-- Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service takes the pulse of American hunters and anglers through its National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

Results of the latest survey, just released, show that 37.8 million of us like to hunt and fish, but there are 6 percent fewer of us than in 2001, the last survey period. The good news is hunters aren't leaving the sport as fast as they did in the 1990s, and big game hunting is remaining stable.

The survey also breaks down hunting by the type of game pursued and the number of days spent in that search. The white-tailed deer continues to be far and above the most popular game animal in the U.S., with 12.5 million of us spending 132 million days afield. No other hunting activity even comes close.

I'll give you a moment to guess the second most popular game animal in the U.S. Hint: It's not elk. It's the wild turkey, with 2.6 million of us trying to coax a gobbler in shooting range each spring and fall.

No. 3 on the wild game hit parade is the rabbit, with 1.9 million participants, followed by 1.8 million hunters of red and gray squirrels, 1.6 million pheasant hunters, 1.2 million dove hunters, 1.1 million duck hunters, 1 million bobwhite quail hunters, 800,000 elk hunters and 800,000 grouse/prairie chicken hunters. Coming in last is bear hunting, with 0.4 million participants.

Here are some other recent snapshots of American hunters:

* Most hunters are high school graduates or have attended 1 to 3 years of college.
* 1 in 4 big game hunters pursue deer on public land.
* More females are hunting, comprising 9 percent of the hunting population.
* The number of days spent hunting actually went up in 2006 compared to the last survey period.
* Hunters and anglers spent $40 billion on equipment and $24.6 billion on food, lodging and transportation.
* Although wildlife watchers outnumber hunters and anglers by more than 37 million, expenditures by sportsmen are greater. Sportsmen spent $76.6 billion on travel and equipment in 2006, while $45.7 billion went to feeding, observing and photographing wildlife that same year.