Hunters Education Class

[Hardtarget]

In the late 70's my hunting buddy and I took Hunter Ed. We convinced ourselves we would go elk hunting and though we were grandfathered in in Tennessee, we would need the cert. in Colorado. Never went for elk.
Then my oldest son turned ten in '85. So I took HE again when I took him and three of his friends to the class.
In '77 my other son was ready for the class...so I took it again along with his three buddies.
After class #2 I was approached /recuited by the instructor for teaching. I "think" I could teach it and would enjoy it...I just can't see how I could fit it in my schedule. I think the time requirements are too great. It seems like half the hours would be enough. I must say...the hunter and firearm safety classes are needed. Far too much gun "knowledge" is learned from TV, movies and !video games!...of all places!

Good luck with your hunts this year. Hope you get a big deer! we need pictures!

Mark

 

[snakeman]

here ya go
more info:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=683831

 

[Pronghorn19]

I know a lot of people who teach hunter safety and they are great people, but my hunter ed class was horrible. I remember the instructor had a backpack full of bricks and picked out kids to walk laps around the room while the class went on because "Hunting 'aint all fun and games". Im not kidding, this guy was nuts.

 

[saenzrich]

I still don't get how a law they out into effect 6 yrs after I was born pertains to me...You would think those hunting before it was made mandatory would be grandfathered in to this clause what a pain...and waste of time.

 

[VA27]

I too help with Hunter Education and altho the name implies we teach hunting, the truth is we teach hunter safety. While I too have been paired up with guys that tend to brag about their hunting prowess and take up precious class time doing it, we still manage to teach the priorities. If a young student hears something 3 times and gets the answer correct on the test, at least we have given them the opportunity to learn. I've yet to pass a student I wouldn't hunt alongside, altho some of their fathers are a different story. Ten hours is not enough time to even teach the basics of hunting, but it is enough time to teach the basic rules of safety, basic hunter ethics and to go over the most important regulations that need to be addressed. Gettin' a safe and ethical hunter into the field assures them that they will have the opportunity to learn how to hunt. Gettin' safe and ethical hunters into the field gives us all the opportunity to enjoy our hunt. Most of the agencies that create hunter safety classes pass out literature that will address any questions of safety. It is the students responsibility to read it. If you expect volunteers to turn you into a professional hunter in ten hours of classroom, you are in for a real disappointment when you hit the field.

Bingo. When I first started teaching in 1976, the class was actually called 'hunter safety'. The idea being to keep hunters from shooting themselves or one another. It was 6 hours.

Somewhere along the line it morphed into a more PC sounding 'hunter education'. 6 hours became 8 hours and then 10 hours, with more 'stuff' added in and you had to hustle to get it all in along with the 'safety'.

The written test was not hard for an adult, but anyone under 12 only had a 50% chance of passing. It got to the point that if a parent asked me if there was an age limit, I'd tell 'em exactly that. Even after that I've still had parents drop off their 7 or 8 year old and leave 'em for me to babysit for 10 hours while they went shopping (or just home for some rest).

The idea was floated about increasing it to 12 hours but that didn't fly. In fact it was reduced to 8 hours. So we still have to hustle to get it all in.

If I can keep you from shooting yourself or your hunting partner, or making some other fatal mistake when in the field, I feel like I've done what I needed to do.

This year we got a new test. More safety questions on the test and less of the other 'stuff'. A 10 year old (and younger, if you read the test to 'em) can pass if he pays attention and has a spoonful of common sense.

The latest thing is the internet course. You can take the whole course and the test online and print out your own certificate at home. I don't know how that's gonna work out. Only time will tell.

 

[fanchisimo]

Hardtarget,
There's a buck around my house every night, It looks like an eight pointer. He's there almost every night so once gun season hits, He will be mine. Lol. There's countless does around too. For my first season, I think that I will do okay.

VA27, the instructors say that roughly 90% of testers pass the first try, and with some tutoring pass the second test right afterwards.

 

[wgp]

I taught Hunter Ed/Safety for several years in Kansas, although I have drifted away from doing so now. The point about volunteer instructors having various levels of teaching ability is correct. I have seen outstanding teachers there, as well as guys who are well-meaning but really did not know how to speak to a crowd. I usually taught the Ethics section, and was told that they had particular difficulty getting people who had good ideas about how to teach such an intangible subject (as opposed to teaching the difference between 12 ga and 20 ga, etc). I worked pretty hard coming up with ways to keep young kids interested and able to get some idea of what I was talking about.

I will say that when my own kids went through the program, I skipped teaching and took the class with them, which I think helped them.

Our test could likely have been passed by about everybody without even taking the class, but we required the test in order to keep the students on-task, knowing they had to pass the test. Generally when a student failed the test it was because he/she couldn't read or comprehend the questions.

I still consider the program worthwhile.

 

[buck460XVR]

In Wisconsin, Hunter Safety wasn't always required. Anyone born before 1973 is automatically grandfathered in and doesn't need a certification to buy a Wisconsin hunting license. I took it as a kid because it allowed you to hunt without an adult at the age of 14 as compared to 16 years of age for those that didn't. But nowadays.....many of those my age and a tad younger still need a certification to hunt other states. So every session we will have 1 or 2 that will sit there and look out the window cause they don't think they need to be there and it's a waste of their time since they know it all already. When CWC became an option and the standard $15 DNR Hunter Safety course was sufficient for the required training, classes filled up fast with old farts like me. Funny thing is, the 12 year olds generally do better on the exam than the old farts that think they know it all. BTW, I have also taken the course with both my boys, 14 years apart. Gave us some quality time together and gave us somethin' fun and interesting to talk about on the way home. Seeing as I had to drive them to and pick them up, it just always made sense to stay. Watching someone else teach was a good learning experience also.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

As a former instructor I can see both sides of the coin. My favorite method for HE is online or Dvd which is available here in Arkansas. Most instructors don' t care for it, but it is far less boring plus you can work at your own pace. It asks you questions as you watch and gives you a printout of your score at the end of the program. Then you contact an instructor who gives you a final exam.

Now I am waiting to be reinstated into the instructor program. Just waiting for the background check. You would think that a state check for concealed carry and a federal check for a FFL would be enough, but no.

Brother that is sad to hear about my home state I took the class back in the 1980s and passed the test even though I was old enough not to have to take it.