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PARIS, Mo. –Fall hunting seasons are drawing near and now is a good time to become hunter-education certified. Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) Hunter Education Course is required for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, and buys a firearm hunting permit, or any person age 11 to 15 who hunts alone. The course teaches safety, skills and ethics.
Missouri is a great place to hunt. Hunter education helps make it a safe place to hunt. Since becoming mandatory in 1987, hunter education has reduced hunting incidents and deaths in the state by more than 70 percent.
MDC provides several ways to become hunter-education certified. The course is divided into a knowledge section and a skills session, which includes an exam. Both the knowledge and skills portions must be completed to become certified.
MDC will be holding a Hunter Education Skills Session at 9 a.m. on Oct. 10 at Paris High School. The skills session includes hands-on safety demonstrations and a final exam. Registration is required and opens Sept. 10. The knowledge section must be completed before taking the skills portion.
An online program is one option for completing the knowledge section, which can be done from anywhere with a computer and internet access. Participants must complete all chapter reviews online to take the skills session. The cost for those who complete the course and pass the exam is $15. Participants can also obtain study guides for free at MDC offices or by ordering them online. They must present completed chapter reviews in the study guide to instructors at the skills session.
For those preferring a traditional, in-person educational approach, MDC also offers a free, four-hour classroom session to satisfy hunter knowledge requirements. This includes lectures, videos and filling out chapter reviews.
MDC's Hunter Education Course has a webpage that will lead to links to use the online study guide, to order printed study guides, to find class schedules, to find skills sessions, or to register for a session. Visit http://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/hunter-education-skills-training.
Even though not required for hunters born before Jan. 1, 1967, MDC recommends that all hunters become hunter-education certified. It's a great refresher for hunting veterans, and provides training that can make participants more successful as hunters. For more information, visit mdc.mo.gov.
