Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Resident goose population have become a nuisance in many metro areas. (Dennis Bennett via Pixabay/)

It’s no secret that Canada geese love cities and golf courses. They have water, short grass in spring and summer, and they’re protected from hunting pressure. Sure, kids may run to scare them, as kids do, and a dog or coyote may nab a few goslings before the goose or gander gets riled up. But otherwise, cities are protection zones and geese take full advantage. The problem is that many of these resident geese populations are growing and becoming a nuisance. Can hunting be used as a management tool?

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is looking for answers. They recently completed a three-year study of Canada geese in metro Des Moines and the research will be used to revise the DNR’s goose management plan. The agency worked with Iowa State University to mark 71 urban and rural female Canada geese with GPS GSM transmitters, and then monitored movements from 2018-20.

Read More Waterfowl Hunting Tips.

“Modern urban development, specifically short grass adjacent to open water, is very attractive to geese,” Orrin Jones, state waterfowl biologist with the DNR stated in a press release. “It’s remarkable how geese have learned to exploit habitat in urban areas and how well they move through urban areas from May to August despite being largely flightless for most of that time.”

According to the agency, Canada geese were locally extinct in Iowa from 1907-64. The Iowa Conservation Commission, the agency that preceded the DNR, and other states within the Mississippi Flyway Council worked to restore Iowa’s breeding population. By 1993, at least one nesting pair of Canada geese was in all 99 counties.

The author's close call with a grizzly. (Tyler Freel/)

If there’s one guarantee about encounters with potentially dangerous wildlife, it’s that there are no guarantees. Potential wildlife conflict situations can present themselves in the unlikeliest of places (as illustrated by the recent encounter a woman here in Alaska had with a bear under the seat of her outhouse), and some level of preparedness is always prudent. That preparedness comes in the forms of both knowledge and actual physical tools for dealing with dangerous situations. You don’t have to be miles deep into a wilderness area to have a dangerous wildlife encounter, and often, these encounters seem to happen when people least expect it.

If it does happen to you, you’ll want to have as many options at your disposal as possible. A backup option like a firearm or even bear spray can help you not only by providing a last-ditch defensive tool, but these tools will also give you the confidence to avoid panic and approach the situation thoughtfully.

Every so often, one of these wildlife encounters is captured on video and makes the rounds on the internet (this actually happened to me a few years ago, more on that in a minute). Both of the following videos involving mountain lions popped up last year. The first is an encounter where a hunter scouting for elk in Colorado suddenly noticed a lion staring him down, very close, possibly exhibiting some predatory behavior.

According to the caption, the man drew a handgun and began calmly talking to the big cat and standing his ground. The cat decides to leave, which is the best possible outcome.

The second video (that you’ve likely already seen) is from the phone of a trail runner in Utah, who encountered mountain lion kittens on a trail. The situation that followed may have been avoided had he backed away quietly rather than move toward the kittens. Either way, he quickly found himself being aggressively followed and swiped at for roughly 6 minutes by the agitated mother lion. The runner sees no option but to retreat, shouting frantically at times. He made a good decision by not running away outright, and he eventually picks up a rock and scares the lioness away. But the situation could have just as easily turned deadly.

If you want to have a successful snow goose hunt, avoid making fatal mistakes. (Joe Weimer Media/)

No matter how good of a snow goose hunter you are, there will be times when you fail. It’s part of any hunting pursuit. I know this better than most. When I first started snow goose hunting, I made plenty of blunders. Luckily, since I hunt mostly on my own, very few folks know about them—until now.

Hunting spring snows is hard. It takes a ton of scouting, finding access, setting thousands of decoys, and ideal weather conditions. I’ve spent years battling the spring migration, and though most days I feel like I’m beating my head against a white wall, shooting into those huge tornadoes of geese keeps me coming back. But there are a handful of mistakes you simply can’t make. If you do, there’s zero chance of killing a single bird. Avoid these pitfalls, and you’ll have a fighting chance at stacking up more snows this spring.

