Getting Started in the Hunting Industry

Ryan Barnes for SPLIT REED

So you want to give it a shot. You’ve been hunting for awhile now, you’re a motivated person, with lots of ambition. You have the drive and the desire, and you want to try your hand in the hunting industry. Well, here’s the bad news; very, very few people get to be the “professional hunter” that you see on TV, or that you see blowing up your Instagram feed. The reality is, most people in the hunting industry have a job that requires working hours not much different than what you’re probably working right now. If you’re still in school- don’t expect a job in the industry to be an easy way out of having to actually show up to work everyday.

First and foremost, you need to decide what you want to do in the hunting industry. Do you want to guide? Do you want to work for a certain product or company? Do you want to start your own apparel company? Do you want to get into the marketing side of things? All of these scenarios have small nuances to the hunting industry that are extremely different to another. And within each company, the jobs may differ drastically one to another. For example, being a guide will require a much different workload than being someone who designs the artwork for that outfitter’s t-shirts that sell online (and the pay will be varied quite a bit as well).

The first thing that I would recommend to anyone wanting to get into the hunting industry is identify what you’re trying to do. Whether that be call making, decoy carving, film-making etc. Once you’ve done that, start talking to some people in the industry. If you’re wanting to start your own custom lanyard company, reach out to some guys and see what they have to say about the line of work. Don’t just choose one, though. Choose a few to talk to. That way you can get an honest idea of what the business is like. You’ll have some answers as to whether it’s over-saturated, extremely niche, or whether you could really find some success. One thing that we have going for us is most hunters are nice enough to help each other out. From there decide what is going to be unique about your company. In the example of starting a lanyard company- what would set your lanyards apart and bring customers to you? Every company has to ask themselves that question. Products that are a “dime-a-dozen”, don’t last long in any industry. You have to bring something new to the table. Something that makes people go, “I haven’t seen this before, I like it”. That’s what makes new businesses successful, and keeps them successful.

But starting your own business in the hunting industry can be risky, and can take years to get going (if it ever does take off). So what about the option of working for an already existing and known company? Here’s my second tip to getting started in the hunting industry, and it applies to applying for a job with a company, or starting your own. But learn and study business marketing strategies! Let’s make up another hypothetical scenario here. Say you apply to work for a well established hunting company, that sells everything from coffee mugs to boat blinds. They probably don’t care how many pile pics are on your Instagram. What they will care about is whether or not you can use their Instagram or social media platforms to help market to their customers. The term “the kill” means something totally different in this arena of the hunting industry. So much of this side of the industry today is marketing. If you want to truly work in this side of things, learn how to market to the mob. Watch videos, study the companies that do it well (Dive Bomb Industries could have a college course modeled after their marketing strategy). So that way when you’re interviewing for this job at our hypothetical hunting company, and you’re asked how you would market a new product they’re releasing the next year, you have an idea of how to properly answer. You can’t say, “I have no idea how to sell your product, but I killed over 300 birds last year”. That won’t work anywhere, which brings me to my third tip.

Develop a marketable skill that isn’t just killing waterfowl. Think of all the big names in the waterfowl hunting industry right now, where did they get their starts? Contest calling. Filming hunts. Decoy carving. Photography. All things tied to waterfowl hunting, but none of which involve piling up birds. It may sound weird, but develop a skill in the hunting world that will allow you to market yourself to companies (or market yourself as you start your own company) that can be done without a shotgun in your hands. There’s a reason most guys that win world contest calling titles end up working for call companies, or guys that take world class photos end up working for companies that sell hunting equipment. A dead goose doesn’t really do any good for a company, but a high quality video of that goose coming into the decoys, that can do a lot of good for a company. So start developing a skill that will set you apart from the crowd when trying to get into the industry.

My last bit of advice is probably the most important. Honestly decide if you want to work in the hunting industry. Do you want your hobby to be your job? Surprisingly enough I’ve met people who work in the industry that hate it. Because they love to hunt, but they can’t stand the work they do, and not that the two are inseparable. So before you decide to dive head-first into this, make sure this is something you truly want to be involved in. Then from there, network, use your talents and abilities, and see where the amazing world of hunting can take you!

Want to get a glimpse into the life of the guides of some of the best waterfowl outfits in the country? Check out our Trusted Outfitters here, and book a trip for the memory books!