October 17, 2019
Ruger and SIG Sauer Support NSSF’s +ONE Initiative by Offering Employee “Learn to Hunt” Opportunities
It has been just over a year since NSSF first rolled out its +ONESM Movement campaign. The ‘movement’ was part of NSSF’s strategic plan to increase participation in hunting and target shooting by providing our members the tools needed to activate existing hunters and target shooters to become mentors and invite someone new to the range or field. Over the past few years, and with our members’ support, we’ve realized great success on the target shooting side with the growth of National Shooting Sports Month.
Last fall, NSSF members Ruger and Sig Sauer took the initiative to look internally for +ONE opportunities on the hunting side and the results were eye-opening. Not knowing what to expect, the manufacturers sent out internal communications asking if any of their staff had an interest in learning to hunt. To the surprise of some, there was an overwhelming response to participate from staff at both companies, and a lottery had to be set up to select a dozen staff from each organization to attend this +ONE learn-to-hunt program.
With the help of NSSF, the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department and Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), 24 staff met at Owl Brook Education Center in Holderness, NH to complete their hunter education and participate in a Field to Fork program courtesy of the New Hampshire QDMA chapter. At the end of the field day, each participant paired up with a local QDMA mentor and set a day to hunt together. As Sig Sauer CMO and Executive VP of Commercial Sales, Tom Taylor explained, “It was a great program that had a positive effect on our employees, and we are glad to continue supporting such +ONE initiatives. As the industry continues to adopt +ONE, we expect to see substantial growth in participation which will be good for us all.”
Here’s a five-minute video from the Ruger and Sig Sauer’s +ONE learn-to-hunt campaign.
More than 24 million Americans are interested in purchasing their first firearm in an effort to learn to target shoot or hunt or for personal protection. They’re also looking for information on how to get started and for someone to assist or mentor them along the way. NSSF is challenging firearms industry companies to promote mentoring and to provide information to help people get started in hunting and the shooting sports. Field to Fork, a hunting heritage program by QDMA, is a model of success for the firearms industry.
For additional information on how you can support increasing participation in hunting and the shooting sports, contact NSSF Director of Research and Market Development Jim Curcuruto at [email protected] 203-426-1320 x234.
Join the +ONE Movement
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