In the State of Indiana, all hunters with birthdays after December 31, 1986 are required to have attended and completed the Indiana Hunter’s Education Program before purchasing an Indiana hunting license. This hunter’s education program is based on the core curriculum suggested by the International Hunter Education Association, which covers subjects that are important to the hunting community and to continue the great tradition of hunting.
The Indiana Hunter’s Education Program has expanded to become a program that is more than just learning safety precautions while hunting. This program has the ability to lead the hunter to a lifetime of being a knowledgeable, responsible, involved hunter, no matter where they are in their hunting career, either new or the more experienced. Hunters wishing to participate in this program have two options. They can either attend a classroom program or they can take an online course. These two options reach the same goal which is to make the hunter more responsible, knowledgeable and skillful by covering certain topics that pertain to these qualities. These topics are responsibility, firearm equipment knowledge, basic shooting skills, basic hunting skills, primitive hunting equipment and techniques, safe hunter, and wildlife conservation.
Hunter responsibility consists of the hunter behaving courteously, becoming involved in the sport of hunting, being respectful of other hunters as well as landowners and being respectful of the wildlife being hunted by hunting fairly and ensuring a clean kill. This responsibility also includes playing by the rules of hunting in Indiana, such as the hunting laws, not poaching and above all, remaining safe hunters.
Hunters attending an Indiana Hunter’s Education Program will also have the opportunity to learn the parts of their firearms as well as the ammunition they use and the procedure that occurs when the ammunition is fired from the firearm. The hunting student will also learn about the various firearm actions, the proper procedure of loading firearms that use these types of action and the location and operation of safeties on firearms. Sights are also covered as well as other firearm information such as caliber, gauge, shotgun chokes, lead shot, steel shot, firearm range, cleaning a firearm properly and of course, how to properly store a firearm.
Basic shooting skills is another area that is covered during the Indiana Hunter’s Education Program. The procedure for improving these skills definitely requires hands on and is often the favorite portion of the program. During this portion, hunting students will actually have the opportunity to handle different types of firearms and learn the proper ways to hold, aim and fire them.
Basic hunting skills are also covered, giving the hunting student the opportunity to have a more positive and hopefully productive hunt. During this portion of the program the instructor will cover the importance of identifying wildlife, strategies that can be helpful, areas on the wildlife that are vital when placing a shot, how to approach an animal that is down and how to tend to an animal after it has been killed.
Hunting students attending an Indiana Hunter’s Education Program also have the opportunity to learn more about primitive hunting equipment such as muzzleloaders and bowhunting. During this portion of the program, students have the chance to safely handle these weapons and learn the correct procedures for hunting with them.
The most important portion of this program is the safety portion, which can become the difference between life and death. The hunting student will have the chance to learn how to correctly handle and store firearms in many situations, to become aware of the what can cause hunting incidents, firearm safety including the proper procedure of loading and unloading it and the explanation of a safe distance between hunters.The hunting student will also learn other safety rules such as properly identifying targets before shooting, the importance of shooting accuracy, the reasons for not mixing hunting and drugs or alcohol, clothing to wear to be more safe and first aid procedures.
One more very important topic is covered in the Indiana Hunter’s Education Program is wildlife conservation. Today wildlife conservation is a very important aspect of hunting and should be taken very seriously. The hunting student will have the chance to learn more about how wildlife can be conserved, what their role is in this conservation and the reasons for wildlife conservation.
Hunters in Indiana have the opportunity to become better hunters by attending the Indiana Hunter’s Education Program and upon completion, they will receive tons of important information as well as a certificate that enables them to purchase a hunting license, all for a mere $15. For more information on this program, click here.
