FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Global warming may be a hot topic in the news, but for millions of Americans, this past winter has been anything but warm. Wintery weather has blanketed many parts of the country in snow and ice with everything from Augusta, GA, to Augusta ME, feeling the impact. But for hunters, traditionally considered a hearty crowd for their perceived ability to rough bad winter weather, how cold is too cold to keep hunting? According to a recent HunterSurvey.com poll, the majority of hunters are still willing to hit the woods even as temps plunge into the single digits. But when it drops below zero, most agree, it’s time to call it quits.
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 atHunterSurvey.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.”
