hunter; huntsman
General term for a person who hunts animals for a living or as a profession. Can also appear in historical or folkloric contexts.
彼の祖父は山で猟師をしていた。
His grandfather worked as a hunter in the mountains.
He became a hunter at his father's urging.
Hunters in old tales are usually brave.
The hunter hunted a wild boar in the mountains.
漁師 (りょうし) sounds identical to 猟師 but means 'fisherman', not 'hunter'.
猟師 means 'hunter' (a person), while 猟銃 means 'hunting gun' (an object); both share the kanji 猟 but refer to very different things.
狩猟 is the act of hunting, whereas 猟師 is the person who hunts (a hunter), so learners should not use them interchangeably.
Compound of 猟 (hunting) and 師 (master, specialist). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji combination straightforwardly means 'hunting specialist'.