Get Your Friends Involved

A recent Harris Survey showed that nearly 98 million Americans are interested in giving hunting or shooting a try, but many don’t have someone to show them the way.

Introducing someone new—a brother, sister, cousin or friend—to hunting helps them overcome such barriers and is a great way to enjoy outdoor adventure and have fun with family and friends.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation encourages hunters to introduce newcomers to the outdoors and offers the following tips on providing a memorable first experience afield.

1. Instill safety, etiquette and ethics—use what you’ve learned in hunter education. Learning these skills gives newcomers the basics they’ll need to enjoy a lifetime of great hunting.

2. Keep it fun. Don’t get too serious or competitive. There’s no need to turn novices into pros on their first outing. It’s far more important to just have a good time.

3. Start at the beginning. If you learned to hunt when you were young, today you likely perform the whole process automatically. Remember to explain and demonstrate— step-by-step—what newcomers should do, so they will feel comfortable later doing these things on their own.

4. Create instant success. Recognize small accomplishments. Shooting game is always a bonus and helps newcomers appreciate the experience even more. Many also take pride in providing a meal for their family.

5. Be positive. If you build a newcomer’s self-esteem and confidence, it is more likely they’ll enjoy hunting and want to go again. A well-timed compliment can go a long way.

6. Share your love of the outdoors. Help your guests notice things around them. Stop and listen to bird calls and sounds of a rushing stream. Look for signs of wildlife. Help newcomers understand the important role that hunters play in the conservation of natural resources.

7. Provide appropriate equipment. Make sure equipment is the right size and weight.

8. Hands-on instruction helps. Everyone learns best by doing. Lecture is necessary, but as much as possible, intersperse the talking with doing.

9. Create a feeling of independence. Giving novices new skills and then allowing them the freedom to develop those skills on their own will prove rewarding for you both.

10. Choose the right location. Convenience is a consideration. Whetheron public or private land, NSSF offers online resources to find great places to hunt through www.nssf.org/hunting. This Web site is a portal to the hunting and shooting universe and provides links to a vast amount of helpful information, from new hunting and shooting opportunities in every state, to links to a variety of helpful directories and even to a growing collection of instructive videos on hunting and shooting that can be viewed online at www.nssf.org/pullthetrigger. Subscribe to Pull The Trigger at that Web site.

“From local news to searchable databases of hunting and shooting locations in every state, and from the Pull The Trigger newsletter to First Shots, NSSF.org offers hunters and shooters an excellent starting point on the Web,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Web site’s founder.

The site can help you find public hunting lands, shooting ranges, retailers, outfitters, taxidermists and more. New hunters and shooters can find helpful links to get started in hunting and shooting, with excellent text and video tips.

Sept. 24, 2011, will mark the 40th annual National Hunting and Fishing Day.

The annual celebration, observed on the fourth Saturday of every September, recognizes the accomplishments of hunters and anglers, who together provide more than $2.7 billion a year for fish and wildlife conservation, habitat protection and resource management programs. In fact, through license fees and excise taxes, hunters and anglers generate $154,110 every 30 minutes for fish, wildlife and habitat programs.

National Hunting and Fishing Day was founded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and formalized by Congress in 1971. Every U.S. president from Richard M. Nixon to Barack H. Obama has recognized the day via official proclamations.

Honorary chairpersons over the years have ranged from sports stars to recording artists. For example, in 2007, comedian and sportsman Jeff Foxworthy took the reins as honorary chairman. In 2009, television hunting celebrity Michael Waddell manned the post, and for 2010, the honorary chairpersons were the entire USA Shooting team. For 2011, philanthropist T. Boone Pickens is honorary chairman.

Wonders of Wildlife, the Springfield, Mo.-based National Fish and Wildlife Museum, serves as the official home of National Hunting and Fishing Day.

For additional information, visit www.nhfday.org.

Anyone who thinks that hunting and shooting are pastimes reserved exclusively for men and boys – dads and sons – should take a look at the statistics. According to recent research, 72 percent more girls and women are hunting with firearms than in a previous five-year period. And 50 percent more are now target shooting. The statistics, taken from the most recent federal government five-year survey, which spanned the years 2001-2005, show more than 3 million women now hunt, and more than 5 million women now enjoy shooting.

Why the increase?

“More and more women are discovering that hunting and shooting sports are just plain fun, as well as great activities to share with family and friends,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the hunting and shooting sports, firearm and ammunition industry’s trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

NSSF manages a variety of programs tokeep hunters and shooters safe and active, and it has witnessed firsthand the upswing in female participation.

