I'm finally taking my hunter education/safety course

[gaseousclay]

woo! it doesn't start until May 2nd but it'll be 2 days per week for 3 weeks. on the final week i'll be doing the field & firearms test which means I get to shoot guns...all kinds of guns :thumbup1:. can anyone shed any light on the field and firearms test? i'm assuming they'll supply the guns, right? or can I bring my rifle? i'm excited to finally getting around to doing this. the courses have always been booked solid in the past, so I jumped at the first opportunity when it came time for registration.

[jlanger]

I took my hunter safety class when I was 12 didn't know it was as big of a deal, then again this was in the backwoods of MN (Wadena) In mine you could bring your own rifle, which we did .22 for the final, we also got to do some trap shooting which they lent out shot guns if you didn't have one. They'd let you use a .22 if you needed to as well.

[maxman]

Good to hear :thumbup1:
Safety first.
It's funny because like a lot of people I took mine a long time ago, but you remember what they teach you.

[kg4ghn]

Wow, my hunter safety course was a one night deal that I did when I was 12. All we did was watch a couple of videos, talk for a while, then went over how to safely load and unload various rifles/shotguns. That was it, no actual shooting or anything.

[Trout Whisperer]

For the class I took, the instructors (or perhaps the wildlife department) supplied the firearms. We just had to demonstrate we could put a few rounds safely downrange.

Before we got to that point, one of the instructors took us outside to show us the difference between black powder and smokeless. He poured a small pile of each onto the pavement then lit a match to them. The black powder was much more exciting, but it was interesting to watch to smokeless powder, too.

Have fun in class! :001_smile

[jlanger]

Wow, my hunter safety course was a one night deal that I did when I was 12. All we did was watch a couple of videos, talk for a while, then went over how to safely load and unload various rifles/shotguns. That was it, no actual shooting or anything.

wow, If I remember right, mine was about 4 nights long plus an all day saturday shindig where we did our shooting.

[Hawkeye5]

If like the ones I took my kids through the shooting will be shotguns and clay birds. You can leave your rifle at home.

[blary54]

I took mine a couple years ago when I was 25 yoa. I was surprisingly not the youngest one there.

I took the class online with one 8 hour classroom session on a Saturday. The instructors provided everything you would need. It was only after you passed the written/field test that you had the option to shoot .22 cal rifles at the end of the day...It was optional to stay after and shoot. Since it was winter in WI I passed on the shooting.

[bulldognation]

woo! it doesn't start until May 2nd but it'll be 2 days per week for 3 weeks. on the final week i'll be doing the field & firearms test which means I get to shoot guns...all kinds of guns :thumbup1:. can anyone shed any light on the field and firearms test? i'm assuming they'll supply the guns, right? or can I bring my rifle? i'm excited to finally getting around to doing this. the courses have always been booked solid in the past, so I jumped at the first opportunity when it came time for registration.

I didn't take mine till I was 27. I didn't start hunting till I married my wife (she comes from a family of enthusiastic hunters).

It was just one day and we shot BB guns at the end.:thumbdown

I did learn some interesting facts about hunting that I did not know at the time.

I believe I was the oldest there aside from a father who was there with his son for support I guess.

I think all kids should have the option to take the course in elementary school (I did not) But I feel that it was unnecessary for me personally to take and kind of a hassle. (I had to travel a good ways to attend)

IMHO if you are over 21 you should be exempt from the course. I'm sure a lot of you will dissagree, but it really is just common sense stuff for kids they teach here. I think maybe if you are over 21 you could just do some kind of short course and quiz online.

[gaseousclay]

IMHO if you are over 21 you should be exempt from the course. I'm sure a lot of you will dissagree, but it really is just common sense stuff for kids they teach here. I think maybe if you are over 21 you could just do some kind of short course and quiz online.

I'm technically exempt from taking the course here in MN because i'm 39, but I still think it's a good idea to learn about the common sense stuff in a classroom setting. I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't feel comfortable hunting with someone who didn't know basic hunting etiquette and rules of safety. it's the common sense stuff that some people don't pay attention to and this is what leads to accidents imo. better safe than sorry

[Greyfox]

Congrats and thanks for taking the time to do this.:thumbup1:

[bulldognation]

I'm technically exempt from taking the course here in MN because i'm 39, but I still think it's a good idea to learn about the common sense stuff in a classroom setting. I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't feel comfortable hunting with someone who didn't know basic hunting etiquette and rules of safety. it's the common sense stuff that some people don't pay attention to and this is what leads to accidents imo. better safe than sorry

See, that was my main problem with the law. YOU are exempt because you are 39, but you still choose to take it. Good for you. Maybe I would have chosen to take it as well but I wasn't given a choice. I was born in 1979 age 27 at the time. People in MS born before 1973 do not have to take the course. I did not think this was fair. Its a small matter but its just one of those things that "grinds my gears" so to speak.

I grew up around and using guns all my life, my father just didn't hunt with them,(he was kinda a hippie growing up) but he taught me more gun safety than I got in the hunter ed course.

[gaseousclay]

so I started my hunter education course earlier this week and so far so good. If I had to make one gripe it's that i'm one of a small handful of adults in a class of 11 year olds :(. The other adults are parents taking the course with their kids, so I feel a little self-conscious about it. And even though I'm already familiar with most of the rules of firearm safety, I did learn a few things I didn't know about before. for example, I just found out that i'm left eye dominant - I had no idea and i'm hoping it doesn't hinder my ability to shoot down the road. I already own a right-handed rifle, so it makes no sense to sell it and get a left-handed one. one of the instructors said there are ways to compensate for this, it just takes practice. either way, i'm glad i'm taking the course, even if it is with a bunch of kids

[EricAT]

I agree that alot of hunter safety is common sense. However taking my hunter safety course at the age of 30 the best part was when we had a game warden at the front of the room telling us the law and some of the quirky laws here in PA that don't really endanger anyone or cause harm but are state laws that they have to enforce and end up writing alot of tickets for. Of course you can read the hunter guide, but it doesn't include all the regulations and alot of it is in legalese that can leave you in more doubt than before. My class was one night and a half day saturday with a written test.

[jlanger]

I agree that alot of hunter safety is common sense. However taking my hunter safety course at the age of 30 the best part was when we had a game warden at the front of the room telling us the law and some of the quirky laws here in PA that don't really endanger anyone or cause harm but are state laws that they have to enforce and end up writing alot of tickets for. Of course you can read the hunter guide, but it doesn't include all the regulations and alot of it is in legalese that can leave you in more doubt than before. My class was one night and a half day saturday with a written test.

One thing I found in MN was that if you have a question, they encourage you to call your local warden. It helps to establish that you're trying to be in the rules and resolves a lot of conflicts that could happen while ur out in the field shoudl you happen to run into one of them or the one you talk with. Then again, they just might stop by to make sure you're doing what they told you :001_rolle

[jwcarlson]

Having been raised in a hunting and fishing family... I have great respect for guys that start hunting and fishing on their own!

[gorgehiker]

Wow, my hunter safety course was a one night deal that I did when I was 12. All we did was watch a couple of videos, talk for a while, then went over how to safely load and unload various rifles/shotguns. That was it, no actual shooting or anything.

We did get to shoot "wild" clay pigeons, very elusive! I must say that the back woods of northern Idaho are a little laid back about these things though:001_tt2: