Hunter Education Field Skills Training

[101521]

Hi all, I'm sure this has been posted in the past but I can't find it. My daughter recently completed the online testing and passed the test and now we move onto the Field skills testing.  Question I have for you all, or instructors, is I see some are at locations such as Sportsman Warehouse/Bass Pro and others at gun clubs.  I assume it's safe to say then there is no shooting, just the demonstration of safe handling skills of a firearm? Do we bring our own or do they have them provided? Also, will she have to take another written exam/quiz or is it just the demonstration of safe skills? Any help/insight would be appreciated. She's a sharp young lady, but VERY shy so I will of course be there with her but is she going to be "put on the spot" or anything like that. Exciting times for sure and just want to make it as easy and laid back for her as possible while teaching re-enforcing the importance of firearm safety. Thanks for reading.

[Scheindogg]

Definitely don't bring a firearm, they aren't allowed.
Yes there is a written test 20ish questions.
There will be firearms with practice ammunition at the class.
This is my experience from having completed mine via online class and field skills class 2 months ago

[Elkcollector82]

When my daughter did it. They went back over the materials briefly for a few hours. Then it was hands on and they brought everyone outside and had little obstacles set up. Like a pipe that was suppose to be a log and you had to show what to do by crossing it or a fence. Then they had decoys set up and asked if you had a clean shot and why you think that. Very good class out of amboy  then they brought everyone inside and gave them a written test. They asked the younger kids if they needed help they brought them into a different room then adults. Help as in if they needed a question reworded for them so they could understand it. Again this was in amboy and it was a very productive class.

[Scheindogg]

 
More specifically mine was in issaquah.
Started with about a couple hours worth of informational videos about hunter safety to help "remind you what you learned online" then it was the written test. 20 questions. Then we all went outside, the first objective was to safely remove a firearm from a vehicle (the back of a truck) and then tell the instructor what caliber the gun is that you got and load it with dummy ammo. Then in groups of 2-5 we "went on a hunt " for me it was just me and the father in law. We decided first where our zones of fire would be (who gets the middle shot in front of us etc). Then we started walking while using an appropriate type of carry position with the firearm. There were lots of decoys every few stops we'd stop he would say which of you would take this shot? Is it safe? Is it ethical? Why, why not. There was a small fence with pvc tubes to climb over and exhibit safely crossing a fence. Then more decoy scenarios.
The entire time had to control the muzzle otherwise it's a fail, no exceptions. Everyone passed! There were 2 young brothers about 10 and 12 and they did great as anyone else

[jmscon]

Some places have a live fire but it isn't required to pass. Usually the parents are asked to stay behind during the field course.
Good luck to her!

[dfresh96]

im taking my son to the field class @Renton gun club on the 28th...thanks for all the info... 

[jennabug]

From my experience, the field test was held at a range. There was live fire. Some of the instructors will put students on the spot, but they didn't seem to be hard on shy kids. They may try to test them by handing them ammunition that is not correct, e.g. handing a 12 gauge shell to someone with a 20 gauge shotgun. Just remind them to be slow and cautious and they'll do great! Good luck

[Rainier10]

im taking my son to the field class @Renton gun club on the 28th...thanks for all the info...

I'll be one of the instructors at that class, see you there.

[Scheindogg]

Some places have a live fire but it isn't required to pass. Usually the parents are asked to stay behind during the field course.
Good luck to her!

Isn't this only for the ones that do the in person class? I heard that the online never has live fire and I thought I read that while taking the online course too? 

[Karl Blanchard]

I just went through this with my daughter 2 weeks ago.  Our course had required live fire.  Per rcw it does not state that life fire is a required skill to pass.  However in the hunter ed booklet it states on page one that instructors have the autonomy to require additional skills in order to pass. Our particular class was three rounds of shotgun and three rounds of rifle. Neither of the state guns came even close to fitting my daughter but they still required her to fire them. The instructors were very good at helping her though and it was a positive experience. Personally I don't think anyone has any business forcing someone to discharge a weapon but it is what it is

[boneaddict]

I don't like that either     Im glad the instructors were 

[dfresh96]

im taking my son to the field class @Renton gun club on the 28th...thanks for all the info...

I'll be one of the instructors at that class, see you there.

right on & see you there Rainier10

[hunter399]

Correct ammo for firearm
Break actions make sure you look in barrel for obstruction before loading
Action open
The biggest of all is muzzle control.
She will do great ,no worry man

[AROTTY]

I just went through this with my daughter 2 weeks ago.  Our course had required live fire.  Per rcw it does not state that life fire is a required skill to pass.  However in the hunter ed booklet it states on page one that instructors have the autonomy to require additional skills in order to pass. Our particular class was three rounds of shotgun and three rounds of rifle. Neither of the state guns came even close to fitting my daughter but they still required her to fire them. The instructors were very good at helping her though and it was a positive experience. Personally I don't think anyone has any business forcing someone to discharge a weapon but it is what it is

The instructors are wrong.  A prohibited person can pass hunter ed with a bow and not be made to commit a crime.