For example, in a recent two-year period, participation among teenage girls in the popular Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), which NSSF founded, rose 178 percent. SCTP allows elementary to college-age students to compete as a team on the local, state and national levels in trap, skeet and sporting clays.

For more information from the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, which now administers SCTP, visit www.sssfonline.org.

Facts To Know

When you become a hunter, you become part of a community that plays a tremendously significant role in conservation. In large part, that role is tied in to the purchase of hunting arms, gear and licenses.

In 2009, hunters and shooters spent a remarkable $5.2 billion on hunting gear and firearms, according to a National Sporting Goods Association’s report.

Among all athletic and sports equipment categories, only exercise equipment performed better in 2009, with sales of $5.3 billion.

This shopping by hunters and shooters plays a huge role in conservation. Special levies, called excise taxes, on firearms, ammunition, bows and arrows contributed more than $439 million to conservation in 2009. The money is collected from manufacturers and then distributed to state conservation agencies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These excise taxes are important—more than $6.4 billion since its inception—but the money collected from hunting license sales is the No. 1 funding source for conservation in all 50 states—accounting for $764 million in 2008 alone.

Shopping for hunting gear and buying licenses: just two of the ways in which hunters, industry and conservation are tied together to give America the world’s greatest system for conserving habitat and managing wildlife.

You can learn more about this and related topics by reviewing “Press Releases” at www.nssf.org.

To suggest David Sanderson was born to be a hunter is not a stretch considering his dad started taking him along on hunts at the age of two. “I have been hunting with my father and grandfather for as long as I can remember,” says the 18-year-old high school senior from El Paso, Texas. “I have a passion for hunting and spending time outdoors.”

Growing up in a family with a strong hunting heritage has given David an appreciation for the outdoors and instilled a commitment to encourage others to get involved in hunting. Not only has he hunted and fished in many states and places around the world, but he’s also mentored new hunters.

“I consider myself not only a role model for hunting, but also an activist,” David says. “If actions speak louder than words, then my life speaks volumes about my love for hunting and the outdoors. If families hunt with their children, they will raise up a generation that loves to hunt. I know, because I live that reality.”

David harvested his first white-tailed deer when he was eight years old and has hunted dove, quail and pheasant, as well as varmints. He also joined his family on an African safari where he harvested several game animals. Although he has enjoyed a lot of success afield in a relatively short hunting career, David says one of his lifelong goals is to stay involved politically to promote the right to hunt.

“My travels have been a significant part of my education and understanding of how hunting benefits wildlife populations, environments and economies,” David explains. “My personal passion is to be an activist for hunting.”

David is active in Safari Club International and has traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for the rights of hunters. He is also involved in Scouting and earned his Eagle Rank in 2008. By sharing with other youth the outdoor life skills he’s picked up through SCI and the Boy Scouts, David hopes to help build the next generation of hunters.

“I take pride in promoting hunting in everyday conversations by sharing my experiences and knowledge,” David says. “I make it my goal to promote a positive view of hunting with my friends by sharing my hunting stories and encouraging them to participate in various hunting events. I have helped guide friends and other youth to harvest their first deer on my family’s ranch. As an Eagle Scout, I have the opportunity to teach younger Scouts about the great outdoors and all that it offers. I especially love teaching survival skills, climbing and shooting sports.”

Young Adult Profiles Sponsored by NSSF

Her first time on a skeet range, Katie Jacob recalls going through a box of .410 shotgun shells and

hitting three targets. Now, the 11-year-old Michigan shooter can hit all 25 for a perfect round of skeet.

In fact, she enjoys skeet so much these days that she has her sights on someday becoming an Olympic shooter. Katie is certainly off to a good start.

“I like skeet because the way the targets move,” she says. “Station 7 is my favorite because the first shot is like a duck coming in to land on the water and the second shot is like a quail flushing from behind you.”

Considering Katie comes from a family of hunters, her fondness of skeet just comes naturally since the target game simulates various hunting scenarios. She remembers at age three tagging along with her dad and sitting in a deer blind with him. “I’ve also gone bird hunting with my two brothers,” she boasts.

Katie also spends a lot of time outdoors helping raise the family’s German longhair pointers, a breed that has a keen nose for bird hunting. But, she admits, clay target shooting is her passion.

