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Safety Course For Hunting, but Not For Purchases?

TaterTots said:
Got to thinking and I wanted to ask the people of this forum a question. In my state, if you want to hunt you have to purchase a hunting license. However, in order to do so, you must complete a hunters safety course if you were born after 1969. The course lasts for 2 days. You are taught how to handle a firearm, how to operate it, all the parts that make up the firearm, and watch a few videos. At the end of the course you have to pass a multiple choice test that consists of 100 questions going over everything you were taught in 2 days. The last hour you go out to a range where you shoot clay and put to use what you've learned.

If you simply want to purchase a firearm, all you need to do is go out and have a instant background check that takes 15 mins or so. Why is this? How come I had to take a 2 day course with a test to legally hunt, but can purchase a firearm in 30 mins? That should be a requirement for both or none at all imo.

The reason I thought of this was due to an uncomfortable experience at a store recently(Academy). I went to feel out a shotgun I've been eyeballing. I looked to my right and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I turned to my left and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I know the firearms were not loaded, but it still made me a tad uncomfortable having someone point a barrel at me casually when I was taught never to do such a thing even if its unloaded. The worker handed me the shotgun and I had nowhere to point the barrel or swing comfortably. I raised the end of the barrel directly at the ceiling and he asked me not to do that and to point the gun forward.....directly at him. I just handed it back because it was odd to me.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Should we drop the hunter education course altogether or have such a safety course for first time buyers as well? I could tell no one ever jumped onto those people for handling a firearm a certain way.
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Simple...you don't have a right to hunt. And I personally think the hunting course is more important. Of all the firearms owners I know...and of the few that have been shot...it has been while hunting. I think of the few times a person uses a gun...that is one where an accident has a much higher chance of occurring.

Then. There is also the fact that even with that course...people are complete and total dumbasses when it comes to the law and ethical hunting. Hopefully that course weeds out a few dumbasses. But sadly the frat boys who watched duck dynasty still didn't learn. I personally love that requirement. People need to learn the laws for hunting. They aren't there because of big brother. They set the law based on state wildlife biologist recommendations.
 
blackjack50 said:
Simple...you don't have a right to hunt. And I personally think the hunting course is more important. Of all the firearms owners I know...and of the few that have been shot...it has been while hunting. I think of the few times a person uses a gun...that is one where an accident has a much higher chance of occurring.

Then. There is also the fact that even with that course...people are complete and total dumbasses when it comes to the law and ethical hunting. Hopefully that course weeds out a few dumbasses. But sadly the frat boys who watched duck dynasty still didn't learn. I personally love that requirement. People need to learn the laws for hunting. They aren't there because of big brother. They set the law based on state wildlife biologist recommendations.
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Right. So, someone else made the exact same point as you. First of all, I believe it should be a right to live off the land(other topic). Secondly, I'm not sure if you've taken a hunter safety course, but its not what most of you believe it is. I learned nothing about hunting and bag limits in that class. I learned how to handle and operate a firearm safely. With that being said, it simply seems some of you are ok with someone with no experience being a potential risk at the local gun range, but feel someone who purchases a firearm to hunt should absolutely learn firearm safety before doing such a hobby. Right.
 
=TaterTots;1067687400]Got to thinking and I wanted to ask the people of this forum a question. In my state, if you want to hunt you have to purchase a hunting license. However, in order to do so, you must complete a hunters safety course if you were born after 1969. The course lasts for 2 days. You are taught how to handle a firearm, how to operate it, all the parts that make up the firearm, and watch a few videos. At the end of the course you have to pass a multiple choice test that consists of 100 questions going over everything you were taught in 2 days. The last hour you go out to a range where you shoot clay and put to use what you've learned.
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As I did in OR. I was 14. If you wanted a deer tag or bird stamp you took it. It was no big deal. We just listened to someone talk about safety pretty much. However if you were going to buy a firearm at that age someone went with you but...

If you simply want to purchase a firearm, all you need to do is go out and have a instant background check that takes 15 mins or so. Why is this? How come I had to take a 2 day course with a test to legally hunt, but can purchase a firearm in 30 mins? That should be a requirement for both or none at all imo.
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When you purchase a firearm is it with the intent to hunt people? Owning a firearm is a right, hunting is I guess you could say a fringe benefit.
The reason I thought of this was due to an uncomfortable experience at a store recently(Academy). I went to feel out a shotgun I've been eyeballing. I looked to my right and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I turned to my left and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I know the firearms were not loaded, but it still made me a tad uncomfortable having someone point a barrel at me casually when I was taught never to do such a thing even if its unloaded. The worker handed me the shotgun and I had nowhere to point the barrel or swing comfortably. I raised the end of the barrel directly at the ceiling and he asked me not to do that and to point the gun forward.....directly at him. I just handed it back because it was odd to me.
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Uncomfortable I guess. The guys on either side were idiots. Did you see them checked? Reason is the worker don't sound to bright or one of the kind that assume. At the workers remarks I would have said bye.
Anyway, what are your thoughts? Should we drop the hunter education course altogether or have such a safety course for first time buyers as well? I could tell no one ever jumped onto those people for handling a firearm a certain way.
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Nothing is wrong with the hunters ed. course as long as its not as involved as the one you speak of. Should first time buyers pay for a course? That's up to them if there's no way else to learn or have a friend or acquaintance help them out or study good and teach yourself.
 