[Karl Blanchard]

I just went through this with my daughter 2 weeks ago.  Our course had required live fire.  Per rcw it does not state that life fire is a required skill to pass.  However in the hunter ed booklet it states on page one that instructors have the autonomy to require additional skills in order to pass. Our particular class was three rounds of shotgun and three rounds of rifle. Neither of the state guns came even close to fitting my daughter but they still required her to fire them. The instructors were very good at helping her though and it was a positive experience. Personally I don't think anyone has any business forcing someone to discharge a weapon but it is what it is

The instructors are wrong.  A prohibited person can pass hunter ed with a bow and not be made to commit a crime.

well that obviously goes without saying and they state that at the beginning of the course

[AROTTY]

Ok that makes more sense.  Still weird that they made your daughter shoot. At the course they held in Benton City they brought snap caps to show proficiency handling different firearms if an attendee didn't want to shoot. I'd hate to see a youth develop a flinch.

[ghosthunter]

Some places have a live fire but it isn't required to pass. Usually the parents are asked to stay behind during the field course.
Good luck to her!

Isn't this only for the ones that do the in person class? I heard that the online never has live fire and I thought I read that while taking the online course too? 

Live fire or not is at the discretion of the Chief Instructor for any class. Online field day or Traditional class.
The state prefers classes have Live Fire.
If the Instructor states in the beginning or at sign up that the class requires a student Live fire than that's how it is.

This has changed over the past few years. They use to allow students to op out of pulling a trigger. Many Instructors refused to do Live Fire under that policy. ( Everybody shoot or no one shoots.)

Now they simply direct students to other classes if they do not want to Live Fire. (If there are classes without Live Fire)

Also understand that some instructors have no place to conduct a Live Fire. It can be done with BB guns or Pellet guns.

There is also a interest in moving women who are pregnant away from Live Fire classes and to classes where it is not a requirement.

Persons who are restricted by the courts from handling firearms , must inform the Instructors and they will be allowed to go through the class with a bow.

Several years ago the State had to rein in Instructor Teams who were requiring more from the students than the State felt was necessary.   (30 -40 hour classes and other requirements.

Still today the Chief Instructor has leeway on how the class is constructed as long as he follows the States Program. This is why you see and hear of Instructor Teams requiring stuff that really is not necessary, of the student.  And also why some students and parents experience is less than satisfactory.
If I as a parent felt that something was unreasonable during a class, I would contact the Department and ask some questions.

All classes are not created equal, because humans are involved.   

[Karl Blanchard]

   well said and thank You! 

I was trying really hard not to be the crazy dad as I felt and still feel that children should not be forced two fire weapons they are not comfortable with. My daughter will not be wingshooting anytime in the foreseeable future so why should she have to shoot a shotgun? The responsibility of teaching children how to actually fire weapons is that of the parent in my opinion.

The two firearms that were available to the class didn't even come close to fitting my child or about half a dozen other kids in the class yet there they were barely able to reach the trigger just banging away. There were literally kids in tears after shooting the 20 gauge shotgun. That's a great way to start out your firearm career

But like I said before, our instructor team was absolutely amazing and truly wanted to see these kids succeed. I can't speak highly enough to their dedication to our youth.  I still feel though that there should not be alive fire and if there is they should have some small guns that fit little shooters adequately. I also feel that the rifle shooting should allow support for the front of the firearm and not making kids shoot standing or from a kneeling

[Stein]

My class was online and had .22 live fire.  My daughter did the in person and .22 live fire.  My son was in person and 20 gauge live fire.  All classes were great and I'm a fan of live fire, both kids had a noticeable change when we switched from the orange guns to live fire and the fact it wasn't me walking them through it left an impression.


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[ghosthunter]

  well said and thank You! 

I was trying really hard not to be the crazy dad as I felt and still feel that children should not be forced two fire weapons they are not comfortable with. My daughter will not be wingshooting anytime in the foreseeable future so why should she have to shoot a shotgun? The responsibility of teaching children how to actually fire weapons is that of the parent in my opinion.

The two firearms that were available to the class didn't even come close to fitting my child or about half a dozen other kids in the class yet there they were barely able to reach the trigger just banging away. There were literally kids in tears after shooting the 20 gauge shotgun. That's a great way to start out your firearm career

But like I said before, our instructor team was absolutely amazing and truly wanted to see these kids succeed. I can't speak highly enough to their dedication to our youth.  I still feel though that there should not be alive fire and if there is they should have some small guns that fit little shooters adequately. I also feel that the rifle shooting should allow support for the front of the firearm and not making kids shoot standing or from a kneeling

Folks who teach Hunter Ed are not in it to fail kids.

We use to bring in small .410 ga shotguns for little folks ,but the state put a end to that. Only state owned firearms can be used in Live Fire, thus the 20 ga.

Instructors are not trying to teach kids how to hunt or shoot. That is outside of the scope of the class and really up to the family. They might offer pointers, but really the instructors job is to evaluate the students completion of the necessary elements of the program as outlined by the state.

