Survey says firearms deer hunting leads to less violence

...Niekamp determined there are roughly 12 percent fewer violent crimes on the first two days of firearm season than otherwise in rural areas.

At the same time, the study also found that alcohol-related arrests of juvenile males fall by 22 percent and narcotic offenses fall by 15 percent at the start of hunting season. That, he said, suggests firearm hunting may have “positive effects on behavior.”

“The results of this paper provide strong evidence that enormous increases in recreational long gun prevalence are not associated with any increase in violent crime,” he said. “In the least populous areas, where long gun prevalence increased 530 percent, estimates suggest that male violent crime actually decreased.” ..


...Possible reasons

Overall, Niekamp advanced three possible reasons for why crime goes down when hunting participation goes up.

First, hunting is a time-consuming activity that is inherently incapacitating, which may decrease crime.

“Various sources of deer hunter data suggest that hunters spend upwards of six hours per day in the field, with additional time spent processing harvested deer. Males may be too preoccupied to use their guns nefarious purposes,” he said.

Second, hunters may face more regulation than other gun owners.

Previous surveys revealed that only 61 percent of firearms owners got any instruction in how to use their gun, Niekamp said. By comparison, all hunters undergo hunter education training.

Hunters have to buy licenses, too, something that requires entering their name into a state database. People who came by guns illegally aren’t likely to submit to that, he said.

All that may “improve firearm etiquette and discourage high-risk individuals from hunting,” Niekamp said.

And third, rural Americans own different guns for different reasons than the population average. Rural Americans, Niekamp said, are twice as likely as urban Americans to own a firearm. But they are also more likely to own long guns used for hunting, protection from animals and sporting use.

And there may be more.

“Another reason that hunters may be a low-risk sample is that patient individuals may select into deer hunting,” Niekamp said. “Deer hunting is often characterized as an activity in which an individual sits in a tree stand for hours on end, waiting for a deer to walk by. It is possible that only patient individuals are willing to participate in this gun-related recreational activity.”

There’s also some truth, it seems to those bumper stickers reading like “hunt with your kids, not for them.”

Niekamp said in rural areas, additional recreational opportunities like hunting may assist in keeping juveniles out of trouble.