Nearly $1 billion collected from a long-standing excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition will be available for state wildlife conservation, public shooting ranges, and hunters’ education. 
 
The funds, collected since 1937 through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration program, are mandated taxes set at 11 percent of the wholesale price of long guns and ammunition, and 10 percent of each handgun. 
 
This year's allocation to the states amounts to $989,531,728 to be used for wildlife conservation efforts. The funds are apportioned via a formula based largely on the number of hunting licenses sold in the state or territory. The largest recipient of the 2024 allocation was sportsman-rich Texas, with the Lone Star state allocated $45.7 million. By comparison, California, which has a one-third greater population than Texas but has consistently whittled down the number of active hunters in the state via increasing regulation and public persecution of youth shooting sports, was only apportioned $31.6 million. 
 
This revenue stream, controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, can only be used for the benefit of public recreation and conservation. These funds are apportioned to state wildlife agencies, which must apply for them and supply matching local dollars. The typical grant is 75 percent funded by the allocation, met by 25 percent from state conservation agencies, with the latter usually drawn from hunting license revenues and facility entrance fees.
 
“The firearm industry is proud to know that the overwhelming majority of the conservation dollars being re-invested back to state wildlife conservation and hunter education is derived from the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes paid by our industry," Mark Oliva, public affairs director with the National Shooting Sports Foundation President, told Guns.com. "Since the inception of the Pittman-Roberston excise tax in 1937, over $25 billion has been generated when adjusted for inflation, to ensure all Americans are able to enjoy access to public lands, abundant wildlife, healthy habitats for wildlife to thrive and hunter education and firearm safety programs that ensure the next generation of America’s hunter-conservationists are able to pass along this heritage to generations to come. There is no mistaking the firearm and ammunition industry’s commitment to conservation. This is in the DNA of our entire industry."