Why do hunters skybust? Personal disposition or social influence

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores two explanations for why waterfowl hunters sometimes shoot at birds flying beyond the range of their guns. One explanation argues that skybusting is perpetrated by “slob”; hunters who lack the ethical sensitivities of the sport hunter. Another explanation argues that skybusting occurs in a socially ambiguous field setting where hunters are influenced by emergent norms of appropriate shot distance established by nearby hunters. This “person vs. situation”; framework was tested using data from goose hunters at the Grand River Marsh in Wisconsin. The study tested the effects of person variables (shooter, crippler) and situational variables (density, perceived crowding, competition, and social influence) on skybusting. The results supported the social influence explanation. Hunter competition and other nearby hunters’ skybusting had significant effects on skybusting. The “slob”; hunter variables, along with density and crowding, did not have significant effects. These results suggest skybusting is caused by social pressures rather than personal qualities of the individual.