Next Monday, we will observe Memorial Day. As many of you know, Memorial Day is when we remember and honor our fallen military veterans for their ultimate sacrifice.

It is a vastly different moment than Veterans Day, and I wanted us to take a moment to remember this. It's important because the ultimate price of our freedoms is unimaginable, and it always has been. Like many of you, I have lost friends to war. One such friend of mine was U.S. Navy Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Robert Richard McRill who died on July 6, 2007, while serving with a SEAL team in Iraq. "Bobby" was a combat photographer and a wonderful husband, father, and mentor. Along with fellow Sailors Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Steven Phillip Daugherty and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Jason Dale Lewis, he died when an improvised bomb detonated under their Humvee.

The Hunting Wire honors and remembers our country's heroes who gave their lives for our freedoms.

Thank you,

U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer James Pinsky

By Courtney Nicolson, Associate Director of Communications, Sportsmen’s Alliance

When those of us in the hunter education world speak about how to grow the number of licenses purchasing hunters in the US, there is a definitive plan of attack called R3. This term refers to Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation. Starting in 2016, the National R3 Community is a group of professionals that work with the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports to discuss partnerships, resources, and motivations to grow the numbers in our ranks.

Most of the attention is often focused on the first R. Indeed, Recruitment seems like the biggest pool to dive into. With less than 5% of the country being hunters, that other 95% looks like a wide-open opportunity. Of course, you can’t have the additional two Rs without first creating a hunter. Historically, the recruitment of new hunters happened at home and at a young age. An overwhelming number of hunters began as a child following around their family’s patriarch through the woods, toting a .22 rifle or .410 shotgun in search of bushy tails twitching in the notches of trees. In recent years it’s an inspiring trend that we see an abundance of adult-onset hunters coming from non-hunting families. I am one such hunter.

I took hunter education at the age of 23. I made a few hunting friends in the state of New York, where I was living at the time, and it was a sorrowful goodbye when my company relocated me to Denver, Colorado, at the age of 28. “But who will I go duck hunting with?!” I lamented as I packed my boxes. My only concern was this cross-country move to a state where I didn’t know anyone. Priorities, right?

I started a group called Colorado Women Who Hunt on the old Meetup.com website, and at our first Meet and Greet event, I heard many stories. “I used to hunt. . . until”. This was my first real interaction with the third R of Reactivation. As I met more and more women (our group grew to over 300), I heard three main stories. ‘I used to hunt with my family and didn’t continue the tradition’ and ‘I used to hunt and then moved somewhere new and didn’t have friends to go with or places to go’ where two of the groups. However, by a large margin, the story I heard the most was ‘a spouse or significant other introduced me to hunting, we separated, and I never hunted again’.

Retention and Reactivation are circular processes that can happen to a hunter. Retention is best defined as retaining a hunter who will purchase hunting licenses annually and spend time afield in pursuit of game. The longer a hunter stays out of the active stage, the harder it becomes to reactivate. Since we already have the three R’s of R3, I added a new acronym called P4: Places, Partners, Products, and Parenting. Each of these four P’s can be an opportunity for Reactivation or a roadblock.

Places

I meet a lot of hunters who used to hunt growing up but then went off to college, perhaps in a metropolitan area, and never hunted again. The roadblock created by a change in location can be significant. If you grew up hunting on your family farm, lease, or hunting club, the entire concept of scouting and the knowledge required might be foreign. Before digital mapping tools, knowing where public and private land intersected was a challenge. Hunting whitetail deer on your family farm in Wisconsin is different from hunting elk on public land in Colorado. Simply the process of applying for a license will seem completely overwhelming. Without a real push to continue your hunting endeavors in a new place, they might be gone.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife does an incredible job of offering 101 courses from everything from Elk Hunting 101 to Big Game Application 101. They even provide particular iterations of these classes for women only. Not only is it a great way to learn about your new home state, but you might even meet a new hunting partner there. Find out which state parks allow hunting and see if they have any habitat restoration projects. Volunteering is a great way to get the lay of the land, and again, you just might make a new friend.

Retirement can be a huge catalyst for Reactivation. With the sudden influx of free time, and perhaps funds, many see retirement as a chance to find new hobbies or spend time kindling the love of old ones. You may also give you the time to take that dream hunt somewhere far away, or to purchase a guided hunt close to home. This might be a nudge to get back into your old boots.

