EXCISE TAXES RAISE $336 MILLION FOR WILDLIFE . . . When a target shooter purchases a box of ammunition or a hunter a new deer rifle, they are contributing to a system that has been responsible for supporting healthy wildlife populations in America for the last 70 years. These contributions, in the form excise taxes paid on sporting firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, benefit every state and amount to a surprisingly large number: nearly $336 million for 2009, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.