Educating the Sportsman

How can you not hear about the impending presidential election these days? It’s everywhere – on the bumper sticker in front of your car in traffic, on a billboard and in yet another piece of junk mail from a political party asking for a donation. And it's on every hour at the top of each news break at your favorite radio station. Or so it seems.

As sportsmen, we need to educate ourselves about upcoming laws, about which candidates support the traditions of hunting and shooting and other topics. Thanks to the website Sportsmen Vote, an outdoorsman can keep up with key issues in hunting, fishing, shooting and conservation. 

In fact, you may even enter a debate. One of the ongoing debates, as I write this, concerns Montana’s gubernatorial candidates and the subject of wolf control. 

This week’s poll is a question that we’ve pondered here: “Sportsmen fund game departments and public lands through taxes on firearms, ammo and fishing tackle. Should non-sportsmen (hikers, skiers, etc.) also be taxed on the equipment they use?” 

To answer the question, join a debate and find out even more news than you can get at Realtree – which is remarkable – visit Sportsmen Vote.