Two years ago, Katie stepped up her game by joining a youth summer league through the Scholastic Clay Target Program. Last year her team won the Rookie Division for skeet at the SCTP National Championships.

To become a champion, Katie puts in a lot of time practicing, sometimes firing up to 600 rounds a week! She aspires to make the USA Shooting Team and her dream is to make the Olympic team.

Katie has some advice for anyone who wants to give skeet a try. “Just have a good time and don’t worry about how many targets you hit. It will come with time and practice.”

Profiles in the Shooting Sports

Whether shooting competitively or for recreation, shooting athlete are required to work hard, hone their skills, practice mental as well as physical conditioning, and be dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.

Four young shooters who epitomize a successful commitment to these values are profiled here as an example to the growing ranks of new shooting athletes. We congratulate them all for their enviable record of accomplishments!

The ability to hit a clay target is a skill that can come with practice, but being able to hit a lot of clay targets consistently takes focus and determination. Erin Danhausen has been able to stay focused on her shooting goals despite having to make some tough choices.

The 18-year-old high school senior says she used to be in the marching band, but gave it up because it conflicted with trapshooting. “I was also on the track team, but that conflicted with the start of the shooting season in the spring so I gave that up, too,” Erin says with no regrets. “I tried to think which one will get me farther in life and which one did I enjoy more? I answered both questions with shooting.”

As for determination, Erin is committed to trapshooting after being selected to this year’s National Junior Olympic Shotgun Team and has her sights set on the Olympics. To prepare, Erin says she needs to get more practice in trapshooting’s Olympic format of bunker trap. Unfortunately, there are no courses in her area so she made a 3-1/2 hour drive to Ohio and back by herself twice a week last summer just to practice!

“I would probably shoot 125-150 rounds a day to get used to the number of shots I’d see in competition,” says Erin. “My goals and ambitions are to be the best shooter that I can be and have fun while doing it. I would love to attend a World Cup or maybe even the Olympics one day. But in order to get there I must be the best shooter I can be.”

Erin got her start in shooting when at age 13 her dad asked if she was interested in trying trap. “My dad actually had a gun for me to use, but when he figured out I was left-handed, we had to go buy one,” she remembers. “My dad took me out back to shoot and he hand-threw three targets and I remember hitting two out of three. I liked it so I joined a league.”

In her first registered trap competition, Erin recalls hitting just 42 out of 100 targets, but by the end of the summer her high score was 91 out of 100. Since then, she has racked up several shooting honors. What’s her secret?

“To any new shooters, my advice would be to not get too worked up by missing a few targets. Every shot you take is a new one, so shoot it and then forget it,” Erin says. “I have seen people get worked up, then miss more because they are worked up. So just relax, shoot, and have fun while doing it.”

Profiles  in the  Shooting Sports

Whether shooting competitively or for recreation, shooting athletes are required to work hard, hone their skills, practice mental as well as physical conditioning, and be dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.

Four young shooters who epitomize a successful commitment to these values are profiled here as an example to the growing ranks of new shooting athletes. We congratulate them all for their enviable record of accomplishments!

The New York State DEC biologist who learned of Mitch’s Hooker’s first whitetail told him to go buy a lottery ticket because not many hunters are lucky enough to see a skewbald whitetail, let alone take one as their first buck – and with a bow at that! Mitch lives in upstate New York and his passion for hunting runs the spectrum. Although his first big game animal was a kudu taken in Zimbabwe when he was13, Mitch also has a passion for elk hunting as well as hunting ducks and geese, coyotes and other game.

But, Mitch says,nothing gets his blood pumpin’ like turkey hunting and a big old gobbler coming in to a call. Mitch has won his local Rod and Gun Club’s turkey contest with the biggest bird and longest spurs. Just as enjoyable as the chase, Mitch has found, is the year-round scouting and the study of  topo maps in preparation for the hunt, no matter where it is. Helping out on his family’s farm offers Mitch ample time outdoors. In addition to helping tend dairy cattle, he has harvested trees for fence posts and firewood, helped gather sap for syrup making and even helped harvest ice. Mitch also served an internship with the state natural resources agency where he worked in the field with wildlife biologists, foresters, fisheries and emissions staff learning about their job responsibilities and assisted stocking fish and planting trees.

Mitch stays active in many conservation groups and belongs to the Adirondack- Catskill Chapter of SCI, as well as Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and helps with their various fundraising banquets. He will attend The College of the Adirondacks – Paul Smith’s College, located in the heart of New York State’s Adirondack Mountains, next fall to study environmental science.