Partners

There is overlap between Partners and Places, and the two should go hand in hand when looking to get back into the hunting lifestyle. As generations pass, families may be spread farther apart geographically than ever. If needed, plan that trip home for Christmas, book a guide, and take out the family member who introduced you to hunting. Take that first step if you feel that knowledge needs to be passed down. Let them know that you are interested in getting back into hunting, and you’ll be surprised by the outpour of support. . . and books. So many books. Sometimes going home to your old stomping grounds is just what is needed to reignite that flame.

Speaking of old flames. . . if a past love interest taught you how to hunt, that passion for hunting doesn’t need to end when. . .er. . .that passion does. Bringing knowledge back into it, many women I meet say they don’t know how to hunt without their ex-partner because they didn’t teach them while afield. I’ve experienced this. I remember my very first duck hunt. I asked my ex-partner to explain how he chose to arrange decoys. He bristly responded, “I don’t have time; the sun is coming up.” In my first foray into the wetlands post break up, I threw a half dozen decoys into a semi-circle, and my strategy refined over time. Find yourself some new partners.

When moving to a new place or looking to reactivate in your home state, a surefire win-win is to join a local chapter-based wildlife non-profit such as Ducks Unlimited or the Ruffed Grouse Society. Volunteer for the committee and attend some banquets and habitat restoration projects. You might just meet a new friend to hunt with and will learn an abundance of knowledge about hunting in your new state or how hunting in your home state has shifted since you left the scene.

Products

I’ve worked in the hunting industry my whole career, and as a marketer, it is someone’s job to make you think that you need everything from this year’s catalog to be a successful hunter. That is simply incorrect. However, if you have been an inactive hunter for many years, you likely need a lot of replacement gear. Some sizing to safety updates will be required for camouflage clothing and boots, tree stands and ground blinds, and perhaps even more costly items like firearms and optics. The costs for a reactivated hunter can be just as much as for a newly recruited hunter.

Just because you don’t have an older sibling to hand you down used clothing and gear doesn’t mean you need to buy new. Used clothing stores, online marketplaces, and apps are great places to find used camo clothing. Maybe a friend is upgrading their optics and is interested in selling you their used rifle scope. Need a big-ticket item like a boat or hunting lease? Going in with hunting partners can lessen the sting of the sticker price and provide company, but make sure rules and expectations are agreed upon and put on paper if needed to protect your friendship. As my partner says, “Everything on your boat is broken; you just don’t know it yet.”

Parenting

We’ve all seen the meme, a photo of a pregnancy test with a positive symbol and text with some witty phrase surmounting to “Your hunting days are over.” When welcoming a newborn into the world, finding time to hunt might be a challenge at first. For some parents, this can be a catalyst to them falling out of the hunting world and maybe never reactivating again.

Your children might just be your reason to reactivate as a hunter for other parents. I am a hunter education instructor, and I have seen a remarkable trend of women coming in with their children. Sometimes they are taking the course themselves as a new hunter. Some are reactivating as hunters. This is an example of how important all three Rs are to the hunting community. If you are focused on recruiting new young hunters, a delightful repercussion might be creating a second new hunter in their parent or a win for reactivating a hunter.

I firmly believe that anyone can become a hunter at any age in any state. I also think that you can also reactivate as a hunter. Be curious, and step outside of your comfort zone. Take that hike, and find your local sporting goods store and gun range. Maybe create a new community for hunters where you live. Life is short, and it’s never too late to take that hard right turn. Hunting brings a sense of fulfillment and comradery that I have yet to find elsewhere. What once was can be again. If you are interested in reactivating as a hunter, know that an entire support system in R3 nationwide is waiting for you. Come on back, ya’ll, ya hear!

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

By Bret Collier - Associate Professor
Louisiana State University - School of Renewable Natural Resources

Bret Collier, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at Louisiana State University, assisted with a prescribed burn on the Sandy Hollow WMA.

