Kentucky’s Bow Season for deer is underway and represents just one aspect of a $770 million dollar industry for the state. Richard Aiken is an Economist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Aiken reports of the 347,000 hunters in the state, 301,000 of them hunt for deer, where the other majority hunt for Turkey.
“For the country as a whole we found that 13.7 million hunters spent almost $34 billion dollars on things like food and lodging and of course all the equipment that they have to buy, so it adds up pretty quick almost $2,500 per hunter. And Kentucky, is right there in line with the country as a whole.” Aiken said.
According to Aiken hunting hit its high point in the late 90’s but has remained steady, except the demographic seems to get older.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Garry Clark says the younger hunters practiced for the deer bow season with an unlikely species, Asian Carp. He says since all game hunting is pretty much out of season during the summer more hunters are night bowfishing. Clark says it’s cooler in the evenings and it’s something to do when school lets out.
According to a "Hunting in America" study, Hunting supports more than 680,000 jobs each year in the US..
