Sportsman Tracker in Grand Rapids Acquired by Texas Company

Sportsman Tracker, the Grand Rapids-based creator of the Huntwise app, was acquired by Kalkomey, a provider of online recreational safety education and certifications backed by private equity firm Cove Hill Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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a man holds a cell phone in his right hand and binoculars in his left in the front seat of a truck, scouting for deer
Sportsman Tracker, creators of the HuntWise, has been acquired by Kalkomey in Texas. // Courtesy of Huntwise

Sportsman Tracker, the Grand Rapids-based creator of the Huntwise app, was acquired by Kalkomey, a provider of online recreational safety education and certifications backed by private equity firm Cove Hill Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HuntWise is a digital hunting toolset that allows users to pinpoint the best times and locate the best places to hunt on public or private land. It provides hunters a distinctive mobile experience, utilizing proprietary algorithms that combine dozens of weather, terrain, and species-specific factors.

“Although most people think of bigger cities like San Francisco or New York as epicenters of tech innovation, top tech talent resides right here in west Michigan,” says Jeff Courter, CEO of Sportsman Tracker. “We developed this sportsman-friendly platform to provide hunters with intuitive technology and tools to drastically increase their chances of a successful hunt.”

The app features HuntCast, which the company claims is the most powerful deer prediction tool in the world, tracking peak movement times for more than a dozen additional North American species, along with over 400 state and federal map layers to find and view hunting land from all angles.

It also provides users with public and private land boundaries for all 50 states, complete with landowner contact information. An offline GPS and downloadable maps round out the service, offering hunters navigation of roads, trails, and hunting lands without worrying about internet connection.

“We are confident that HuntWise will continue to lead the industry. Tested and monitored by our developers and refined by our users with every pin they drop, HuntWise is one of the most innovative technologies in the outdoor space,” says Anderson.

Founded in 2015 by tech entrepreneur and avid outdoorsmen Jeff Courter, he sought to build the ultimate hunting toolset. Sportsman Tracker raised $4.1 million from 11 investors through 3 rounds of funding. Among the investors in Sportsman Tracker are Wakestream Ventures, Grand Ventures, M25, Detroit Innovate, Worldwide Trophy Adventures, Invest Detroit, and Huron River Ventures.

Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, Kalkomey serves both outdoor enthusiasts and state and local government agencies in all 50 states, as well as Australia, Canada, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

Through its learning management system, Kalkomey delivers regulatory-approved safety education courses and certifications. Kalkomey’s agency management solutions enable state agencies to drive greater operational efficiencies of key workflows. By integrating its online safety education and agency management solutions, Kalkomey delivers a single platform for recreation safety management that makes outdoor recreation more accessible, drives participation, and increases engagement.

“Our goal is to empower smarter and safer outdoor enthusiasts with the most accurate and complete tactical and educational content in the world,” says Gayle Anderson, CEO of Kalkomey.

“With the acquisition of Sportsman Tracker, we can expand to a variety of new mediums and incorporate their innovative products into our broader content platform. I am blown away by their offerings and their talent, and I am thrilled to connect our teams, which I believe are the best outdoor educators, developers, and content creators in the industry.”