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By Joe Bartozzi

Wildlife conservation in the United States is seeing another windfall, thanks to the firearm and ammunition industry.

NSSF announced that firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid a record-setting $300,498,588.23 in the first quarter of 2022. That’s the most-ever firearm and ammunition excise tax for the first quarter of any year and brings the total contributions to the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes to over $15.3 billion since the fund was established in 1937.

The latest Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Collection report released by the Department of Treasury indicates that firearm and ammunition manufacturers reported tax liabilities are up 1.2 percent over the same time period reported in 2021. The report, which covers the time period of Jan. 1 through March 31, 2022, shows that $103.4 million was due in taxes for Pistols and Revolvers, $88.4 million for Firearms (other)/ Long Guns and $108.7 million for Ammunition (shells and cartridges).

Conservation Leader

This is proof, yet again, that the firearm industry is a leader in wildlife conservation. These 10 to 11 percent excise tax dollars collected since 1937 under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act are designated to be used by state wildlife agencies for conservation. It is one of the few taxes that is in a government “lockbox.” The excise taxes collected do not go into the general fund but are set apart for wildlife conservation purposes.

The tax is currently administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in the Treasury Department, which turns the funds over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS then deposits the PR revenue into a special account called the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, which is administered by the USFWS. These funds are made available to states and territories the year following their collection.

rifles gun store display guns

Last year, USFWS distributed over $1.5 billion to the states for wildlife conservation. Of that total, $1.1 billion was sourced from excise taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers.

Benefitting Recreational Shooters & Hunters

Those funds are being put to good use to benefit recreational shooters, hunters and those who admire wildlife. NSSF championed the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, which was signed into law in 2019 by President Donald Trump. That law changed the formula for states to access Pittman-Robertson funds to build new or expand and improve existing public gun ranges. The law reduced the matching down payments from states to start a project from 25 percent to just 10 percent and increased the number of years states have to finish building new or improving existing gun ranges.

gun store sales counter AR-15 customer
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That allows more recreational shooters to access a safe shooting range to practice, which makes for safer gun owners. More practice equals more ammunition consumed, which in turn, generates more funds for conservation.

For hunters and wildlife enthusiasts, the benefits are nearly everywhere. Pittman-Robertson funds make it possible for states to increase access to public lands for hunting and recreational shooting. Those funds have proven critical in sustaining the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which is the envy of the world. When the Pittman-Robertson excise tax was established in 1937, wildlife in the United States was in dire straits.

ammo ammunition feat
Dan Z. for TTAG

In the early 1900s, there were just a half a million Whitetail deer, only 41,000 Rocky Mountain elk, 100,000 wild turkeys, 12,000 pronghorn antelope and waterfowl were few in number. Today, it’s a different picture because of the conservation investments in wildlife and the habitats in which they thrive. Whitetail deer number over 32 million, over 1 million Rocky Mountain elk roam, including in states like Virginia that just opened elk hunting for the first time in nearly a century. More than 7 million wild turkeys are found across the landscape and over 1.1 million pronghorn antelope run free. Waterfowl populations exceed 44 million.

gun store counter
Store owner Bren Brown, stands with a display of handguns at Frontier Justice in Lee’s Summit, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

This $300.5 million paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers is sowing the seeds for generations to come. It’s a badge of honor that these manufacturers are proud to wear. Hunters and recreational shooters support conservation when they buy their products and combined with the sale of hunting licenses, stamps and fees, makes hunters and recreational shooters the greatest contributor to wildlife conservation.

 

Joe Bartozzi is the President and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation

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26 COMMENTS

  1. record number of guns and amount of ammo sold accounts for that.

    And now that the tyrant in the white house has successfully weaponized the fbi to use against his enemies more will be sold.

  2. While that is nice and all, any taxes on guns are just as illegal as poll taxes. If you cannot tax my vote, you can’t tax my guns either. Both are constitutional rights.