As readers of the Hunting Wire know, I run a pretty active collegiate new hunter program out of my office here at LSU. For about the last decade, each year my partners and I run around 80 college students studying natural resources through our program, introducing them to hunting as a mechanism for wildlife conservation. For those of us who are already hunters, we understand the stages of hunting that hunters go through, which, briefly defined are 1) introduction and shooting, 2) limiting out, 3) selectivity or trophy, 4) method, and 5) sportsman stages. I consider myself to be at the sportsman stage (and likely a bit past) as my joy of hunting is equal whether I harvest, or whether I support others learning to harvest. I have learned through the collegiate hunting program that there is no more sacred bond that that of the hunter and the hunted, and that reduction of a publicly owned resource to private possession is an activity that requires the utmost respect and responsibility from the hunting community.

At LSU, and at hunter education programs across the nation, the concept of Fair Chase, as championed by the Boone and Crockett Club, is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit of free-ranging wild game without any unfair or improper advantage. But what is ethics when it comes to hunting? Ethics is commonly defined as the principles that govern behavior or conduct during an activity. So, how does our behavior and conduct come into play when pursuing hunting activities? One can read stories about Teddy Roosevelt shooting turkeys off of a roost at night or coursing turkeys with greyhounds. Today no one would dream of shooting turkeys off of a roost at night as it is both against the law, and our commonly reached hunter ethics now dissuades us from that approach to harvest. But, at the time, was a night roost shoot considered unethical? What about our use of technology and how it has advanced our abilities to see, monitor, and lure the wild game we are interested in harvesting? The decoys for waterfowl, doves, and turkey hunting are so accurate when it comes to color, shape, size, and even movements that one would be hard pressed to tell the difference between what is a decoy and what is a wild bird. Digital trail camera’s provide a date-time stamped record of visitations by wildlife to food plots and pinch points on the landscape, up to and including sending us pictures to our cell phones such that we know exactly when and where to expect game to show up—but is this unethical? Our North American Model of Wildlife Conservation values the resource, and the availability of the resource to society as primary tenets. Respecting wildlife while hunting, but not attempting to get an unfair advantage is paramount, as those individuals that escape harvest represent the resources carried over year to year.

I took my daughter turkey hunting with me a few times this past year, and we were sitting in the ground blind one morning watching the sun rise and a nice adult male wild turkey walked across the field towards my female decoy and stopped to strut about 50 yards from the blind. My daughter, barely able to contain her excitement, waited patiently for a shot that never came, as the turkey remained 50 yards away and never got closer. When we were driving home she asked me why I had not shot that bird? I explained to her that -that bird won the day- because her father’s hunting ethics is to not shoot at any time I might wound a bird. Now, readers will surely say that a 50 yard shot is, as one of my buddies said, a chip shot. That may be true, but on that morning, my effective range was not strictly a decision of harvest, but also a showing of my hunting ethics to my daughter, such that when she is independently hunting, she will build her own ethical framework upon the foundation I have laid.

I don’t attempt to apply my hunting ethics to anyone, nor do I want someone to apply their hunting ethics to me. However, I consider myself a sportsman, and as a sportsman, harvest is part of the goal, but attaining that goal is not the only way to be a sportsman. It is this same benefit to the resource that we provide anyone who hunts with us here at LSU, in that how we approach the hunting and harvest of wild game will likely influence how they approach the sport of hunting and harvest in the future. Thus, as the stewards of the hunting resource, the ethics that we practice can trickle down through the generations. As such my approach to hunting and hunter education is that one should always show the willingness to not harvest, and enjoy the moment, and by letting those individuals we are chasing pass on by, assist in ensuring sustainability for the wildlife we all enjoy for future generations.

As always, I hope that if anyone ever has any questions, or topics they might be interested in hearing about, please feel free to contact me.

\bret

You can contact Dr. Bret Collier at:
bret@lsu.edu, or via social media;
Twitter: @drshortspur
Instagram: @drshortspur

By Shaylene Keiner, President of HeadHunters NW

The shooting, hunting, and outdoor marketplace isn’t the only industry affected by staffing issues in the wake of the pandemic. With fewer professionals willing to put in hours, competition for them is tighter than ever. That means leaders and hiring managers must keep their current teams motivated and understand how to attract new talent.

This “new normal” means we all need to get used to ammunition prices. Still, it also requires organizations and individuals to recognize both the obvious and seemingly obscure issues inherent in today’s workforce. Yes, some folks are eager to work in the hunting industry, but others prefer to follow the dollar rather than their interests.

