How Cold is Too Cold for Hunters?

The survey divided hunters into six regional groups: Great Lakes States, Northeast States, Northern Plains States, South Central States, Southeast States and Western States in order to best gauge how hunters in different parts of the country to react to cold weather. Hunters polled were asked “at what temperature did it become too cold to hunt”. The findings were interesting.

There are indeed some fair weather hunters out there. Organized by region, the percentage of polled hunters who say it is too cold to hunt as temps fall to between 21 and 30 degrees were:

Great Lakes States                          3 percent
Northeast States                             5 percent
Northern Plains States                     3 percent
South Central States                      10 percent
Southeast States                             9 percent
Western States                               8 percent

By the time temperatures have fallen between 1 and 10 degrees, the percentage of hunters who choose to stay inside are:
Great Lakes States                          31 percent
Northeast States                            40 percent
Northern Plains States                    18 percent
South Central States                       51 percent
Southeast States                            52 percent
Western States                              36 percent

But the tipping point seems to be 0 degrees when across every region except the Northern Plains states an additional 25 to 32 percent of hunters report it is too cold to hunt. In the Northern Plains, another 21 percent, are choosing a warm fire over a cold deer stand or predator setup.

“Some of the findings are about what you would expect with hunters used to cold weather in the Northern states more willing to hunt in slightly colder temperatures than those hunters in the South where it rarely gets that cold,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com. “That being said, it isn’t until temperatures drop below zero that the majority of hunters nearly everywhere are ready to join their Southern brethren indoors for a hot breakfast.

Launched in 2006, AnglerSurvey.com, HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com help the outdoor equipment industry, government fisheries and wildlife officials and conservation organizations track consumer activities and expenditure trends. Survey results are scientifically analyzed to reflect the attitudes and habits of anglers and hunters across the United States. Follow them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/huntersurvey and http://facebook.com/anglersurvey or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AnglerSurvey and https://twitter.com/#!/HunterSurvey.

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