Take hunter education now, and hunt turkeys this spring

If you’re thinking about taking hunter education before fall hunting season, get a head start with a spring course and take advantage of spring turkey hunts. Idaho Fish and Game offers many options to get your hunter education certification and join the thousands of hunters who take to the fields and woods each year to pursue the state’s famous game animals.  

While deer and elk garner most of the attention, and people associate those with fall, spring turkey hunts are a great way to start your hunting adventures, and also a low-stress and fun way to introduce people to hunting.  

Spring hunter education courses are starting starting now   

There are a few ways to get hunter education certification. First, is the traditional classroom course. An experienced hunter education instructor leads students in a classroom setting, and they can interact with their instructor and get hands-on training in safe firearms handling. These courses require about 12-13 hours of class time.  

Aspiring hunters also have the option of taking a self-guided online course where they can work at their own pace. It’s convenient because you’re not stuck to a certain time schedule, but the tradeoff is you lose the person-to-person interaction with an experienced hunter and instructor. The length of time varies, but expect about 10 to 12 hours total to complete the online course.  

There’s also a hybrid course option for those seeking hands-on firearm experience who don't have time for a traditional course. (Only offered in the Southwest Region.) 

Now about those turkeys 

Hunter education is a critical and important step in becoming a hunter, but the ultimate goal is to go hunting, which brings us back to turkeys.  

Turkeys are a great opportunity for a first hunt for several reasons.  

First, they’re available in most areas of the state, and all you need to hunt them is a hunting license, turkey tag, shotgun, some camo (or a blind) and a few calls.  

Turkeys hunting is obviously bird hunting, but it shares a lot of aspects with deer and elk hunting. You’re scouting, spotting, and after you locate them, trying to call them within gun or bow range. It gives you the opportunity to get outside during a great time of year when wildlife is coming alive and tom turkeys start gobbling as the spring mating season gets underway. 

It’s vocal and exciting, and the general turkey hunting season is typically more than a month. To see season dates, go to the Upland, Furbearer and Turkey Season and Rules booklet. 

Be ready for fall hunts 

Yeah, we know people are busy, and it’s easy to put things off until the last minute. We do it too.  

But taking hunter education in the spring not only gets that out of the way, it gives you the opportunity to get outdoors and practice some of the things you learned, and that will make you even more prepared for the fall.