WDFw limiting online hunters Ed to 18 and above

[jshay]

Does anyone know why wdfw is now limiting the opportunity for youth to get hunting license? I have done speculations but just saw this.


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[pianoman9701]

Your information is incorrect. Anyone can take the online course. Under 18 requires an in-person field skills test. 18 and over can waive the in-person field skills test. The wording is confusing. I had to ask.

[Rainier10]

They are requiring under 18 to do the online course certification in person rather than the online version. For Covid they put together a field certification video and let students 9 and up do that. As we move away from Covid they want to get the hunters under 18 more hands on with the field course to make sure the new hunters are being safe.

In my opinion anyone that does the online course should still have to come in for the in person field certification to verify they are handling the fire arms safely.

[pianoman9701]

They are requiring under 18 to do the online course certification in person rather than the online version. For Covid they put together a field certification video and let students 9 and up do that. As we move away from Covid they want to get the hunters under 18 more hands on with the field course to make sure the new hunters are being safe.

In my opinion anyone that does the online course should still have to come in for the in person field certification to verify they are handling the fire arms safely.

Agreed.

[Rainier10]

They are requiring under 18 to do the online course certification in person rather than the online version. For Covid they put together a field certification video and let students 9 and up do that. As we move away from Covid they want to get the hunters under 18 more hands on with the field course to make sure the new hunters are being safe.

In my opinion anyone that does the online course should still have to come in for the in person field certification to verify they are handling the fire arms safely.

Agreed.

The online certification video was a great tool for getting through covid.  They still had 8 year olds come in person for certification with WDFW region supervisors to make sure they could get everyone a license.  But now that we are back to having a full staff of volunteer instructors hands on is the way to go. IMO you just can't learn that in a book or watching a video.

[Rainier10]

Also it would be alot clearer if all online students had to do the in person field certification.

[WSU]

I think having the in person eval is important.  A lot of people in the classes, kids and adults, have little to no firearms experience.  Teaching them in-person is very helpful.

[greenhead_killer]

they must have just changed this because my daughter and i just started her a week or so ago doing 100% online with it all

[jshay]

Maybe I read it wrong.  So just for clarification.  The online course is still available to all ages, but 18 and older must do the in person field day that was required before covid?


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[HikerHunter]

Maybe I read it wrong.  So just for clarification.  The online course is still available to all ages, but 18 and older must do the in person field day that was required before covid?


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Starting June 1st, 17 and under must do the in-person field day.

[buckfvr]

Hunters ed is a good starting point for hunters to get involved in the process of keeping our rights.  Police our own, so to speak.  I think we have to be proactive in the process in order to limit the changes we all know are coming, to changes we can accept. 

Formal training, indoctrination, classification, certification, and even qualification and some sort of mental screening are all going to be matters we are forced to address in the near future.  Those veterans who receive training and actually qualify with various weapons should be allowed some sort of waiver/form to easily and quickly go through any states system for weapons ownership.  Non-veterans will probably end up required to post some proof of formal training or go straight to a qualification protocol.

Some how, somewhere, there is going to have to be a non-biased screening method that is non-political, non-agenda driven fair and equitable system that encourages qualifications for weapons use by anyone who doesnt raise warning flags.

There are way too many people in this country that are so removed from any type of norm, and are coached to take advantage of their not norm identity and or other anomalies, that there is no way screening cannot exhibit signs of some form of bias. 

One way or another, its address it or be pushed over by the wave of screw balls taking over this country.

USA citizens only need apply.   

[millerwheeler]

Online and a field day is not the end of the world and  the in person class definitely helps a ton I think with clarifying some things my 6and 8 year olds finished there in person class in March and did great , they also had a lot of testing from family and there mother helping them study also have been coming in the field with me since they were born , they have a lot to learn and I really think most hunters learn something every time out and that’s how we round the skills of the outdoors

[The scout]

So if a kid is signed up today, they will not need to do the field day? But if they were signed up tomorrow they do? How long does the online course take? I am going to have my kids go through it this summer, but I was waiting for baseball to be done before I signed them up.

[brew]

Hunters ed is a good starting point for hunters to get involved in the process of keeping our rights.  Police our own, so to speak.  I think we have to be proactive in the process in order to limit the changes we all know are coming, to changes we can accept. 

Formal training, indoctrination, classification,
t of mental screening are all going to be matters we are forced to address in the near future.  Those veterans who receive training and actually qualify with various weapons should be allowed some sort of waiver/form to easily and quickly go through any states system for weapons ownership.  Non-veterans will probably end up required to post some proof of formal training or go straight to a qualification protocol.

