Hunting is an important part of Texas culture and the Texas economy. The opportunity to enjoy nature and wildlife, spend time with family and friends, and perhaps harvest a trophy animal attracts hunters from across the state and US to rural counties in particular.
These hunters spend money on hunting fees, food, lodging, gasoline, retail purchases, and other expenditures.
McCulloch County welcomes hunters by hosting the Heart of Texas Hunters
Appreciation Dinner. In 2010, about 400 people attended the event and received approximately $18,000 in prizes. Event organizers surveyed 71 attendees about their hunting habits and expenditures. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported hunting or lodging within McCulloch County. Seventy-two percent of those surveyed were non-local (not residents of McCulloch County). When local residents hunt, they may be redirecting their expenditures from another local activity, although hunting at home may prevent locals from spending money outside the county. Expenditures by non-locals are new money in the county economy.
Table 1. Average spending by local, non-local, and all hunters in McCulloch County.
Category Spending by
Local Hunters
Spending by Non-
Local Hunters
Spending by All
Hunters
Hunt fees
Food service
Auto expenses
Lodging
Retail
Miscellaneous items
McCulloch County
Overall Total
% of spending in
McCulloch County
$1,476.76
$172.01
$150.05
$1.25
$186.75
$159.32
$2,146.14
$2,345.89
91.5%
$371.92
$52.84
$177.47
$10.35
$113.16
$69.00
$794.74
$941.83
84.4%
$687.59
$86.89
$169.63
$7.75
$134.19
$94.81
$1,180.86
$1,342.99
87.9%
Table 1 shows the average reported spending of hunters in McCulloch County. The average visiting hunter spent $794.74 annually in
McCulloch County. The average non-local hunter spent an additional $147.09 outside McCulloch
County, for a total average annual hunting expenditure of $941.83. The average local hunter spent $2,146.14 on hunting annually in the county, with some local sportsmen reporting large hunting fees, perhaps mortgages on hunting land. The average reported hunting expenditure across both local and visiting hunters in McCulloch
County was $1,180.86.

However, direct spending by hunters is not the only benefit to the local economy. A hunter’s direct expenditure at a local store, café, or hotel is multiplied as firms purchase inputs (indirect effect) and pay employees who also make regional purchases (induced effect). The total effect on employment, labor income, value added (contribution to gross regional product), and output in the county is greater than the initial dollar spent. Of course, some of the original expenditure leaks out of the regional economy, for example as inventory is imported from other regions, employees commute from other regions, and businesses and households pay state and federal taxes.
Table 2. Economic Impact of Non-Local Hunters to the McCulloch County Economy.
Employment Labor Income Value Added Output
Direct Effect
Total Effect
2.3
3.1
$59,200
$82,000
$96,100
$143,200
$ 228,300
$ 307,200
Hunting by non-local game dinner attendees alone contributed 2.3 direct full- and part-time jobs and $228,300 in gross sales (output) in McCulloch County (Table 2). Using the
IMPLAN modeling system (Minnesota IMPLAN Group, 2010, Hudson, WI), these visiting hunters expenditures resulted in 3.1 jobs across the entire economy. The $307,200 in gross sales generated across the economy included a $143,200 impact on gross regional product (value added) and $82,000 in labor income. Labor income is a subset of value added, which is part of output, so these figures cannot be summed.
Table 3. Economic Contribution of All Hunters to the McCulloch County Economy.
Employment Labor Income Value Added
Direct Effect
Total Effect
4.0
5.8
$94,400
$144,600
$152,400
$257,100
Output
$ 472,300
$ 646,600
Most survey respondents were McCulloch County residents. Although residents’ hunting expenditures do not represent new economic activity, they do make a contribution to the local economy. When local and non-local game dinner attendees’ expenditures were combined, they supported 4.0 direct jobs and $472,300 in output in
McCulloch County (Table 3). These overall expenditures contributed 5.8 jobs, $144,600 in labor income, $257,100 in value added, and $646,600 in output across the entire economy annually.
Of course, these figures represent only the economic contributions of hunters attending the game dinner. Hunting expenditures and economic contributions by all hunters over the year are likely larger. The average hunter reported hunting 28.2 days over the year. Most survey respondents (52.1%) owned their hunting land, 40.8% leased hunting land, 35.2% visited hunting land as a guest or family member, and 2.8% hunted public lands.
The average hunting party included 5.5 people, and the average survey respondent traveled 203.7 miles to attend the game dinner. The most popular reason for hunting in
McCulloch County was spending time with family and friends (73.2% of survey respondents). Seeing vast quantities of wildlife (56.3%) and enjoying the rural atmosphere
(52.1%) were other popular reasons for hunting in the county.
The opportunity to harvest a trophy animal was an important consideration for 50.7% of respondents.
Rebekka Dudensing and Vance Christie CED11-11 June 2011