By: Ted Nugent
One of my favorite things about the hunting lifestyle is hanging out with the best people in the world. You know who they are; down to earth, grounded, hands-on conservationist hunting families from all across the land.
BloodBrothers.
The many campfires I share with them each season is off the charts special. You can really get to know the inner working mechanisms of a person around a campfire, and for my 70 years of hunting (I know, I didn’t actually carry a weapon the first few years of my life, but I was still out there!) I have come to the inescapable realization that the hunters of this world are solidly in the asset column of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I wish I could participate in all the hundreds of wonderful hunting and outdoor events around the country each year, but as my nonstop rock-n-roll touring adventures throttle on into that not so quiet night, my travel quota has been not only abused, but downright overdosed to a scary level.
This past weekend, thanks to a special buddy with a big jet, I was able to visit Salt Lake City, Utah and Twin Falls, Idaho to celebrate our cherished hunting life at the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife events in those two grand western cities.
The places were jammed packed with wall to wall dedicated sporting families numbering more than forty thousand in attendance. The exhibits of all the guides, outfitters, manufacturers and industry entrepreneurs was breathtaking to say the least.
Don Peay, the originator of the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife expositions, has pulled off the missing link in conservation events by securing tags for the most desirable big game animals America has to offer, and auctioning and raffling them off to the tune of millions and millions of dollars benefiting wildlife and hunting rights in those states.
We all know that it always comes down to dollars when managing and upgrading wildlife and wildlife habitat, but the ultimate gem in all of this is how the sheer force of hunter’s numbers and funds generated by SFW has gotten the attention of elected officials to respect the undeniable good deeds of hunter activism.
To put it bluntly, if a politician fails to fully support sound science-based hunting, they will simply not get elected.
As it should be.
The event was a homerun on all levels, but the coup came when leaders in the wildlife, conservation, hunting industry, politics and beyond united to unleash the new Hunter Nation organization to take this simple crusade nationwide.
With runaway attrition and the death of recruitment jeopardizing the future of hunting and conservation in North America, we are at a do or die crossroads in our sport that must take on a new, bolder, take-no-prisoners direction.
The list of bureaucratic atrocities plaguing our sport continues to grow, and you cannot blame people for quitting and avoiding the hunting lifestyle.
We must attack each and every state game agency to rid the rule books of arbitrary, punitive and downright capricious regulations that have nothing to do with safety or wildlife science.
I for one am convinced that if a politician will not stand up for sound science-based hunting rights, he or she will also fail to stand up for anything worth while based on truth, logic and commonsense.
I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Don Peay, Keith Mark, Mark Geist, Rob O’Neil, industry leaders and Donald Trump Jr to unleash the power of we the people of Hunter Nation to reinvigorate the recruitment and end the attrition that is killing our sport.
Please consider visiting HunterNation.org and join us to make hunting in America great again!
For a measly $10, you can get in the draw to win the greatest hunting trips available in North America.
You could win a three-day dream hunt with my Shemane and me for whitetail deer, and even an all-expense paid dream five-day elk hunt in the best elk range anywhere with Donald Trump Jr!
I was deeply impressed with the goodwill, positive spirit and passion of every man, woman and child I met this past weekend. If our basic hunting desires and demands are met, and we rid the sport of the plethora of anti-hunting regulations, the future of hunting in America can be the very best ever.
I hope you join the conversation at my facebook, and join us in this critically important fight for the future of conservation and the joys of great hunting.