The South Carolina Hunter’s Education Program, which is approved by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, is in place to make the hunters in South Carolina become more knowledgeable, skillfull, responsible and above all safe. The state law requires that all hunters who have a birthday after June 30, 1970 must have successfully participated in and passed a hunter education course that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources approves before they are allowed to purchase a South Carolina Hunting License. This law is in response to the decline of hunting related accidents and the importance that it entails.
Hunting students have the opportunity to choose how they wish to participate in the South Carolina Hunter’s Education Program. This can be done two different ways. First, they can choose to participate by attending a traditional classroom course, which is instructor led. This traditional classroom method takes at least 10 hours and includes lectures as well as hands-on field work. Students who choose this method will need to pre-register for the program at a location of their choice, they will need a #2 pencil and they will need their Social Security Number.Young hunters, those who are under 12, will also need their guardian to attend with them. While attending the tradition classroom method, the student will learn more about hunter ethics, hunter responsibility, firearm safety, firearm mechanics, wildlife management, wildlife identification, wildlife conservation, hunting techniques, first aide and survival. At the end of this course, the student will be expected to pass a written exam, after which they will receive their certificate of completion. The second option is to take an online version of the South Carolina Hunter’s Education Program. This version covers the exact same topics as the traditional classroom version, but will be expected to complete the online study course and pre-exam. After completing these two items, the hunting student will be ready to print out their pre-exam certificate and finally, they will need to register to take their written test in person.
The South Carolina Hunter’s Education Program is an important requirement for all beginning hunters, but, this program can also benefit the more experienced hunters as well. The topics that are taught in this program are important for all hunters to become aware of and the instructors are updated with the newest information pertaining to these topics. With the proven decline of hunting related accidents and more importantly, the reduction of fatalities related to hunting increasing each year, the importance of this type of program is very important. But, safety is not the only topic covered by these type programs. Wildlife management and the other topics covered are important to the future of the hunting industry and need to be treated as such. If these topics are taken seriously by the hunters, then the future of hunting will be bright.
