Are the hunter safety classes the same all over?

[Scorpmann3518]

Do all states have the massively annoying saftey tests and field class before you can even get a hunting license? Just did the class on line last night and was just wow. They went over how to actually use a firearm. I mean if you don't know that already. Now I have to do a field test which the only one I can even get to doesnt start til Dec 2. So much for getting excited to hunt. Got so frustrated I almost said forget it.

 

[Moose Guide]

Try not to be too anxious, those courses are very important and a little training before you hunt is a small price to pay to ensure that every hunter knows how to safely handle a firearm! In Canada we have to also take a gun safety course so we can buy guns, both of my boys have passed both courses with flying colours(they are 15 and 13)but it cost me about $250 a kid!!!

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Yes they are the same all over and one states is usually as good as the others. I am in the Army and get to hunt all over the country because of it. I did my HS in Michigan 25 years ago, and has been accepted every state I go to. Some states haven't required one or at least never asked for one. All military bases which has the best fair chase hunting around usually all require a H.S. card before you can hunt. Yes for someone experienced it can be an insult. My dad is within the age limit where he doesn't need one in Michigan but he had to pass a course to hunt on the bases and wherever I am stationed with me. So the weekend you lose is well worth the results. Plus most hunting ranches or guide services require it as well. Mine was even accepted bear hunting in Canada and asked for. It just a step in the right direction and designed mostly for rookie hunters and young kids, where some states you can hunt deer with a gun at age 10. Good luck, and the reason the wait right now is its peak season for the last minute people right now. Just wait until you try to buy a bowhunting license and they ask to see you bowhunting safety card, then you need to find an IBEP instructor have fun.

 

[S.Kenton]

In Ohio it's required as well. I am an instructor and am happy to do it. Don't get paid..just in smiles as I pass out the Hunters Ed. Certificates to the happy kids and adults who pass ( never had one flunk yet). It is a very generalized course in Ohio, Shotgun, Bow, handgun, M'ler and some basic fist Aid is on the agenda. The certificate is good for all of the states in the union..and it's FREE..no target shooting either. The aspect of safety is what we concentrate on. The good thing about the class is that once you have passed it, your all done and only have to buy the hunting license and Deer tag ( if your deer hunting). Overall, I enjoy giving the class and I really think it benifeits any and all newcomers to the hunting world.
Just my 2 cents

 

[nchawkeye]

I haven't lived in all the states so I don't know...

I live here in good old North Carolina and if I remember correctly you don't have to take the Hunter's Safety course if you had a hunting license before 1991...Even though I have hunted in the State since the 60s and have a Lifetime license dated 1983 I still took the course and went on to qualify to teach it as well...

What we saw during the time I taught is boys coming in with their moms and neither had the basic info required to handle a gun safely...

So to those who are just starting it's all new...To those of us that have been out there a few decades, just be patient and realize some material may be pretty basic...

 

[Rat Trapper]

If you think that is bad you should try to get a hunting lic in Germany! How does 400 hours of class room, 300 hours in the field and a shooting test with both rifle and shotgun, plus a written test sound to you? Then remember the instructors can fail you for attitude. When I took the course I got the short version being in the US Army but it still required the shooting & written tests plus 2 weeks in class room.

What you did on line was easy compared to the above. From what I have seen on the range and in the field, many would benfit from more training.

 

[Silex]

Online class - safety test - 2 months wait :rotf:

Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's just the way things are, nothing against you. I understand it can be annoying when you are into shooting and hunting and then have to take the class. But as the others said it is still helpful to be reminded and maybe actually learn something from an "old geezer" who is hunting his whole life...

Imagine you would life in a country like the one I am living in and you be interested in starting to hunt...
You have to take a "hunters education course" to even be able to buy a rifle and shotgun for hunting unless you are a sport shooter but that is a story for another night around the campfire. It takes about 4 to 6 months - every weekend 8 am to 5 pm (both days) for the class with six major topics: firearms and safety, dogs, wildlife (flora+fauna), practical hunting, farming, environmental protection. You have a card to report practical hours, you need about 250 to be even allowed to take the tests. The hours will be noted on your card by the teachers or hunters who take you along - it's an official document. That means working and being in the woods, carrying trash out help feeding in the winter, build blinds and stands etc.

Covering the six mentioned topics above you need to be learning for the written test and the face to face test. You fail the written test once - start over, you fail the face to face test you get another set of questions you fail - you start over. Then the shooting and safety test - you fail ... you guessed it: you start over.
Really, nothing against you but it gave me a little chuckle when I read your post.
Much the same when I was fishing in Michigan and the guy behind the counter asked me about my size weight, home address and such and then asked me to pay $12 and gave me the fishing license. I couldn't believe it. For the fishing license it not as strict but pretty much the same time like the hunters ed. I am not defending the system here it's just the way it is.

So be a little patient do your test and you'll be fine.

Good hunting
Silex


:grin: Rat Trapper - beat me to it....

 

[BrownBear]

The class isn't required here in Alaska, but it is in a lot of other states. But fortunately most (if not all) states recognize each others classes to meet the requirement. Basically if you want to travel and hunt, you might need the class to be able to get a license even if it isn't required in your home state.

