Kudos to PA Hunting Ed Volunteers

[rev214]

Completed the PA Hunters Ed course today at Mount Holly Springs Fish & Game. At farty-four years young I think I was the oldest kid actually taking the course/test. I'd like to thank the volunteers in general who donate their time for these courses, and thanks to specifically Don and Harrison for their training efforts at Mount Holly Springs.

[c_brutsche]

im going in sept. how long are the classes and is the test difficult at the end?

[richielionfarted]

I, at 22 years old, was the oldest in my class as well. The volunteers did do an excellent job, but I think it would be beneficial to hold separate classes, based upon age and knowledge of firearms/bows. While it was a very informative class, half of it was spent going over the different types of firearms/bows. That is my only complaint about it. Having grown up a city boy, and never hunted in my life, I would have liked to have learned more about the animals that I'd hunt, and some basic ways of going about that. But again, Kudos to the volunteers, as they had a wealth of knowledge, and I have been in contact with them since, hoping to broaden my knowledge on the subject.

[chkrdflag11]

The HTE course is "preset" in that I mean there is a certain criteria that we follow. They provide an outline that is followed and even a time limit for each section. I whole heartetly agree that it would be nice to spend more time on certain subjects but we follow there guidelines. I havent been an instructor long but that seems to be the general complaint among students. Prior to the set guidelines, instuctors would "ramble" about their experiences, not a bad thing but usually meant that something further along in the class didnt get as much time. Thanks for the kudos, it takes up alot of time to become certified.

[rev214]

I, at 22 years old, was the oldest in my class as well. The volunteers did do an excellent job, but I think it would be beneficial to hold separate classes, based upon age and knowledge of firearms/bows. While it was a very informative class, half of it was spent going over the different types of firearms/bows. That is my only complaint about it. Having grown up a city boy, and never hunted in my life, I would have liked to have learned more about the animals that I'd hunt, and some basic ways of going about that. But again, Kudos to the volunteers, as they had a wealth of knowledge, and I have been in contact with them since, hoping to broaden my knowledge on the subject.

The materials they give out show other additional learning ops if you would like to focus a specific aspect. From what Don said at the training, it sounds like the HTE course is going to go more and more towards an online independent study format, with just a couple hours in class for mainly the testing. The independent study is already being done but will increase over the next several years. That will require more reading from the student (perhaps 8-10 hours of reading/studying), but the feedback they are getting from the Game Commission says younger students like the online format more than the classroom format.

[rev214]

im going in sept. how long are the classes and is the test difficult at the end?

Usually its one weeknight (3-3 1/2 hours) and one Saturday (8-8 1/2 hours). Most of the test was common sense (multiple choice and T/F). The study guide book provided in class is helpful.

[Dredly]

its been a long time since I took mine but the one thing I wish they did was demonstrate how to clean a deer, they never touch on that... at least they never used to

[rev214]

its been a long time since I took mine but the one thing I wish they did was demonstrate how to clean a deer, they never touch on that... at least they never used to

Very brief video on field dressing in general, and one full page in the study guide to read. Nothing step-by-step was discussed.

[richielionfarted]

Our schedule was 8-4, on Saturday and Sunday. Our class didn't even get into dressing the animal, which would have been very helpful. It just seemed like some things fell to the wayside. Alot of topics from the manual weren't covered, but the instuctors spent an hour on each different action of rifle.