Hunter Safety Course

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Been 10 plus years since I've been hunting. My son wants to go this year. He's going for a two week conservation camp this summer to get his FID card and hunting license. I work second shift and have a hard time getting time off to take the course offered by the state. Is there an online course that is accepted by MA?
 
Did you take the course to get your license 10 years ago?

What was the year of your last purchased hunting license?

My son went to that camp in western Mass last summer. He had a great time. He already had hunter Ed.....so they let him shoot trap.......and he took a class on field dressing and processing game while the other kids were taking hunter Ed. Great camp

Anyway.....

Copy of mass fish and game:

Basic Hunter Education is mandatory for anyone 18 or older who wants to obtain their first ever hunting license. In order to purchase a Massachusetts hunting license, an individual must either have a government-issued Basic Hunter Education certificate from any US state, Canada, or Mexico or a previous hunting license prior to 2007 from any jurisdiction in North America.
 
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Did you take the course to get your license 10 years ago?

What was the year of your last purchased hunting license?

My son went to that camp in western Mass last summer. He had a great time. He already had hunter Ed.....so they let him shoot trap.......and he took a class on field dressing and processing game while the other kids were taking hunter Ed. Great camp

Anyway.....

Copy of mass fish and game:

Basic Hunter Education is mandatory for anyone 18 or older who wants to obtain their first ever hunting license. In order to purchase a Massachusetts hunting license, an individual must either have a government-issued Basic Hunter Education certificate from any US state, Canada, or Mexico or a previous hunting license prior to 2007 from any jurisdiction in North America.


^
 
I've never taken the course. Had my license from many years ago. Should have never stopped buying it every year. Maybe I'll just go out with him and let him hunt. That's really the most important part. I'll have fun watching him. Thanks.
 
I've never taken the course. Had my license from many years ago. Should have never stopped buying it every year. Maybe I'll just go out with him and let him hunt. That's really the most important part. I'll have fun watching him. Thanks.

It doesn't matter if you stopped buying a license. Says nothing about consecutive purchases.....as long g as you have proof you purchased a license prior to 2007 you Re exempt from the course. If you purchased in mass......call the field office and see if they can find the records. I think you are all set.

Also....how old is your son? If under 15 you'd need to be a licensed hunter for him to be legal even if he has a license


Also I get it....as far as him being the priority. My son has been hunting with me on my license....and from age 12 to 15 (when he got his fid) I never held a gun in the field.....it was all about him as he was hunting on my license. Kid took a ton of game too!!!!! Now he's got his fid and I'm back in the hunt
 
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It doesn't matter if you stopped buying a license. Says nothing about consecutive purchases.....as long g as you have proof you purchased a license prior to 2007 you Re exempt from the course. If you purchased in mass......call the field office and see if they can find the records. I think you are all set.

Also....how old is your son? If under 15 you'd need to be a licensed hunter for him to be legal even if he has a license


Also I get it....as far as him being the priority. My son has been hunting with me on my license....and from age 12 to 15 (when he got his fid) I never held a gun in the field.....it was all about him as he was hunting on my license. Kid took a ton of game too!!!!! Now he's got his fid and I'm back in the hunt

Excellent. I'll look into that. He turns 15 Sept 25th. Wasn't aware of that age restriction. Didn't look into that yet because I thought I was getting my license. I'll call and see if I can get the info I need. Thanks again.
 
Excellent. I'll look into that. He turns 15 Sept 25th. Wasn't aware of that age restriction. Didn't look into that yet because I thought I was getting my license. I'll call and see if I can get the info I need. Thanks again.

I think you'll be good to get your license.

However.... If he turns 15 sep 25 you may have a little issue with hunting small game season. From what I remember that camp is in August......so he gets his course requirement done in Aug and he applies for his fid......then 8-10.weeks till it comes in. He can't legally hunt at all with a fire arm until that fid card comes in...even if you have your license. The guys running the youth duck hunts and pheasant hunts in mass have muzzle loading shotguns on hand for this very reason. . It sucks....but that's the way it is in mass.
 
I think you'll be good to get your license.

However.... If he turns 15 sep 25 you may have a little issue with hunting small game season. From what I remember that camp is in August......so he gets his course requirement done in Aug and he applies for his fid......then 8-10.weeks till it comes in. He can't legally hunt at all with a fire arm until that fid card comes in...even if you have your license. The guys running the youth duck hunts and pheasant hunts in mass have muzzle loading shotguns on hand for this very reason. . It sucks....but that's the way it is in mass.

if I can get a license can he come to observe? At least he'd get some experience in the woods where he will eventually hunt.
 
if I can get a license can he come to observe? At least he'd get some experience in the woods where he will eventually hunt.

