Author:
Cassie Gasaway
Most bowhunters (newcomers and veterans alike) are so curious and passionate about bowhunting that they enjoy learning new things about the sport and sharing what they know with others.
Tap into that desire and improve your relationship with your customers by giving them tools and resources to learn more about bowhunting, conservation and white-tailed deer. An educated consumer is a confident consumer.
Plus, many people don’t understand a bowhunter’s role in conservation, and knowledge is power. Teaching people — including current participants — how hunters help restore and sustain habitat and wildlife populations often increases support for legal, regulated hunting. Sometimes it even encourages people to start bowhunting, donate to a state wildlife agency, join a conservation organization or volunteer for a conservation project that helps wildlife.
Use these 13 eye-popping graphics and resources to educate and entertain your customers. In the coming months, share the free documents and related articles on your website and social media accounts. You can also print and hang these resources in your shop to help spark conversation.
1. FOR HOW MANY DAYS WILL YOUR WILD GAME LAST?
This one-sheeter shows the number of days your meat supply will last if you consume ½ pound of meat per day. It will help hunters determine how many deer or elk they should harvest to feed their family.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Eat Wild Game and Never Buy Meat Again
2. VENISON CUTS DIAGRAM
This diagram explains the cuts of meat on a white-tailed deer and what types of meals they’re best used in. It will help hunters prepare fantastic meals.
Link to these Bowhunting 360 articles: Beginners Guide to Butchering Deer and I Shot A Deer. How Can I Use Everything?
3. WILD GAME NUTRITION FACTS
Wild game meat is a local, free-range, healthy food source that can be ethically and sustainably harvested. It also provides a closer connection between people and their food. Use this graphic to show customers how game meat stacks up nutritionally to store-bought meats.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Bowhunting: A Safe and Healthy Sport
4. FEDERAL EXCISE TAX CYCLE: FOR BOWHUNTERS
Bowhunters contribute to conservation through a federal excise tax. This graphic shows how hunters provide revenues that support state and federal wildlife management programs, which control and manage wildlife populations.
Link to these Bowhunting 360 articles: Congratulate Yourself: Sportsmen Fund Outdoor Recreation’s Future and What Fuels Conservation? Bowhunters Like You.
5. THE 7-MONTH PLAN: BEGINNER TO BOWHUNTER BY FALL
This printable timeline outlines the tasks people need to do each month to prepare for bow season. It will help beginners think about — and accomplish — tasks that help them become a bowhunter in a timely, organized manner.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: The 7-Month Plan: Beginner to Bowhunter by Fall
6. LEARN TO BOWHUNT IN 10 STEPS
This graphic breaks down the process of becoming a bowhunter in 10 important steps. Retailers can print and hand out the document to first-time bow buyers.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: How to Start Bowhunting in 2021
7. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE INFORMATION
This document will help answer some frequently asked questions about chronic wasting disease. It will help hunters understand why they should test their animals and properly dispose of the carcasses.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Chronic Wasting Disease: What You Should Know
8. HUNT PLAN WORKSHEET
This worksheet gives hunters a place to write down details about their hunt. They can leave it with friends or a family member so that someone knows where they’re going and when to expect them back. Then, if something goes wrong, that other person can get them the help they need. Retailers can use this when talking about bowhunting safety.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Do You Have a Hunt Plan?
9. FIELD NOTES JOURNAL
Hunters can use this document to track goals and accomplishments and to jot down thoughts, questions, weather conditions and hunt details to reference later.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Keep a Hunting Journal This Year, Be a Better Bowhunter Next Year
10. FIELD DRESSING GUIDE
This guide teaches people how to remove an animal’s internal organs to preserve the meat. Field dressing helps maintain the meat’s quality and makes carrying it out of the field easier.
Link to these Bowhunting 360 articles: How-To: Field Dress a Deer in 10 Steps and Pep Talk: Yes, YOU can Field Dress a Deer!
11. AMERICANS’ APPROVAL OF HUNTING
The majority of Americans approve of legal, regulated hunting. Share these points with your customers so they can keep a conversation about hunting positive and productive.
Link to these Bowhunting 360 articles: #LetsHunt – Take Someone Bowhunting This Spring and Share Your Passion: Convert Your Nonhunting Friends
12. FUN, UNIQUE TARGETS
Find a target for every occasion. Get customers to practice, use their equipment and entertain themselves by shooting at fun target faces. Use the heart, apple, ice-cream cone, fall leaves, watermelon, pumpkin, Rudolph, rainbow or clover target. There are also nine different targets and a scorecard for a game of archery golf.
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Archery Games: 10 Ways to Make Shooting Even More Fun
13. ARCHERY AND BOWHUNTING ACTIVITY PACKET FOR KIDS
The “Kids Activity Book” includes 15 fun, self-guided projects for young kids and is designed to keep archery and bowhunting front of mind. There’s also a “Coloring and Writing Activity Book for Kids.”
Link to this Bowhunting 360 article: Tips for Bowhunting as a Family
Get Free Graphics!
These resources are available to ATA members as part of their current membership. They’re available from the ATA’s Resource Website. Please log in to your MyATA member dashboard and click on “Download Free ATA Resources” to navigate to the Resource Website. Then use the search function to find what you’re looking for.
Download each document and share it on your social media accounts with the corresponding article to show customers you’re committed to helping them learn, grow and succeed. Ask questions in your posts to generate engagement, which will help your post reach more people
The "Archery and Bowhunting Event Ideas" document offers event suggestions for every month. Photo Credit: ATA
FYI: Resources for Your Business
The ATA’s Resource Website has many other documents to help you improve your business. Several popular retailer-specific documents include:
– 12-Month Social Media Calendar
– Archery Event Planning Workbook
– Archery and Bowhunting Event Ideas
– Archery Range Guides (one for retailers, one for community parks and one for temporary setups)
– Hunting Mentor Guide
– Marketing Images and How-To Documents
Questions about the ATA’s Resource Website? Please contact Kayla Becker, ATA’s marketing manager, at (866) 266-2776, ext. 131, or kaylabecker@archerytrade.org.
Questions about how to use the bowhunting documents to connect with customers or boost your business? Please contact Nicole Nash, ATA’s range and retail programs manager, at (866) 266-2776, ext. 116, or nicolenash@archerytrade.org
