Firearm Safety

[bowhunter73]

  Two of my boys ages 12 and 14 started there firearm safety class a few weeks ago. I just wanted to see if anybody has been to this class in the last few years. And what you thought of it. I too am taking the class with my boys. Most of my work is going to be done on line, due to my work schedule. However, I have made two classes and the upcoming day in the field is necessary to pass the class.

  I just wanted to give a big hats off to the volunteers at the DNR. There knowledge, experience, and drive to help the kids is great.
  The class is required for everybody born after Dec 31 1979 that wants to apply for a hunting license.
  I would recommend getting your hands on one of the student manuals even if you do not take the class. The over 150 pages of color illustrations are packed with great info for all hunters and shooters.

      Help a young person learn how to live

[Grute Man]

I put Hockey #12 through it a couple of years ago and I thought it was done very well.  The instructors were all very well versed in the material and they would back each other up so if one guy didn't know an answer, someone else would.  They were well organised, progressed in a reasonable manner.  The most impressive part was they way they would stop to make SURE each and every kid understood what they meant on every point.  They walked through the test with any kid that needed it -- question by question. 

This year I need to get Hockey #12's younger brother signed up.  He doesn't have a login name yet.  I wonder what he'll come up with  :alien:

Grute Man

[Woody]

Splinter is going through it right now.  He loves it so far.  Something I found funny-you still have to give them a self addressed stamped envelope to get your card! 

[tripnchip]

  bh73, glad to see you are joining your son in the class. I always enjoyed seeing parents showing up for the class with their kids even if they were just setting in to more or less observe. Even had a few mothers sign up for the class part way through, we allowed it because they had been there for every class anyway and if mom wanted to join their child in the out doors I wasn't going to stand in the way. I feel every parent should at least read through the manuals so when the kid corrects them on a nasty old habbit they know where the kids are coming from.
 Enjoy the clas and hunt.

[bowhunter73]

  Just an up date from a proud dad
 Both of my boys and me have passed the class
 Now I really cannot wait until hunting season to get here
 
 I?m just waiting to get that first hunting picture. So mom
 Can get working on the boys hunting & fishing scrapbook.
I can only hope that my boys will enjoy these years in the field
With me as much as I did with my step father

           The best is yet to come  :rock:

[Faceman]

My oldest son is in it right now. We just had field day on Saturday and went off without a hitch. His last night is tommorrow night for final classroom things and final test. I have been to every class with him and to field day. On field day they were short some instructors so I pulled trap on the shotgun station for awhile until some other fathers took over so I could see some of the other stuff and I got to shoot some new stuff as well. It was a blast.

I went through firearm safety 25 years ago, man have things changed since then. The classes are excellent and the instructors are great. Cant wait till hunting season.

On field day my son and I both shot muzzleloaders which is new to both of us and now we want one.

[Grute Man]

  Just an up date from a proud dad
 Both of my boys and me have passed the class
 Now I really cannot wait until hunting season to get here
 
 I?m just waiting to get that first hunting picture. So mom
 Can get working on the boys hunting & fishing scrapbook.
I can only hope that my boys will enjoy these years in the field
With me as much as I did with my step father

           The best is yet to come  :rock:

Congrats, Bowhunter73.  I know you have a lot to look forward to.  Hockey #12 went to that trap shoot Saturday and realy enjoyed it.  One day all us Grutes could be shooting together.  Good times keep families together.   :: ::rockon:: :bandana:

[Big_D]

Li'l D just finished up his on Saturday with flying colors.....done deal now, and proud as punch here....

Give the guys a big hand who run these gigs..... ::cheers::

[Faceman]

Well my oldest son just passed his firearm safety course and is proud as a peacock as well as I am proud of him. Cant wait to get him out hunting.

[JD]

That's great!  Tell him the crew at MNO are proud of him, future MNO in training.

[Berettaman]

I have been teaching FSC for about 8 years and it is really rewarding.  One of the things I have done with our class is require each of the people taking the classs to identify a hunting mentor.  Throughout the class I then give them homework to ask their mentor something.  I use questions like: Has the mentor ever been stopped by a CO?  Describe their experience.  Or Who was the mentor's mentor and what did they learn from them.  How have times changed throughout the mentor's hunting career.  Or my favorite, has the mentor ever encountered an ethical dilema while hunting, and if so, how did they handle it?  This has been a great addition to my classes.

One thing I will mention, I feel that as a general rule, parents teach kids the nuts and bolts of hunting (i.e. how to shoot a gun or field dress a deer) pretty well.  But what is missing is hunting ethics.  For some reason, parents rarely touch on that to kids.  So make sure you talk to your kids at the impressionable age most of them are at about ethics while hunting. 

Berettaman