Yup. But at 15 without an fid card he can't touch the fire arm. Legally
 
Whacko is correct but to answer your question in the OP you can take the Texas online course that is accepted nationwide.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...ting-License?highlight=Texas+hunter+education


I will also add that you are better off in the long run to take it in the state you plan on hunting as it will address the laws for that state.

Mass courses are hard to get into and generally fill up in less than an hour after being posted. If you can't get in show up anyway and the instructors will try to accommodate you. It took my brother 4 months to get into one.

Bob
 
Whacko is correct but to answer your question in the OP you can take the Texas online course that is accepted nationwide.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...ting-License?highlight=Texas+hunter+education


I will also add that you are better off in the long run to take it in the state you plan on hunting as it will address the laws for that state.

Mass courses are hard to get into and generally fill up in less than an hour after being posted. If you can't get in show up anyway and the instructors will try to accommodate you. It took my brother 4 months to get into one.

Bob

If he can get the record from the field office of a license purchased prior to 2007 he does not need to take the course at all.

But.......taking a course is not a bad idea. If you can find one with decent instructors. My wife's instructors......well........they were not so good.
 
It doesn't matter if you stopped buying a license. Says nothing about consecutive purchases.....as long g as you have proof you purchased a license prior to 2007 you Re exempt from the course. If you purchased in mass......call the field office and see if they can find the records. I think you are all set.

Also....how old is your son? If under 15 you'd need to be a licensed hunter for him to be legal even if he has a license


Also I get it....as far as him being the priority. My son has been hunting with me on my license....and from age 12 to 15 (when he got his fid) I never held a gun in the field.....it was all about him as he was hunting on my license. Kid took a ton of game too!!!!! Now he's got his fid and I'm back in the hunt

Got my license. Thanks Wacko.
 
Got my license. Thanks Wacko.

Sweet!!!!!

Welcome back!

Hunting with my son the last 5 years has been amazing. He even got his first deer with me last fall!

You got a little bit of turkey season left too!!!!
 
Someone forgot, the Son can now apply for his FID at age 14 (he will need to take a firearms course however), it won't become valid until his 15th B'day, so if he applies now, it might be ready for him on his B'day and then there is only the issue of getting the Hunter Ed Certificate for him to legally hunt at age 15. As advised above, do a walk-in on a class if you can't register for it, as there are many no-shows. ~70 signed up for the class I took a few years ago but only 42 showed up on the first night.
 
Someone forgot, the Son can now apply for his FID at age 14 (he will need to take a firearms course however), it won't become valid until his 15th B'day, so if he applies now, it might be ready for him on his B'day and then there is only the issue of getting the Hunter Ed Certificate for him to legally hunt at age 15. As advised above, do a walk-in on a class if you can't register for it, as there are many no-shows. ~70 signed up for the class I took a few years ago but only 42 showed up on the first night.

His son is taking the hunter course in August though. He needs that complete to apply right?
 
That was gonna be my question. Can he apply prior to the course? The course is about one month before his 15th birthday.

You could ask your license officer in your town..... But when my son applied he had to have the cert as part of the packet
 
His son is taking the hunter course in August though. He needs that complete to apply right?

Correct. Given some PDs will refuse to accept a Hunter Ed Cert (even though the law says it is adequate) AND the timing issue, I'd consider paying up and having him take a decent firearms training course to submit ASAP for the FID. Otherwise he'll likely miss much of hunting season.
 
I signed up for a basic firearms course at Mass Firearms because I need a live fire class for a Florida license (have a vacation home there). I just called them to see if my son could also take the course so he can apply now for his FID. They said I had to take the Utah class not the basic class. That does nothing for my son. He wants to be able to take a class with me. So I'm on the search for a class I can use for Florida and he can use for his FID card that we can attend together. Getting closer. Only a few more cartwheels and hoops to jump through.
 
I signed up for a basic firearms course at Mass Firearms because I need a live fire class for a Florida license (have a vacation home there). I just called them to see if my son could also take the course so he can apply now for his FID. They said I had to take the Utah class not the basic class. That does nothing for my son. He wants to be able to take a class with me. So I'm on the search for a class I can use for Florida and he can use for his FID card that we can attend together. Getting closer. Only a few more cartwheels and hoops to jump through.

www.nrainstructors.org can give you a list of courses in your area.
 
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