With fall air finally making an appearance in The Natural State, many people are looking for a way to enjoy some time outdoors. For hunting, that can mean scrambling to find a hunter education class at the last minute. While free in-person classes are always much more informative and beneficial, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission offers a complete hunter education course online to fill those last-minute needs.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has offered an online course option for many years, but participants were required to print a certificate at home and go to a testing site near them to complete their test. Thanks to a recent change, anyone 16 and older may now complete the test portion online as well.
“Youth 15 and younger still need to print off their completion certificate from the online course and take it to a testing site to have their test, but 16 year-olds and up can complete the course completely online now,” said Joe Huggins, Hunter Education coordinator for the AGFC.
While convenient, the online option does cost a small fee. The company that administers the course and test collects $19.95 for the online course.
Huggins still encourages anyone taking Hunter Education to try an in-person class if possible, especially young hunters or hunters who have not been with someone else before.
“I can teach my kids something, but sometimes it takes them hearing it from someone else before it clicks,” Huggins said. “Even with online courses and CD-ROMS available for the last decade, 70 to 75 percent of our graduates still attend the in-person course.”
Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1969 must have successfully completed an approved hunter education course and carry proof while hunting on their own in Arkansas. Youths under 16 may hunt without Hunter Education as long as they are under the direct supervision of an adult who is 21 years old. The AGFC also offers a Deferred Hunter Education Code to hunters 16 and older who have not taken Hunter Education that allows them to hunt while under the direct supervision of a licensed hunter at least 21 years old.
Visit www.agfc.com/huntered for more information about Hunter Education in Arkansas.
