Is Hunting a Sport? 5 Things to Know

There’s a lot of talk about hunting being a sport. Some people might not see it this way and be confused by that title. There are a number of good reasons to think of hunting as a sport, though.

We’re going to take a look at the history of hunting, some of the activities that it includes, and include a few facts that might make you understand the nature of hunting as a sport.

So, is hunting a sport? Let’s get started.

1. Hunting Is Not a “Traditional Sport”

In the way that we conceive of traditional sports, hunting doesn’t fit the mold. In most cases, a sport requires that two or more parties compete against each other in a way that requires skill.

Think of tennis, baseball, or football, and you see two groups going against each other with a specific set of rules or guidelines. In the case of hunting, there typically isn’t an opponent or an official watching your every move.

In the case of hunting, “sport” should be used in the more spiritual and sacred sense. Originally, the word sport denoted a pleasant pastime that required some measure of physical activity.

In that way, hunting does meet the description. The animal you’re hunting isn’t an opponent, but a means to survival. You’re “sporting,” sure, but you’re not necessarily playing a traditional sport.

2. There Are Competitions

In some instances, a hunter or fisherman might actually be competing against another person. Sport fishermen, for example, draw big crowds and generate a lot of interest.

The competition seeks to identify those who are able to catch the most fish in a contained area over a finite period of time. There are also national big game competitions that reward the individuals who hunt the largest animals of various categories.

You can win competitions for shooting the largest moose, elk, antelope, deer, and more. In that sense, one is competing against other individuals in the general sense.

The other competitors aren’t with you as you hunt, but you’re operating under the same guidelines and expectations as you try to out-hunt them.

3. Some Sports Derive From Hunting

If you look into the games that have always been included in the Olympics, many of them take their form from hunting practices.

Take spear or javelin throwing, for example. There’s no application for that in the outside world other than trying to hunt an animal or person. Long-distance throwing was one of the skills that set humans aside from other animals in the search for survival.

Even long-running can be traced back to hunting in some sense. While running for long distances is a great way to exercise for modern humans, doing so without a purpose would have been very dangerous in ancient times.

Food was scarce, and the energy you did have had to be directed toward finding food or setting up protection. An individual who could run the farthest without getting tired would likely be the one tasked with hunting down big game.

Humans can run at a steady pace while tracking an animal, eventually chasing the creature so long that it gets tired and ceases to run. That’s one method of hunting things like deer, antelope, and other similar animals.

4. Be Mindful of Hunting Laws

One thing that separates normal sports from hunting is the fact that there are more laws and guidelines to adhere to. The rules of a traditional sport are invented by the individuals playing the sport, but there’s no legal authority in place to monitor that behavior.

In the case of professional sports, massive penalties are in place for those who cheat, but those don’t tend to come along with legal repercussions. That’s especially true in amateur sporting events.

With hunting, though, every individual has to abide by the law. If you don’t you can face serious legal consequences. Many of the laws seek to keep populations of various species in check and healthy. In some cases, hunting is the humane thing to do, as there are too many individuals in a population for the group to thrive.

An excess of a particular population is bad for the larger ecosystem as well. Too many deer might lay waste to their food source, preventing it from coming back the next year, and eliminating food for the other creatures that eat the same thing. The ripple continues down the line and a lot of animals will suffer.

The same thing happens if an animal is over-hunted as well. If there are no deer in a population, predators won’t have a food source, and they’ll start acting out in unusual ways.

These laws also seek to ensure the humane treatment of wild animals. Those who would harm or leave wounded animals to die will face significant fines.

So, the “sport” of hunting comes along with a lot more responsibility on the part of the sportsman than with other sports.

5. Trap Shooting and Archery

Even though hunting animals isn’t a traditional sport, there are a lot of activities that are almost identical. Subtract the animal from the equation, and you get archery competitions, trap shooting, and other shooting sports.

These activities are sports by any definition of the word. You’re competing against a set of other individuals in a game of skill. Those skills, just like the ones discussed above, come straight from the practice of hunting and killing animals.

It’s more humane to have a sport that doesn’t require that something else dies, of course, which is why those activities are wrapped into competitions like the Olympics. They’re also televised in a lot of areas, which is something that wouldn’t be as common if the games involved true hunting.

You can read more about different equipment and options for using guns if these games are something you’re interested in.

Is Hunting a Sport for You?

So, the answer to “is hunting a sport” can be a little complicated. In some ways, it’s not a sport in the sense that we normally think of competition. In other ways, holds an important place in the idea of sports in general.

It’s a fun activity to get involved with and learn about, though, and we’re here to help. Explore our site for more ideas on sporting, shooting, hunting safety guidelines, and much more.