Starvin Larry

Hey, hunters — you might not realize this, but you’re business tycoons!

That’s right. If hunting were a corporation, it would occupy the 73rd spot on the Fortune 500 list of top U.S. businesses.

According to a report compiled recently by the National Shooting Sports Association, hunters spent $38.3 billion on their favorite pastime in 2011, the last year for which complete figures were available.

That’s more money than Google ($37.9 billion) or Goldman Sachs ($36.8 billion) managed to earn.

The $38.3 billion represents expenditures on hunting equipment, licenses, ammunition, food, lodging and other associated costs. And, to the surveyors’ credit, the total represents money actually spent, not a bunch of phony-baloney “multipliers” designed to exaggerate true economic impact.

What does it mean? There are 311 million Americans, and they spent an average of $123.15 apiece on hunting.

Why did they do it? Well, they appear to know what many Americans seem to miss — that while it’s possible to spend a lot of money on hunting, as a whole it’s one of the more affordable recreational pastimes.

According to the NSSF study, an average day of turkey hunting costs $37.54, which includes a license and a few shotgun shells. By contrast, an average round of golf — greens fees and a sleeve of golf balls — costs $72.54; and an average day at a Major League ballpark — ticket, parking, a hot dog and a drink — costs $57.45.

– See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141025/GZ07/141029369#sthash.1oLkUVGe.dpuf