Archery

Archery Manufacturers and Conservation

"Appreciating our game, respecting fellow hunters and landowners, and giving serious thought to tomorrow” — Fred Bear, The Archer’s Bible

For decades, American archery manufacturers have shared a partnership with state and federal biologists through the Pittman-Robertson Act — a partnership that funds remarkable conservation success stories across America and grows the sport of archery at the same time. 

This partnership would be impossible without you, the craftspeople and business owners who help fund the Wildlife Restoration grants. Our Partner with a Payer initiative invites you to join us and see how your success keeps our country’s wild landscape open for all and sustains our robust tradition of outdoor stewardship.

Wildlife Restoration funding benefits archers, bowhunters, and the public
In 1972, legendary archer Fred Bear and others in the Archery Trade Association supported an excise tax on archery equipment to be added to the Pittman-Robertson Act — a critical contribution to one of America’s most effective conservation alliances.
A bull elk

Restoring wildlife

Biologists study, monitor and manage 500 species of mammals and birds with federal excise tax funding, including hundreds of grants used by state agencies to research and restore elk populations in the last 10 years.

An outdoor archery park

Supporting archery ranges

Today, more than 200 archery ranges have been designed, constructed, renovated or opened to public fully supported by federal excise tax funding, like Alabama’s impressive network of 17 community archery parks.

A girl in hijab shooting a bow

Welcoming new archers

Every year, over 650,000 people receive hunter education supported by federal excise tax funds, like the students in the National Archery in the Schools Program – almost 20 million of them so far.

A stream in Kentucky

Conserving public land

More than 36 million acres are maintained for public access or habitat management with federal excise tax funding, like the 100,000-acre Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Texas, which boasts both mule and whitetail deer.

Did You Know?

Wildlife Restoration grants use federal excise taxes to ensure abundant wildlife, increase hunter access to millions of acres of wildlife habitat, and welcome new people into the sport through education — a productive trifecta that ultimately drives the sale of archery equipment.

 

The Currency of Conservation

Archery's Impact

Archery manufacturers pay federal excise taxes under the Wildlife Restoration Act which are then distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies to fund conservation work throughout the country. Hear from federal, state, and industry staff about why these products are essentially the “Currency of Conservation.”

Partner with a Payer: Hunting

Wildlife Restoration Successes

Partner with a Payer strengthens the ties between the people who make a successful conservation partnership work — the manufacturers that pay federal excise tax through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Acts, the state agencies that conserve wildlife and habitat across the country, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Conservation Investment.

Funding for Partner With A Payer

Your tax dollars at work

The Wildlife Restoration Act authorizes an 11 percent federal excise tax on sporting arms, ammunition and archery equipment, and a 10 percent tax on handguns. The tax is paid by the manufacturer of these goods. Each time a member of the public purchases one of these items, the retail price includes the federal excise tax. These funds are apportioned to the states on an annual basis based on a formula. State fish and wildlife agencies must provide at least 25 percent of the grant project’s costs. 

In The News

Two hunters in camo waiting in a turkey blind.

Angling, Archery, Firearms & Ammunition

September 22, 2026
Some holidays come with cake. Some come with fireworks. National Hunting and Fishing Day comes with muddy boots, tangled fishing line, early alarms, and the strong possibility that somebody will retell the story of “the one that got away.”
The sign for Rhode Island's Great Swamp Shooting Range.

Archery, Firearms & Ammunition, R3

August 20, 2026
August is National Shooting Sports Month, a time to celebrate target shooting, introduce new participants to the shooting sports, and recognize the places that make this pastime possible. In Rhode Island, that place is the Great Swamp Shooting Range.
A helicopter flies low over grasslands, following a herd of pronghorn.

Archery, Firearms & Ammunition, Management, Research

August 13, 2026
Whether you enjoy seeing pronghorn while driving along a highway, through a rifle scope, or just appreciate knowing they skitter about in the western states, they, and we, are beneficiaries of scientific wildlife management made possible by Pittman-Robertson funding.
Agencies and industry working together for conservation