The Pope and Young Club

What The Pope and Young Club does

The Pope and Young Club is a private nonprofit membership organization incorporated in 1963 in Washington State, with its principal office in Chatfield, Minnesota, and a mailing address in Austin, Texas. It operates as North America's recognized authority on bowhunting records, maintaining a proprietary records program and online trophy database documenting over 100,000 harvests across all 29 North American big game species taken with recurve, longbow, and compound bow under Rules of Fair Chase. The club's revenue is generated through a tiered membership model (Youth, General at $30-$45/year, Regular/Senior at $100/year, Lifetime at $1,500), corporate partner sponsorships across Platinum/Gold/Silver tiers, branded merchandise (including custom arrows at $110.99/dozen manufactured through Kuhle Archery), periodic online auctions of guided hunts and tags, monthly Hunt of the Month and seasonal raffles, and biennial conventions plus regional Bowhunter's Bash events. Members receive trophy recognition, voting rights, access to a network of certified official measurers, and member discounts through 40+ outdoor industry partners including Moultrie Mobile, Garmin, OnX, Hoyt, SITKA Gear, KUIU, YETI, Black Rifle Coffee, and Bear Archery. The organization also contributes to conservation funding (over $1M cumulative) across 13+ programs including the Wild Harvest Initiative and Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, and actively engages in wildlife management policy through regulatory advocacy in states such as Arizona and Florida.

Name

The Pope and Young Club

Legal name

The Pope Young Club

Website

https://pope-young.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Pope and Young Club is a 60-year-old nonprofit membership organization serving ethical bowhunters across North America, operating the continent's authoritative bowhunting records program with over 100,000 documented harvests across 29 big game species, funded by tiered memberships, corporate partnerships, and biennial conventions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bowhunting Conservation Services

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Membership Clubs (Category-Focused) (CRAEADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Archery Equipment & Accessories Retail (CRAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Bowhunting conservation
• Trophy records program
• Hunting club membership
• Wildlife conservation
• Fair chase standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues at multiple levels: General Members ($45/year), Regular and Senior Members ($100/year), and Lifetime General Membership ($1,500 one-time).
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Pope and Young branded merchandise including custom arrows ($110.99), trophy recognition merchandise, and club apparel through the online shop.
3. Auctions: Online auctions featuring hunting tags, guided hunt packages, and historical bows from the Pope and Young Museum. Auctions include items like archery-only Governor's Tags, international hunts, and limited-edition equipment.
4. Raffles: Multiple raffle programs including Hunt of the Month raffle with 13 hunts, Deer Slam Raffle, and Gear Up for Fall Raffle, providing substantial value to participants.
5. Corporate Partner Program: Corporate sponsorship at multiple levels (Gold, Platinum, Silver) providing revenue through partnership fees while offering member discounts and promotional benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Pope and Young Club operates a membership-based bowhunting conservation organization that documents and certifies trophy harvests across 29 North American big game species through its Records Program and Online Trophy Database. It sells multi-tier memberships (Youth, General, Regular, Senior, Lifetime), hosts biennial conventions and awards banquets, runs online auctions and raffles, and sells branded merchandise including custom arrows manufactured through Kuhle Archery Company.

Product overview

The Pope and Young Club operates as a membership-based bowhunting conservation organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings center on the Records Program—a trophy documentation and preservation system covering 29 North American big game species with over 100,000 entries—supplemented by the Online Trophy Database for public browsing, World Records listings, and Fair Chase certification standards. The organization provides membership programs at multiple tiers (Youth, General, Regular, Senior, Lifetime), youth development initiatives including the Kevin Hisey Youth Program, and hosts the biennial Convention & Awards Banquet featuring trophy displays and live auctions. Additional offerings include the Hunt of the Month Raffle, Custom Pope & Young Arrows (manufactured by Kuhle Archery), Trophy Recognition Merchandise, Conservation Programs, Panel Judging Services, and the Pope & Young Podcast. The organization does not operate as a software platform or technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Razorhead Society: A support/giving society within the club for major donors
• Fred Bear Society
• The Kevin Hisey Youth Program
• Junior Outdoors Program
• The Ishi Award

Products and services

• Records Program The organization's flagship program that documents and certifies bowhunting trophy harvests across 29 North American big game species, maintaining over 100,000 verified harvest records used by wildlife agencies for management decisions.
• Membership Programs Multi-tier membership structure including Youth (under 18), General, Regular, Senior, Lifetime, Honorary, and Emeritus categories with specific advancement requirements such as taking at least 4 different species with bow and arrow for Senior status.
• Custom Pope & Young Arrows Customizable arrow product manufactured by Kuhle Archery Company (Ngulube model), available in half or full dozen quantities with various spine options, fletching configurations, colors, and helical choices. Priced at $110.99 per dozen with optional add-ons.
• Trophy Recognition Merchandise
• Biennial Convention & Awards Banquet Major biennial gathering featuring trophy displays, world record announcements, awards presentations, live auctions, vendor exhibits, and educational seminars. The 34th Biennial Convention in 2025 recognized 9 new world records.
• Hunt of the Month Raffle
• Youth Programs
• Conservation Programs
• Panel Judging & Measuring Services
• Online Auction

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 bowhunting harvests documented in the record book
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered gold level partner, corporate partner, platinum level partner, silver level partner, partner, conservation partner, historic partner, product partner and funding recipients.

