I had to take a Safety course to get my bow license which in Maine is a requirement for all first time license applicants, bow and rifle.I didn't care for it because it was very basic and geared for the first time hunter.I am not saying that it is a bad thing.Some people need instruction on compass reading and general woods safety.

My whole problem with this thread is the competency issue and how it was presented.I know that most people will take it upon themselves to learn how to shoot their bow with some degree of accuracy and I'll bet most try and get as good as they can.As a rule I find bow people to be much more particular in their performance than gun people,especially those that participate in 3D.

Krisken,in all due respect,trying to get an instructor to proficiently
test every archery hunter for a full 3D course would be nearly impossible. Hunter safety instructors are volunteers at this point,instructors are hard to come by and so are the classes.I know some that couldn't coordinate a class to coincide with their work schedule and weren't allowed to hunt because of it.Some were denied classes simply because there weren't enough participants to warrant the instructors time.To tack on a profiency test would be a major burden and quite frankly I feel ineffective.

Ron