“Guilty by association!” was a standout statement made by one focus-group participant during a comprehensive nationwide study in 2024. The study was conducted to determine why hunting and target shooting have lost the support of more than 10 million adult Americans in just the past few years. 

Expanding upon that statement, the research team — comprised of staff from Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF) and Responsive Management — found clear evidence a significant portion of the general population associates guns with gun violence. Therefore, they assumed hunting and target shooting involving firearms must be bad as well.

“There really is a perception problem,” stated Peter Churchbourne, OSCF board chair and managing director of NRA’s Hunting Division. “This research builds upon past NRA findings and solidifies the need for a focus on communicating positive messages and truths about guns, hunting and target shooting to the general population.”

The worrisome loss in cultural acceptance was first quantified and published by OSCF in mid-2023 with the release of its “American Attitudes Towards Legal, Regulated Fishing, Target Shooting, Hunting and Trapping” research report. With the shocking loss in support by 10 million Americans in such a short period of time, it was imperative to determine how to combat the negative perception of firearms, hunting and target shooting.

What Resonates?

Work immediately began to identify specific messages that would resonate with the general population who had formed the opinion that guns, hunting and target shooting are bad.

“You really can’t blame the general population for having this opinion as the only messages they heard about guns and hunting come from groups not friendly to the outdoor market,” noted Churchbourne. “Hunting and target shooting offer many positive contributions to society; it’s time we communicate these positives to the general population.”

From improving habitat, cleaning up nature and donating extra harvests to feed the hungry, to being primary funders of land, fish and wildlife conservation in America, the outdoor industry along with hunters and target shooters have a lot to be proud of.

A key insight gained from the research was the general population’s positive response to hunters feeding the hungry with game meat donations. Realizing this, in Nov. 2023, the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum initiated a new effort to increase awareness of current donations, and the need for additional donations, with their National Wild Game Meat Donation Month (NWGMDM) campaign. 

After recently completing its second year, the campaign has expanded to request hunters share a game meat meal with a non-hunter and explain how hunters support conservation over dinner.

To complement NWGMDM, OSCF introduced its “Donate a Deer” messaging campaign Oct. 2024. The program asks current hunters, if an extra harvest is possible, to consider donating it to a local food bank. It also encourages hunters to spread the word about their game meat donations to their personal networks (social media and otherwise).

Another message the research team found that appeals to the general population is how the firearms industry, hunters and target shooters fund wildlife conservation, as well as fund access to more than 36 million acres of public lands across the nation. 

Using this knowledge, OSCF went to work developing its “Keepers of the Wild” public service announcement. Sept. 2024, the PSA went live with a national campaign to 11,000 radio and television stations across the country. Within the first three months of the campaign, the PSA was picked up by stations from coast to coast and received more than $1.5 million in donated value and 70 million impressions among the general public. 

This first-of-its-kind PSA is expected to receive over $5 million in donated value and more than 300 million impressions over the course of a year. It will make it the largest effort to promote such a positive message about the gun industry, hunters and target shooters to the general population.

(The PSA can be viewed — and shared — here: https://youtu.be/WGTFwx6a5Mg?si=1 LyGvh4uQ6SFYPCP.)

How You Can Help

The time to start improving cultural acceptance among the general population toward gun ownership, hunting and target shooting is now.

If your organization has anything to do with firearms, then promoting the positive contributions of the firearms industry, hunting and target shooting to the general population should become part of the media plan moving forward. 

The good news is the groundwork is already done. Comprehensive research has identified what messages resonate the best with the general population, and organizations like NRA and OSCF have developed programs and communications your organization can easily utilize.

 

Learn more by visiting outdoorstewards.org and hfth.nra.org or contact OSCF Executive Director, Jim Curcuruto at jim@stewardsofconservation.org.

 

Original article: Shootingindustry.com