More than $1 billion generated from the established excise tax on firearms and ammunition sales will be allocated to support wildlife conservation initiatives, public shooting ranges, and hunter education programs.
Since 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration program has collected taxes—11 percent on long guns and ammunition, 10 percent on handguns—for public recreation and conservation. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these funds are distributed to state wildlife agencies, which must apply and match local dollars. Typically, grants cover 75 percent of costs, with states contributing 25 percent, often from hunting and fishing license revenue.
The amount of cash available through Pittman-Robertson has increased significantly over the past 15 years, thanks to a sustained surge in gun and ammunition sales. For example, in 2012, the USFWS allocated just $371 million from collected taxes, but by 2014, this figure had doubled to $760 million.
In all, over $31 billion has been made available to states since Pittman-Robertson and its companion Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Acts were adopted, an amount that has been matched by over $10 billion from partnered state and local agencies. Officials hold that the program has helped over 800 species of mammals and birds, provided hunter education to more than 1 million students, opened over 36 million acres of state land to hunting and fishing, and constructed or renovated over 850 public shooting ranges.
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 Fiscal Year 2026 allocation was sportsman-rich Texas, with the Lone Star State allocated $38.5 million. By comparison, California, which has one-third greater population than Texas but has consistently whittled down the number of active hunters in the state via increasing regulation and persecution of youth shooting sports, was only apportioned $26.8 million. Hunting and fishing powerhouse Alaska, with of only 738,000 residents but over 150,000 resident conservation licenses, is slated to receive up to $35.5 million in the latest apportionment.
It can be argued that purchasers of firearms and ammunition are the greatest source of wildlife conservation funding.
"This $1.2 billion, of which the overwhelming majority is derived from taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers, is the tangible evidence of our industry's commitment to perpetuating healthy wildlife populations and the public lands on which they thrive," Mark Oliva, public affairs director at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told Guns.com.
"The wildlife we enjoy in America is the envy of the world. That's possible because of the user-pays system that funds it. It is today's hunters, and most accurately today's recreational target shooters, who make this possible by buying the products that fund wildlife conservation, hunter education, access to public lands, and public range construction. NSSF is proud of the lasting contributions our industry makes through these investments," said Oliva.
Banner image: One of two rifle ranges at the McHenry Shooting Facility, a public range built and maintained by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks that includes not only rifle ranges but also pistol ranges, skeet/trap fields, 3D archery, and more. It was constructed in 2014 via Pittman-Robertson Act funds. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
