My daughter just started her hunter's safety class tonight. Was good to see all of the kids and a few adults taking the class at our high school. There must have been about 200 of them taking the class which is good for our sport.
That is so great. My favorite story from a Hunter Safety class. A very good friend was instructing a group of young hunters to be. I was helping him and it was a night that we had a F&G Officer working with us. The officer asked if any of the youngsters in the room knew what the first thing you should do after you shoot a deer. A young man in the back of the room raised his hand and said, very matter of factly, "turn off the light!" The kids father turned beet red and my buddy, the officer and I had everything we could do to not fall over laughing! (and yes, the father did get a discussion period with the F&G officer after class!)
What does it cost to take gun safety now? I applaud the Buffalo schools system for allowing the class to be taught on school grounds.
It is $7.50 for the class and then $7.50 to the state at the end to get the card. They have been doing it for years at the high school and it always gets a good turn out. There were about the same number of kids a few years ago when my son took it. Nice to see the school not worry about what the anti hunter and anti gun people think since instructors bring in quite a few guns every class to teach with.
I took mine a few years ago - needed the card before going to IL - it was pretty small (I think 20-30 of us). But, it was only one day and free...seem to have quite a few classes in the area. Some states require "field days" - we didn't have that. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea, though.
I remember when I took it when I was a kid, I paid for it and rode my bike to the classes and the field day. My parents were not hunters and did not approve of guns in the house. Little did they know that they were encouraging me. My mom still dislikes seeing my yearly picture of the buck I shoot. She says I stalk the deer I kill, I set up cameras, and watch constantly then I hide in a tree and kill it.
My daughter took her's the summer before last. MDC offers an Outdoor Skills Girls camp. Part of the camp, the girls complete their hunter safety. It's an awesome camp to get young girls interested in the outdoors. They get to do all sorts of activities that most kids don't get a chance to normally do. It seemed pretty comprehensive. Fishing, Shooting, Archery, Hunter Safety, Treestand Safety, Water Safety, canoeing. She had a great time. If anyone in Missouri has a daughter that might be interested, here's link. Did I mention it was free!!!!! Here's an article talking about this years camp. MDC offers free Discover Nature Girls Camp June14-16 | Travel
Dang,when I took mine 6 years ago it was 2 hours friday evening and 8 hours saturday and then we were done.That was in Arkansas though not Minnesota. Glad to hear there were that many people there.
That's great, and 200 people! Wow, I remember only having maybe 30 total in my class 2 decades ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I even still have the paper showing that I passed the course with a 97% test score. I remember being so mad I didn't get a 100%.
Ultimate goal is hunter retention! Lots of kids take hunter-ed. Few stay in the field, or should I say "fewer" than we would like. Its up to the parents to keep them interested and make it fun to participate in the sport.
