Why It Matters: On January 8, 2025, New Hampshire House Bill 211 (HB 211) Air Rifles for Hunting Game, was introduced in the House Fish and Game and Marine Resource Committee. In its current form (while a positive step) HB 211 lacks sufficient language to account for conservation funding participation via the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. This important detail ensures airgun manufacturers are contributing to conservation funding in the same way firearm and ammunition manufactures do currently. The introduction of HB 211 is an excellent way of creating additional opportunities for sportsmen and women afield, and is further strengthened by accounting for conservation funding,
Highlights
- The use of air rifles for taking game in the Granite State continues to appeal to New Hampshire’s sporting community.
- HB 211 Air Rifles for Hunting Game has been introduced in committee early in the 2025 session.
- Caucus members and New Hampshire Fish and Game Commissioners and staff witnessed firsthand the precision and power of modern air rifles for ethical harvest opportunities in the New Hampshire wilds.
With the introduction of HB 211, the conversations around the use of air rifles in New Hampshire as a method of take, has brought about another opportunity to expand opportunities for Granite Staters. With the completion of the New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus field trip to see first-hand the effectiveness and ethical lethality of modern pneumatic air rifles at the Sig Sauer Experience Center in Epping, NH this past summer, attendees came away with additional knowledge and experience with air rifle platforms. Many who were initially skeptical now have greater confidence in the technology and seemed to reconsider their stance on air rifles as an ethical and effective means of take for future use in the Granite State.
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation engaged early on in support of the expanded access in 2024 and will do so again in 2025; however, such support will come with the recommendation of amending the bill to account for the conservation funding that would be missed during the increased sales of air rifles should the bill advance without amendment. Currently, air rifles are not subject to the 11% manufacturer-level excise tax, which funds conservation efforts, that all other methods of take presently authorized in New Hampshire are subject to.
CSF has worked closely in other states to expand the use of air rifles and air bows while also enhancing conservation funding, most recently in Oklahoma and Utah. In both instances, legislators included a “Conservation Airgun Stamp” that hunters would need to purchase before heading afield with an airgun, which provides both a funding mechanism that allows air rifles to contribute to state conservation funding, as well as an important data point for state fish and wildlife agencies to monitor and evaluate airgun usage through time.
CSF looks forward to working with the New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus to bring forth an amended version of HB 211 that includes a Conservation Airgun Stamp and provides additional opportunities for New Hampshire’s sporting community.
