Since hunters carry guns, does the metal make them more likely to get hit by lightning?

Probably a bit: There are certainly other things that make hunters more at risk of a lightening strike: being up in a tree, being in a metal stand, holding your long metal tube/gun up in the air. I would think the safest thing to do if you are a hunter and caught in a thunder/lightening storm would be to stash your gun somewhere and get somewhere safe/safer (house, vehicle, valley/depression). Good luck!

Probably not: Hunters are usually with in a group of trees or at ground level in a field. It would be unusual for a hunter to have a gun up in the air. There could be an increased risk of lightning strike by being among trees though.

Lightning Safety: Yes. The important factor is not a direct hit but the conductivity of the metal. If one is in a situation where a lightning strike is possible, immediately discard anything metal and enter a building. If caught outside, one should crouch to the ground but do not lie down on the ground. http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/safetytips.asp

Normally, No.: Statistically, they have a better chance of being hit by another hunter, than by lightening.

Lightning ands Guns: Good day; A hunter would not be very smart to hold onto his rifle during a thunder storm. He needs to place his equipment in a dry safe place and retrieve his rife afterwards.

Probably not: I believe that statistics are worse by them getting shot by another hunter rather than getting hit by lightning. Also I would not be out in the rain with a rifle, it can get ruined with the water.

This is a question: for a meteorologist, or geologist or someone in the physical sciences. Lightning actually forms from the ground up, not the other way around. Charged air then discharges through what is formed on the ground. Anything that facilitates such grounding will attract lightning, which is why we have lightning rods. You don't want to be a lightning rod, so put your metal gun down in a chargedstorm