Happy belated Mother's Day to all of our moms out in the hunting industry!

My mom, Martha, was a massive supporter of my hunting ambitions as a kid, and she successfully kept me alive long enough for me to make it out of the house and into the U.S. Navy. She died when I was 19, but her work was done long before she left. Thanks to her and my dad, of course, I was very successful. I retired as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. I earned my master's degree from Virginia Tech, am a licensed and ordained chaplain, serve on two non-profit boards, work full-time for USDA Rural Development and serve as your editor for The Hunting Wire. I'd like to think I'm a good man and a better friend. I earned a woman's love, and she'll let me marry her in a few weeks. Yeah, that's primarily thanks to my mom. Any screw-ups are my own doing, that's for sure.

Moms are unique creatures of any species. No one says watch out for a dad and his cubs. Nope - it's mom. Think a bull moose is dangerous; try a cow moose. I once had a hearty elk guide in Colorado show respect for a bull moose but have absolute fear for a cow moose. I bet more does have busted us than bucks, and countless wildlife moms have sacrificed their own lives to protect their families. Facts.

Mom, I love you, and thank you for everything. I hope Heaven is treating you well. You're gonna love Wendy.

I don't think I want to say anything else. No, let's just remember our moms.

Happy Mother's Day, Hunting Wire Family,

Martha Pinsky's son, Jay

As always, feel free to reach out to Jay@theoutdoorwire.com.

Leica Takes a Proactive Stance - Interview with Ryan Trenka of Leica’s Sport Optics division

By Leica Staff

Doing things the right way means a lot to the sport optics division of Leica USA. When researching and developing new products, such as the new Geovid Pro 32, one of its core considerations - and debates amongst its staff - centers on that non-negotiable respect for the quarry, that skill of knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot.

Technological advances have changed sports beyond all recognition in recent times, be it VAR in football and soccer or Hawk-Eye in tennis, making for an even playing field and removing those close calls that can sometimes ruin the spectacle. So what about the role of technology in the field? Surely it is imperative that its use should not replace that which the hunter should already know, or cloud the traditions which are absolutely vital for it to stay true to its core values. Hunters are, after all, whether for table or for conservation, using their equipment to kill.

Someone with the hunter’s moral code at heart is Ryan Trenka of Leica’s Sport Optics division, a man who lives and breathes the craft he has enjoyed since he was a boy. For him, technology should never make it easier for hunters to hunt; if anything, it should make it safer and be a tool which can help them prove they have welfare at the forefront of their minds before pulling the trigger.

“I talk a lot about fair chase”, says Ryan, who is based in Bozeman, Montana. He argues that although it’s in our DNA to hunt, it can no longer be justified solely as a means to feed a family owing to lack of financial resources. He’s also acutely aware of the nuances of the term across the globe. “Fair chase means something different in various countries, just like trophy hunting.”

Leica has a proven track record of putting ethical hunting at the heart of its products: the Leica Geovid binoculars (released in 1992) were the first to include an integrated rangefinder: the Rangemaster CRF 2000 B has the ability to measure temperature and air pressure; while Geovid HD-B models feature an integrated micro-SD memory card slot which allows for ballistics parameters of the hunter’s rifle to be downloaded to ascertain the accuracy and ethicacy of the shot.

The release of Leica’s Geovid Pro 32 rangefinding binoculars in January - which offers advanced GPS mapping and GPS tracking to help bring the user close to their target - has coincided with a partnership the brand is forging with the Boone & Crockett Club, an organization which has had fair chase at its core since the 1880s. The club, which is at the vanguard of high standards, has been firm in upholding its traditions at a time when technology, if over- or mis-used, has, as it puts it, the “potential to undermine the special nature of hunting that is passed from one generation to the next”.

“When new products like the Geovid Pro 32 come out there are people within the industry who ask us “is this fair chase?” That’s a good thing,” says Ryan, who was inspired to contact the club after reading an article by Andrew McKean in Outdoor Life about a change to its stance on the use of certain types of technology in big game hunting. “We want to be on the right side of this movement, because it is a big movement, and we want to make sure that organizations like the Boone & Crockett Club understand what we’re doing,” he adds.

“When I knew the Geovid Pro 32 was about to enter the market I reached out to the Boone & Crockett Club and asked them where they thought the restrictions on the use of technology in order to achieve a place in their records should end. I presented what we were doing with the binoculars and said customers can use the Geovid Pro 32 the right way and the wrong way,” says Ryan.

