When we first began planning a hunter recruitment and retention program, we tried to identify anything that could prevent a youngster from experiencing hunting. We made some assumptions, and one of those was that mandatory hunter education was a barrier. It stood to reason that 10 hours of classroom instruction over several evenings and a Saturday morning could be a time commitment that some youngsters wouldn’t make unless they knew they were going to enjoy hunting. However, early studies, comparing states that required hunter education with those that didn’t, showed equal youth recruitment rates. Even so, we changed our laws to make it easier on parents and kids to experience hunting. Currently, youngsters under the age of 16 don’t need hunter education certification if they hunt under adult supervision. Kind of a “try it before you buy it” situation. We also have a new delivery method that utilizes computers and the internet – something today’s youth are hooked into. The internet-assisted course allows students to complete one of the approved hunter education internet courses before coming to a field day. The first step is to pre-register for an internet-assisted course. You can find a list of course schedules on KDWP’s Hunter Education webpage. There are a couple of options to the internet course, which must be completed within 90 days prior to the field day. The internet course will require several hours of work. The field day is the fun part. After a short time in the classroom, students get outside. Most field days are divided among several stations, including live-fire, gun handling and a trail walk. Students will spend an hour or more at each, receiving hands-on instruction and walking-through field scenarios. After the stations are completed, students come back into the classroom to complete the final test and receive their certificates. Most students indicate they enjoy the field day immensely.
In fact, during a recent course in Pratt, the weather did not cooperate for the field day. It was cool, breezy and rainy, but the students were ready and willing. At the shotgun live-fire station, students huddled out of the wind waiting their turn, but all broke targets and had fun. Approaching lightning ran us inside several times, but we persisted. A couple of young ladies, who had not shot a shotgun before, showed particular promise, breaking targets and thoroughly enjoying the wingshooting despite the weather.
As the Pass It On program has evolved and partnered with the Hunter Education Program, I see Hunter Education as a key recruitment tool rather than a barrier. The field day experience can provide students with confidence that they can learn the outdoor skills necessary for hunting. Another young shooter last week assured me he would not break a flying target with a shotgun. He told me he’d tried before and just wasn’t good at it. Our instruction is designed for success, and I bet him he would break a target. He wasn’t convinced, and he missed the first two targets. However, after some instruction and encouragement, he broke the next eight targets we threw. After he broke a couple of more difficult crossing targets, I told him not only could he shoot but that he was good at it. He left the stand with a broad smile and new-found confidence. Experiences such as this convince me that Hunter Education can be a student’s initiation into hunting and start them on a life-long road of adventure and discovery.
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