Although there continues to be a recurring debate surrounding the issues of firearms and sport hunting these days, one of the most important benefits that sportsmen and women derive from the hunt is often overlooked.

While most enthusiasts recognize the nutritional value that fresh, all-natural, free-range, low cholesterol game meat provides, the additional mental and physical health benefits of the sport are rarely taken into consideration.

From a recreational perspective, very few activities provide the wide spectrum of nutritional, physical, social and intellectual problem-solving benefits that hunting offers.

While some may argue that sitting in a blind while hunting waterfowl is not really the most physically challenging activity, there is usually a considerable cardiovascular workout involved in hauling out the decoys, setting up the blind and fending off the wet, cold inhospitable conditions that are inherent to the sport.

Regardless of what type of game that is pursued, hunting requires a considerable degree of physical activity. Although the sport does require long periods of sitting quietly and motionless, hunters rarely have an opportunity to rest, as they must always concentrate and remain focused on their quarry. It only takes a simple flinch, a sneeze or the movement necessary to scratch an itch to spook off a deer, turkey or similar wild game.

While on the hunt, participants must concentrate and remain focused on the task at hand. It is an activity that requires patience, persistence and long periods of boredom. However, it can also be physically and mentally challenging, especially when confronted with foul weather, rugged topography and unpredictable game animals that have extraordinary senses and incomparable physical abilities.

Most hunters spend a lot of time in the field during the preseason preparing blinds, scouting the woods, target shooting and gearing up for opening day. Waterfowlers and upland birders also spend a good deal of time training and exercising their dogs.

Hunting is an all-natural physical activity that may be pursued alone, with friends or with family. The majority of hunters report that they first learned how to hunt from a family member or a close family friend, and they continue to enjoy the quality family-time that the sport provides.

It’s easy to get to know someone when you spend a fair bit of time walking the woods together. Many enjoy the challenges that temperature, inclement weather and varying terrain add to their hunting adventures.

In addition to the wide spectrum of physical and social benefits, hunting also provides participants with a wide variety of emotional health benefits. Many hunters report that they are more relaxed and stress free while in camp.

Hunting provides them with an opportunity to get away from it all, and forget all the troubles, traffic and tough times that can be left behind, if only for a weekend.

When your entire mental and physical facilities are focused on the simple flicker of a tail, the orb of a black nose or the grunt of a buck, the stress and concerns of everyday existence tend to fall away like the leaves of a poplar. In such a moment, nothing else matters; all of your attention is focused on the task at hand.

It will require keen eyes, immediate action and instant decision making, which must be accomplished while dealing with a rush of adrenaline and the potential flight of an animal that has the ability to go from zero to 60 in less time than it takes you to sneeze.

While considering the situation, it is quite easy to understand the unrealized therapeutic benefits and relaxed demeanors that are often the result of a hunt. When we are out hunting with family or friends, we are recreating a natural experience that is as old as mankind.

The objective of hunting is, after all, to bring home game meat, which is generally a lean protein that’s low in fat. Game birds, such as ruffed grouse, ducks, geese and pheasants are all-natural, lean meats too.

In fact, it appears to be a very good year for grouse, which always seem to appear in large numbers when you have a deer rifle in your hands, rather than a shotgun.

However, there are a host of benefits that many non-hunters have never considered, such as the connection with friends and family that the shared experience provides.

Hunting camp is quite possibly the most unique social setting that a hunter or non-hunter will ever experience. It provides participants with an opportunity to experience an authentic pack mentality with true life and death consequences.

For many, it can be a life-changing experience. The myriad of physical benefits resulting from hunting are considerable and often unrealized. However, hunting improves physical balance and targets the core muscles that support proper posture. It is a physically demanding activity that allows participants to escape the sedentary lifestyle and take part in an active, healthy pursuit.

It can be very physically challenging. Just carrying a 12-pound rifle around all day is a chore, but the arduous pleasure of dragging a 175-pound sack of bones and meat through several miles of rough country is a study in perseverance, sweat and swearing.

A recent study reveals that outdoor exercise is associated with greater decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression as compared to indoor activity. A 2010 study indicates that just five minutes of exercise conducted in green space can improve our overall mood and self-esteem.

Hunting also increases mental discipline, as it is primarily a mental sport. Experienced hunters claim it is 90 percent mental, 9 percent skill and 1 percent luck, although the numbers are easily reversed based on terrain, weather and the hunter’s physical constitution.

There is no doubt hunting impacts our concentration, which is constantly sharpened and tested. The activity also requires problem-solving activities, logic, creative thinking and, most importantly, the ability to make an instant decision. It is, after all, a pursuit that’s truly a matter of life and death, which very few recreational activities can provide.