bowhunter education card
 

What states out there require a person to have a bowhunter education card to hunt.


I just found out about the class that will be given locally.Ky doesn' t require it but I thought I might go get the card just in case I decide to go to another state to hunt and was just wondering if there are very many states that require it.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

PA doesn' t require you to have it but I did the same thing as you are thinking of doing. I took the class just incase I decide to hunt a state that requires it. A great course, The majority of the topics covered I was very familiar with but I did learn a few things that made the course well worth the 18 bucks I paid.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

I don' t know how old my list is but here is a list of states that required as of the list. This list could have changed, some added some deleted but here is the list I have. Perhaps other members can verify or correct it.

Alaska
Colorado
Connecticut
Idaho
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
South Dakota

RE: bowhunter education card
 

I would like to take the course, but I haven' t been able to find any in my area.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

IL doesn' t require it, but I sure wish they would...

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Wyoming and I believe Montana also as well as Canada.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Alaska only requires the card for archery seasons. You can legally hunt with a bow during the regular rifle season without the card. There is ALOT of fine bowhunting available during the rifle seasons in AK.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Thanks for the responses.


I don' t forsee needing it anytime soon but you never know.I really hope I do need it.[8D]



Pahardwoods, 18 bucks,wow,the ones giving the course here are only charging 2 bucks.This a local club and they are great people,not in to it for a profit but just the love of the sport.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

You can get information here:

http://www.nbef.org/

Last time i checked there was 12 states that required it in some way or another. Great idea to take the class no matter how long you have been doing it.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Take it if you get a chance. If it' s the IBEF or similar course it is honored everywhere. I' m not sure how many, if not all, of the Canadian provinces require it but I know some do. Some of the past students in class I was involved in were from PA and taking it for a hunt in Canada. You never know when an opportunity may come up and you' ll need it. About the time you need it you won' t beable to get in a class. A lot of it is old hat to many of the students but all learn something. I' d sure hate to win a hunt somewhere and not have the required certification. When you get your card laminate it and hang on to it like a drivers license. Many states record the completion of a course and it can be reissued if lost but not always.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Hey TFOX the people teaching the course are volunteers trained by the PA Game Commission, in fact after we took the course they said we now could go and take the free course to become bowhunting education instructors. I am thinking about that but I am so busy with so much throughout the year. The 18 bucks is to cover the course materials which consist of a workbook and 2 other books and a video you have to watch. Heck I thought it would be more to take it. I do suspect though that the PA game Commission will make this course mandatory as soon as they get enough instructors. That is the problem right now, not enough instructors.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

PA Hardwoods.... I don' t think it' s instructor numbers that' s holding it up.... it' s administering it. We are not required to take the bowhunter Ed course in Maryland. We have lots of instructors and give the courses all over the state. If the State makes it mandatory they then go from the volunteer donated facilities to the paying for facilities and having to standardize them. For example, Len donates his shop space for classes. It probably wouldn' t meet the states standards for free air or lighting or some such silly thing. They' d have to find classrooms with handicaped ramps, proper lights, fire evacuation plans and on and on. Pa only gives the course in LARGE groups as I understand. That would make the facilities thing even more of a problem. They' d have to make it available across the state with enough frequency to allow all to take it. I think it' s not mandatory due to lobbyist, politicians and the fact you have to take the REGULAR hunter safety before you can hunt.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

The course I took only had about 15 guys in it, I don' t really consider that large. And as for the lack of instructors, I have had many game commission officials tell me to my face that is one major reason for bowhunter education courses not being mandatory. And the regular hunter safety course just briefly covers bowhunting. In fact in my class we had a regular hunter education instructor who was taking the bowhunter education class to be better able to teach that part in the regular hunters ed class. And the majority of the hunter ed classes here in PA are held at VFW' s, Legions, schools and mostly sportsmans clubs. I remember many moons ago when I took mine that it was at the local VFW.

RE: bowhunter education card
 

Hey Rob, hate to point this out, but he asked about bowhunters education card. And I know first hand that Colorado only requires a hunters safety card.