It is not a competition (sport) it's a way of life. If you want to call it anything else try...."pastime" but never a sport!!!
If you didn't have the thrill of the chase, the years of practice it takes to become great, the growing as a hunter, etc... etc... Would you still do it?
If you knew that you could go out into the woods and that big ole buck was just waiting for you to shoot him would you still do it?
No matter how you look at it hunting is a sport. It can also be a lifestyle, a way of life, a passion, a obsession, etc... but it is definitely a sport.