The Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have joined forces to offer youth hunts that are safe, educational and very affordable. We sponsor introductory, instructive youth hunts for deer, turkey, hogs, javelina, exotics, dove, small game, waterfowl, varmints and other species. Normally, we provide mentors, lodging and meals.
Sellmark, Inc. (Sightmark’s parent company) has always been dedicated to participating in a wide variety of charitable youth hunts by providing mentorship, sponsorship and products.
We not only design and make products for shooters and hunters but hunting is also in our blood. It is our lifestyle, too. It is just one way we can help pass down the tradition and heritage of ethical hunting to the next generation.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from 2011-2016, our community lost 2.2 million hunters. In 2018, less than 5% of the American population hunted. This is a significant amount of loss in hunting licenses that provide money to fund conservation and advocacy…not to mention the economic impact due to loss of jobs.
The bulk of hunters have been Baby Boomers—people born between 1946 to 1964—and naturally, this group is aging out of being able to participate in hunting. By teaching the younger generation the healthy benefits both to wildlife and ourselves of hunting, we can help prevent the potential loss of $3.3 billion in funding toward conservation. All it takes is introducing just one new hunter a year.
Sightmark encourages you to #MakeYourMark and introduce a new hunter this season! Show us how you’ve Made Your Mark by following us on social media, posting a picture of you teaching a new shooter, helping out with a youth hunt or other charitable act or event, tag us and use the hashtag #MakeYourMark for a chance to win a Sightmark Wraith digital night vision scope. Winner will be determined by a random drawing on December 23, 2019, and announced on our social media channels on Christmas Eve 2019, December 24, 2019.
This is just one way we made our mark this year…
To support a healthy outdoor lifestyle, we wanted to put our philanthropic efforts toward an organization that aligns with our values, so for the 2019 hunting season, we donated 1,500 brochures, 15 Core HX 3-9x40mm Riflescopes and 5 Solitude 11-33×50 SE Spotting Scope Kits to the Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP.)
The Texas Youth Hunting Program
In 1996, the Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department developed the Texas Youth Hunting Program to encourage youth hunting. Since then, the program has taken over 55,000 Texas youth on guided hunts and other outdoor activities. Children are taught hunter and firearm safety, wildlife management, ethics and sportsmanship.
Partnering with landowners and skilled mentors and volunteers, the TYHP organizes deer, turkey, hog, dove, small game, exotics and waterfowl hunts for Texas youth, providing guns, ammunition, calls and other equipment, lodging and meals. Hunts generally last through the weekend providing ample bonding time between parent and child, mentor and youth and youth and nature.
You can learn more about how to get involved and the youth hunt schedule on the TYHP official website, click here.
Enter to win a Sightmark Wraith Digital Night Vision Riflescope:
Show us how you’ve Made Your Mark by following us on social media, posting a picture of you teaching a new shooter, helping out with a youth hunt or other charitable act or event, tag us and use the hashtag #MakeYourMark for a chance to win a Sightmark Wraith digital night vision scope. Winner will be determined by a random drawing on December 23, 2019, and announced on our social media channels on Christmas Eve 2019, December 24, 2019.