“ Hunting and Recreational Shooting Among Active Military Personnel : Implications for Recruitment , Retention and Reactivation ” produced data related to servicemembers ’ views and participation in hunting and shooting , as well as any roadblocks to potential participation .

Approximately 1.4 million people are on active duty in American armed forces , with almost another half million in the National Guard . This substantial segment of the population is trained with firearms , and many active-duty members are already accustomed to the outdoors , which makes them a great target for hunting and shooting recruitment , retention and reactivation ( R3 ). Despite the clear overlap and potential , very little information exists that reveals the attitudes of military members toward hunting and recreational shooting .

Perhaps the first comprehensive study of military personnel related to hunting and shooting R3 efforts , this research project arose from an earlier Sportsmen ’ s Alliance endeavor seeking to identify and eliminate legal and regulatory obstructions to the

recruitment of American military members . When we began that study , we found that there was very little data available for military members related to the sportsmen ’ s lifestyle . For the industry to reach this important segment of the population , we need sound data .

Our newest report surveyed military members across all branches and ranks as to their views and current or potential desires pertaining to hunting and shooting . The full report breaks the responses down across many categories between both hunting and shooting . With sound data , the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance can identify ways to better serve military members legally and legislatively , while the entire industry , including all 50 state wildlife agencies , can provide unique opportunities and focused R3 efforts .

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