WATCH: Gun Owners Fund Conservation Too
You may not hear about it in mainstream media, but hunters and shooters do a lot for conservation. At SHOT Show, I sat down with NSSF’s Larry Keane and bestselling author Frank Miniter for SHOT Show TV and Larry’s Legislative Brief to talk about it.
It’s exciting how the current administration values the contributions we as gun owners make in ways that past leaders have not. Proclamations like the naming of August as National Shooting Sports Month is but one example and is a huge step in the right direction. Working with Mr. Keane as a member of the Department of the Interior’s Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council continues to be a great learning experience for me. It also proves to be an incredible opportunity to address concerns about the challenges and barriers to entry for those who shoot or want to get started.
I’m known for my passion for shooting sports, but I also hunt. Hunters are quick and proud to cite conservation efforts and their role – as they should be! I still find it surprising that those who pull a trigger outside of hunting often don’t realize how much they contribute to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Fund. In fact, many don’t even know what that is! It’s an excise tax enacted by firearms and ammunition manufacturers in 1937 that funds conservation with billions of dollars collected.
Did you know?
The major activities that generate Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration excise tax revenues can be divided into hunting-related and non-hunting related categories. Non-hunting activities are generally comprised of recreational shooting, home and self-defense, collecting and work-related purchases.”
National Shooting Sports Foundation
So how much of a role do non-hunters play? According to the NSSF and their research, as of 2015, firearms make up 57.4% of retail dollars generated from the sales of products taxable under the Wildlife Restoration Program. Other taxable products include ammunition at 32.3% of sales dollars. Digging deeper, of those firearm sales, 20.2% can be assigned to hunting purposes, and the remainder (79.8%) to non-hunting purposes. For ammo, 26.6% can be assigned to hunting purposes, and the remainder (73.4%) to non-hunting purposes. Combining the guns and ammo numbers, 22.5% can be assigned to hunting purposes, and the remainder at 77.5% to non-hunting purposes!
That means recreational shooters, collectors, those who compete in shooting sports and those who purchase firearms and ammunition for self-defense are a HUGE part of the equation. We fund wildlife efforts through our purchasing power in a very big way. So yes, I say go ahead and add this as yet another feel-good bonus to the many benefits of learning how to shoot better and investing in personal and home defense. Your hard-earned dollars pay for conservation!
Groups that support safe responsible gun ownership are working to help you too! Efforts in Washington, like the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, would give states more flexibility to allow for Pittman-Robertson funds to be used for the development and maintenance of public shooting ranges. More ranges mean more participation in hunting AND the shooting sports. That means more wildlife conservation funding too. More support, more access
