Texas online Hunter Safety Certification

[dobedo]

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• It can be a PITA when you need to have hunter safety course. Texas offers an online course for 17 and up. Also attached is a link of the states that require hunter safety courses. From what I can tell you just have to have the course and it does not matter which state you get it in.
• https://www.ihea-usa.org/find-a-course/

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OPTION 3. Online-only (Only for those 17 years of age or older)​

COURSE FEE varies based on third-party provider selected.

• Go to: Hunter Education Online-Only Courses and register with any of the approved Online Providers.
• Fee paid directly to Provider (online payment).
• Description: Online-only courses cover the knowledge it takes to be a safe, responsible hunter.
• Temporary 60-90-day certification is available from Online Provider. Provider uploads data within 21 days and an email link is sent from Texas Parks and Wildlife once permanent certification is available.
• En español: curso en línea

 

[buck460XVR]

Yes, most states nowadays will recognize a Hunter Safety certificate from another state. I don't have a whole lot of faith in online Hunter Safety Courses though. I helped teach Hunter Safety for many years. It generally was a 9 session course in which the students handled firearms in every one. Then there was a range day they had to pass in order to graduate. They were not graded on accuracy, but on how they handled firearms. Those who did not pass had the opportunity to stay later and retry. During Covid, the state eliminated the "range day" and made the whole course online. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt them.


Why is it you think having to take a Hunter Safety course is a PITA?

 

[.308 Norma]

Why is it you think having to take a Hunter Safety course is a PITA?

I'm curious about that too.
I'm old enough that I'd had an Idaho hunting license for many years before anyone ever heard of a "Hunter Safety Course," so I've never had to take the Hunter Safety Course myself. However, I sat through it with each of our daughters, and later on, a young friend. And I kind of enjoyed it each time. To me, it was fun watching younger people learn about safe gun handling, and later on in the day, using .22s to punch holes in targets for obviously (to me at least) the first time in their young lives.

 

[jmr40]

I started teaching classes in 1986. But haven't been active for years. The number of people taking the classes has declined greatly so there isn't nearly as much demand for in person classes. Here in GA if you were born before 1963 you are exempt. I am.

But we used to have a lot of adults born prior to 1963 take the class in order to purchase an out of state license. Colorado has always been a top spot and they require it for anyone born after some point in the 1940's.

GA went to online classes years ago. At one point you did the classwork online but had to show up at a central location at designated times for the written exam. Not sure if they are still doing that now, but I think you can do it all online now. When they started doing that there was no longer a demand for volunteers like myself.

I'm actually OK with easing back on the requirements. The number of accidents involving hunters shooting or shooting at other people is near zero and has been for a long time. Virtually all hunting related accidents now are either from falls, or hunters dying of a heart attack in the woods. Not that many youngsters hunting anymore and the ones left are literally dying off.

 

[buck460XVR]

Here in GA if you were born before 1963 you are exempt. I am.

Here in wisconsin it is 1973. I too am exempt since I was born in '54. I still took the course in '67 because then, if you took the course, you could hunt by yourself at age 14 instead of having to wait till you were 16.

However, I sat through it with each of our daughters,

I too sat thru it and completed it with both of my son's. I now have 3 certificates on my record. Each time I took it, I learned something. Even when I helped teach it, I learned something. One thing I learned early on was young folks were a lot more receptive to following the safety rules than their folks and grandparents. Especially when it came to shooting at deer on the top of a hill or crossing fences.

 

[.308 Norma]

Here in wisconsin it is 1973. I too am exempt since I was born in '54.

Yeah, it's '75 here, and I was born in '48.

 

[Howland937]

I only recently found out Ohio had switched to online Hunter Safety Course. Also found out my son can have an apprentice license and carry his own gun as long as I'm right beside him.

Oddly, when I lived in KY, I couldn't buy a hunting license unless I took the KY course...even though I grew up in Ohio, passed theirs and hunted for 10 years prior to moving. I never did get a KY license. After moving back to Ohio, I had zero issue getting an out of state KY license and deer hunted down there several years.

 

[earlthegoat2]

It generally was a 9 session course in which the students handled firearms in every one. Then there was a range day they had to pass in order to graduate. They were not graded on accuracy, but on how they handled firearms. Those who did not pass had the opportunity to stay later and retry.

I took one like this when I was 11 or 12 years old in MI. That would have been 1993 or 1994.

Since I never kept any verification that I took an online class after moving to GA. The one from my youth was way more comprehensive and quite honestly, I believe I remember more from it than from the later online class.

My hunter education verification number is part of my GA DNR hunting and fishing profile and shows up automatically on the App. Pretty handy but the online class was pretty basic.