are still snapping up prime deer ground in places such as Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Thanks to those of us who pay for leases and buy land and countless other deer-specific products, folks such as Perez and Pearcy have turned their passions into careers. America’s deer hunting culture has helped turn countless blue-collar workers into multi-millionaires and pseudo-celebrities. What deer hunter hasn’t at least heard the names Lee and Tiffany Lakosky, Bill Jordan or Larry Weishuhn? Perez’s entire 30-year career has revolved around whitetail deer in one form or another. Thankfully, our passion for whitetails doesn’t revolve entirely around money. Success can be found on a 9- acre lot. In other words, anyone with a battered rifle, a few shells and a deer tag can participate in one of America’s richest traditions. Some will argue that the food plot revolution and the dedicated hunters and managers that put their time, effort and money into food plots have created one of the most significant evolutions in the history of hunting. No doubt, stopping market hunting and restocking of whitetails across the country were among the most important occurrences in the history of hunting, but food plots and the hunters who plant them are making a huge difference economically for conservation and the benefit of all wildlife. Whenever an anti-hunter attempts to degrade what we love, our food plot and management efforts give us the ammunition to fire back with, “We’re putting our money where our mouths are, plus putting in our time and effort that benefits all wildlife. 

What are you doing to provide for wildlife?” Plus, folks on the fence who don’t hunt but are not anti-hunters will see our food plot efforts in an extremely positive light. Hunting is a huge business, and food plots play a big role in it, which gives us even more positive public relation benefits.