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There's a tag with 118 questions, two of which I have asked. Hunting is not explicitly listed as off-topic. A Meta answer from 2012, which has 20 upvotes, says hunting is on-topic. However, that was ten years ago. Hunting is not (currently) listed in the help center's list of on-topic topics (I don't know if it ever was) That list is clearly marked as non-exhaustive, but hunting seems like a major omission considering the wide range of topics that are included; this makes me wonder if the omission is intentional. In a comment on a question about a problem with an AR-15 that was tagged , @Willeke, a moderator, said "[H]unting and weapons are less on topic now than they once were." This question, however, wasn't really about hunting; it was a question about firearms, and only related to hunting because the OP intended to hunt with the gun. If the OP had bought the gun for any other reason, it wouldn't have affected the question or the potential answers.

Are questions specifically about hunting (not general firearms questions) still on-topic here?

If not, is there another Stack Exchange site where they are? Cooking game meat is probably on-topic on Seasoned Advice, and questions about regulations would be okay on Law, but I can't think of any sites where other hunting questions are on-topic.

If hunting is not on-topic either here or anywhere else on SE, is there a procedure for suggesting a change to a site's scope? It's a narrow enough topic that a whole site for it is probably overkill, but since we have a general "outdoors" site, excluding hunting seems odd, unless, of course, either the SE community or company do not want hunting covered on SE sites for ethical reasons. If hunting is off-topic because of ethical concerns, then we should probably explicitly say so in the Help Center.

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Personally, I think questions about hunting are (or, should be) on-topic. However, as a general user, I'd be fine when the core essence of the question/discussion revolves around hunting as an important outdoor skill, hunting methods, setups and improvisations in that regards -- most probably for survival situations.

Sadly, with the questions about firearms such as "what firearm to use to kill an animal for fun" would definitely have me repelled from the post with a feeling of disapproving if it fits the scope at The Great Outdoors.
It is easy to confuse with what is on-topic and whats not, and that is not a problem. The real problem is - people's idea of outdoors is quite broad. I had a colleague asking me if we think questions about Golf lawns are in scope or not, because it is indeed an outdoor activity. My answer is and will be NO!

We can't (and I strongly believe, we shouldn't) cover everything that happens outdoors, but we can cover all such activities that are about making an outdoor venture making one feel closer to nature, promotes/encourages a discipline (and common-sense) when outdoors and eventually make one appreciate being outdoors. Hiking, Climbing, Mountaineering, Explorations (geographical, wildlife), water-sports, and 100 such things fit the model quite well. Hunting with firearms for fun does not.

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  • What would you think about these hypothetical questions? "What types of plants attract white-tailed deer?" "How do you track an animal shot in an environment where the blood trail isn't visible?"
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 3:54
  • Or this question I asked: outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/28497/…
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 3:55
  • 1
    Similarly to this, I think questions about what gun etc are very much suited to a hunting forum (they are probably opinion-based anyway so not suitable here). Re your specific two: 1) what plants? - probably not on topic here; and 2) phrased as what signs do you use to track an animal, could be on topic
    – Rory Alsop Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 7:42
  • 1
    There are still a lot of older questions which are now seen as off topic or as iffy, and that goes for each Stack Exchange site where the visitors are now different from the early years. I feel that alle hunting specific questions are not welcomed by most of our regulars now. But questions which can also be seen as more general outdoorsy are receiver better.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 14:59
  • @RoryAlsop what if the first question was rephrased as "What are the best types of areas to hunt white-tailed deer?"
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:02
  • @Willeke so you would consider those questions off-topic, but a question e.g. about hiking as part of hunting would be okay?
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:04
  • 1
    Yes, as long as it is about hiking, not about lugging an animal out.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:06
  • @Willeke okay. Is there any particular reason hunting-specific questions should be off-topic, or have they just not been well-received by the community?
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:14
  • They have not officially been made off topic but get many close votes and (almost) no re-open votes, which the mods here see as 'no longer welcome.'
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:17
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    @Willeke from looking at the list of questions tagged hunting, most are open and have either positive or zero votes; only the AR-15 one that wasn't really about hunting has more downvotes than upvotes. I don't have enough reputation to see close votes; do most of the hunting questions have several close votes, just not enough to actually close them?
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:23
  • 2
    "What are the best types of areas to hunt X" are unlikely to be well suited here as "best" anything is usually opinion-based.
    – Rory Alsop Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:24
  • @RoryAlsop so you would consider hunting on-topic, subject to the normal limitations including questions not being opinion-based?
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 15:35
  • 1
    @WedaPashi, I just re-read your answer, and the first and last sentence seem contradictory: "Personally, I think questions about hunting are (or, should be) on-topic." "Hunting with firearms for fun does not." Do you mean that hunting is only on-topic if it falls into the categories in the rest of the first paragraph, so it's off-topic except as it relates survival situations?
    – Someone
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 16:41
  • Weda Pashi: Re golf courses: I'm going to be contrary here. I had an acquaintance who often visited Thailand and who loved golf. One day, he encountered a cobra on the golf course. So, I think a Q about cobras on golf courses would be on topic, and probably one you would jump at. Cheers!
    – ab2
    Commented Apr 1, 2023 at 19:03
  • 1
    @ab2 -- Yes, that is still on topic, because the question would still be more about snakes and not about the golf course. So for example "I saw this bird/lizard/gecko/snake on a golf course, what factor may have make it to come there?" will be on-topic. But "Hey, how to DIY and install an outdoor wind-measurer for golf course?" would be testing the boundaries.
    – WedaPashi Mod
    Commented Apr 3, 2023 at 5:01

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