1. Terrible Hides

If you’ve spent any time chasing ducks and geese, you know that concealment is king. With snows, multiply that by 10. I’d need a Master’s degree in calculous to add up the number of opportunities wasted by failure to properly cover blinds and conceal gear. Selecting a field with ample grass or stubble is the first step in getting the hide right, but that doesn’t automatically mean you will be hidden. Take the time to brush in blinds, whether you hunt on the ground in layouts or from A-Frames on an edge or hedgerow. If you’re in a pit, make sure the shooting ports are well covered. You can do this with a mix of natural stubble or grasses that extend over the hole (store-bought grassmats work too). Place your full-body decoys—or windsocks on stakes—around the shooting holes as well. Also, cover up the e-caller and tornado machine batteries, and make sure your retriever is well hidden.

2. Dirty Spreads

The buck with the hairy eyeballs tested positive for EHD. (EHD/)

It sounds like something out of a horror movie: a whitetail buck with hairy eyeballs. No joke. That’s what the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency discovered when a hunter reported a deer on the agency’s “Report Sick Deer” button of its website. The TWRA added the feature so hunters and citizens could report deer acting strangely, in an effort to curtail Chronic Wasting Disease and other diseases.

Lindsay Thomas with the National Deer Association gives a pretty harrowing account of this deer on the NDA site. Blood or weird stuff usually doesn’t bother me, but I have to admit that these photos freaked me out. I’m unsure if Wes Craven or M. Night Shyamalan could come up with this.

Read Next: Weird Deer

The deer was spotted in August 2020 near Farragut, a suburb of Knoxville in east Tennessee.

“The individual stated the deer was circling (in a street), had visible bleeding, lacked awareness of the people around it, and had something on its eyes,” wildlife biologist Sterling Daniels of TWRA said.

A good pair of snowshoes will get you through a steep alpine hike or a snowy family outing. (Pcdazero / Pixabay/)

If you can walk, you can snowshoe. That’s how the saying goes. So it’s possible that finding the best snowshoes for you might actually be more daunting than the powdery terrain you plan to traverse. Sure, if you’re in survival mode out in the woods, you could fashion yourself a nifty pair of emergency shoes for snow and stomp your way to safety. After all, versions of wooden snowshoes have been around for thousands of years for the simple purpose of helping humans displace their weight when traveling through deep snow. But today, no matter if you want family fun or alpine adventure, you need not settle for snowshoes made of sticks or leaves. Whether you’re looking for the best snowshoes for beginners or top backcountry snowshoes, whether kids’ snowshoes or a pair of running snowshoes, we’ve done the legwork for you. Here’s all you need to know when shopping for the best snowshoes, so you can save your energy for your next climb.

Best Snowshoes for Men (Family Outings): Tubbs Flex VRT Snowshoes

Best Snowshoes for Women (Family Outings): MSR Lightning Ascent

Best Kids’ Snowshoes: Tubbs Kids’ Snowflake Snowshoe

Best Snowshoes for Beginners: MSR Revo Trail Hiking Snowshoes

Machetes are wielded in rough conditions, so make sure the one you get will stand up to tough use. (Traphitho / Pixabay/)

Take a look at the market for machetes and you’ll see just how many choices are out there. It can be confusing. What’s the difference between a Kukri and a Parang? What use is a curved end on a machete? Does it matter whether a blade is made of stainless steel or carbon steel? Do you need to use the machete in the event of a survival situation, or simply to chop through some tall weeds and brush in your yard?

The good news is, machetes in general are very affordable, so you won’t drop a bundle making a very good choice. The challenge is zeroing in on the right tool for the job.

Best All-Around Machete: Gerber Gator Machete

Best Machete for Tall Grass and Briars: Condor Tool & Knife El Salvador Machete

Best Machete for Camping: Gerber Gator Kukri Machete

Quail, woodcock, and snipe can be harvested with any gauge. Lighter loads make the difference. (Tom Keer/)

In my younger days, my buddies and I always went to a bar after work. Every now and then we’d get into arguments with a bar fly—from politics to our favorite bird gun—and suddenly were all in a fight. If none of us got thrown out, then we’d all shake hands, pull up a chair, and have another drink. These days, those fights still happen, but they’re on social media—and they never seem to end well. Last fall, I saw a basic question go sideways. Someone asked, “What gauge shotgun should you use on grouse and woodcock?”

