hunter safety?? really????

[gehrheart]

I shot my first deer before I was ten. been hunting ever since. I have hunted through out the panhandle of Alaska to the desolate remote parts of the brooks range, now I will have to take a hunter safty class before I can hunt in washington?
Hunting for over thirty years. Looking around at this point I will have to skip out this year. Skipped all together last year due to time of work and the comeing of my twins, this year will be out becuase big-brother washington doesn't trust me in the woods. (though I can grab my rifle and go for a hike any time I want, just cant kill anything.):huh::huh::huh:



I will never understand the crap one has to go through here.

If any one knows better or has a idea, please inform this washington newbie, so that I might salvage some hunting this year.
Thank you,

ANd thank for letting me rant.

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[huntpotter]

It depends when you were born. Were you born after Jan 1 1972? Otherwise, if you were born before, you don't need a class.

I think that if you have an old hunting license, you can call the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, and they can issue a license based off the fact that you have had a license before. You just have to call them to work it out.

 

[gehrheart]

1972 the first year of the of requirement.

i'll give them a call. Wouldn't hurt.

I don't think I have an Old license

thanks.

 

[cwegga]

I'm pretty sure you don't need the class if you can show an old license. At least if it's a Washington license, I'm not sure how it would work with out of state licenses. I keep an old one in the bottom of my shooting/hunting stuff box just in case their computer system fails sometime and I have to prove myself again.

Here's a site with info: Hunter Education Course & Hunting License Test - Safety Course for Washington Hunters Though it looks like they made it just as onerous to take the test online as to just take the class. They still make you show up for an in person session.

Maybe you could get away with taking the online test and using this exemption to skip the in person testing? I'm not sure it would skip it all but it might be worth looking into.

Exemption for Military—Effective July 26, 2009, members of the United States military who bring a valid military identification card or a Form DD 214 are exempt from the skill training requirement (although they must attend the conservation and sportsmanship sections of the classroom/range evaluation session.) The law does not exempt U.S. military personnel from hunter education training —ONLY the skill component.

 

[MarkAd]

There is also a "mentoring" one time only deal. If you go with simeoen that has the hunters safety card you can hunt the first year without a hunters safety course. I don't remember all the details but you can ask about it.

 

[ryanp]

Like Markad said you can get a deffered licencse 1 time in washington without taking the class, but you have to go to olympia to get it. And you have to be with someone who has hunted the last 3 years I believe.