Are you ready for hunting season? Before heading out, you might want to get a refresher on hunting safety from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources which recently opened up over 40 courses.
From Aug. 12-18, the DNR is offering classes for hunter safety education week to provide hunters an opportunity to earn a hunting safety education certificate.
The classes are also necessary, as anyone in the state born on or after January 1st, 1960 is required to complete a hunter education course.
DNR recreational safety, education and enforcement supervisor Tom Walness said preparing for safety is a key to ensuring a successful hunt.
“Just like preparing for school and fall extracurriculars, hunting season needs to be considered in advance,” Walness said. “A lot of people aren’t considering hunting season right now because it’s the middle of summer. We don’t want to see people wait until the week before they want to hunt to try locating a class, at which point classes are often full. We hope that by offering an influx of in-person classes during a particular week each year, it will give people enough notice to prepare for hunting season.”
There are four options for completing hunter safety education in Michigan, all of which require at least four hours of in-person instruction including a traditional classroom-based course, an online course followed by an in-person field day, an interactive online course followed by an in-person field day or a take-home study course followed by an in-person field day.
The DNR-managed program teaches lifelong skills, such as firearm safety, basic first aid and how to use a map and compass, to an average of 15,000 students per year.
For more information or to register for a class visit www.Michigan.gov/HunterEducation.