Some how, somewhere, there is going to have to be a non-biased screening method that is non-political, non-agenda driven fair and equitable system that encourages qualifications for weapons use by anyone who doesnt raise warning flags.

There are way too many people in this country that are so removed from any type of norm, and are coached to take advantage of their not norm identity and or other anomalies, that there is no way screening cannot exhibit signs of some form of bias. 

One way or another, its address it or be pushed over by the wave of screw balls taking over this country.

USA citizens only need apply.

100 % agree on this point BUT when we were teaching hunter ed and taught the one day online range course we were told to fail students who did not exhibit proper muzzle control and that included any student who was handling a rifle ( they had to do a live fire demonstration) that we could see down the barrell.  Me being 6'3" no matter how a 7 year old 4 foot tall kid handled an actual gun I could see down the barrel.  We actually passed  most students shoulder carrying rifles I could see down the barrel.  Physically it was literally impossible for me not to. It was obvious who was safe and who wasn't but technically most of those kids should not have passed due to this technicality.  That needs changed

[Bob33]

So if a kid is signed up today, they will not need to do the field day? But if they were signed up tomorrow they do? How long does the online course take? I am going to have my kids go through it this summer, but I was waiting for baseball to be done before I signed them up.

The field skills evaluation is done after a student has passed an online knowledge test. If that occurs before June 1 an in-person field skills evaluation is not required. Starting June 1 someone age 17 and younger will be required to participate in an in-person evaluation to be certified.

[h2ofowlr]

Does anyone know why wdfw is now limiting the opportunity for youth to get hunting license? I have done speculations but just saw this.


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They are only placing age restrictions on the on-line portion as to many adults were taking the course for their kids.  They saw this as they had 3 year olds passing the course initially and then they had to up the age restrictions to I believe 12.  Now being 18 will be more likely the actual student doing the work.

[huntnfmly]

So if a kid is signed up today, they will not need to do the field day? But if they were signed up tomorrow they do? How long does the online course take? I am going to have my kids go through it this summer, but I was waiting for baseball to be done before I signed them up.

It takes about 20 hrs
My grandson did it in the last part of March

[Rainier10]

Maybe I read it wrong.  So just for clarification.  The online course is still available to all ages, but 18 and older must do the in person field day that was required before covid?


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Starting June 1st, 17 and under must do the in-person field day.

[Bob33]

I think most younger students would benefit more from a traditional course rather than an online course. There's a lot of knowledge exchange between students and instructors that doesn't occur in an online course.

[HikerHunter]

I think most younger students would benefit more from a traditional course rather than an online course. There's a lot of knowledge exchange between students and instructors that doesn't occur in an online course.

I 100% agree. I would encourage everyone to do the full in-person course, but especially 17 and under.

[Rainier10]

Because of the increase in online learning we do mostly field certification of online students once a month from April through October.  We do two traditional classes a year in the summer.  Kids are out of school so staying up until 9pm is easier for them and it allows parents to bring them after work.

Because of covid and the confusion about the online field certification test versus the in person field certification test we have had multiple students show up at the club for field certification, go through the process and just before the written test when we are explaining the hunter ed card they will get in the mail they tell us they already have that card.   A couple of questions and we find out they did the online field certification.

All have said that the in person field certification is way better than online and they felt way more comfortable handling a firearm.  They also say that the in person instruction we do over the course of 4 hours is very helpful and not covered in the online learning.

I would highly suggest some sort of in person learning while doing the course. If the one week in person works that is great.  If online with an in person certification is all you can commit to that is great also.  If all online is all you have time for that will work but the other two options are a much better learning experience in my opinion.

[Wunderlich33]

My daughter was 8 when she passed her huntress-ed. This was in the early fall of 2021 when COVID restrictions were in full swing.  Due to her age she not only had to pass the on-line test we had to schedule an in person test at the WDFW Office in Millcreek in which she completed and passed while being observed by a hunter-ed instructor.

After passing the in person written test they had everything set up for a walk through including rifles and shotguns with the different actions: Bolt, lever, pump. She had to show that she knew how to operate each action properly and with muzzle control.  After that she had to explain where to find the barrel stamp for caliber on each weapon, then go over to a tupperware filled with rounds of ammunition all different types of caliber and pick the correct one for each weapon. Making sure to read casing stamp on the bottom of each.

Following that, they had a walk trough with decoys of different shot angles and proper weapon handling while crossing fences.

She passed with flying colors... @Rainer10 was a tremendous help as I was keeping him in the loop of her progress and he provided me with insight on how to make her successful

Funny thing is, I have a friend who just got into hunting. He is 45yrs old and just recently took the course and my daughter scored higher that he did on his final test