• Canati Tripodsgold level partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 July 2026Canati Tripods has shown commitment to preserving, promoting, and protecting bowhunting by joining Pope & Young as a Gold Level Corporate Partner. Executive Director Justin Spring expressed excitement about working with Canati to further the club's mission.
• Garmincorporate partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2025Garmin continues support of Pope & Young as a Corporate Partner, providing products like the Xero C2 chronograph featured in auctions.
• Moultrie Mobileplatinum level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerMoultrie Mobile joined as a Platinum Level Partner. Pope and Young has collaborated with Moultrie Mobile to discuss ethics of technology and hunting, particularly regarding cellular trail cameras and fair chase rules.
• OnX Huntgold level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerOnX joined Pope and Young as a Gold Level Corporate Partner, providing mapping and hunt planning technology to the bowhunting community.
• Delta McKenziegold level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerDelta McKenzie joined Pope and Young as a new Gold Level Partner, supporting bowhunting conservation efforts.
• Kings Camogold level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerKings joined the fight for bowhunters as a Gold Level Corporate Partner of Pope and Young.
• Guidefittersilver level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerGuidefitter joined Pope & Young as a Silver Level Corporate Partner, supporting the bowhunting community.
• Selway Archerysilver level partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerSelway Archery joined Pope & Young as a Silver Level Corporate Partner.
• 3Rivers ArcherypartnerGTM or Marketing Partner3Rivers Archery continues support of Pope and Young. Their products available through member discount program with code PYCLUB10 for $10 off orders (minimum $100).
• Bear ArcherypartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerBear Archery partners with Pope and Young, offering 20% off all traditional bows and accessories with code P&YTRAD.
• Black Rifle CoffeepartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerBlack Rifle Coffee partners with Pope and Young, supporting bowhunting conservation efforts.
• Hoyt ArcherypartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerHoyt continues the fight for bowhunting conservation as a long-standing partner of Pope and Young.
• KUIUpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerKUIU continues support of bowhunting conservation. Offers 15% discount on orders placed at P&Y convention.
• SITKA GearpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerSITKA Gear partners with Pope and Young, supporting ethical bowhunting and conservation.
• YETIpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerYETI continues commitment to Pope and Young, providing outdoor equipment for members.
• ScentLokpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerScentLok offers Pope and Young memberships to customers and continues support of bowhunting conservation.
• Xpedition ArcherypartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerXpedition Archery offers $75 mail-in rebate on purchase of any Xpedition bow for P&Y members.
• Wild Sheep Foundationconservation partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPope and Young and Wild Sheep Foundation collaborate on conservation efforts for wild sheep populations.
• Howl for Wildlifeconservation partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPope and Young joined forces with Howl for Wildlife for conservation efforts across North America.
• Boone and Crockett Clubhistoric partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric partnership with Boone and Crockett Club for joint world record verification panels. First joint panel convened in 2025 for American Elk record.
• Kuhle Archery Companyproduct partnerTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Kuhle Archery Company to produce custom Pope & Young branded arrows (Ngulube model) available through the online shop.
• Conservation Programs (Multiple)funding recipientsOthersPope and Young supports conservation programs including Wild Harvest Initiative, Isle Royal Moose Study, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, National Wildlife Federation Howe Peak/Deadman Sheep Endowment Fund, and many others.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Rifle Association: Large national advocacy organization with hunting, conservation, and firearms programming. While broader in scope than Pope and Young, NRA competes for hunting-aligned corporate sponsors, donor dollars, and legislative advocacy bandwidth on hunting-rights issues.
• Archery Trade Association: Industry trade association representing archery manufacturers, retailers, and ranges. ATA overlaps with Pope and Young's corporate partner ecosystem and shares interest in growing bowhunting participation, but operates as an industry body rather than a conservation/membership club.
• National Wildlife Federation: Largest U.S. conservation nonprofit with broad wildlife focus and a national advocacy footprint. NWF competes for conservation dollars, donor attention, and corporate cause-marketing partnerships across a far broader portfolio than Pope and Young's bowhunting-only scope.

Direct peers

• Safari Club International: Hunting-focused conservation and advocacy nonprofit with a tiered membership model, annual conventions, records programs, and corporate partner sponsorships. SCI overlaps with Pope and Young on membership-based big-game hunter engagement, conservation funding, and corporate sponsorship, though SCI's scope extends internationally and includes firearm hunting.
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Habitat conservation nonprofit focused specifically on elk and other wildlife, with a tiered membership, fundraising banquets, and corporate partner program. RMEF directly competes with Pope and Young for big-game hunter members, conservation grant allocations, and outdoor industry sponsorship dollars.
• Quality Deer Management Association: Deer-focused hunting and habitat nonprofit with membership tiers, regional events, and corporate sponsorship. QDMA competes directly with Pope and Young for whitetail and deer-segment bowhunter members and conservation-aligned brand sponsors.
• Ducks Unlimited: Largest waterfowl conservation organization in the world with a similar tiered membership model, conservation grants program, and state-chapter affiliate structure. While DU focuses on waterfowl rather than big game, it competes for the same hunter-conservation donor dollars and corporate sponsors in the conservation nonprofit space.
• Boone and Crockett Club: North America's other premier big-game records organization, historically covering all weapon types (rifle, muzzleloader, and bow). Pope and Young already partnered with Boone and Crockett on a joint special panel in 2025, and the two compete for trophy records legitimacy, conservation funding, and member loyalty across overlapping North American big game species.
• Mule Deer Foundation: Conservation organization focused on mule deer and black-tailed deer habitat, with membership tiers, fundraising events, and a state-chapter structure. MDF competes with Pope and Young for mule deer bowhunter members and conservation-aligned brand sponsorship within the same big-game species niche.
• Wild Sheep Foundation: Conservation organization dedicated to wild sheep and mountain goat populations with membership tiers, conservation funding, and a formal partnership already in place with Pope and Young. It competes for hunting-conservation member support and corporate sponsor engagement in the specialty big-game niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLXSKAm8o05M5nOasu0xL0ZKqtHvXmFdFf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Pope and Young Club