SALT LAKE CITY — Hunting enthusiasts born after Dec. 31, 1965, must complete a state-offered hunter education class or participate in a trial hunting program in order to hunt in Utah this fall.
The hunter educations courses can be take a traditional class led by an instructor or an online course followed by a field day. Both require a written test and a live-fire shooting exercise at the end.
The online course, which can be taken at any pace, will teach participants about firearm safety, hunter responsibility and ethics. The courses range in price from $13 to $29. Links to the approved courses can be found on the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website at wildlife.utah.gov.
Once the online portion of the course is finished, participants will need to print a proof of completion document. They will then need to purchase a $10 registration certificate at any DWR office or a license agent before completing the field day portion of the course.
Participants can then find a field day in their area and contact the instructor to enroll. The field day typically lasts about five hours and includes hands-on workstations that help participants with practical scenarios like crossing a fence with a firearm and identifying wildlife. It will also include a final written test and a live-fire shooting exercise at a shooting range. Field day times and locations can be found on the DWR website.
Those who want to take the class in person need to purchase the registration certificate and find a class near them on the website. The class format varies, but usually meets two nights a week and runs for three or four weeks. In the class, volunteer instructors will teach participants how to handle a firearm and how to shoot it safely, as well as hunter responsibility, survival skills and how to identify wildlife.
After completing the in-class portion, participants will meet at a shooting range where they will demonstrate their ability to shoot a small-caliber rifle safely.
The state’s trial hunting program offers participants the chance to go hunting with an experienced hunter and see if it is something they would like to pursue. Participants are not required to take hunter education to participate in this program.
Anyone 12 years of age or older can join the program. They just need to be accompanied by a licensed hunter who is 21 or older. To participate, a brief online orientation course, which can be found on the DWR website, must be completed. Participants also need to buy a hunting license and the permit for the species they would like to hunt.