The initial responses were mundane, and tame. Some suggested a 20-gauge, others a 28 or even .410. Things heated up when someone chimed in about a 16-gauge, but heavens to Betsey did it pour over when someone mentioned they shot a 12: “How can anyone use a 12-gauge cannon for a such a small bird?” Venom spewed, and everyone got hacked off.

The truth is that the gauge of the gun you are shooting doesn’t make a difference. Shot size, the charge weight of the shotshell you are shooting, and how the shotgun is choked are what matter. This is going to get technical—and won’t have much application for a bird hunter who just wants to buy a box of upland shells off the shelf and get on with his life—buy I’ve been hand-loading my own shells for years and can tell you that shooting a grouse or woodcock with a 12-gauge is fine, as long as it is loaded with the proper ammo.

Do the Math, with Help from Reloaders

You can shoot woodcock with a 12-gauge and wild turkeys with a 28-gauge if you use the correct load. A picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look at the accompanying photo above of a box of 12-, 16-, 20-, and 28-gauge shells. Though their gauges are different, their payloads (the number of pellets in each shell) are identical. Here’s why.

Dan Wielobob’s giant Pennsylvania crappie weighed more than 4 pounds! (Darl Black/)

After getting his COVID-19 vaccination and returning home, Dan Wielobob almost decided to stick around the house instead of going ice fishing for a few hours like he normally does. As any angler knows, though, you can’t catch anything if you don’t go.

Wielobob’s decision to hit the ice resulted in a near-record crappie, the biggest he’s ever seen.

Wielobob lives in northwest Pennsylvania on Lake Conneaut, the largest natural lake in the state. He and his wife drove to a clinic in Ohio that morning to get their virus vaccinations. Conneaut is iced, but he decided to drive over to nearby Lake Wilheim. After arriving about 4 p.m. he cut a hole and began working a maggot-tipped tungsten jig near the bottom.

Read Next: Four Tips For Fall Crappies

Wielobob is no rookie on the ice or open water. In 60 years of angling he’s caught plenty of crappies, walleyes, and other species. The late-afternoon outing started off well with consistent bites from 9 to 10-inch crappies. Then, a 15-incher hit and came to hand. Not a bad trip, he thought.

There’s a growing interest in the old-fashioned heritage skills of gardening, foraging and living “off the land” these days. (Tim MacWelch/)

It takes a lot more than a pack of seeds and a shovel to enhance your food security with a backyard survival garden. You need a solid, practical plan. Maybe you’ve never planted a single seed before, or maybe you’ve been working in the family garden since you were old enough to walk. Either way, there’s work you should be doing right now, even if the ground is frozen. You can start planning ahead.

Look Back to Gardening History Before Looking Ahead

Many Americans planted “Victory Gardens” during World War I and II, with the goal of increasing the nation’s food supply. In 1943, for example, there were more than 20 million war gardens in the U.S. The need and interest were there, and the citizenry responded. This patriotic planting produced an estimated 8 million tons of food, which was nearly half of the food consumed that year in the nation.

Jumping forward to last year, Americans responded to a crisis once again by rolling up their sleeves and getting dirt under their fingernails. For those who were paying attention to the self-reliance boom that took place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed that a lot of stores ran out of basic gardening supplies and seeds. This spring, supply chains are in much better shape than those at the end of winter and early spring of 2020, but it’s wise to remember those empty shelves. Buy the things you need when they are available. Late winter is a great time to buy seeds and garden supplies. You can get them before the spring rush hits and you’ll have the best selection. If you want to grow the ultimate garden this spring, you don’t want to wait until the resources are “picked over” in late spring.

