The regulations for what kind of handgun constitutes “any legal weapon” (i.e. any weapon that is “legal” to take certain types of game) for big game in Nevada not only specifies minimum barrel length and caliber - but overall cartridge length. IIRC, some .357 loads meet the criteria, some don’t. So you have to be careful on exactly what type of ammunition you use as well.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. You also have to know minutia such as exactly when the sun sets (it’s illegal to hunt most game after sundown), EXACTLY where you are if you’re hunting anything that requires a tag (states typically issue a tag for certain “game units”, which often have irregular boundaries - and god help you if you shoot an animal in the unit you have a tag for and it runs into another unit you don’t have a tag for before expiring, and a game warden catches you gutting it in the other unit or trying to haul it back over the boundary), and dozens of other little bits of information that a sportsman is required to know to stay on the right side of the law.

As for the barriers to getting into hunting: I sympathize with you. I didn’t realize how ridiculous some of the hunting regulations were until I tried to get my friends to go hunting with me, and I had to explain them. Heck, I’m not quite sure if I committed a crime by euthanizing a rabid raccoon a few weeks ago, and I’m in Arkansas. I shudder to think what it’s like in other parts of the country.

As for The Gun Guys, Gonzo is a paid shill, and most of his claims range from ridiculous to outright false, so why pay any attention to him?

I’m a hunter myself, but lately I simply haven’t had time. College has kept me busy, and even if I could shoehorn in more time for it, it’d be absurdly expensive, as I’m living out of state. States typically charge non-residents many times more for things like licenses and tags.

I’m not alone in this. Increasing demands on people’s time usually means hunting falls by the wayside, and the ever-rising costs of hunting licenses and tags aren’t helping either.

Additionally, it’s becoming harder and harder to find places to hunt. This is especially true in the eastern US, but not as bad as out west. Lack of access to land to hunt on is strangling the sport in many areas. I’m lucky in that I live in an area where I have access to a large amount of unrestricted public lands; many are not so lucky.

Finally, the sport is not portrayed very well in the media, and elitists like Bob Ritter don’t help things at all, either.

It’s possible that some of these things can be turned around with enough effort, such as media portrayal and fees, but things like lack of access to hunting lands are not something that’s going to be easy to fix.

Pay a lot of attention to the local laws, though. There can be some rather hefty requirements as to what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and what licensing fees you have to pay. I know Ohio had a lot of places with hefty firearms discharge laws that were only recently over-ridden, and I still would prefer to avoid being the test case. Your local WalMart should have guides and sell licenses, if they sell firearms, as would most rifle shops.