Overview
To buy a hunting license you need to pass a hunter safety course. To pass you need an 80% on the written test and then not screw up during a field test of firearms safety. The written test is easy. The field test is administered by volunteer veteran hunters and the only way to fail is to convince those veterans that you are careless or dangerous. People failed.The pass rate for our group of 50 was above 90% which I'm told is high. The failures have to take the test next year. The test is a cakewalk if you spend eight hours reading the material and don't do anything stupid during the eight hour practical. I'm happy to know that the people who couldn't put in that minimal effort won't be mistaking me for a deer in November (the third most common cause of hunting deaths is "shot by an asshole who failed to positively identify a target" aka "shooting at anything that moves." The first two most common causes are falls and drowning).
The People
The test givers were volunteers from the Pelham Fish & Game Club. The test takers were 50 folks from much wider demographics than I expected. The plurality were 16-25 but we also had some over 50s. 10% of the license plates in the parking lot were from Massachusetts. 20% were women. Many of the people in the course don't actually plan on shooting at animals but wanted to tag along with friends - it is illegal to walk with a hunter (defined as someone in the woods with a gun) unless you have a hunting permit. This surprised me but there are many good reasons for it: you could be flushing game towards them, you could shoot with their "spare" rifle and then stick the hunter's tag on the deer, you could be a poacher who already bagged his limit but "doesn't have a license." So fair warning: don't go into the woods with a hunter unless you have a license.In our group was a mother/daughter hippie team who have no intention of hunting with anything other than a camera. Not kinda hippies, I mean hippy-hippies: both remembered what they were doing when Jerry Garcia died. I only know this because we spent a lot of time standing around waiting for our turns to not screw up. Conversations happened.
Written Test
The written test is easy. It covers basic woodlands survival and basic firearms safety - ex boyscouts should pass with no problems. Only two people in our group of 50 got 100% though and wasn't one of them (he got a mere 96%, suck it Bob). Basic multiple choice preparation goes a long way because 3/4 of the answers are stupid: Do you A) carefully aim the gun, B) recklessly aim the gun, C) point-n-shoot the gun, or D) it depends on circumstances. Always go with the answer that mirrors the leading question and you'll be fine.
Some of the questions want specific answers but are easily answerable if you look around. Our tables were in the meeting hall of a gun club so there were BIG posters of range rules all around and a rack of guns at the front of the room. So the question "what is the most important rule of gun safety" was covered by BIG poster rule #1 "Know where your gun is pointing at all times" and the question "what are the five types of gun actions" was answered by looking at the guns in front "bolt, semi-automatic, break, lever, pump."
After the test the most popular wrong answers were reviewed. The question "Conservation Means..." was answered half with "A) Preservation of natural resources" and "C) Wise use of natural resources." It was a battle royale between Angy Old Instructor and UNH Ecology Major Girl (named "Sky," and yes she knew where she was when Jerry Garcia died). and I sat, watched, and laughed. Angry Old Guy and Eco Major Gal didn't really disagree on anything but terminology. Her preservation was much like his conservation. It still took ten minutes for them to kidna-agree because he knew Teddy Roosevelt and she was a UNH Eco major.
The Warden
For 90 minutes game warden Justin Ferland lectured us on the law. He gave a good presentation (he's done it many times) and his main message was: when you meet a game warden do not run and do not lie. Running or lying turns a $50 fine into a misdemeanor or felony. Game wardens are very touchy (my words, not his) when out in the field because they are miles from backup and are dealing with armed individuals. The laws all seem targeted at helping game wardens identify poachers (unsurprisingly) and have to do with property owners posting signs and registering a list of friends with Fish & Game.One of his examples was a guy hunting on his own land who had placed bait apples under a barren apple tree. The guy ran when he saw the warden and then lied about everything. A potential $100 fine for not putting up a hand written sign turned into resisting arrest, etc.
Don't piss off a game warden because they are chasing a million poachers and you shouldn't give them reason to think you are one. Mr Ferland (officer? warden? dunno the honorific) also gave us his phone number and encouraged everyone to call him for an opinion on what is legal, what you need paperwork for, etc. Apparently he spends as much time testifying for hunters in front of hostile judges as he does catching poachers. He recommended following the letter of the law for the same reason - the sentencing guidelines are so loose that a court appearance could cost you $200 or $200,000 and 10 years in jail, depending on the judge.
Field Tests
The field tests are part education and part a test against stupidity. If you passed the written test this is the only part where you can fail (short of being a belligerent asshole - you can and will be failed at any time for that). Don't point a gun at anyone and you will pass. It is common sense but people do fail this test.The first education/test was how to check each of the different types of guns to see if they are loaded, and how to load/unload them. After the instructor did a demonstration every person had to repeat the cycle with a dummy round while keeping the muzzle in a safe direction. It was educational for me because I've never fired a lever action rifle or pump action firearm (the guys in orange vests are instructors).
Next was a muzzle discipline (sense a pattern?) test with 12 students walking around with wooden rifles. The rifles had orange painted tips and if your tip ever pointed at another person, you failed (no one failed, all our washouts had already washed out). Form a line, turn left, cross a fence, I'm a duck am I in your safe line of fire?, and others.
Finally was a live fire exercise with .22s. The instructors did a short bit on range commands and then everyone shot 10 rounds with actual guns. This was the easiest bit because people get careful fast when they are carrying actual weapons. You might be failed if you missed with all ten rounds but even the people who had never fired a gun before hit the 8" piece of paper at 50ft, so don't worry. kicked my ass on this one. Mine is on the left, his on the right. In my modest defense I haven't fired a rifle in 20 years. I also have hands that hum at a frequency redolent of a meth addict: great for typing but not for shooting.
Etc
I left out much of the 8 hour day. I would encourage everyone to take this $5 course just to see how benign it is. Going to the shooting range with a friend is easier but carries less information. And I'll encourage to add some color commentary because I left out many stories from our our long day.[Added "The Warden" section. It was a big one but I forgot about it]
Addeder The final result of the day. My certification and badge (with minor redactions).
Addederest Game Warden's salaries are not paid out of general revenues, they are paid for by hunter's license fees and a 11% federal tax on guns and ammunition. The 11% tax isn't exactly fair because most of the ammo money is spent shooting at paper and not animals. On the other hand it is a far more specific tax than most.