Scout the Best Survival Garden Location

A fishing neck gaiter for cool weather will block wind and prevent heat from escaping through your top layers. (Narciso Arellano / Unsplash/)

Neck gaiters are versatile pieces of apparel that can help you stay comfortable no matter the conditions you’re facing. During warm days, thin and lightweight neck gaiters can help keep you cool and block harmful UV rays. On frigid days, neck gaiters are an essential piece of winter clothing, keeping you warm by providing insulation that covers your neck, face, and head.

There are several types of neck gaiters on the market today. A traditional neck gaiter is a flexible tube of material that slides over your head and fits around your neck. Unlike a scarf, it has no endings to wrap and unwrap. You can pull this kind of neck gaiter up to cover your face and head. You can even wear it like a headband. Another popular version of a neck gaiter is a balaclava, which includes a built-in head cap. Regardless of which type of neck gaiter you get, the main differences you will find are the material that the neck gaiters are made out of, and the size.

Best Neck Gaiter for Cold Weather: Turtle Fur Double-Layer Midweight Micro Fur Fleece Neck Warmer

Best Merino Wool Neck Gaiter: Minus33 Merino Wool 730 Midweight Neck Gaiter

Best Neck Gaiter for Cool-Weather Fishing: Simms Gore-Tex Infinium Neck Gaiter

Ira McCauley with his Citori and tom No. 100. (Ira McCauley/)

For the better part of three decades, Ira McCauley was on a different kind of turkey quest. Most U.S. hunters are after a Grand Slam, which requires tagging one each of the Merriam’s, Rio, Eastern, and Osceola subspecies. But McCauley, co-owner of Habitat Flats, wanted to kill 100 turkeys with one gun: an old Browning Citori he bought in college while working at a Bass Pro. Most seasons, he shot two Missouri toms, but as he closed in on No. 100, the longbeards became elusive. From 2017 until May 2019, he remained stuck on 98.

“Every spring I would get my turkeys, but then all the sudden there were a few seasons where I didn’t get one,” says McCauley, who did shoot a mouthy jake he thought was a tom during that stretch. “I wanted to get to 100 with this gun. It had a unique story behind it, and I had gone through so much with that old double. I just had to make it happen.”

Read Next: The Ultimate DIY Turkey Gun

He bought the over/under, one of the first Citori lines Browning ever camo-dipped (which they have since stopped, thank God), with his employee discount in the late 1980s or early 1990s while attending the University of Missouri. For a long time, it was the only shotgun he owned, and though it was primarily his turkey gun, McCauley used it for hunting all manner of wild game. McCauley is a former duck and snow goose guide, and the double gun traveled with him from Alaska to the Canadian prairie, and across the continental United States.

Each time he shot a tom, McCauley would drive a brass nail into the stock of the Citori. In total there are 111 nails—now 108 on one side for McCauley, and three on the other for the birds his oldest son Kory, who he hopes will take up the gun one day and keep its legacy alive, has killed.

Sportsmen's and women's groups are cautiously optimistic about the president's order to conserve 30 percent of the nation's land by 2030. (John Hafner/)

Among dozens of executive orders President Joe Biden signed his first weeks in office, the one that caught most conservation organizations’ attention was aimed at slowing climate change by conserving wildlands. While Executive Order 14008′s stop on all new oil and gas leasing on federal lands drew the most buzz, another portion, often called 30 by 30, or even 3030, is drawing the most interest from the nation’s sportsmen and women.

The order is to conserve 30 percent of the country’s land and 30 percent of its coastal waters by 2030. Right now, the USGS estimates about 12 percent of the country’s land is permanently conserved and 23 percent of its coastal waters are “strongly protected.” The goal is to conserve more wild land to reduce the effects of climate change (through carbon sequestration) and slow species loss. It coincides with a similar global effort put forth by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Hunters and anglers have their questions. Where’s the other 18 percent going to come from? And what does “conserved” land actually mean? No one is sure just yet. But here’s what we do know so far.

