With holiday breaks on the horizon, hunter education instructors have ramped up the number of courses being offered in Southwest Idaho. For parents who are aiming to get their soon-to-be hunter certified for next fall, there is no better time than the present to put your child through hunter education (or a Hunting & Shooting Sports skills course to help hone their skills).
A total of 12 courses with open seats are slated to start in the next several months, with more to come. Students should note there are various types of Hunter Education Certification courses in the list below, including pre-study options such as expedited one- or two-day courses and Hybrid Hunter Education (an interactive, virtual course with a hands-on field day), as well as the traditional Hunter Education format. Be sure to read the class description before signing up for a course.
Here is a list of upcoming courses and scheduled start-dates. Follow the links to see more information about each class and to register.
Note: If a particular course has filled up, check if there are other options that will work for you in the list below. If not, be sure to provide your information to join the waitlist. Seats may open up for the course in which you are interested, and/or it could help us schedule additional classes to meet demand!
Certification Courses
- Nov. 25 – Middleton – Hunter & Bowhunter Combo Certification
- Nov. 30 – Middleton – Trapper Certification
- Dec. 9 – Nampa – Hunter Certification Hybrid
- Dec. 14 – Boise – Wolf Trapper Certification
- Dec. 16 – Nampa – Hunter Certification Hybrid
- Jan. 7 – Nampa – Hunter & Bowhunter Combo Certification
- Jan. 13 – Middleton – Hunter & Bowhunter Combo Certification
- Jan. 18 – Kuna – Hunter Certification
- Feb. 3 – Middleton – Hunter & Bowhunter Combo Certification
- Feb. 11 – Nampa – Hunter & Bowhunter Combo Certification
Hunting & Shooting Sports Courses
Hunting & Shooting Skills workshops supplement basic hunter education to provide hands-on experience to gain the skills and confidence to safely participate and enjoy hunting and shooting sports.
- Dec. 14 – Pre-Hunter Education Firearm Safety Basics – This is a beginning firearms safety course designed for students 7 to 10 years of age, children looking for pre-Hunter Education practice, students new to safely handling firearms and/or students who will be hunting with an Idaho Hunting Passport. Topics covered are: what to do if you find a gun, parts of a gun, how guns function, how safeties function and when to use them, how to safely pick up and transfer a gun, safe carry positions, and safely loading and unloading firearms.
- March 29 – Beginning Map and Compass – This is a comprehensive Beginning Map and Compass class, covering map reading, declination, compass use, pace count, route planning, resection and other necessary skills. This is a hands-on class, with both map and real world exercises. Students will leave with the skills they need to navigate in the wild.
Why sign up for an instructor-led course?
Learn from experienced hunters/instructors: Maybe you have a question about something that wasn’t directly covered in the coursework, or maybe you just want a little more explanation. With instructor-led courses, you have the opportunity to dive a little deeper than what you find in the Hunter Education book. Instructors provide person-to-person interaction that you won’t find through a strictly online course.
It’s hands-on: In-person instruction provides a hands-on component to hunter education that simply isn’t available in the online format. So, what exactly do we mean by “hands-on?” While both the online and in-person courses cover the same information, in-person students have the benefit of putting the concepts they learn into practice under the guidance of Hunter Education instructors who can explain and demonstrate.
For example, in every instructor-led course (including hybrid courses), students have the opportunity to practice safe firearm handling with inert firearms in the classroom, and receive specific training based on scenarios that most often lead to hunting-related accidents.
It’s affordable: The cost for enrolling in instructor-led certification courses is less than a box of shotgun shells: just $9.75.
To see a full list of instructor-led courses scheduled go to https://register-ed.com/programs/idaho.