TEXAS FEMALES WHO HUNT

We examined the hunting behaviors of Texas females and Texas males (a previous study). A self-administered mail-out questionnaire was sent t o 2,200 females who had purchased hunting licenses to determine huntin g initiation patterns, motivations, and constraints. Final effective r esponse rate was 33% (sampling error +/-3.5%, alpha less than or equal to 0.05). The hunting-license-purchasers list was not an accurate rep resentation of the population of Texas women who hunt because 18-30% o f the names were invalid. There were significant (P < 0.01) difference s between female and male hunters in initiation ages and hunting instr uctors. No differences were found between groups in achievement-orient ed hunting motivations. Structural and interpersonal constraints contr ibuted more than intrapersonal constraints to a significant (P < 0.05) variation among females' hunting experience. Texas females who hunt w ere initiated into hunting by husbands; motivated to hunt because of a chievement, affiliative, and appreciative reasons; and confronted few barriers to participation. Family participation in hunting was linked closely to respondent participation. Future hunting recruitment effort s targeting females should focus on the familial and affiliative aspec ts of hunting.