Yes, need it to bow hunt NY. It was 10 years ago and fairly easy so I don't remember a lot of it but it mostly emphasized tree stand safety. Also had to group within a paper plate at 10 yards with a rental bow.

 

Yes, but it was in a classroom, Izaack Walton League. Still have the card and it is not required by Indiana, me and buddy took it for fun.

 

Do yourself a favor and take an in-person class if you can. You'll get much more out of it. I am an instructor for somewhere around 15 years now. We do a whole lot more in the classroom then you'll learn online. We also take the class outside and do actual blood tracking. We have DEC officers come in to give you an idea what they do & they tell you what most of the violations they see & how to avoid them.

Good Luck

 

Do yourself a favor and take an in-person class if you can. You'll get much more out of it. I am an instructor for somewhere around 15 years now. We do a whole lot more in the classroom then you'll learn online. We also take the class outside and do actual blood tracking. We have DEC officers come in to give you an idea what they do & they tell you what most of the violations they see & how to avoid them.

Good Luck

The one I did we had to take that online course and show proof of passing the test first just to be able to signup for the required in person one where we had to shoot, estimate distances, discuss tree stand safety with different tree stands setup, do a staged blood trail track, then take a written test of 50 questions that you had to get maybe 90%+ correct I think to pass.

The thing I found most important was tree stand safety and both the online course and in person course really drove those points home, and I think anyone using tree stands should learn how to use them safely for sure. For people brand new to archery hunting that really don't know what they're doing, the course provides a lot of other good information as well.

 

Yes did the class & the shooting course about 10+ years a go for a trip to Alaska bow hunting.

 

I am an instructor in wisconsin. Though not needed here we try to tag it along with the gun education course. Good course with lits of good information.

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The course required by WV has about 4 hours of bowhunting videos attached to it. That and the common sense the good Lord gave me I feel has me covered pretty good. I have enough continuing education hours to keep up with for work as it is. I'm sure it is helpful, but hard pass.

 

When in took one 10+ years ago, and it was part of the gun class. I know my town has a preformance test for giving out tags to select locations.

 

Nothing in Illinois that I know of, not for bows. They have a safety gun course for those under 21 years of age (maybe 18 and under).

 

NJ fish and game regulated bow hunter safety course is required here in NJ. i did it in person as a kid. ages 10+ to be allowed to hunt, must be accompanied by an adult until age 16. not sure if there is an online option now or not. i doubt it in this state. unless they blamed covid.


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It's required in NY. I've set through the course 3 times over the last 20 years. First for myself and twice with 2 of my kids

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I lived in NY for 7 years after college. I did it. They made it interesting and kinda fun. I had been hunting for a long time at that point but tried my best to take something away from it.

 

I took my course in NY long before it was mandatory, probably mid to late '70's. I just looked at my certificate and there was no date on it. When we took the competency portion we had a little warm up time. Then when we actually shot, the instructor had the students shooting at twenty yards into a target in his garage. When it was my turn, he told me to go half way down his driveway and shoot at forty. I told him that I didn't shoot that far but that didn't alter his position. I still nailed the pie plate.

At present I'm in my apprenticeship to become an instructor. Covid screwed up that time table, but I should have my certification this year. One interesting thing about the hunter safety courses is that most of the students are younger in age and impressionable. They often pick out things that their parents are doing wrong or illegal. Set a good exmple!

 

I try to take a hunter/bow safety class in every state I want to hunt in. Some are really good, some are really bad. I have learned a bunch form a bunch of different instructors. Not just general stuff, but local laws, game patterns and hunting tips.

 

PA doesn't require a special bow hunting course, but years ago one of the local clubs put one on and I sat in for the fun of it (not a proficiency test). I was a seasoned archery hunter and was highly disappointed in the info the instructors were teaching. I have also sat through several state run hunters safety courses and they are typically well run and informative, to the point that I have often said that I felt like it should be a requirement of every 10 years or so as a refresher.

