to being a licensed hunter.
In Missouri, you have to take a hunter’s ed class which normally spans 3 nights or 2 days over a weekend. At the end of that period, you take a test, and if you pass, you can get your hunting license in Missouri. Well, Missouri recently opened up part of the course as a self study course on the Internet. If you pass that test, you only have to sign up for a 1 day “field day”. I completed the first part tonight!! Woo hoo!
I took a Hunter’s Ed class when I was much younger in Indiana. I passed it, but we just weren’t hunters, so I was never really “taught” how to hunt.. I’m reaching that age that I really want to learn. One day, I’d like to be able to pass along that heritage to my kids. I’m also interested in learning the skills to put food on my table if for some reason thats the only way to do it. I’ve also been a huge proponent of conservation as opposed to preservation, and its about time to put some action behind my beliefs. The best way to be pro-hunter is to actually BE a hunter.
The unfortunate thing is that I won’t be able to take the field day portion until December. The good news is Missouri introduced something called the Apprentice Hunter Authorization, which is nothing more than a $10 tax, which allows me to buy a hunting permit on the condition that I hunt in the immediate presence of a licensed hunter. There is a nice article in the Feb 2008 issue of the Missouri Conservationist. It reads like it was intended for youth hunters, but I don’t see why it can’t apply to middle-aged dudes like me.
I have an invitation to go deer hunting with a buddy of mine on private land in Southern Missouri, so it looks like I might actually get to take part in this years rifle season. Now I have to start working on getting my brother’s old Remington 870 cleaned up and functional.
I’m kinda of excited to be learning something new…..
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