Pennsylvania Game Commission

Education course has changed, but not its purpose

The Game Commission has offered training for hunters and trappers in Pennsylvania since 1959.

The classes developed out of informal safety seminars conducted by sportsmen in the 1950s in conjunction with the National Rifle Association, according to Rick Macklem, a spokesman at the Game Commission’s Northcentral Region office in Antes Fort.

The first formal courses were voluntary four-hour seminars on firearm safety.

“Back then, the Deputy Game Protectors were the ones who became certified instructors. They recruited and trained volunteers to assist with classes,” Macklem said.

In 1969 the program became mandatory for first-time hunters under age 16.

“If you were 17, it wasn’t mandatory for you,” Macklem said.

Courses were increased to six hours in the mid-1970s, and content became more comprehensive. A safety component was added to the classes and hunter responsibility was taught, with ethical behavior promoted as well as a knowledge of the Game Laws.

The new course was named Hunter Education. In 1982, the program became mandatory for all new hunters, regardless of age.

“The number of hunting-related shooting incidents when the program went mandatory declined by nearly 350 annually,” Macklem “In 2005, we had the safest year since we have been keeping records in the state. There were a total of 47 incidents statewide. Three were fatal.”

According to the Macklem, the number of licensed hunters increased from just over 980,000 in the late 1950s to 1.3 million in 1982. Nevertheless, the number of shooting incidents has declined, a testament that the program works.

Content

Lycoming County holds 12 to 15 classes annually, of 30 to 75 students each, Wildlife Conservation Officer Kris Krebs estimated.

Anyone wishing to hunt for the first time must take and pass the course. Krebs said signing up early is important because classes can fill quickly, especially as hunting season nears.

Courses are offered in the spring, summer and sometimes very early fall, but are over by the end of September in this region. After that, Game Commission officers must focus on law enforcement during the hunting seasons.

Video and Powerpoint presentations liven up lectures nowadays, but course content stays focused on the basics.

“We still use the handbook, which has been updated for the course and we use the Hunter-Trapper Digest, so students can follow along and answer questions they may have with it,” Krebs said.

“We emphasize to them that regulations change from year to year and that they need to review them each year,” Krebs said.

A bolt action rifle, a lever rifle, a pump shotgun and a break shotgun, all with their firing pins removed, are used to teach firearm safety. Students are taught how to match ammunition to the right gun and are shown the dangers of mixing ammunition.

“We use dummy ammunition so we can show them how to load and clear a firearm,” Krebs said.

“One of the things we can do with a shotgun is we can place a 20-gauge shell in a 12-gauge gun and show them that a 12-gauge shell will chamber in behind it. That shows them the safety concerns that result.”

Students learn firearm identification and parts identification, along with safe handling. Outdoor safety and survival skills are another topic, Krebs said.

“It is an extensive course,” he said. “We want to produce a hunter who is not only a law-abiding, ethical sportsman, but also safe.”

After the six-hour course, which can take one or two days, students take a written test. Those who pass receive certification and may obtain a license to hunt or trap.

Macklem said the Commission is switching to a new curriculum, which will be implemented statewide by 2009.

“Lycoming County was a pilot county for that, starting a couple of years ago.”

No cost

The Hunter-Trapper Education course is free to participants, Krebs said. Materials, including the handbooks, are provided by the Game Commission with assistance from federal funds. Money comes from a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

For more information about Hunter-Trapper Education courses, including schedules and locations, visit www.pgc.state.pa.us.

Section: Posted: 2/25/2007
By ERIC LONG elong@sungazette.com