Stories from Hunter Ed

[Frequently Banned Troll]

I've been to a hunters ed as a tag along friend/parent numerous times in MT, then to the Kingman AZ class for the lifetime bonus point. Lots of great volunteers doing this for the kids.

However, by far and away the most memorable experience from one of these sessions was in Livingston MT, a dozen or so years back - the "bowhunter's ed" class my son attended.

There was this instructor - a woman that was roughly 5'6" and a deuce and a half and appeared to have popped right in from a weeklong bender at the Vista View trailer park. She was wearing a thankfully loose fitting (probably a XXXL) T-shirt with print on the front "Double Ds - Comin' at ya!" Craziest thing I've ever seen. I don't remember a damn thing about what anybody said during that course other than her instructing the future young bowhunters to not fill up with gas on the way to the tree stand.

 

[thomas89]

I was 11 when I found a Hunters Safety course I wanted to take with a buddy of mine, and after scraping together the $10 course fee, I was disheartened to find out he was a few months too young, but his older brother was old enough to take it with me. His dad was fighting esophageal cancer at the time, so after getting the green light from my folks to be our chauffeur's, it mostly fell on my parents to take us to and from classes.

For a kid that disliked elementary school, I sure loved Hunters Safety. Some of the highlights I remember were shooting clays with an Ithaca SKB 20 guage my dad sent me with, shooting an M1 Garand at the field day, and following a "blood trail" as part of the final test. I was dinged for not "checking" the shot out 3D deer target was actually dead at the end of the blood trail. Wouldn't you know it, I've dilligently checked every single animal I've shot ever since, remembering that instructors voice coming out of the weeds, "ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure they're dead." His dad felt good enough between treatments to pick us up on that last field day after graduating, and took us a to a local root beer stand for a celebratory mug of root beer.

That fall was my first season carrying a gun, my dad had a gunsmith install a youth stock on his old 870 Wingmaster. He preached at me to always shuck the chambered round out and leave the action open when we'd stop for a break or lunch. It was one of these times I shucked the 12 ga Brenneke out, set the shotgun against the bench, leaned down to grab the shell, and as I looked up, wouldn't you know it, a year and a half old doe was standing there staring at us at 20 yards. I managed to whisper/yell "there's a f@$%&*( deer standing right behind us, Dad!", and in one motion he drew his Ruger Redhawk .44 magnum, twisted to rest on the bench, and (after a bit of a struggle finding the deer) dropped that doe just like that. I know he got a bit of a an earful from my mom about why did he shoot the deer and not me, but I couldn't have cared less, it's always been a team effort hunting together.

I was quite content with my first season toting a gun, but quickly was green with envy when my buddy's brother told me he'd filled his free doe permit given to all graduates of Hunters Safety. I can still see that polaroid, that tiny little doe and my buddy's brother standing there with his very sick dad. Unfortunately it took his dad's passing that spring to remind me it wasn't ever about the deer and I've always felt a little sting thinking back to how jealous I was of that little deer.

Dusty in here boys, thanks for the memories.

 

[Hunting Wife]

One memorable faux pas I guess, and lesson learned for any instructors….there are several YouTube videos that students watch over the course of the week. The links are embedded in Game and Fish’s standard slideshow, never had an issue until this year.

I’m not sure if YouTube recently changed their advertising structure or what, but suddenly one night this year, it cuts to commercial in the middle of one of the videos and some woman bragging about how her husband “f$&(ed me so good my legs shook.”

OMFG!!!!! This has NEVER happened before! I distinctly remember all 4 of us instructors leaping tables, podiums, and students trying to get to the computer.

Luckily (?) it was the intro night for an online session (week of self study, then hands-on final) so most of the class was adults and a couple of teens but it was easily the most mortifying event in all my time teaching. We now have someone poised with the mute button and escape key during all videos, just in case.

So moral of the story…if your curriculum includes YouTube videos, do not let them play unattended.

 

[BenP]

One memorable faux pas I guess, and lesson learned for any instructors….there are several YouTube videos that students watch over the course of the week. The links are embedded in Game and Fish’s standard slideshow, never had an issue until this year.

I’m not sure if YouTube recently changed their advertising structure or what, but suddenly one night this year, it cuts to commercial in the middle of one of the videos and some woman bragging about how her husband “f$&(ed me so good my legs shook.”

OMFG!!!!! This has NEVER happened before! I distinctly remember all 4 of us instructors leaping tables, podiums, and students trying to get to the computer.

Luckily (?) it was the intro night for an online session (week of self study, then hands-on final) so most of the class was adults and a couple of teens but it was easily the most mortifying event in all my time teaching. We now have someone poised with the mute button and escape key during all videos, just in case.

So moral of the story…if your curriculum includes YouTube videos, do not let them play unattended.

YouTube ads can be the worse, I report all those I see because I have kids that watch videos with me and don't need that mess popping up. On the tv we only use the kids YouTube account so we don't have surprise ads like that.

 

[Hunting Wife]

YouTube ads can be the worse, I report all those I see because I have kids that watch videos with me and don't need that mess popping up. On the tv we only use the kids YouTube account so we don't have surprise ads like that.

I’m not really a YouTube-er, so didn’t even realize the type of ads that are apparently just normal on there? Geez.

