Definitely ridiculous. The point of it is allegedly safety yet you are deemed safe enough to carry a high powered rifle which can cause far more danger at a much greater range than any bow/crossbow etc. Just another hurdle to barr the entry of new people into the various hunting sports. Put enough hurdles and wait enough time and these sports will be dead. Sad thing is you get all of the idiots saying its a good thing. Maybe a good thing if your an idiot but there is no way they can even link it to actual safety. More of a political correctness class than a safety class. If it was truly safety, than simply offer the examination to anyone who wants to take it and only require the class for those who fail and have proven they are unsafe/uneducated on safety. It would accomplish the same thing and prove much less of a hassle to all but then you wouldn't get the pc re-education they feel is so neccesary. When they are spenidng time in class to teach that you shouldn't carry a dead deer on the hood of a car cuz it might offend non hunters you know its a crock of****. They can call it whatever they want but don't pretend the bow course has anything to do with real safety. Keep singing its praises as your sport slowly dies. Proving your P.C won't save it, only increasing our numbers will and this is definitely a hurdle. I have at least 6 people who WANT to go hunting with me for a weekend and see what it is like but to tell someone who can shoot a gun that he has to take a idiot class that anyone with a pulse could pass with 16 yo for two weekends before he can come out , even to shoot a bow at a deer, is just too much. I should be able to speak to them or give them a book to read and then they can take a quick 15 minute exam to get a license. This education crap is killing the sport.
Education is killing the sport?? Hunting is dying for other reasons, like lack of interest by the young and finding private land to hunt. A little education has absolutely nothing to do with it. Maybe a 12 hour course might be a little excessive for some but it also might prevent some bubba who only THINKS he knows everything about guns and safety from going afield. We all know there are plenty of these types in the hunting world. If a class would eliminate these types from the sport I would be all for a 2 week class because they are the types that get landowners to not allow anyone to hunt on their land. It takes only a few bad apples and it spoils it for everyone. I will agree that a lot of hunting safety is common sense, as is safety with driving, using power tools, or having casual s-e-x, but to totally rely on EVERYONES common sense these days is not exactly wise. A little education cannot hurt.