Because of the inexhaustible availability of information and the rise of social media, people expect communication and transparency at every step of their careers. They are used to having access to details like EBITDA and are savvy enough to see through any roadblocks to interaction. Instead of interpreting their expectations as inconvenient, look at them as an opportunity to shape your team or your own career.

Many of us who have been part of the outdoor industry for decades recall when the internet was a novelty, but access to the superhighway of information is a generally new phenomenon. Younger professionals are used to the metaverse delivering answers in seconds, but this lightning-fast pace has caused a fundamental shift in values that insist on consideration. It seems no one is immune. From executives who work for our most popular hunting brands to those who work on manufacturing lines, they are exiting the workforce in droves. Some retire, and some simply move on to other careers.

The key factor here is that folks in all sectors of society are re-thinking what is most important to them. Their values are the priority, and their beliefs and attitudes influence their actions. This trend is essential to reflect upon when building your organization or considering a career move. But it is equally important to remember that hunting is a lifestyle, which makes working in the industry that supports it especially attractive to outdoor enthusiasts.

Keeping this concept of modern values and attitudes in mind, HeadHunters NW offers ten valuable tips for hunting industry businesses and career seekers in 2022.

Current Workforce

1. ENCOURAGE POSITIVE MORALE: Optimism is critical in maintaining a stressed workforce. These days, customers are vocal in their complaints about low inventory, lines, and customer service, making motivating front-line workers difficult. A simple thank you and appreciation for a job well done or when someone takes an extra shift makes an enormous difference in the morale of your workforce. Think about incentives such as offering flexible hours on the opening day of deer season.
2. TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATIONS: Ask questions of the entire staff regularly. Get their feedback monthly, weekly, and daily if needed. When people participate in decision-making, they’re more engaged and eager to please. Understanding the goals of your staff can root out problems and motivate individuals to offer creative solutions. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know if they understand your objectives.

Engaging Talent

1. JOB DESCRIPTION: Job descriptions are as crucial as your tag line or mission statement. This may be the first time a person has heard of your company, and first impressions are essential. Describe the positives of the role you’re looking to fill and breathe life into the description and the organization. It’s okay to make it fun and be lighthearted as long as it represents the company and clearly outlines the duties and expectations for job seekers.
2. ADVERTISE THE POSITION: This allows you to let people know about the culture of your organization and what makes it an attractive place to work. Spell out benefits, levels of responsibility, the potential for career growth, and emphasis on teamwork. Your competitors will be seeking the same top talent you are, so use this opportunity to differentiate your company and the position.
3. RESPOND: Don’t forget to answer applicants. Welcome applicants in, tell them you care and learn what they seek. Understanding their ideals will be key when deciding which applicant is the best fit. Think of it as the handshake moment when people get their first person-to-person experience with you and your brand. We all know how awful it feels when a potential employer doesn’t respond. No one likes to feel ignored.
4. INTERVIEW PROCESS: This should always be a two-way conversation where you get more details about the applicant, their style, and what they bring to the role. In addition to explaining the intricacies of the job, use this time to get to know them and learn if they would be a good fit for your team, your company culture, and the goals you have set for the organization. It’s an excellent time to learn if they share your values and what you have in common. You could chat about your hunting camp adventures to break the ice.

Onboarding

1. DAY ONE: Most people prefer to know as much as possible about the organization they have just committed to. They are eager to learn and excel in their new job. Be sure to support your investment in new talent by providing a tour, introductions to team members and others they should know in the company, and other simple things like ensuring they have the office supplies they need. It’s always nice to treat people to lunch on the first day to welcome them to your team. Then you can ask them how it’s going, and they can ask questions they need answers to.
2. WEEK ONE: Plan for the time at the end of the first week to ask how their week played out. Listen to their feedback as it might offer insight into improving the onboarding process for the next person.
3. 30-, 60-, & 90-DAY REVIEWS: These meetings should focus on praise and setting expectations. No matter how small, any problems should be addressed immediately and reinforced with positive feedback when corrected.
4. CAREER PATH: Understanding and engaging with staff about their dreams and goals for their career or expectations for their time working for you is a significant step in grooming people for long-term success. Plant the seed of career growth and what promotions could be in their future.

