The Arizona Hunters Education Program is required for all hunters between the ages of 10 and 14 years of age who wish to become licensed hunters in the State of Arizona. This purpose of this program is “to promote safe, knowledgeable and responsible hunter conduct, to emphasize the importance of wildlife management, laws and regulations, and to encourage the safe handling of firearms/bow hunting equipment” according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.(1) This program is offered two different ways, either in a classroom setting or online and is only open to hunters who are a minimum of 10 years old. Every student must also attend and complete a field day in addition to either the classroom or internet courses to become certified.
Classroom and/or internet courses teach the students topics such as hunter responsibility, hunter ethics, firearm safety, wildlife identification, wildlife management, first aid skills and survival. These courses also cover wildlife conservation and how firearms work. All courses are taught by a volunteer instructor affiliated with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and determine when and where they will hold the courses. These courses are not only good for young hunters, they make excellent refresher courses for the more experienced hunters, they are interesting for anyone who enjoys the outdoors and can be good for anyone with an interest in conservation.
Hunter Education Field Day teaches the students safely handle firearms, will have firearm and ammunition orientation and take part in a hunting and tracking exercise. Students attending this field day will also have the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their knowledge of the zone of fire area and also shoot a .22 from three different positions, all while being closely supervised. Hunting students will also learn to correctly clean a shotgun and a rifle and how to properly place them in a gun case to ready them for storage or transportation. The instructor will also touch on GPS navigation, how to read a map and on using a compass while hunting.
Hunters participating in the Arizona Hunters Education Program should keep in mind that the instructor is a volunteer and is donating their time when holding these courses. Students must follow all the rules set forth by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. These rules include being on time for all classes, not carrying firearms to the classes, no live ammunition or components and no unacceptable behavior.
Students must also attend and participate in field day, must not practice any unsafe handling of any firearm, must attempt to participate in class discussions and have a social security number or hunter ID number with them and must be at least 10 years old. The instructor is in control of the class and has the authority to fail or expel any hunter attending these courses for breaking these rules or any misbehaving.
The State of Arizona is one of many states in the United States that requires their young hunters to attend and satisfactorily complete a hunters education program. Completing this program is important to all aspects of these young hunters career and should be faced as just such.
With the proper training, these hunters of the future can and will insure that hunting remains available to all for many years to come. For more information on the Arizona Hunters Education Program, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department website.
Resource:
(1) Arizona Game and Fish Department website