The effort will be spearheaded by the nation’s Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce departments along with the Council on Environmental Quality. The Department of Interior—which manages more than 440 million acres of public land, largely in the form of National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, and Bureau of Land Management land—is not ready to give interviews yet, according to Interior’s press secretary Tyler Cherry. A fact sheet on the Interior’s website states the goal is meant “to safeguard our health, food supplies, biodiversity, and the prosperity of every community.”

Currently the U.S. is losing about a football field of habitat every 30 seconds to development, so adding conserved land that would amass to roughly twice the size of Texas is going to be a challenge.

The best shooting gloves will allow dexterity, provide good grip, and allow for a good feel of the trigger and other controls. (Josh Danyliw / Unsplash/)

Shooting gloves should be on the top of the list of both hunters and target shooters alike. They do more than protect your hands from repetitive impact. They’ll insulate your hands in cold weather, help hide you from wary animals, and provide an intuitive feel to triggers and safeties. On the range, in the field, or in competition, the best shooting gloves—whether top shelf or budget—will help you hit your mark.

Best Competition Shooting Sports Gloves: PIG Full Dexterity Tactical (FDT) Alpha Gloves

Best Fingerless Shooting Gloves: Mechanix Wear - M-Pact Fingerless Covert Tactical Gloves

Best General Use Shooting Gloves: Caldwell Ultimate Shooting Gloves

Best Shooting Gloves For Hunting: Cabela’s Extreme II GORE-TEX Shooting Gloves

Ice picks come in varying styles designed for specific uses, so choosing the right one for the job is crucial. (TeeFarm / Pixabay/)

Ice picks are crucial pieces of survival equipment during winter. For an outdoor survival enthusiast, having a high quality ice pick could mean the difference between staying alive and meeting your maker. When you’re putting together a winter survival kit made to withstand the harshest conditions, planning an extreme backcountry trek or mountaineering ascent, or just trying to stay safe when you’re ice fishing, you need to include a high-quality ice pick in your arsenal.

There are two different types of ice picks to consider. The standard “ice pick” that might come to mind is a tool made specifically for mountaineering and ice climbing. This kind of ice pick—which is technically called an ice axe—is usually made up with a long, axe-like shaft with an extended metal pick attached to the end of it. This tool is useful for travel on glaciers, steep couloirs, frozen waterfalls, and other kinds of slippery winter terrain. In contrast, an “ice pick” in the ice fishing world is something else completely. Here, an ice pick—or ice spike— is a small pick sheathed in wood or plastic that will allow you to grip into ice to attempt a self-rescue if you’ve fallen into freezing water. Both types of ice picks are tools that could spell the difference between life and death.

Best Ice Pick For An Outdoor Survival Kit: PETZL Summit EVO

Best Ice Pick for Ice Fishing: Frabill Retractable Ice Picks

Best Ice Pick for Winter Hiking: Petzl Glacier

Deer bed closer to feeding areas during the winter. (Jason Tome/)

We know that deer change their patterns throughout the year based on all kinds of factors: caloric needs are a big one, and so is breeding during the rut. During antler casting—when available food is scarce and temperatures drop—deer stick to a strict late-season bedding and feeding routine that you can take advantage of when hunting for sheds.

An efficient bed-to-feed regimen saves deer precious energy that will help get them through the cold winter months. To conserve energy, deer will shift their bedding areas closer to the best late-season food sources.

If you use what we already know about deer’s winter behavior, you’ll find more shed antlers. Focus on bedding areas, high-traffic spots, and food plots (or anywhere else deer may feed or congregate). I hunt in places where I know bucks spend a lot of time, and I’ve found more sheds in these locations than anywhere else. Sure, you can stumble around the woods and luck into a few antlers, but if you’re more calculated in your approach, you’ll have better shed-hunting success.

Focus on the Does

Since deer are in a stricter bed-to-feed routine later in the season, you can guarantee they’ll be eating close to their bedding areas. In fact, it’s not uncommon for deer, especially does, to periodically bed right in a food source. When you see does and fawns feeding, you can bet bucks are close by, and you should search in and around these areas for sheds. These are a good starting point for finding dropped antlers.

