Life Outdoors Magazine (Jan/Feb 2020)

Hunter’s Education
Certification
The first mandated hunter education
program began in New York in 1949 in an
attempt to reduce the occurrences of hunting
incidents. As other states quickly jumped on
board and joined in on passing the law of
hunters education completion requirements,
safety coordinators formed what is not
known as the International Hunter Education
Association, creating core curriculum for
safety-related hunting courses. Striving to
enforce and instill the extreme importance
of a hunter’s responsibility, involvement in
preserving and managing wildlife, knowledge
of the basics of safe gun handling and hunting,
and hands-on hunting-related safety skills,
hunters education course requirements have
spread like wildfire over the past 70 years.
Even though each state does have their own
individual laws on the requirements, as well
as some states offering “born before a certain
date” age exemptions, hunters education
courses have proven to be an important
part of helping to keep the sport of hunting
conducted in a safe and responsible way.
Currently, 45 of the 50 states that require
hunter’s safety education as a prerequisite
to obtain a hunting license do offer online
hunter’s education certification. However, all
states do have their certain age requirements
if the course can fully be taken online, only
allow part to be taken online with the field
test being in an instructional classroom, or
if it is not allowed at all. Most all states have
a minimum age limit in which youth do not
require hunters education certification since
they must be accompanied by an older, more
experienced, licensed hunter. Although in
other states, hunters education is mandatory
for youth and there is generally a minimum
allowed hunting age, even to accompany an
experienced hunter. Regardless of how old
you are, how many years you’ve been hunting,
or if you’re exempt by your own state’s age
requirements, if you’re planning a hunting trip
out of state, make sure to check the laws and
requirements of the stat you plan to hunt. All
states laws vary between minimum birth years
of 1949 to 1986 if an exemption age is offered,
so it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re
covered!
Once you have completed your hunter’s
education program, you will receive a Hunters
Education Card to show you have successfully
completed the course. Now you’re ready to
purchase your hunting license! Although
hunting licenses expire and must be replaced
each year, hunters education cards on the other
hand, do not expire. Hunting out of state? No
need to take another hunters ed course! All
states that have mandatory hunter education
requirements will accept your state’s card,
and your state will accept hunting education
cards issued by any state meeting IHEA-USA
standards.
For more information on the laws and
regulations for your state, please visit your
state’s Game and Fish or Parks and Wildlife site
or office, or view info on all states at https://
www.hunter-ed.com/hunting-law.html.
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