FIRST-TIMER’S GUIDE TO BUDGET PREDATOR HUNTING

Do you remember starting out as young, new hunter? Did you hunger for the great gear that seasoned hunters used in hunting magazines and on TV? That same kickoff-period struggle hasn’t changed for new hunters despite the passing years and a new digital landscape. Most new hunters don’t have the funds to finance the latest and greatest in gear. Include that simple fact with an increasingly urban population without easy access to hunting, and an immediate need arises. You and I need to ensure that new hunters, first-timers, have a pathway to continue the heritage of hunting.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completes a survey every five years on hunting, fishing and wildlife watching. The latest, released in 2017, reports a decrease of 2 million hunters between 2011 and 2016. Not only is that shocking, but conservation is funded via hunting expenditures. Hunting license sales and hunting expenses, taxed via the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, go directly to wildlife conservation that affects all wildlife — whether hunted or not.

Aiding or mentoring a new hunter may be the