MIDDLEBURY, Conn. – March 11, 2025 – Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF) has released a new research report and accompanying webinar offering key insights into the steep decline in cultural acceptance of hunting and target shooting activities among the general population.
Previous research released by OSCF in 2023 regarding Americans’ attitudes towards hunting and target shooting identified a downward trend in cultural acceptance. For the first time, the research quantifies this trend, showing a loss of support from an estimated 10 million voting-aged Americans since 2021.
This shocking decline was welcome news to those opposed to the firearms industry and those who oppose legal, regulated hunting and recreational target shooting. Lower support makes it easier for efforts like ballot box biology to gain traction as recently witnessed in Colorado with Proposition 127’s attempt to ban Mountain Lion hunting in the state.
Even though gun ownership is increasing, cultural acceptance is declining. The release of updated ‘attitudes’ research in 2024 showed the worrisome trend was continuing with the decline in cultural acceptance of hunting and target shooting accelerating to nearly thirteen million voting-aged Americans since 2021.
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation’s Executive Director, Jim Curcuruto said, “Two things needed to happen after our 2023 report came out. First and foremost, action had to be taken to start communicating with the general population and inform them of the many positive contributions gun owners, hunters, target shooters, wildlife agencies and the firearms industry make to society. Secondly, we needed to better understand why millions of folks were no longer supporting hunting and target shooting as they once did.”
Over the past two years, OSCF has significantly expanded its program and communication efforts to reach a broader audience. Positive messages focusing on land stewardship, game meat donations and how wildlife conservation is funded were natural fits for OSCF programs; Fill A Bag While Filling Your Tag, Donate a Deer, and Connecting with Conservation. OSCF’s Keepers of the Wild PSA has also been wildly successful at reaching the general population with over 200 million impressions and is available for all to distribute at no cost.
To better understand the decline in support for hunting and target shooting, OSCF secured a multistate conservation grant through the USFWS Office of Conservation and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to conduct a comprehensive nationwide study.
Outdoor Stewards worked closely with the research firm Responsive Management throughout 2024 conducting several focus groups, whose qualitative insights supported development of a large-scale quantitative national survey.
Key insights from the research include:
- Hunting and target shooting are ‘guilty by association’ as many Americans are associating those activities with gun violence. With few positive messages about safe, legal, regulated activities with firearms reaching the general population, it is not surprising that support involving firearms is declining.
- Social media posts depicting harvested animals and, what non-gun owners view as unsafe target shooting, are also a main contributor to lower approval of hunting and target shooting.
Additional insights and recommendations are included in the Determining Why Cultural Acceptance is Declining webinar that was recorded in conjunction with Responsive Management and the Council to Advance Hunting and Target Shooting.
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation has made two reports available; an Executive Summary and a Full Report, which are posted free of charge on its website. OSCF encourages organizations involved with hunting, target shooting or firearms to take corrective action to help reverse the downward trend in cultural acceptance among the general population.
Contact OSCF Executive Director, Jim Curcuruto to discuss best courses of action (203) 450-7202.
About OSCF
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works with all facets of the outdoor industry to improve cultural acceptance of gun ownership, hunting, fishing, trapping and target shooting. We use research-based communications and engagement programs that help recruit the next generation of HATS (Hunters, Anglers, Trappers and Shooters) and promote the positive contributions HATS make to society. To learn more about OSCF programs; “Fill A Bag While Filling Your Tag,” “Come With!,” “Connecting with Conservation,” “Donate A Deer” and the “Outdoor Industry Communication Council,” please visit www.OutdoorStewards.org, follow @OutdoorStewards on Instagram or contact Jim Curcuruto at (203) 450-7202, [email protected]. Keep up with the latest from OSCF on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
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