This report provides a comprehensive analysis of big game and upland game hunting-related expenditures in 2020. Big game hunting includes hunts for Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, mountain goat, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep (Desert (Nelson), Rocky Mountain, California), and black bear. Upland game refers to birds including quail (California, Gambel’s, and Mountain), pheasant, chukar, Hungarian partridge, sage grouse, dusky grouse, sooty grouse, and ruffed grouse. This research was conducted in partnership with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), who manages both big game and upland game hunting in Nevada.1 This report is the first comprehensive study of big game hunting-related expenditures, specifically for Nevada, since 1988 and is the first study ever of upland game hunting-related expenditures in Nevada.

The analysis combines administrative data from NDOW with data from two NDOW-administered email surveys to estimate (i) total big game hunting expenditures in Nevada in 2020, including expenditures on pre-hunting scouting trips, post-hunt expenditures, and expenditures by non-tag holding guests; (ii) total number of upland game hunting days in 2020; (iii) total upland game hunting expenditures in Nevada in 2020; (iv) total expenditure on large items purchased for hunting in Nevada in 2020 (e.g., firearms, off-highway vehicles). The analysis considers how hunting-related expenditures depend on the target animal’s species and class, differ between resident and nonresident hunters, and how big game hunting expenditures changed between 2019 and 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hunting in Nevada. This report also includes hunter demographic information.

This report focuses on hunting-related expenditures at the state level; a companion report provides estimates of the total economic and fiscal impact of hunting for Nevada and its counties and explores opportunities to increase the share of total hunting-related expenditures captured by businesses in rural Nevada.

Main findings on hunter expenditures in Nevada include:

• An estimated 469,970 big game effort days (includes hunting and scouting days of tag holders and guests) in Nevada in 2020 generated an estimated $80,700,891 in total expenditures in Nevada.
• An estimated 209,110 upland game hunting days in Nevada in 2020 generated an estimated $39,119,115 in total expenditures in Nevada.
• Total estimated expenditure on large items purchased for the main purpose of hunting in Nevada in 2020 is $259,652,223.

Additional significant findings include:

• There are significant differences in total tag-related expenditures among big game species, ranging from $1,190 per tag for female antelope2 to nearly $6,000 per tag for antlered elk, and over $8,000 per tag for ram bighorn sheep for Nevada resident hunters, see Section 1.1 for the definition of big game tag.
• While nonresident hunters spend more per tag than resident hunters, resident hunters have higher total spending per tag that takes place in Nevada. Nonresident hunters spend a significant amount before leaving their home state, while resident hunters make almost all their tag-related expenditures in Nevada.
• The COVID-19 pandemic had no significant impact on big game hunting expenditures. The average number of hunting and scouting days stayed close to constant between in 2019 and 2020, while the average group size and expenditures on gear increased slightly in 2020.

For the complete (51pg.) report including information on big game and general hunting, use the link below to download the PDF.

Published by: A Bowman, M. Taylor, B. Borden, 2022, Hunter Expenditure in Nevada, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno

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