Hunter Safety Course - anything being offered by members this summer?

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  • Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,365
    SoMD / West PA
    Actually an interesting point , convicted felons can still bow hunt , but require a Hunter Safety .

    That's true. Prohibited persons can hunt bow or muzzleloader.

    DNR has bb guns that can be used for the live fire portion.
     

    Harrys

    Short Round
    Jul 12, 2014
    3,362
    SOMD
    ATTENTION (Military, Law Enforcement and Certain Handgun Permit Holders):



    See the link below for details:
    https://dnr.maryland.gov/nrp/Pages/exemption-information.aspx



    Not to mention Maryland also offers specialty Hunter Education Classes.

    If you are going somewhere (Montana, Maine, Canada, etc..) and they require a hunter education class in that discipline (i.e. Bow Hunting), you can learn it here at home.

    https://register-ed.com/programs/maryland/91-maryland-specialty-hunter-education-courses

    Other than classroom learning laws and the dos ad don'ts never understood why people who were trained to know which end the barrel the bullet came out needed field days. BZ for someone who used common sense.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    That's true. Prohibited persons can hunt bow or muzzleloader.

    DNR has bb guns that can be used for the live fire portion.

    See, that is what should have been told to the guy last night. As I was walking in the door with him and his significant other and we were talking about PayPal and him getting robbed, he started bragging about having already killed 2 nine pointers this year with his bow and really not needing the course other than as a formality. Guessing he killed those bucks on a crop damage permit. Also, so many people fail to understand the entire reason behind the hunter SAFETY course. It isn't a course about how to kill things, or how to be proficient at killing, but on how to be SAFE and how to understand the laws.

    My daughter is 7th on the wait list for Sanner's Lake this weekend. Time to figure out another course that she can take that will suit her. Ironic how after having last night's experience, 3 hours each way, or 12 hours total driving over a weekend doesn't seem so bad.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    Anybody take a class that was "fun" and engaging? I know some of the material is boring and dry, but a lot of the experience boils down to the presenter.

    There is a class at Lock Raven Trap & Skeet in September that is a possibility. Anybody have any experience there?

    What does BCC IWLA stand for? I know the IWLA part, but does BCC mean Baltimore Carroll County? Drawing a complete blank on this one.
     

    fscwi

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 21, 2012
    1,537
    Anybody take a class that was "fun" and engaging? I know some of the material is boring and dry, but a lot of the experience boils down to the presenter.

    There is a class at Lock Raven Trap & Skeet in September that is a possibility. Anybody have any experience there?

    What does BCC IWLA stand for? I know the IWLA part, but does BCC mean Baltimore Carroll County? Drawing a complete blank on this one.

    Its the Bethesda Chevy Chase chapter but actually located by Poolesville.

    http://bcciwla.org/
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    It was more than a decade ago , but Littlefoot44's class @ Waldorf Jaycee was actually good .

    But cynically :

    The minimum bottom line for a Hunter Safety Class is a piece of paper . I'm confident that you can teach her safety and sportsmanship at least as well as a median quality HS Class should have .
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    It was more than a decade ago , but Littlefoot44's class @ Waldorf Jaycee was actually good .

    But cynically :

    The minimum bottom line for a Hunter Safety Class is a piece of paper . I'm confident that you can teach her safety and sportsmanship at least as well as a median quality HS Class should have .

    I think this is what irks the hell out of me about this matter. I have already spent plenty of time with her afield and she has shot the 28 gauge several times. Only thing she has not been able to do is actually hunt. However, she comes hunting with my son, my dad, and me pretty much every time we go. I know she is going to learn way more from me than she can in 9 hours of class time and a field day. However, I have to jump through this hoop so I can get her a hunting license. Almost as bad as jumping through the HQL hoop.

    Was about to make the argument to my wife that this is just another good reason to buy a farm because there is no need for a hunting license for the landowners and the landowners' children. Knowing Maryland, the landowners' children have to take the Hunter's Safety Course anyway.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    That's true. Prohibited persons can hunt bow or muzzleloader.

    DNR has bb guns that can be used for the live fire portion.

    Just thought on this a little more and I am irked even more now. Why wouldn't pellet guns be offered for younger children? Last night, they said that they required three (3) shots from a .22lr at a target. At least that is more forgiving than a 20 gauge shotgun. My son had a great time at the Sanner Lake course. His only issue was having to fire a 20 gauge shotgun that did not fit him well. He knew he was going to get smacked by it, started to cry, pulled the trigger anyway so he would not let dad down, and then walked over to dad crying. So proud of him and so thankful to the instructor that made it all work out. ;) ;) ;)

    This has been the result:
     

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    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    Its the Bethesda Chevy Chase chapter but actually located by Poolesville.



    http://bcciwla.org/
    That's a beautiful facility. I'm sure they do a great job.

