Education for young shooters
Game & Fish offers classes in all facets of hunting for youths who want to stalk game, big or small
For parents interested in getting their kids involved with hunting, New Mexico offers a wide range of opportunities. In addition to a large number of youth-only hunts, there are licensed outfitters offering kids-only excursions, a strong community of hunters, and the state is well known for its varied terrain and diversity of its game population.
The 2012 season got under way at the beginning of September and runs through the end of the year, so there’s still time to get started.
In New Mexico, as in many other states, children need more than just the standard hunting license. New Mexico requires that all hunters under age 18 show evidence of having passed a hunter education course. New Mexico will accept hunter education certificates or cards from other jurisdictions, but most new hunters end up taking one of the classes offered around the state. Taught by volunteer instructors, these courses introduce about 3,000 young hunters every year to firearms
safety and marksmanship, basic hunting skills and rules and regulations.
Most classes are two days long, and include homework, classroom instruction and hands-on instruction. The New Mexico Department of Game & Fish encourages parents to come along with their children, both as part of making hunting and safety education a family concern, and as a refresher of the basics. For children under 11, parents are required to attend.
Game & Fish offers classes throughout the year, but as the Department’s Hunter Education coordinator, Jennifer Morgan, notes, there are two particularly busy times when classes fill shortly after they are announced: January to March, just before the biggame lottery drawings, and then again from August to November ahead of the smallgame and waterfowl hunts. Rule changes that could ease this crunch are in the works, she said.
Once kids have their hunter education card and their hunting license, they benefit from some special perks.
In addition to regular-season draw, late-season draw and open hunts, Game & Fish sets aside special kids-only hunts for both big and small game.
“The small-game and waterfowl hunts are really underappreciated,” Morgan said. “There’s almost always open places for both.”
Working with an outfitter offers another hunting opportunity for youngsters. There are more than 250 outfitters certified by the state, and some, like H&A Outfitters or Compass West Outfitters, offer hunts reserved for those 18 and under. These expeditions, in addition to increasing the odds of a successful hunt, can expose a young hunter to different terrain and game than might be found on his or her home turf.
The final hunter education classes for 2012 are scheduled to begin over the next few weeks. Spaces are limited, with a couple hundred or so still available. More might open up, Morgan said, as volunteer instructors judge the need in their local areas.