Thinking of doing this as our county is void of instructors and my kids are almost if not ready...

Any advice?

Thanks

W

It is a worthwhile service.

It takes some time, and will cost you a little for travel expense and such.

In some states, many classes now only include the shooting instruction, with the classroom portion completed online first.

Figure maybe 12 hours total of your time for each class.

I have been happily certified for years.

I like the class itself.

But being required to take it, I disagree with on principle. I went through the same thing as everybody else, though.

JOG

woofer;
First off sir I'll send a thank you your way for considering doing this. I'm certain that your area isn't that unlike my own and good Hunter Safety instructors are always a benefit.

I've been certified as a BC Hunter Safety instructor since 1990 and I've coordinated an annual course at our local gun club since then.

In BC our students can range in age from 10 to 70 and we will have everything from school students to surgeons and retired airline pilots in class.

We typically will have 7 evenings of class time with 2� hours per class of lecture or firearm handling time. As we teach at a gun range, we also offer a live fire night for pupils that haven't done much shooting up to that point.

Then the students have to pass a written test - score 50 correct out of 75 questions and pass a pretty comprehensive practical long gun handling examination.

With that in mind, it's a bit of a challenge to keep the interest of the entire class for the entire 2� hour class.

We've always had the best success with classes of 12-15 students and find that when the class size exceeds 24 there are some who just won't catch all you are trying to teach them.

We try to use as many visual aids and props as practical in order to keep the student's concentrating on the subject taught.

For example I drag out my field pack and use the First Aid and Survival gear when that is the subject at hand. Hides, skulls, antlers and taxidermy has been used with great success as well. We have a set of deactivated long guns in each action type as well, so the students get a lot of hands on training with them.

I try to move around a bit at the front of the class as I teach. This seems to be have a greater success in keeping the students engaged than instructors who sit and read from the text book.

Speaking of the text book, I refer to it often and encourage students to use a highlighter to mark key items. One useful way of getting them used to finding material in their textbook is to not follow the exact order it's written. That is to say, begin with some information from the middle of the chapter, then go to the end and then the beginning.

Hopefully that made sense, but by doing so it keeps the class a bit more on their toes than simply plodding through a given chapter.

Lastly, we've had the best success with instructors who show and share a little passion about what they are teaching. Again the last thing most students need is an instructor who appears to be bored next to death about the subject at hand.

Now I know this isn't always easy as my work day requires me to get up at 5:00am, so by 9:00pm I'm not precisely manic most nights......

Hopefully that was some use to you sir. Please feel free to PM me if I can be of any use to you. All the best to you this weekend as well.

Regards,
Dwayne

I have been an instructor for over 25 years. I was trained at a state park which was like a vacation for me. One week in class ant on the range and a certification test.

It is fun working with the youngsters. My only gripe about it is that kids have to be ten to take the test to qualify for special youth hunts. I believe they shouldn't have to certify until they are 13 or 14. The test is written at too high a reading level for 10 year olds. It becomes more of a reading text than a hunter ed test.

I taught Hunters Safety in California for quite a few years. I enjoyed that time immensely. We held our classes at a local church and the classes were an outreach to families in the area. When I left to move up here to Walla Walla, our Pastor got certified as an instructor and continued them on!

I have been considering getting re cetified up here as there are few things one can do that are as valuable and you can have a lasting,positive impact on many young people as well as our sport.

I am still Certifed by the NRA as a firearms safey instructor and basic marksmanship instructor and enjoy teaching new gun owners how to enjoy and be safe with thier new firearms. I teach these to new gun owners, young and old, through local gun shops.

me in mississippi arround 1970 i think. the visual aids really make the class. the more the better. also get a local game warden come and speak to the class so they can get a first hand meeting with them and understand what they really do and why the are needed. i find this is a great part of a class even if not required. finally a prize for the class such as free laminating of ther cards so they will last longer. good luck and dont get discourged if things are slow at first. D O M I T !

I became one last year, it is worth every minute of time you spend. I don't know about other states but Michigan has a course you can do on line, then we meet on a Saturday, go over the material, take the test ,get acquainted with firearms, and shoot.
Denny

Don't know about VT program and how it is handled, but I think the instructors here in TN provide a great service and do make a difference.

Me and one of my best friends did this for about 6 years.
It is a good thing to know that in some small way you are helping the younguns get off on the right foot.

I have taught courses in TN, AL, and NC. Each was a bit different but each was conducted according to the program set up by the certifying agency of that state. I would contact the state agency in VT to find out what is involved.

Really quite a shame the way it's done now. There is a much higher flunk rate because you have no control over whether or not the material was understood. You have way too many non-qualified parents involved, including quite a number that irately want to know why their kid flunked and demand you give them the certificate.. You even get parents arguing about whether or not the kid needs to take the test and, again demand that you just give them the certificate.

Since Michigan has changed the age, you have kids that are way too young to be taking the test or class because they are too small to even hold a firearm. The first time I had to get down on my knees and squat on my heels to look a student in the eyes was when I realized it wasn't going to be a whole lot of fun like it used to be.

I won't even go into all the young girls that come through that are afraid of guns, but Dad wants extra antlerless permits. Like they don't give them out wholesale in most counties anyway.

Do it.
Sure there are a few hassles now and then but the rewards of reaching kids and teaching them right from the start makes it all worthwhile.

We have had real good luck with to program! Mosdt of the parents stay to watch.

I was certified in 1986 and taught classes pretty regular for about 10-15 years. I'm still certified, but because of the way I worked those last few years haven't taught many classes in a while. I'm retired now and may start helping on a more regular basis now. I really enjoyed it when I was doing it regularly.

I taught grades 6-12 for a living, so doing the hunter education wasn't much different from my day job.

I've been a Hunter Education Instructor since 1993. Every class is a rewarding experience. It is an excellent way to share a bit of knowledge and give something back.

I am a volunteer instructor. I've been doing it since 2003.

My suggestions are:

Get the course book and read it through.

Get the game regulations and read them through.

Get a copy of the test and make up a "cheat sheet" and make sure you always cover what is on the test. By this I mean going over the meat of the test questions but not give them away. You can get bogged down in a class with questions and other things.

Keep in mind Hunter Education is about safety more than anything else.

Have a good phone number to contact a game warden or the officer over training if you get a question you don't know the answer to.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Dave

There were 3 of us that teamed up a number of years ago and taught the Bowhunter Education classes for about 10 years. I taught segments of the (firearms) Hunter Education classes at about the same time with another group of guys. I enjoyed it, both my kids enjoyed it, my wife even took the class. I feel we released some younger hunters into nature that knew a whole lot more about firearms and what they needed to do to stay safe and get as much out of the outdoors as they could (and I don't mean bag limits). I am one of those rare birds that feels everyone should take the HE class every five or so years, regardless of your age. Not firm on the "mandatory" stuff, though.

Do it, it's needed now more than ever.

I have been certified here in Alberta as a Hunter Ed Instructor for around 10 years.
While not mandatory we also have a Fishing Ed course that is similar to the hunting one. Both are excellent course and are rewarding to teach.
We also have an on-line Hunter Ed course for folks who for whatever reason can't take the classroom course. As well we offer mentored hunting to first time hunters.
A very close friend of mine is actually the gentleman who created the Alberta program. He is a long time game warden who, though now retired, is still incredibly involved in all aspects of Conservation Education here.
Go for it, it becomes a way of life, one you will not regret!