A huge crocodile has been blamed in the death of a Queensland, Australia fisherman. (D_Mz/)

Investigations into the disappearance of a missing Queensland, Australia fisherman resulted in the discovery of human remains inside a 13.8-foot crocodile, according to CNN. The crocodile was caught and killed by the Queensland Department of Environmental and Science (DES). The DES also killed a second, 10-foot crocodile as part of the investigation.

On February 11, Andrew Heard, an experienced 69-year-old angler, failed to return from a fishing trip to Gayundah Creek on Hinchinbrook Island. Unable to reach her husband via radio, Heard’s wife alerted authorities who began a search-and-rescue mission. Heard’s damaged and overturned skiff was found around 2:30 PM on Friday. Two crocodiles were in close proximity to the swamped boat and were killed immediately.

Read Next: Crocodile Attacks Now Being Tracked Worldwide

According to the Queensland Police Acting Inspector Andrew Cowie, “at this stage we can only confirm that we’ve found human remains in the first crocodile.” The examination of the second crocodile has not yet been completed, but since both were in the same area, Cowie said, “I believe that we’ve got two crocodiles involved.”

Crocodile attacks in Australia are rare, but this is the third attack in Queensland in February. Earlier this month, two swimmers, one in Cairns and one in Weipa, survived crocodile attacks. The crocs in those areas were either dispatched by local authorities or relocated to a crocodile farm.

Wolf hunting has been a divisive issue in Wisconsin—and many other states—for years. (Mohamed Hassan/)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Board (DNR) voted unanimously to allow hunters and trappers a season that runs for the last week of February, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Wisconsin state law requires that if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not have wolves listed as an endangered species then the DNR must allow wolf trapping and hunting from November through February. USFWS removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list on January 4.

Originally, the DNR rejected the hunt because there was limited time for public input and that Wisconsin’s Chippewa tribes had not been consulted on the hunt, per treaty requirement. However, Hunter Nation, Inc, an advocacy group that supports hunters’ rights, sued the DNR claiming that not holding a hunt violated hunters’ constitutional rights. Despite protest in the form of more than 2,000 received letters, Circuit Judge Bennett Brantmeier ordered the DNR to hold the hunt.

The DNR will issue up to 4,000 permits, with a recommended quota of 200 wolves killed. The state wolf management plan’s goal is to have 350 wolves living outside of tribal reservations. The DNR estimates that there are 1,195 wolves in the state, which is triple the number of wolves called for by the management plan. If filled, the harvest of 200 wolves would reduce the Wisconsin wolf population to 995 which still is more than double the number outlined in the wolf management plan.

The hunt has been a volatile issue for years. Opponents say wolves are too beautiful to kill and are still too scarce in much of the country to be hunted. Native tribes consider them to be sacred.

Proponents say a surplus of wolves on the landscape means predation on livestock, pets, and game animals. In neighboring Minnesota, the Mayor of Grand Marias made headlines when his dog survived a wolf attack last month.

Just about every duck hunter loves shooting mallards. We’re obsessed with how they respond to the call, decoy with reckless abandon, hover over the spinners in the early season, and fare at the dinner table. But there’s plenty about the biology of greenheads you don’t know. And to have a full appreciation of the species, you need to. So, I spoke with a few waterfowl biologists to find out more. After talking with some of the foremost authorities on duck biology, I cherish or most beloved bird even more. You will too.

1. Every Mallard is the Same

“Mallards are circumpolar, meaning they occur in the same basic form across the northern hemisphere,” says Dr. Chris Nicolai, chief waterfowl scientist with Delta Waterfowl. That means a mallard in Siberia is essentially the same as one in Saskatchewan, and the one that has adapted to life in Moscow is pretty much the same as the one in Minneapolis. “Mallards are not native to southern hemisphere,” Nicolai points out, “though they have been successfully introduced to New Zealand.”