Maybe we should create a kids account just for class. I assume we can do that.

 

[BenP]

I’m not really a YouTube-er, so didn’t even realize the type of ads that are apparently just normal on there? Geez.

Maybe we should create a kids account just for class. I assume we can do that.

You probably wouldn't have access to the videos you're wanting because it wouldn't be "kid friendly"

But maybe it will still allow you to watch it so you can solve that problem.

Ads in general are typically not kid friendly in my opinion. Nothing better than watching a kids movie on tv and then the ads are for horror films, depression, and viagra.

 

[MTGunner]

I have never gotten involved with trying to teach hunters ed. I don't think I am a very good teacher. Every time I try to teach anyone something it ends with everyone very frustrated.

I do remember some things from when my oldest daughter took hunters ed. One thing I found interesting about the class was when they all went to the range for some shooting. They put on a little demonstration to maybe discourage the kids from playing with gun powder. They laid out a line of various types of powder ending in a pile of black powder, then lit the end of the powder so the fire traveled the path culminating in a big flash of fire and smoke. It accrued to me that this was not a good demonstration to show a bunch of 10 to 12-year-old boys, if you actually value their eyebrows and want to discourage such tom foolery.

The instructor of the class was considered to be the top guy with hunters ed. in Oregon. I had heard his name many times and was glad to meet him. He taught all the regs of course, including not shooting from or across a road. He also taught a lot of stuff that was more his own personal ethics and rules to hunt by. Like, for example, he felt that you should never try to shoot an elk in the neck because there was just too much room to miss the spine and injure the animal. Well, that November I was muzzle loader hunting elk when I heard a shot very close by. I went to investigate and lo and behold; there was that hunters ed. guru standing with his buddies over a dead cow lying in the middle of the road with a .50 cal. hole in its neck. He wasn't the shooter, but still. I had to laugh a little to myself about that one

 

[MTGunner]

Gouch, I too never thought I could teach anything. The irony is that once I became a member of a Hunter Ed team it became more comfortable. Perhaps, in the beginning, it was public speaking. It became second nature. It was very rewarding to offer some semblance of information/experience to our youth and those that chose to learn about the outdoor way of life. Some never chose hunting. Some never did even after taking the course. But, to offer information regarding the life and very real commonsense firearm safety. Many one parent households took our course. From some of these one parent households we have received glowing reviews regarding the safety aspect. We have had anti groups set in on our courses. This is just fine as we offer comprehensive information on and about the sporting life in an ethical manner. These groups were not allowed to debate the ethical issues during the course time as this was a public offering and not a debate. There were no hunting stories allowed. There was a night when a state warden was available to answer legal questions. We, as a team would not, legally could not answer these questions. After 17 years of as a Hunter Ed master it has given me a blessing to be able to impart something to our youth. I am now retired, live in a western state and no longer involved.
But, in my opinion only, I believe each that desire a hunting life needs to take a Hunter Education course. MTG

 

[MTelkHuntress]

I'm in my fifth year teaching and I'm starting to enjoy it more. You definitely learn quickly who you like to teach with and who you will definitely avoid at all costs My first year teaching, the lead instructor and I got yelled at by an older instructor for failing 2 kids because he didn't believe students should ever fail...that was fun.
Thankfully our county lead is super awesome and is fun to teach with (and brings snacks).
In our most recent class, we had a whole family (parents with their son and 3 girls) take the class together and that was pretty cool.

My favorite was a father that took the class with his daughter because she wanted to learn how to hunt. She was a little shy during class but super curious. One of the other instructors took them on their first hunt and the daughter shot her first buck. The instructor sent the picture to all of us that helped teach that class and you could just see that father beaming with pride in that photo next to his daughter who had this biggest smile.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

Not firearm but I was one of the early International Bow Hunter Education Program instructors in the 70'in NY. Everyone had to take this course regardless of age to hunt with bow. (This argument has come and gone). It was not really a Safety Course per se but focused more on actual bow hunting itself. I did it for many years there and one of the same rewards back then were the excited telephone calls from successful students young and old. There were also a ton of calls "I lost the blood trail, can you come and help?". My wife was getting annoyed since a lot of calls came in 8-9PM and I wouldn't get home until wee hours of morning. Lots of incredible recovery stories that like many have stated provided personal satisfaction and hope for these hunters. I don't do instructing any more but do take on new hunters and shooters to help them along. I noticed some interesting changes where the new hunters never hunted, nobody in family hunts or even shoot. But they want to hunt and even fish to get more involved in getting their own food. Kind of cool! Even field dressing is interesting when they come from medical fields!!

 

[CRJR45]

I remember my hunters ed class in 1975 , we had it in school shop class . A guest speaker came and shared his accident . He was shooting skeet and had two guns , a 20 and a 12 gauge I think , and got confused , loaded the 12 gauge gun with 20 gauge shells and tried to fired it but it didn't fire . So he reloaded it with 12 gauge shells and when he pulled the trigger it exploded . He had the parts assembled on a board in the exploded view and the barrel was peeled back like a banana .
Very intense stuff .
Funny thing , one of my first rabbit hunts my friend did something similar , got snow in the end of his shotgun and the barrel exploded peeling back almost exactly the same way .