    My 9-yr old took his hunter safety course at the Frederick IWLA in June. The older kid had also taken his course there 5-6 years back.

    They do a Thursday and Friday evening, with the field and written test beginning on Saturday morning. There are always plenty of kids that are in these classes, but usually not younger than 8 years old. In the June class, my son (very recently turned 9) was the youngest, but there was another 9 year old and 10 year old.

    Ben Kelkye organizes the course and does the bulk of classroom instruction, but he pulls in other instructors as well, including trapping, outdoor survival, and archery experts. For the field day, there's an even larger crew, including some that participate in this forum.

    Although I sat with my kid during the classroom portion of the course, they do keep parents at a distance during the field day. Yes, we can hand off eye and ear protection to our kids (the club also has plenty for participants), but when a field test is underway, there's no interaction. Other participants aren't allowed to speak to one another either. I'm guessing this is pretty typical.

    For the written test, although my 9-yr old reads well, he joined the other younger kids to have the exam verbally administered. They were sequestered in a different room, and a very patient exam proctor went through the questions with them. It was unhurried and they had plenty of time to mark down their answer choices.

    For us, doing the training at the Frederick IWLA was an easy choice due to familiarity and proximity. My son is also involved in the youth hunter safety team there.

    One consequence of the June course was connecting with a gentleman that is involved in youth archery classes at Tuscarora Archers, such that my youngest went there for a class in July that he loved. They're doing it monthly for now, and he'll be continuing.
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,365
    SoMD / West PA
    he started bragging about having already killed 2 nine pointers this year with his bow and really not needing the course other than as a formality. Guessing he killed those bucks on a crop damage permit.

    That is called poaching.

    To get on a crop damage permit, one needs a DNR ID. To get the DNR ID, hunter education is a requirement.

    BTW, most crop damage permits are for antlerless deer. It is a rarity that a crop damage permit is issued for antlered.
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,365
    SoMD / West PA
    Just thought on this a little more and I am irked even more now. Why wouldn't pellet guns be offered for younger children? Last night, they said that they required three (3) shots from a .22lr at a target.

    Don't get that upset.

    Part of the issue is resourcing. The instructors of the class need to know in advance so that resources can be made available. The norm is 30 days in advance, because everyone are volunteers.

    If the instructors were notified last minute, they cant produce, what they don't have.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    That is called poaching.

    To get on a crop damage permit, one needs a DNR ID. To get the DNR ID, hunter education is a requirement.

    BTW, most crop damage permits are for antlerless deer. It is a rarity that a crop damage permit is issued for antlered.

    Oh, I know all of the above. I've killed 50+ deer on crop damage permits. This guy from yesterday was a piece of work.

    Exactly how he has been killing deer with a bow without having taken the Hunter's Safety Course might be to have been hunting on his own land or that of his parents. How he already killed two 9 points this year is beyond me. Maybe in early January, but highly doubtful.

    How he is on probation and prohibited from possessing a firearm............
     

    Mack C-85

    R.I.P.
    Jan 22, 2014
    6,522
    Littlestown, PA
    ..... The more thought that goes into this, the more it appears Littlestown is the place for me. That or my own 100 acres somewhere.

    Can't help with the 100 acres, but come on up to Littlestown....

    Public Trap on Monday Nights....sign up starts at 3, shooting starts at 4. Shoot till 9 or until everyone is done. One field, but they shoot Regular trap, Wobble Trap, Handicap, Doubles, Double Wobble, whatever shooters want. $5/25 targets.

    Thursday Afternoons for 16 yard trap. Sign up at noon. Shooting 1 to 3 PM

    Sporting Clays on second and fourth Saturdays. Sign up at 8, shooting starts at 9. Closes at 1. $10/50. Fairly new target setters and course has been really fun.

    Three target ranges, one out to 200 yards.

    I'm a member, PM me if you would want to take a look. I'm usually there Monday nights and Saturdays for Clays, occasionally for Thursday afternoons. Great group of guys and gals.

    P.S. yes, I drive up there from Severna Park (about an hour) Looking to move up there, when the market isn't so crazy.

    BTW - nice pond for catch and release fishing, too.

    Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk
     

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