TaterTots said:
Every person that purchases a gun shoots at least once. That's the common ground between hunters and someone that is purchasing a gun for self defense etc. When I go out for a few rounds of 5 stand, no one points the end of the barrel at anyone. At Academy, multiple people were pointing a gun towards me and the clerk made a comment to me, who was pointing the barrel away from everyone. Surely, you find that weird. Are those people going to a range and loading/unloading a gun pointed towards the people in the next station?

The hunter safety course I took was a gun safety course. I was taught how to carry a gun around other people in the safest way possible in the field. Just odd that some people are going out to ranges completely ignorant about safety.
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Odds are if the range has a R.O. worth a damn the ignorant will learn a lesson.
 
TaterTots said:
So, why should hunter safety be mandatory, yet a person who has never held or operated a firearm can go out to the range and handle a firearm poorly ok? I'm not sure what some of you believe a hunter safety course consists of, but its basically how to carry a firearm around others, where to point a barrel around others, never to put your finger on the trigger unless you have a clean shot, etc. etc. Also, learning the parts of a firearm. They do not teach you how to shoot dear or anything lol. Just how to be safe while handling a firearm. Which is reasonable to me.
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As HowardBThiname Pointed out there are other hunters around or may be so know where to point your firearm and when to keep your eyes open. I used to hunt deer then it got to the point I spent more time hunting people that may be in the area so I could stay away from them. About 35 years ago a friend and I where up out of Chelan.WA. (guns were no big deal in WA.) stopped on a logging road and I looked up a hill about about 100 yards and some dumbass is glassing me with his scope. So tempted to put a.303 in the tree next to him.Didn't just tempted.
 
Chomsky said:
I've been out of the active gun scene for a while, but I'd like to comment on the gun pointing.

No - I would not tolerate a gun being pointed at me. I would calmly, but steadfastly, tell them "Please don't point your gun at me". Simple and direct.

I'm also surprised this is tolerated at the gun store. I hope laxness like this is not standard practice, now that guns and gun shops have become more prevalent the last decade or two.
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I've seen people told to knock it off nicely and plain yelled at. And if the customer yelled at didn't like it tough other customers did.
 
zsu2357 said:
Hmm I'm thinking closer to 5 million.
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true dat. one of my accomplishments was as general counsel of a large Ohio gun club-was passing a rule that all members had to be active members of the NRA. it saved the club a couple thousand a year in insurance. we had a few members-mainly trap shooters complain about having to join the NRA because they didn't see trap guns asa something the bannerrhoid movement would go after. at the meeting where this was debated, I pulled out an ATA "gold card" (life membership) and noted I didn't shoot registered ATA targets but I also had life memberships in NSSA (Skeet) NSCA (sporting clays) SASS (cowboy shooting) and USPSA (IPSC-action pistol) and that sort of shut up the opposition. the other big gun club in the area adopted the same rules
 
TaterTots said:
Got to thinking and I wanted to ask the people of this forum a question. In my state, if you want to hunt you have to purchase a hunting license. However, in order to do so, you must complete a hunters safety course if you were born after 1969. The course lasts for 2 days. You are taught how to handle a firearm, how to operate it, all the parts that make up the firearm, and watch a few videos. At the end of the course you have to pass a multiple choice test that consists of 100 questions going over everything you were taught in 2 days. The last hour you go out to a range where you shoot clay and put to use what you've learned.

If you simply want to purchase a firearm, all you need to do is go out and have a instant background check that takes 15 mins or so. Why is this? How come I had to take a 2 day course with a test to legally hunt, but can purchase a firearm in 30 mins? That should be a requirement for both or none at all imo.

The reason I thought of this was due to an uncomfortable experience at a store recently(Academy). I went to feel out a shotgun I've been eyeballing. I looked to my right and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I turned to my left and someone had a barrel pointed at me. I know the firearms were not loaded, but it still made me a tad uncomfortable having someone point a barrel at me casually when I was taught never to do such a thing even if its unloaded. The worker handed me the shotgun and I had nowhere to point the barrel or swing comfortably. I raised the end of the barrel directly at the ceiling and he asked me not to do that and to point the gun forward.....directly at him. I just handed it back because it was odd to me.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Should we drop the hunter education course altogether or have such a safety course for first time buyers as well? I could tell no one ever jumped onto those people for handling a firearm a certain way.
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Gun ownership is a constitutional right that shall not be infringed.Hinting is a state granted privilege. The state can require that you go through all sorts of hoops for that privilege.

We have over 1 gun per man, woman and child in this country. According to some polls its one in three Americans that owns a gun some polls say forty seven percent of Americans owns a gun. Which either way means a child has an extremely high chance of knowing someone who has a gun or being in a household that owns a gun.So it makes sense to make gun safety a required subject it school.

.If firearm safety is actually a genuine concern and not merely some ploy to make it harder for average Americans to own gun then the solution is mandating that firearm safety be a required subject in k-12 education .. This way all children grow up with firearm safety and there won't be any constitutional issues.
 
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