Did You Know?
✔ Sportsmen contribute nearly $9.4 million every day, adding more than $3.4 billion every year for conservation.
✔ Hunters and target shooters have paid $11 billion in excise taxes since the inception of the Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937.
✔ Hunting in America is big business, generating 680,000 jobs in the United States.
✔ For more than 80 years, sportsmen have paid more than $20 billion for on-the-ground projects in every state, protecting our natural environment and our fish and wildlife.
✔ The $6.4 billion in annual federal tax money generated by hunters’ spending could cover the annual paychecks of 210,000 U.S. Army Sergeants.
Hunter’s Pocket Fact Card
At some point, nearly every hunter will be called on to point out the merits of hunting. Will you be up to the task of defending this great tradition by citing well-sourced facts in your discussion?
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, can help you make your points with its newly updated Hunter’s Pocket Fact Card. The card can be downloaded in PDF format free of charge.
Extend your hunting season by hitting the field for prime-time winter predators.
By Andrew McKean It’s almost February, and the first turkey seasons are still weeks away. If you don’t have frozen water where you live, then you can’t dull your deer-season hangover with a dose of icefishing. What you do have, whether you live in Maine or Mississippi, Missouri or Montana, is coyotes, and a growing number of your neighbors are figuring out that chasing them in the dark months is a great cure for the winter blues. The reasons are obvious:- Sheer Numbers: We have more coyotes in more areas than at any time in our nation’s history.
- Long Seasons: Hunting seasons are long and liberal, and many states don’t even require hunters to buy a license.
- Hunting Challenge: Outsmarting a predator is no easy task, so bagging a coyote or a fox requires all the stalking, scent-elimination, and sign-reading talents that consistently successful deer hunters employ.
- Easy Transition: Chasing coyotes in the winter months is also a great way for those new to the shooting sports to transition into hunting.
- Great Payoff: There is a nice payoff to coyote hunting—literally. While fur markets fluctuate wildly, and prices depend on the region, size and grade of animal, and other unknowable factors, prime coyote pelts were fetching around $50 at the time this was written (with higher prices in northern states and lower fur prices in southern states). Put together a dozen dogs, and you can buy a lot of gas and shells to subsidize your next outing.
See coyote hunting guide at Stepoutside.org
About the Author Andrew McKean is a longtime outdoor writer and the former editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life. He lives in northeast Montana with his family and yellow Lab. You can follow his adventures on Instagram @aemckean or on Facebook @andrew.mckean. Special thanks to StepOutside.org for providing this insightful content. See more from Andrew McKean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2RDzo-brtA&list=PLflj6x1a7no76epwhN7TGd-N0_rTohpKx Welcome to the "Learn to Shoot" series with Outdoor Life's Andrew McKean. Learning to safely shoot and handle a gun effectively will unlock years of excitement. If you're new to shooting, welcome! If you've been at it a while, welcome back! These videos are designed to help you get started. #LetsGoShooting Special thanks to our Partners at Outdoor Life and Sovereign Sportsman Solutions.The Start of Something New…My first hunting experience!
By: Heather Marie Johnson In July 2020, my two aunts, plus a friend and I, went on a road trip. During that time, we talked about past and future trips we have been on. We starting discussing hunting trips, because my Aunt Clara has been on a guided hunt in the past and my husband frequently travels with his friends on hunting trips. We talked about other family members who hunt and discussed the fact that we have never been invited to join them. I mentioned that I would love to try hunting some time, thinking we could plan a trip together in the future. The future was going to be much sooner than we thought! Shortly after getting back home from our trip, my Aunt Clara called me and said that she'd seen a scholarship opportunity through the Ladies Adventure Camp Experience (L.A.C.E.) to be nominated for a guided hunt on wild hogs and whitetail does in Texas—and it was to be a trip for the first-time women hunters. I was thrilled Aunt Clara nominated me! After waiting patiently for a few months, she called me with the exciting news that I’d been selected for the scholarship hunt trip to Texas. I was so excited! I shared the good news with my closest friends and family, and everyone was excited for my new opportunity! We flew from Chicago into Texas and met a group of women at a Dairy Queen in Rotan, Texas, to caravan to Hawks Double Mountain Ranch. From the start, everyone was so nice and excited for the weekend ahead. I felt comfortable with this group of ladies, especially Deb Ferns and Kay Miculek who run the Babes with Bullets camps that was the kick-off for the L.A.C.E. program. [caption id="attachment_3765" align="aligncenter" width="450"]


