Hunter’s Safety Class held Saturday

Over the weekend, Fish and Game officers John Beer, Mitch Newhouse, and Quinn Kropp held a Hunter’s Education Course at the Public Gun Range outside of Soda Springs.  Per Idaho regulations, a Hunter’s Ed certification is required by all hunters born after January 1, 1975 in order to acquire a hunting license in the state.  The courses are held throughout the year in various locations, though most often local hunters trek to Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Aberdeen, or elsewhere for the training.  Classes are offered in Caribou County when possible, or when there is a request for them.  In this case, local citizens had requested a course, and Fish and Game officer John Beer put together a weekend session that saw around 8 participants receive their certification after a day spent on the range and in the field.

The kids were divided up into two groups, one of which spent time on the range practicing basic firearm safety and shooting protocols.  “The safeties only come off when we’re on target,” John Beer instructed.  “If these muzzles go anywhere they aren’t supposed to, that’s an automatic fail.”  The range class practiced their shooting on a range of rifle types, and between sessions retrieved their targets to check their groupings.  Some sighting issues led to a bit of humor as one shooter did a great job…on someone else’s target.  Some of the shooters were more experienced than others, but eventually everyone was on the same page and many of the groupings were impressively done.

The second group took to the field with Mitch Newhouse and Quinn Kropp, where they practiced safety procedures for shooting birds on the wing, gun handling while traversing fences and other obstacles, and followed a “blood trail” to locate a wounded animal.  Quinn Kropp explained that while accidents aren’t frequent in the area, they certainly did happen.  “It’s important to keep in mind the things we’re teaching them.  You don’t want to be in a situation where you don’t know how to respond, especially if you’re out by yourself.”

The blood trail event benefitted from the weather, which had experienced snow fall and wind after being laid, helping to replicate the kinds of conditions that often occur in the wild that make tracking more difficult.  Following planted blood spots, the students listened to Kropp and Newhouse explain what information could be gleaned from the traces left behind.  Bright red blood with bubbles, for instance, would likely indicate that the animal had been lung-shot and would potentially be travelling more slowly.  Eventually, the students managed to track the trail to their “prey,” after which they then argued about the number of points that could be counted.

Kropp and Newhouse gave the group the thumbs up, and they were given their Hunter’s Ed certifications.

In addition to the 7 kids on the range, Hannah Beer also joined the group.  “It’s humbling to be out taking classes with twelve year olds, but I think I’m doing okay,” Beer said.  As an unrelated but impossible not to include detail, Hannah and John’s first date involved beaver trapping.  “And we went out to a Mexican restaurant,” John added.  “She ordered a bean and cheese burrito, even though steak was on the menu.  That should have been a red flag,” John teased.  

Despite what were presumably her best efforts to avoid it, Hannah’s competitive streak emerged during the range shooting exercise, which she did quite well at and hardly bragged at all, according to onlookers.

Hunter’s Ed is an important part of making sure that regulations are followed throughout the state during the many hunting seasons that are managed by the Fish and Game Department.  Even more important, Hunter’s Ed provides an important foundation of safety-oriented firearms use.  Shooting accidents are a part of the hunting world, but through diligent alertness, and a conscious effort on the part of those who participate in the sport, they can be minimized as much as possible.