Content Analysis of Three Waterfowl Hunting DVDs

Waterfowl hunting product manufacturers have determined that a market exists for waterfowl hunting videos. Viewing these videos could have meaningful effects on hunters who watch them. We conducted a content analysis of three waterfowl hunting videos. The most frequently spoken word was “kill” for two of the videos and “ducks” for the third video. Less than 5% of each movie was attributed to shooting, and when hunters did shoot, the average length of each shooting scene was 1.77 seconds. There were significant differences among videos in the number of shots taken per scene and number of birds harvested per scene. Overall, success rates in the videos differed from the average success rates for Illinois hunters. We stress the importance of understanding the influence of media on development among hunters and discuss how effects of media may impact wildlife agencies in the future.