A glimpse into this year’s hunters education course
Walking up on the tail end of the hunters ed field test this past rainy Saturday morning, one of the young students called out that they saw game. The instructors use archery targets that look like game animals to represent game and set up scenarios for testing.
By the time this group reached this particular decoy, a nice basket racked eight point buck, the instructors previously asked the questions pertaining to safe zone of fire, identifying safe shots and unsafe shots with previous decoys. They already talked about how the four main safety rules applied to each situation. And they watched the students demonstrate safe firearm handling practices and negotiate obstacles safely.
An instructor asked who would want to shoot that deer? All the students in this group said they did. He asked if anyone would “want to let that deer go so he could grow?”
“I don’t,” said Drew instantly, one of the students taking the class. He blurted that out with not even a tenth of a second’s hesitation.
One lesson the class talks about is the five stages of hunter development and how beginning hunters are in the first stage, the “I want to bag something phase.” Nothing’s wrong with this stage. Hunters learn about the value of the outdoors, the value of spending time with family and friends, responsibilities of participating in an adult group, the value of food harvested from the wild and responsibilities to that game after harvesting it. They learn where food comes from. They learn how to work together as a group.
A new young hunter safely and legally harvesting a deer is a good thing. But all new hunters learn, harvesting that first deer is easier said than done.
The class size was lower than usual this year. This made the class more personal for everyone.
“We had another great year. The student count was down but that gave us a little extra time for more hands on,” said Jody Apfelbeck, one of the Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club group of hunters education instructors. “Another awesome class I think and the students learned a lot and I hope they carry that into the future and pass that on to others.”
“We had a very good class. A small class and it took the kids a while to warm up and ask questions,” said Kurt Frome, a 30-year instructor in the group. “I thought they retained the information we discussed in class quite well. Over 40 percent of the class scored 100 percent on their written test, which is awesome.”
“I agree, we had a great group of kids and adults all eager to learn more about hunting and hunting safely,” said Mike Kleparski, a long time hunters education instructor. “They were attentive and focused. They did well shooting, learning and interacting with fellow students and the instructors. Their willingness to learn was proven in their written test scores, the shooting house, and on the field test. We also have a great group of volunteer instructors and I'm proud to have been able to assist them in teaching this year’s students.”
Mike makes such a great point about this group. The instructors seek to make this course hands on as much as possible. Some stuff requires traditional lecture, but learning to load, unload, carry, and shoot firearms requires hands on learning to do it correctly.
The community support this group and the students receives is tremendous and contributes to the success of the class. The instructors would like to thank Dave and Vicky Orth, Dick and Michelle Lange, Jim and Dawn Hebda, BBD Sports Shop, and the Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club.
They covered the cost of the class for the students, provided a rifle for a prize for one of the students, other prizes, and incidentals like hats for every student. Smith Bros. brought in breakfast for the students and instructors the day of the field test. This support means so much. Other instructor groups from around the state tell the instructors they don’t receive this kind of support and it’s clear to them our area supports kids and hunting.
“We had a few more sponsors step up this year making our class probably one of the best in the area and we can't thank them enough,” Jody Apfelbeck added. “A big thank you to all for helping, those that attended, and those that sponsored!”
A lifetime of safe hunting awaits all of this year’s hunters ed graduates. Congratulations to all the new hunters!
THE NEXT GENERATION - Pictured above are the members of this year’s hunter education class following their final test of the year.
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CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN
