Do Kids Need a Hunters Ed Course?

Hunting is a family tradition for many. You may know someone (including yourself) who grew up hunting with their dad or grandad, and it’s just second nature for your family to plan hunting trips each year to continue the tradition and feel your freezers.

Hunter education courses may not have been around when your dad or other relatives first learned to hunt years ago. However, most states require hunters to pass a hunter safety course before they can purchase a license and hunt each season.

Does that also apply to kids? You probably didn’t take a course as a kid – you just grabbed your air rifle or your .22 and followed your dad into the field when deer or turkey season rolled around.

So, do kids need a hunters ed course? We believe everyone can benefit from the safety essentials taught in one of our courses, but let’s talk about if and when kids need to get certified.

Putting Safety First

No matter who you hunt with or how old they are, safety must always come first in the field. As a responsible hunter yourself, you know that everyone you hunt with must understand why we hunt, how to handle firearms safely in the field, and how to prevent accidents when hunting.

Depending on how young you start hunting with your kids, they may be too young to sit through a hunting safety course – either online or in person – and pass an exam. So, their initial introduction to safety must come from you and your hunting partners as you take them into the field each season of their young hunting careers.

What Do States Require?

Aside from the ability of a young hunter to stay focused on a course and take an exam, most states don’t require hunters under a specific age to pass a safety certification.  

For example, some states don’t require a safety course until a child is 16 years old, while others may require it for hunters as young as 12. If you’re not sure if your young one needs a hunters ed course before they can head out into the field with you, check with your state agencies or find your state on our Hunter-Ed website and check the information at the top of the page.

For example, in Kentucky, anyone age 12 or older or born after January 1, 1975, needs hunting education before getting a hunting license.

It’s Not Only About Safety

While safety is the primary message young hunters learn through hunter education courses, they’ll learn much more!

Hunter Ethics

A state-approved course also teaches about hunting ethics (and taking ethical shots), basic shooting and scouting skills, field dressing, and wilderness survival techniques. A thorough course also helps hunters of all ages understand the safe zone of fire and how to make smart decisions that can help avoid accidents and injuries in the field.

This information helps set up hunters for long-term success season after season, encouraging them to learn critical fundamentals they can build on as they continue hunting with you and your family every year.

They can then carry these skills and insights on to their friends who join the hunt and, eventually, their own children as the tradition of hunting goes on for more generations.

Understanding Regulations

Hunting regulations can change depending on where you hunt and each new season. Bag limits and season start dates from last year may not be the same for each new hunting year. Additionally, rules can change about the types of firearms or accessories that are legal to use when hunting different species.

A hunter education course teaches young hunters to continually monitor hunting regulations and adjust their strategies and gear to comply with the law. You never want to get caught hunting based on outdated rules that could force you to forfeit that buck and fall short of filling your tag.

Be a Good Example

Do you have your hunter safety certification? It can be hard to encourage kids to learn good hunting habits and take a safety course when the state requires it if their hunter examples haven’t taken one yet!

You may have grown up hunting and learned everything you know about hunting in the field and from your family and friends. Still, a hunter safety course – even if it’s not required in your state – is one of the best ways to lead by example and keep everyone you hunt with safe every season . . . young or old. Plus, you never know when you might learn something new that could get you out of a potentially dangerous situation next season.

All Hunters Need Hunters Ed

To answer the question of whether kids need hunter education or not, we always say “yes!” However, hunter education can take on a variety of forms.

It starts with you and those who take young hunters under their wings and into the field before they reach an age where the law requires a safety certification to hunt. By helping them learn the basics during their first hunts, you can set a good example and instill many good best practices in your young hunter.

Then, encouraging everyone you hunt with – including yourself – to take the course for your state is one of the best to help everyone hunt again season after season.

Hunter-Ed wants everyone to return safely from the field, no matter when or what they hunt! We help you do that by providing online, state-approved courses that meet all requirements for hunting licensing. Our courses are convenient to take at your own pace, then pass your exam when you’re ready.

Make a safety education plan with the hunters in your family. Find the course for your state, make sure you’ve achieved your certification, and then make sure your kids follow in your footsteps when they’re old enough to need a certification to hunt.