I'm a card carrying hunter safety instructor. Funny thing is, I never got credit for taking the hunter safety class! When it came time to hunt in another state, they wouldn't accept my instructor card rather than the real deal. Soooooo, back home in Alaska there was this 6'4" 60-year old sitting with the kids taking the class from the guys he trained to teach it.

Could have been real frustrating and embarrassing, but for me it was just downright funny. And a good chance to see the class from the chairs rather than the front of the room.

Do the same. Enjoy it for what it's worth. Yeah, it might be a little frustrating to fit it into your life, but it won't hurt a thing to have the card in your pocket, and if you travel it almost certainly will help.

 

[Robert Egler]

I see you're NC, where did you take the course? I took NC hunter's safety again about 3 years ago when my daughter did, and we never went over how to use a firearm, and there was no field test or practice of any kind.

 

[Sperit de bois]

We were told by the Lead Instructor there was no field/ practical shooting ,,,insurance/liability concerns.
I agree with you,setting in the class is some different than being on the podium.
Take the class,,find a young person who doesn't have anyone to take them to class,amazing how many single parents there are or that don't hunt nor want to or just can't fit it into the schedule....

 

[cynthialee]

I see you're NC, where did you take the course? I took NC hunter's safety again about 3 years ago when my daughter did, and we never went over how to use a firearm, and there was no field test or practice of any kind.

:shocked2:

And how is this considered a firearm safety class then?!

One thing about Washington state that kinda confuses me is that if you are old enough you do not need to go to a hunter safety class. Somehow being born before a certain date means I have that knowledge already? Well I do, but there is no way to know that.
I think if they are going to require a safety class to hunt then it should be everyone that should have to take the class. Granted that would hit me in the wallet but it just makes sense.

 

[Scorpmann3518]

You can do the class on line now. They added a field day part apparently. Honestly I found test so boring I could barely focus on it. I aced the parts involving weapon safety,handling,cleaning and things like that. Then again having served in the Marines I better have. Just don't look forward to the next part. I laughed when it said you would be loading and unloading various weapons. Seriously. I think you should have learned that LONG before you wanted to hunt.

 

[cynthialee]

As a former service member you should be allowed a waiver for the class.
I highly doubt you would have made it out of boot camp without knowing how to service and fire small arms.
(also, thanks for serving)

 

[sleeperNY]

My son (32) just took his hunter safety course on line. We are in NYS and he still had to have a field safety course to get a license. It isn't about whether you are a good shot, but that you handle the firearms correctly.

Jim

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You'd be surprized that not all HS classes are that similar, and in many cases the states are trying to make them closer to the standards in other states.

Maryland is going through a transition. Right now you can take the 9 hour class, or you can take it online and then take the test and do a field trial. We have folks who take it simply for firearms safety, not wishing to hunt. Many are folks who have barely handled a gun, and some have never handled a gun. In Maryland you can hunt on your own land without a license..., so we get folks who want to hunt on other lands or in other states that suddenly need a HS certificate.

Now a big problem is folks in Annapolis who don't hunt with anything other than a shotgun determine what's on our test..., and they have changed the test questions to be shotgun centric, so you can pass the test with 100% and not know that you cannot use smokeless powder in a Muzzle Loader, or that you must have the bullet seated on the powder. :shocked2: We are working on getting the classes changed.

LD

 

[Robert Egler]

I see you're NC, where did you take the course? I took NC hunter's safety again about 3 years ago when my daughter did, and we never went over how to use a firearm, and there was no field test or practice of any kind.

:shocked2:

And how is this considered a firearm safety class then?!

It's not a firearms safety class, its a hunting safety class. Stuff about when you do and don't have to wear orange, unload your gun before crossing a fence (yeah, right, THAT's something I always do with a flintlock), hypothermia, a small bit on outdoor survival, check your background before taking the shot, watch where your muzzle is pointing, can't hunt waterfowl with lead shot, the need to be aware that some seasons with different safety required clothing overlap. (Hunting big game you must wear a vest of orange (no hat required), hunting small game you must wear a hat of orange (no vest required), trapping you don't have to wear any orange, and big game season, small game season, and trapping season overlap.)
How to report game violations and the importance of doing so.

That sort of thing. Very, very little on actually using a firearm.

Oh yeah, and a total of about 2 minutes on muzzleloaders.

 

[Robert Egler]

Seems they've really changed the class then. Hopefully you didn't have to sit through the 20-30 minute video on hypothermia! :yakyak:

 

[cynthialee]

It would make more sense to have a class on each type of hunting method employed by the hunter in question.

 

[Robert Egler]

Yes it would make more sense, but that never stopped them before! :haha:

 

[Len Graves]

I agree with you to a degree. You have to remember that the testers (instructors) don't know you or your past hunting/shooting education. As a Hunter Ed. instructor for over 25 years I can pretty much tell who knows what in a few minutes, but that can't be done on line (yes we have on line here in Mich.). I know it seem like a waste of time however you might even have something brought to mind that you hadn't thought of in years. There are always new regulations. We also like experienced hunters to assist in the class even while taking it. Education is never really a waste of time, whether you are giving knowledge or receiving it.