With several hunting and fishing activities beginning to enter one of the busiest times of the year for North Carolina’s outdoorsmen, one could wonder just what all these outdoor sports means to the economy of our state. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s report on the economics of hunting and fishing on our economy is interesting. The amount of dollars spent in our state by hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers alone is staggering.

The most recent and detailed report by the Southwick Association of Fernandenia Beach Florida for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission was carried out a few years ago (2006), so it’s old by some standards. But never the less, it’s a good indication of the overall impact of outdoor activities in our state.

The report shows that resident hunters in North Carolina spent $488,139,422 during the hunting year of 2006. When you factor in the non-resident hunters expenditures of $23,496,925, the total expenditures of all hunter’s in North Carolina for 2006 totals $511,546,347.

I believe that it was the late N.C. Senator Jesse Helms, who was helping to figure out a federal budget, stated that, “When you figure in a million here and a million there, before you know it you’re talking real money.”  When you figure out how many dollars were spent by North Carolina hunters during 2006, there’s little doubt that Sen. Helms was right. North Carolina’s hunters contribute “real money” to our state’s economy.

When you think in terms of the money spent by hunters in our state, you can easily understand why some independent groups and charitable organizations are taking advantage of our hunters’ willingness to spend money to raise money for their causes. The recent opening day of dove season across North Carolina triggered (pun intended) a number of dove hunters that paid a lot of money to hunt for a day.

Many of these opening day dove hunts included breakfast, lunch and a full-blown Tar Heel pig picking for the money that the hunters “donated” for the charitable cause.

A good example of a dove hunt for the benefit of a charitable organization was conducted by the Pink Hill Ruritan International Club on the opening day of dove season. Their stated goal was to raise money for outstanding and deserving students from local schools. Adult hunters were encouraged to donate $50 each to participate in the hunt.

The Ruritan Club began setting up their tents early on the Saturday of the dove hunt, Portable pig cookers were fired-up and fried chicken was carried in to accompany the boiled potatoes and string beans. Ice chests filled with ice, cold sodas and water and a shady place to eat and rest from hunting was available to all hunters and club members.

The hunt took place on about 150 acres of croplands that had been planted in sunflowers, corn and various grains. It began at 30 minutes before sunrise and lasted until sundown (or when the hunters were too tired to hunt anymore).

Members of the Ruritan Club estimated that they had roughly 150 hunters signed up for the hunt. Estimates by late afternoon of the hunt were that the hunters harvested and average of 10 dove each. The Ruritan Club estimates that they raised about $70,000 to be used for school scholarships.

That’s a good amount for a deserving cause that also enabled a lot of dove hunters to enjoy a fine day’s shooting, a fine Eastern North Carolina barbecue and a good time trading tall-tales with their fellow hunters.