Description
Hunt, track, and harvest wild game for food, fur, population management, or nuisance control. Use firearms, bows, traps, calls, and related gear to locate, pursue, recover, and process quarry while complying with wildlife laws and safety standards.
- • Patrol trap lines to inspect sets, remove catch, and reset or relocate traps.
- • Obtain permission from landowners to hunt or trap on their land.
- • Secure required licenses, tags, permits, and access passes.
- • Travel by foot, vehicle, boat, snowmobile, or aircraft to reach hunting areas.
- • Operate GPS, maps, and compasses to navigate terrain and plan routes.
- • Scout habitats and locate game using sign, optics, calls, trail cameras, and GPS data.
- • Track animals by observing droppings, tracks, bedding, and vegetation disturbance.
- • Set blinds, tree stands, and decoy spreads in locations based on wind and animal patterns.
- • Select, bait, and set traps or snares according to target species and regulations.
- • Obtain approvals for using traps or toxicants where legal, and notify affected parties.
- • Practice firearm and archery safety; load, carry, and store weapons and ammunition properly.
- • Maintain and repair firearms, bows, traps, stands, and other hunting gear.
- • Maintain vehicles, ATVs, boats, and field equipment and perform minor repairs.
- • Interpret weather, wind, terrain, and animal behavior to choose tactics and ensure safety.
- • Identify species and verify sex, season, and bag limits; tag and document harvests as required.
- • Stalk, call, ambush, or drive game using lawful and ethical methods.
- • Dispatch trapped or wounded animals humanely, following legal and ethical standards.
- • Release non-target animals safely from traps or snares.
- • Field dress, bleed, quarter, and pack out game to preserve meat quality.
- • Skin quarry and stretch pelts on frames to be cured.
- • Scrape fat and flesh from skins with knives or hand scrapers.
- • Wash and sort pelts by species, color, and quality.
- • Chill, package, and store meat and hides to prevent spoilage.
- • Transport harvested game, pelts, and byproducts to processors or buyers.
- • Clean and sanitize knives, tools, vehicles, and work areas.
- • Attach lures, swivels, anchors, tags, and markers to traps or sets.
- • Load and unload gear, decoys, blinds, bait, and supplies by hand or with hoists.
- • Lead or coordinate hunting operations and supervise assistants or clients.
- • Teach or guide individuals or groups in hunting methods, safety, and ethics.
- • Participate in animal damage control, wildlife management, disease control, and research activities.
- • Keep harvest logs, trap-check records, and land access agreements; report data to agencies.
- • Purchase and manage supplies, ammunition, bait, and equipment.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
