Fall hunting is right around the corner, but you can get safety-certified now during the DNR’s Hunter Safety Education Week, Aug. 12-18. More than 60 in-person classes and/or field days are being offered in 40 counties throughout the state as additional opportunities to obtain your hunter safety education certificate.
To purchase a hunting license in Michigan, anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1960, is required to successfully complete an approved hunter safety education course.
These classes are commonly offered in the spring, ahead of spring turkey season, or in the fall before the firearm deer season. Hunter Safety Education Week is being offered in addition to the already planned fall classes.
“Just like preparing for school and fall extracurriculars, hunting season needs to be considered in advance,” said Lt. Tom Wanless, DNR recreational safety, education and enforcement supervisor.
“We don’t want to see people wait until the week before they want to hunt to try locating a class, at which point classes are often full,” he said. “We hope that by offering an influx of in-person classes during a particular week each year, it will give people enough notice to prepare for hunting season.”
There are four options for completing hunter safety education in Michigan, all of which require at least four hours of in-person instruction:
Traditional classroom-based course.
Online course followed by an in-person field day.
Interactive online course (with animations and videos that put students in virtual real-life scenarios) followed by an in-person field day.
Take-home study course followed by an in-person field day.
Hunter safety education helps the next generation of hunters learn how to safely and responsibly enjoy hunting and understand the importance of wildlife management. The DNR-managed program teaches lifelong skills, such as firearm safety, basic first aid and how to use a map and compass, to an average of 15,000 students per year.
