“hunter recruitment”

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners voted to change the opening day of firearm deer season from the Monday after Thanksgiving to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, breaking a Pennsylvania tradition that has stood for more than half a century.

One of the most daunting barriers new hunters face is gaining access. Here are a few things hunters, new and old, should keep in mind when trying to lock down a place to hunt.

For new hunters, mentors who have “been there, done that” are invaluable resources. Fortunately, numerous opportunities for beginning hunters to receive expert tutelage exist across the nation as well as online.

Scouring the internet in search of hunting mentor programs can be a pain, so we’ve done the legwork for you. Here’s our list of mentor hunting programs, state by state, as well as some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) new hunters may find helpful before they go afield in pursuit of game.

Acknowledging youth hunter recruitment efforts may not necessarily pay dividends, many states now focus additional effort on the 27- to 40-year-old adults, people who have the time, money and resources to hunt and take their kids hunting.

Federal excise taxes collected on the sale of rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition and archery gear have nearly tripled during the past decade, boosting federal funding for the nation’s wildlife and hunter-education programs to record levels even though many handgun, ammo and archery buyers don’t hunt.

Federal Premium Ammunition hosted a gathering of 20 leaders from outdoor mentoring programs from across the country earlier this month, in an effort to bring local and national organizations together to align their work with the National Hunter Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) plan. The event was organized in conjunction with Pass it On Outdoor Mentors and the Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports.

NRA-ILA was front and center in securing support for Sunday hunting at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Feb. 7-15.

As the legislative, legal and political arm of the NRA, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) steadfastly advances America's rich hunting heritage and stands guard against anti-hunting attacks at the federal, state and local levels.