“From a sales point of view, I don’t want the club to come out and say no more laser rangefinders or waypoint mapping because these are the things the binoculars can do very well,” he adds. “The club suggested we get together and support the technology that isn’t violating any laws, but could if it were used the wrong way. We want to educate people on the right way and say don’t be “that person” [who misuses their equipment].

The two-way partnership will be ongoing, and will seek to open up a conversation within the wider hunting community, rather than be measured in sales figures or hits on social media. A podcast is planned, during which Leica and the Boone & Crockett Club will work to spread the message of ethical hunting.

So does Ryan see the collaboration as an opportunity to head off future challenges that hunters in the US will face?

“I think so,” he says. “If we do this now it’s a smart move. Guns shoot further, rangefinders see further, you can shoot an animal at 2,500 yards - but should you? We don’t want to market this product as “a better way to kill bigger deer or elk, or make your hunt any easier. We want to be proactive and say you can use this technology incorrectly. It’s just like a cell phone, you can have a cell phone in your pocket and you’re guiding someone towards an elk. That’s wrong. That’s unethical. That’s illegal. The technology we’re using in the Geovid Pro 32 isn’t illegal anywhere and we don’t want it to get that way.”

I suggest to Ryan that since hunting and shooting across the globe is under scrutiny like never before, being seen to be doing the right thing by the quarry is not only ethical but absolutely necessary, no matter what the brand...

“We’re more serious than ever about ethical hunting,” he says, noting how the final Geovid Pro 32 was quite different to its original drawings thanks in part to ethicacy conversations. “The mapping feature was a culmination of the right people asking the right questions and wanting to come out of our comfort zone,” he adds.

“We are very careful in our marketing, our approach, how we talk to people and express our views. We are reminding customers that they cannot use certain products in certain States, and that they need to follow individual laws and guidelines. We’re in the process of developing some really cool products, but we make sure we tell people that they won’t be able to use it in some places. So it’s more important than ever, especially now at a time when you’re seeing scopes that are 100% digital and do everything for you except pull the trigger, so I can see in the short term a time when we’re asking ourselves “is this right”?

And is there ever a time when doing the right thing is not the right thing to do?

For more information, check out www.leica-sportoptics.com, and visit Leica's Facebook and Instagram page at www.facebook.com/LeicaHuntingUSA and www.instagram.com/LeicaHuntingUSA

2021-2022 The Hunting Wire Voice of Leadership Panel

The Voice of Leadership Panel is an appointed group of outdoor industry leaders who have volunteered to contribute their voices on key hunting and outdoor recreation issues to inform, inspire, and educate participants within our community.

• Cyrus Baird - Senior Director of Government Affairs, Delta Waterfowl
• Karen Butler - Founder/President, SLG2, INC DBA: Shoot Like A Girl
• Eric Morris – Producer & Host - N.onT.ypical Outdoorsman TV
• Ken Perrotte - President of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoors Writers (AGLOW)
• Brenda Weatherby - Director of People and Culture, Weatherby, Inc.
• Courtney Nicolson - Associate Director of Communications, Sportsmen's Alliance

Facilitators

• James “Jay” Pinsky, Editor, The Hunting Wire
• Peter Churchbourne, Director, NRA Hunter Leadership Forum
• Jim Curcuruto, Executive Director, Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation

EDGEFIELD, S.C.—The National Wild Turkey Federation awarded Helen Bailey of Mechanicsville, Maryland, with the $10,000 Dr. James Earl Kennamer Academic Scholarship, sponsored by Mossy Oak.

“Hunting has been a family tradition that has been passed down through generations,” Bailey said. “Continuing these traditions will keep hunting alive and is something that is important to me and my family.”

As the recipient of the NWTF’s 2022 Dr. James Earl Kennamer National Academic Scholarship, Bailey distinguished herself as a dedicated conservationist, hunter, intellectual and a steward of her community. Throughout her high school career, Bailey has excelled in her studies, taking nearly all AP courses and concluding her high school career with a 4.0 GPA and second in her class of 379.

Bailey has exemplified leadership by balancing her extracurricular activities with her scholastic achievements. She has served as captain and team leader for Chopticon High School’s softball and volleyball teams, both of which she has been a part of throughout her four years in high school. In addition, she has served four years on the Chopticon Class of 2022 Officer Team, where she was previously the school publicist and is currently the vice president. Bailey is also her school’s current National Honor Society president.