With that in mind the Live Fire is a final test of the students ability to safely monitor and control  a firearms muzzle. Most Live Fires these day have a instructor next to each student for safety. So if a student can get to and from the gun rack without pointing the firearm at someone they have it made. 

[Russ McDonald]

Black Diamond Gun club has one this weekend the 26th.  I will not be at this one.  Taking the weekend off doing some scouting and maybe a little fishing on Monday.  Black Diamond doesn't do a live fire.  It is a blast teaching young kids and answering their questions.  I always say the only stupid question is an unasked question.  I am not out to see kids fail but I do put them on the spot when walking through our course.  Good luck to her. 

[Curly]

Why doesn't the state purchase some .410 shotguns for use by the students? 

[fishngamereaper]

I could see the use of .22 for all the skills portion. Shotgun in any form seems a little much.  My kid is signed up for a Sept class. Hopefully I haven't done to much damage to him teaching him my way of firearms training as opposed to what he may see at the course

[Seahawk12]

My daughter passed at age ten and i sat through it with her with the exception of the field obstacle course.
There was no firing of guns there. It was a good experience for her and i don't think she missed out by not having to shoot a gun.
Of course this was just a part of prepping her to eventually become my archery hunting partner. 
She did the course through the Kenmore gun range.

[Karl Blanchard]

Black Diamond Gun club has one this weekend the 26th.  I will not be at this one.  Taking the weekend off doing some scouting and maybe a little fishing on Monday.  Black Diamond doesn't do a live fire.  It is a blast teaching young kids and answering their questions.  I always say the only stupid question is an unasked question.  I am not out to see kids fail but I do put them on the spot when walking through our course.  Good luck to her. 

I disagree Russ!  We had "that guy" in our class!  He added 30 min to the class every night qith random hypothetical questions!  All I could do to not turn around and say please shut up

[Russ McDonald]

Black Diamond Gun club has one this weekend the 26th.  I will not be at this one.  Taking the weekend off doing some scouting and maybe a little fishing on Monday.  Black Diamond doesn't do a live fire.  It is a blast teaching young kids and answering their questions.  I always say the only stupid question is an unasked question.  I am not out to see kids fail but I do put them on the spot when walking through our course.  Good luck to her. 

I disagree Russ!  We had "that guy" in our class!  He added 30 min to the class every night qith random hypothetical questions!  All I could do to not turn around and say please shut up

that is funny.   Sorry it happened though. 

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[addicted1]

My experience....

Things to know:

-Identify all types of shotguns, break, pump, semi
- know minimum caliber for legal hunting
-know how to identify black tail, mule and white tail deer
-know how to identify caribou
-muzzle control is key
-we shot a 20 guage at ours
-instructors can and will put people on the spot during the field test, not sure if they do with kids as much as adults

If you give your daughter a run down of a few key things, if she doesn't know an answer it's not a big deal. I didn't know a ton of stuff when I did the field test, that's kind of why we are there.

[101521]

Thanks guys for all the input! I really appreciate it. She will do great just want to cover the key bases.

Thanks!

[Rainier10]

Last nights class at Renton was great, we have two more coming up Sept 11th and 12th, registration opens on September 4th.  These classes fill up fast as hunting season is upon us.

It was awesome to meet Dfresh last night and his son.  I was so impressed with his son's knowledge and ability to handle the firearms.  He did great on the field course and passed the class with flying colors.  His father had obviously worked with him on safe fire arm handling, good job dad.

It was a really good class with 25% of the class being females.  Great to see all the women getting involved in the outdoors.

[Karl Blanchard]

Woohoo!!!!  Great job guys!

My daughter's class was dominated by females.  Better than half at least.

[Rainier10]

Woohoo!!!!  Great job guys!

My daughter's class was dominated by females.  Better than half at least.

That is awesome.

The thing about getting females into those classes is that it is great for them to at least get exposed to hunting and the reasons for it.

Let's face it, women talk way more than men and they vote more than men.  If they can be educated on hunting and the reasons for it maybe they will tell their friends what they have learned and hopefully not vote to restrict hunting.  At the very least they can spread the word about the other side of the issue, not just bambi getting shot.

[jennabug]

Woohoo!!!!  Great job guys!

My daughter's class was dominated by females.  Better than half at least.

Great! Lots of women are interested in becoming hunters, and with the learning resources available today they can actually get in to it even if they weren't raised to hunt. Another reason to keep sharing!

[JKEEN33]

I use to run the youth archery program at the club I belong to. I would say it was 60% girls learning to shoot a bow. I told the moms one of the first nights that they could shoot too if they wanted. They all grabbed a bow and came in the next week with their own bows. Love to see woman participating and to plug archery, it's easy for them to get equipment that fits.

[dfresh96]

The Renton gun club put on a great class & the diverse group was awesome...

It was my 3rd time sitting through a safety course after having been for myself & with both my kids...

If you're in the area its definitely a great ran class...