If you are a new one to hunting and want to get started, the first thing you need to do is get a hunting license. This article will tell you how to get a Hunting License.
All across America, you need the same license to hunt because wild animals don't belong to any particular person, organization, or landowner. Wild animals do not belong to anyone. And, accordingly, licenses are common. But they have different prices, depending on what animal or group of animals you plan to hunt, what kind of weapon you have, and, of course, exactly what state you will be hunting in.
Let's not forget that every state has different edits and the laws vary greatly from state to state. Before you take the test and buy your license, you should familiarize yourself with the laws of your state.
Let's understand what a Hunting License is and how to get one? And what is the difference between a Hunting License and a Hunter Education? Shall we begin!
What’s a Hunting License?
It is well known that in the late 18th and early 19th centuries many species of animals in America were on the brink of extinction. Every hunter nowadays clearly understands that by the actions he protects, multiplies, and preserves not only wild fauna but also wildlife in general. Each state has its own agency responsible for both the state of wildlife and the hunters who live there.
So, that means it's pretty simple. In order to hunt, you have to buy a hunting license. The license should be affordable for everyone, and strictly mandatory for all hunters.
License prices vary from state to state. The price of a license depends more on the population of animals in that particular state, and the demand from hunters. In addition, the price also depends on the state's costs for restoration, conservation, and protection of the hunt. All of the money from license sales goes to state and federal programs, as well as state conservation and reproduction departments.
On average, more than 20 million hunting licenses are sold each year. They are processed and paid for online and can be purchased at the post office or at any store that sells hunting and fishing products.
A wide range of people has the right to check a hunting license: state Game and Fish Department representatives, sheriff, county deputy sheriffs, law enforcement officers, and, on private lands, even landowners or authorized agents of the landowner.
In order to purchase a license, the first order of business is to take a hunter safety training course and pass a test. This is a separate exam, which we want to talk about below:
What is Hunter Education?
There is also a requirement to take an 8-hour "young fighter course" and pass an exam, aimed at the safety of the hunter.
This requirement varies from state to state by age. It is especially noteworthy that even a citizen under the age of majority can be a hunter. Like people over 66 years old, they have huge benefits: their monetary payments are significantly lower, or they are exempt from them altogether. In most states, citizens have the right to hunt when they reach the age of 12. This means that a potential hunter can take Hunter Education as early as age 12.
Certified safety instructors most often provide training for both youth and adults who want to hunt. Training is focused primarily on safety techniques. The course includes theoretical and practical lessons and a test at the end. If you successfully complete the training and pass the test, you can then buy a license and go hunting.
How do I get a Hunting License?
So, in order to become a hunter, you need a hunting license. There are different licenses: with firearms, with a crossbow, with traps. To get each license, you need to finish the training and get a certificate. Then with that certificate, you buy your license online. There are licenses for different types of animals.
Certification is also needed. Certification usually takes 1 day (8 hours), including shooting. The certification is free, but you have to take online training before the practical part.
After the exam, you print the certificate, with this certificate you can go to the practical part, which we wrote about in the beginning. In this practical part, the instructors tell and show everything the same as in the theoretical course. Plus, you go through practical shooting exercises. At the end of the training, you take the exam again and if you are successful, you get an official certificate and a mark in the online system that you passed. Now you can buy your hunting license online.
You need a separate certificate (training) for each type of hunting (bow, firearms, traps). Usually, these trainings are held several times a year.
As you can see, everything is quite simple.