The Maryland native is as involved with her community as she is in her academics, as an active member of the NWTF, Ducks Unlimited, Mechanicsville Optimist Club, Southern Maryland Impact travel softball team and her church.

Outside of Bailey’s academic excellence and involvement in her community, she grew up around the Chesapeake Bay enjoying all of the area’s great outdoor opportunities, including crabbing, fishing and hunting.

“NWTF is thankful to Mossy Oak for their sponsorship of the Dr. James Earl Kennamer Academic Scholarship program, and we are proud to honor the achievements of students like Helen Bailey,” said Teresa Carroll, NWTF Education and Outreach Programs coordinator. “We wish her much success as she continues to pursue her lifelong passion for hunting and conservation and a degree in biology and environmental sciences.”

The NWTF is proud to have supported over $5.5 million in academic scholarships to students like Bailey across North America who demonstrate leadership skills and a commitment to conservation and academic excellence.

“We are immensely proud of Helen’s accomplishments in her studies and her community,” NWTF CEO Becky Humphries said. “Bright-minded conservationists like Helen are leading the charge to conserve our natural resources and preserve our hunting heritage, and the NWTF is pleased to invest in her future.”

About the National Wild Turkey Federation

When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America. After decades of work, that number hit a historic high of almost 7 million turkeys. To succeed, the NWTF stood behind science-based conservation and hunters' rights. Today, the NWTF is focused on the future of hunting and conservation through its Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative. Since 2012, this 10-year initiative has already eclipsed goals of conserving or enhancing more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruiting or retaining more than 1.5 million hunters and opening access to more than 500,000 acres for hunting and other recreation opportunities. This critical work will continue to impact wildlife habitat and our great outdoors in the final years of the initiative.

National Wild Turkey Federation
PO Box 530
Edgefield South Carolina 29824
United States

For more information, contact Pete Muller at (803) 637-7698 or pmuller@nwtf.net

By Larry Weishuhn and Luke Clayton

Luke Clayton and Larry Weishuhn

Listen: Hunting Wire Radio Episode 44

NSSF®, the firearm industry trade association, marked a milestone achievement when firearm and ammunition manufacturers topped $15 billion in contributions to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund since its inception in 1937.

“This is an achievement for which all in the firearm and ammunition industry are proud,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF’s President and CEO. “This historic milestone is indicative of the value this industry places on the conservation of wildlife and the habitats in which they thrive. The Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, which is mainly funded by taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers, has been responsible for the restoration and recovery of America’s iconic game species, including the Rocky Mountain elk, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, wild turkey and a variety of waterfowl. These funds have also contributed to the recovery of non-game species that are not hunted, including the American bald eagle. The firearm and ammunition industry is filled with pride to achieve this landmark for conservation funding and the role our industry plays to ensure America’s wildlife is perpetuated for future generations.”

It was less than a year ago that NSSF announced Firearm and Ammunition Excise Tax contributions surpassed $14 billion.

The Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson fund, is funded by excise taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers on their products, as well as archery equipment manufacturers. The excise tax is set at 11 percent of the wholesale price for long guns and ammunition and 10 percent of the wholesale price for handguns. The excise tax, paid by manufacturers and importers, applies to all firearms produced or imported for commercial federal law enforcement sales, whether the purpose is for recreational shooting, hunting or personal defense. The tax is administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Department of the Treasury, which turns the funds over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

USFWS deposits the Pittman-Robertson revenues into a special account called the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund administered by the USFWS. These funds are made available to states and territories the year following their collection based on a statutory formula. Earlier this year, USFWS announced it had dispersed to the states $1.5 billion in total funding, of which $1.1 billion was directly tied to taxes paid by the firearm and ammunition industry.

These 10 to 11 percent excise tax dollars collected since 1937 under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act are specifically designated to be used by state wildlife agencies for conservation and related purposes. Collectively, purchasers of firearms and ammunition, hunters and the industry are the greatest source of wildlife conservation funding.

About NSSF

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Safari Club International Foundation's mission is to ensure the future of wildlife through conservation, education and hunting. The Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) has been a leading force in science-based and research-driven solutions to priority wildlife management issues for the last two decades.