Bonus Tip: Change is good! Explain to potential candidates and loyal staff alike that change can present the best opportunity for growth and recognition within your company. Folks who readily roll with changes and overcome objections to change are historically much more successful than those who shy away and complain.

Shaylene Keiner is President of HeadHunters NW

HeadHunters NW recruits talent for Fortune 500 corporations, venture, private equity groups, family-owned businesses, and non-profits while uncovering talent for C-suite roles, vital management positions, and more. HeadHunters NW discovers thriving candidates from various industries, functions, and regions and places them in influential roles in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry. Employees who can drive your objectives to the next level are within our reach, and we secure them for you swiftly. HeadHunters NW helps you hire the best talent for your team in the timeframe you set.

The 2022 National R3 Symposium wrapped up last week in Broken Arrow, OK. The 220 participants representing over 100 different organizations with a vested interest in hunting and shooting sports were the first to lay eyes on data released from the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sport (Council), documenting a slight decrease in hunting license sales in 2021.

“It’s important to note that a hunting license sale does not necessarily equal a participant, but we often use sales as an indicator of participation trends,” said the Council’s Director of Research and Partnerships, Charles ‘Swanny’ Evans, as he opened the session on hunting participation at the Symposium. Swanny went on to present the findings of the Hunting License Sales 2020-2021 report.

This study was the follow-up to the COVID-19 and Hunting License Sales report the Council released last year, documenting a 4.9% increase in hunting license sales from 2019 to 2020. To continue monitoring the pandemic’s impact, the Council revisited this study in early 2022 to identify ongoing changes and emerging trends in hunters’ rates of license purchases. Working with Southwick Associates, the Council collected monthly resident and nonresident hunting license sales data from 46 state wildlife agencies to quantify and compare 2021 to 2020 sales. Among the 46 reporting states:

• Overall, hunting license sales decreased by approximately 1.9% in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Resident license sales were down 4.0%.
• Nonresident license sales increased by 12.9%. 

“While there was a decrease in resident hunting license purchases in 2021, the surge in nonresident license sales blunted the overall effect and sales were still higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels,” Swanny said before turning the discussion to data from another source, the License Sales Data Dashboard.

The License Sales Data Dashboard project is stirring excitement because it will be transitioning to a real-time dashboard in the near future, providing timely information to the public and R3 practitioners. Southwick Associates recently updated it to its current form. While it only has data from 20 states, the overall trends demonstrated were similar to the Hunting License Sales 2020 – 2021 report. In addition to those trends, the dashboards provide a more in-depth view into several categories when looking at hunting license sale changes from 2020 to 2021:

• New recruits (bought a license in 2021, but none of the previous five years) were down 9%.
• Churn, which demonstrates turnover in hunting (bought a license in 2020, but not 2021), increased by 1%.
• The only monitored age range to show an overall increase was the 35 – 44-year-old group.

When asked about these projects after the Symposium, the Council’s Executive Director, Dr. Steven Leath, commented, “We are pleased that engagement in hunting is still higher than it was a couple of years ago and we look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners to increase the number of states providing data to the License Data Dashboard as we transition it from the current form to a real-time resource available to everyone.”

The Hunting License 2020 – 2021 report, which provides the most representative data of the current state of hunting license sales nationally and regionally, can be accessed on the Council’s website, cahss.org/hunting-license-sales-2020-2021.
 
The License Sales Data Dashboard, which does not yet have enough states to be truly representative of national trends, but provides valuable information regarding finer scale categories than the previously mentioned report, can be accessed on the National Shooting Sports Foundation or American Sportfishing Association websites.

About the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

Purpose: Ensure support for and active participation in hunting and the shooting sports for future generations.

Vision: America where hunting and the shooting sports are an integral part of mainstream culture and where hunters and shooters are widely recognized as premiere conservation contributors.

Mission: Facilitate the promotion and growth of hunting and the shooting sports and the education of the public on the contributions that hunters and shooters make towards wildlife conservation.

The 2022 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits are just around the corner, and attendees can plan on HatsanUSA and Escort Shoguns to be there. NRA members can find both brands at booth number 317. Keep a close eye on their social media pages for exclusive NRA Show specials and promotions.
 

Caza Outdoors, LLC (DBA Pnuma Outdoors) is pleased to announce industry veteran Phil Dalrymple as General Manager of Pnuma Outdoors and Heated Core.