With hunting season under way, don’t forget hunter’s education if you’re not yet certified. With the option to take a hunters education course online, now it’s easier than ever to get a hunter education certification.
To hunt legally in Texas, anyone born after Sept. 2, 1971, must complete a hunter education training course or purchase a one-time deferral, good for one license year. To make this process easier, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department now offers the option to complete training courses online for Texas residents 17 years and older.
TPWD also offers other convenient methods of getting certified. One is the basic hunter education course, which is designed for novice and young hunters and requires six hours of classroom instruction. Another is the enhanced hunter education course, a combination online and home study program that requires up to five hours in the field. A third option is the advanced hunter education course, which requires more than six hours of instruction and includes more content than the basic and enhanced courses.
Each of the courses costs $15, and the passing grade for all courses is 75 percent. As dove season opened this year, one of the most frequent citations game wardens issued was for hunting without hunter education certification.
Since mandatory hunter education first started in 1988, the number of hunting accidents and fatalities has declined to fewer than 3 per 100,000 hunters. Accidents involving those who had completed hunter education courses are only in the single digits each year.
To avoid such citations and help improve hunter safety, choose from one of the many flexible options to get your hunter education certification now. To learn more about and register for hunter education programs, visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/outdoor-learning/hunter-education . The certification is valid for life and is honored in all other states and provinces.