2. They’re Committed

Evidence suggests that some mallard pairs mate for life. “I see it in the band reports I review,” says Nicolai. “I will sometimes see consecutive numbers on birds collected on the same day, and they are male and female.” He adds: “I once banded a pair of breeding mallards on a wood duck pond we boom-netted. We banded them right with the rest of the wood ducks. Six years later, we netted the same mallard pair.”

The dampness of the cellar mixed with the smell of gun oil hit my nose. My eyes caught the fluorescent lights reflecting off blued metal. Well-kept barrels of various brands and models of vintage shotguns stood out in contrast against a worn table. My bank account was about to be sucked dry; I tried not to think about the overdraft fees. The affordable gun I had originally came for fell by the wayside as I shouldered an Italian-built shotgun with a slender English grip. Welcome to the world of side-by-side shotguns.

Until I met my dream shotgun in that cellar, the name Bernardelli was entirely unknown to me. V. Bernardelli closed its doors in 1997, a fact I only learned after researching the Italian manufacturer when an opportunity arose to buy one of their side-by-side shotguns. The truth is that buying used shotguns can be challenging; it’s easy to get burned on the value, plus the advantages of modern side-by-sides become more relevant as our bird hunting culture expands. But if we’re going to understand the resurgence of modern side-by-side shotguns in America, we first must understand their decline.

The Decline of American Side-by-Sides

The story of side-by-side shotguns is one that follows the rise and fall of trends. Even before companies like V. Bernardelli closed their doors, the days of buying now-famous American classics, like Parkers and A.H. Fox guns from hardware store walls at affordable prices, were long gone. Many of the factories shuttered by the late 1940s and the rights of those companies were acquired by larger gun manufacturers that would, for the most part, also cease production.

“It started after World War II with the introduction of semi-automatic guns from various manufacturers,” said Jerry Havel, who spent 20 years working in the shotgun business and is now co-founder of the Upland Gun Company. “These manufacturers were able to mass-produce some great shotguns for the hunting market. This new technology made guns more affordable to the general public, so you saw a rapid growth of the outdoor industry. This left the ‘old guns’ in the corner for years.”

A look at the spike in Pittman-Robertson funding since it's inception. Data source: USFWS. (Russ Smith /)

We’re more than 10 months into the largest civilian firearms and ammunition buying surge in American history. More than 8 million people bought a firearm for the first time last year and ammunition from .22LR to .300 Win. Mag. is sold out at stores across the country and backordered for months. When the surge will end is uncertain, but here’s one thing that’s absolute: This will all lead to a boom in conservation and wildlife funding in 2021, and beyond.

And this is probably the greatest untold story of the great gun-buying year of 2020. For every sporting arm and box of ammunition sold, there’s an 11 percent excise tax applied that funds wildlife and habitat conservation initiatives (the tax is also applied to archery equipment). There’s a similar 10 percent excise tax on all handgun sales. Those excise tax dollars are distributed to states specifically for conservation work, hunter education and recruitment, shooting ranges, and wildlife research. In short, the more guns and ammo that get sold, the more available money there will be for conservation work.

This is all thanks to the decades-old Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, or as it’s better know, the Pittman-Robertson Act, which very well might be entering its glory days. With state governments rattled by budget shortfalls due to COVID-19 and colleges across the country slashing budgets, an injection of cash dedicated to habitat conservation and wildlife research could be more critical than ever. Plus, all those millions of new gun owners are going to need places to shoot and state agencies are trying to capitalize on a renewed interest in hunting to sell more hunting licenses. Pittman-Robertson funding will help with all of that, especially if Americans continue to buy more guns and ammo.

How Gun Sales Create Wildlife Funding

Back in 1937, Democrats Key Pittman and Absalom Willis Robertson wrote a bill that diverted an existing 11 percent excise tax on firearms to the Secretary of the Interior to be distributed to individual states. At the time, those tax dollars had been going to the Treasury. America’s wildlife was struggling to rebound from the population crashes of the late 1800s that came from market hunting and habitat devastation. Legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold had just published his landmark textbook, “Game Management,” and Americans were beginning to understand the nuances of actively managing habitat and wildlife.