  3. Oh that just wont do, America needs to reappropriate that money to a worthy cause, like Moms Demand Action or Everytown Against Gunms.
    ????
    Yes its the theBiden way of doing business, highly illogical however this is Pelosi’s town of missfit toys.

  4. Meh…I have gats n ammo for my use. They’ve gotten a lot more expensive(& my van is on the shop). Nature is cool but i’d rather have the cash!

  5. Let me throw the smelly fish on the table….

    The contribution cited doesn’t matter. In an economy with a $30T public debt, $300M is a rounding error.Congress can simply appropriate more money for maintenance of wildlife.

    Hooray for those who contributed to conservation, but such a fact cannot move the needle regarding “usefulness/purpose” of defending an enumerated natural, human and civil right.

    None of the unicorn “undecideds” will be persuaded by pointing out how much legal gun owners contribute to a good cause.

    • 87,000 new IRS agents says every lousy penny .gov can squeeze out of us is worth the effort. $300 million (however it is appropriated) is not insignificant.

      I’d suggest we shooters, hunters and anglers pass the tax torch to birdwatchers, hikers and other outdoor parasites.

      • “I’d suggest we shooters, hunters and anglers pass the tax torch to birdwatchers, hikers and other outdoor parasites.”

        Nah, don’t give government a free ride for anything.

  6. I love nature however if a former Black American POTUS home was raided by jack booted fbi thugs America would be burning about now. Instead what happened to the home of POTUS DJT will be squawked about and swept under the rug just like the exit in Afghanistan, etc.
    If you do not vote in November you condone it all.

  7. “Deb, America never had a black president.”

    Surprised that one got by the possum.

    She set up a “what if” proposition, not a historical reference.

    • What if she didnt?
      I read the what if as what if they raided Obama.
      And many people forget that his mother was white which doesn’t make him black. So America never has had a black president.

      • “I read the what if as what if they raided Obama.”

        Well, that could be, as the majority of the public dies see Obama as Black (remember, it is racist to use standard math to determine the result of a 50-50 blend.)

  8. TYRANT IN WH ??, IS BETTER THAN THAT FAKE , LYING , TRATIOR OF A LOSSER THAT WAS LAST IN WH . O ANOTHER THING IT’S TRUE CAUSE I SAY SO ..
    tRUMP DOEN’T HAVE TO POTTY #2 , CAUSE THE TURDS , AND SHIT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH . tRUMP IS IN TOWN , BEND DOWN AND KISS HIS FOOT AND LICK IS AHOLE .
    WATCH OUT FOR GREENE SHE STUCK UP IN HIS AHOLE CAUSE HAWLEY USED HIS FIST TO PACT HER IN … FRGN TRATIORS . LOCK THEM UP AND THROW AWAY THA KEY .

    • “Privatize it all”

      Nah, throw onto government.

      “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand” — Milton Friedman”

  9. Yet another dumb article on here celebrating the punitive Pittman-Robertson taxes. It’s not my job to support some hunters hobby when I exercise my 2nd amendment right. If people were charged an extra 10% every time they bought a book, supposedly “to support literacy programs”, people would be livid. I’m supposed to be happy I’m being charged extra for everything so I can support bubba’s duck hunting hobby? The above poster is right, this is effectively a poll tax on gun/ammo buyers, should be abolished, refunded retroactively and should be declared unconstitutional. This scam has been going on for decades and needs to end now. If you want to support those programs then get out your checkbook and write them a check. Stop forcing all of us to pay for it.

  10. Without the ammo money I wonder what would be left of the wild?
    I’ve met so many people who ignore their habitat loss contribution while blaming hunters for wildlife loss. They build cottages then have the bears trapped when they come for the trash.

  11. Hello are you Looking for high quality anti riot helmet manufacturers
    We are working hard to serve clients from outside of China as forward-thinking tactical helmet manufacturers.

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