I would like to see PA institute an archery specific class that was run by the state and qualified instructors.

 

free??? my state charges $30

 

I just took that class last fall, required to hunt on base where I’m at. I think it’s a decent course for a new hunter, but if you’ve taken the regular hunter’s safety course and been in the woods for a while there isn’t much new that you’ll pick up. It’s very basic, and I admit I just clicked through it while I was working on other stuff and didn’t watch much of it.

For someone’s kid or someone new to hunting I’d recommend taking an in-person class, guarantee you’ll learn more. I hate computer-based training though, the military likes to subject us to a little too much of it.

 

Texas did not require one when I moved there in the late 1980's. After moving to New Hampshire in 2003, I took an in-person bowhunter education class and a separate hunter education class because NH required both in order to get a hunting license for both gun season and bow season. Both courses required field exercises and a written test.

The bowhunter course was worth the time and effort. I learned a lot and it made me a better, more careful hunter.

I believe that NH consolidated the old bowhunter course into a single hunter education course for both gun hunters and bowhunters. My son took the course 5-6 years ago and it was only a single, multi-day class for both. His class included a series of field exercises and a short live fire (.22 rimfire rifle) shooting test, followed by a written test.

IMO, the in-person class would be more beneficial than an online course. However, if you are time or travel constrained, the online course will be better than nothing.

 

RE: Blue Buggy's comment reminds me of a hunter education instructor who combined HE and BH courses here in TN. Good idea. The late archery instructor was an Olympic coach. Always regretted not taking some instructions from him.

 

I took a bow hunter education course many years ago.
A couple of my buddies and I went to a neighboring state because my state didn't offer one at the time.
We had about 3 hours of class work, mostly safety and ethics, followed by Q & A and a written test.
Then a simulated blood trail to follow that took about an hour.
The latter part was a joke as 20 guys were all trying to be the first to the end.
They destroyed most of the blood trail traipsing over it.
Anyway, I still carry my card along with my hunter ed. cert. (both voluntary).

 

same here

 

I had to take the course to get my Arkansas Bowhunters Membership that allows me to hunt the Urban Hunts in our state. It included classroom time, field day, and shooting competency test. To be a member of the ABA, you have a yearly membership fee, but the Bowhunter Education Course is recognized across the country.

 

I just started the course after I saw the post. Here in Hungary we have a similar class in person to get the license for bow hunting. It seems really interesting and I hope will learn something new. Thanks for the link

 

In 1989 I took the NBEF 3 day course.

When I first became a hunter ed instructor, it was already knocked down to a few hours in person. Since I've stopped volunteering, they've streamlined this down to something like what you're doing. Online course and then shoot in person.

I understand that todays busy pace requires everything to be done in a nano-second, but the 3 day course was very informative and we got to ask a lot of questions and shoot the breeze with experienced bowhunters. It was a medium group setting with several instructors and one on one help when needed. It was like a mini bootcamp. I'm glad I got to experience it that way.

 

Colorado or Wyoming required it back arround mid 80's took it then, failed the blood tracking portion due to color blindness. I just follow the other guys

 

That’s interesting. What do you do to work around that?

 

Rifle I took in class and bowhunter I took online w/ in person field day.
The bowhunter was ok, almost a waste of time though. But it was required. The field day was over 100 people split into 4 groups. The tracking was a joke. I was the last group. So you just followed the trampled grass. The online class was just common sense. Especially if you hunted for any length of time.
The rifle class was good, but I was 12 when I took it. However my son has now took the rifle class online. It’s the same group that is doing the bowhunter class you posted. It was kinda a joke. Some of the questions/answers are not worded right. And had that been a in person class, I would have some serious questions for the teacher.
The online classes are just not that great. But unfortunately there are less volunteer teachers and in rural places you are forced to go online. Or travel +100 miles just to get in class. Most people can’t afford or do that 6 days in a row.

 

Hunter education always helps even for the old saw...

There is nothing new under the sun. However, with the new tech things out there. Many things can be learned...