Our Web Editor, John Daters, sat down with Mark Cousins, Hunter Education Instructor for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and asked him a few questions about hunting and hunter education.

TELL ME ABOUT HUNTER EDUCATION IN COLORADO

It started out in Colorado in the ‘60s, and in the '70s it became required. It used to just be hunting safety—how to be safe with hunting firearms out in the woods. It’s evolved into much more than that, and includes an introduction to firearms and firearm safety, covering all kind of things: how the firearms work, all the different parts of shooting positions, carry positions and how to load and unload them. 

  "It’s just a complete overview, it’s all-inclusive."

You also get training in a little bit of muzzle loading, if you’re interested in hunting with a muzzle loader. You get a little on bow hunting and then you also get sections on outdoor survival—what do you need to pack in your survival kit. How to recognize hypothermia, altitude sickness, what fire-starting techniques are out there and what you should have with you. You also get trained in wildlife identification. It’s basically Wildlife Management 101. 

You learn about conservation versus preservation. As you know, conservation is the wise use of a renewable resource, and wildlife is a renewable resource. You also find out about how hunting seasons are timed when they are, so that you remove surplus animals, or extra animals, before the winter critical period. You do this so you actually can carry more animals through on the available habitat than if you did not harvest them. It’s just a complete overview, it’s all-inclusive. 

HOW LONG ARE THE CLASSES?

The minimum contact time is 10 hours for a class, most classes run about 12. And then there’s also an Internet option where you get six hours of classroom time credited for completing the online course. After the online class you come in, that way you still get in there for the hands-on firearm safety part and wildlife management/wildlife laws. Then every student has to successfully complete the live fire exercise that involves the shooting of at least 10 rounds of ammunition, usually done with a .22 rifle. Sometimes we do it with shotguns—we’ll shoot clay pigeons, and some instructors, depending on the facility, might have a mini-outdoor day as their live fire, where the students will shoot the .22. They might get to shoot a muzzleloader, they’ll shoot a shotgun, then maybe even bows and arrows.

HOW MUCH DOES THIS PROGRAM COST?

The maximum price for a class is $10. That’s it. It’s funded by wildlife preservation dollars. Hunter education programs are funded across the country out of a general fund, created though a federal excise tax on the manufacture of firearms, ammunition and bows and arrows. Over $7 million a year are collected. And that is distributed to the states based on state population, the geographic area, how many square miles it is and how many hunting licenses they sell. 
 The money comes in for wildlife management, wildlife restoration and a portion of that funds hunter education. It also helps us acquire and manage state wildlife areas and so forth.

IF I’M NOT A COLORADO RESIDENT, CAN I STILL SIGN UP FOR THESE CLASSES?

Oh yeah, you bet. And actually our requirements are a little more stringent than many states. A lot of our instructors, as a courtesy, run crash courses the day or two before the big game seasons.
We do this, because if somebody comes to Colorado and they walk in to buy their license and are told they have to have hunter education, then they’re like “what do I do? I already drove all the way out here.” Because maybe in the state they’re from they are exempt from it based on age. At this point, we’ll direct them toward one of our temporary crash course classes. It’s eight hours in length, they still do the live fire and show safe gun handling before they get a card, but their card’s only good for that year, it expires December 31. And that way they get it through that year so their trip’s not ruined, they might lose a day of hunting, but that’s it.

IF I WERE FROM ANOTHER STATE, AND I HAD TAKEN A HUNTER EDUCATION CLASS THERE, DOES THAT TRANSFER TO COLORADO?

You’re good to go. All states accept each other’s cards. So we have reciprocity across the country and with all the countries that participate with the international hunter education association. Meaning that our cards are good in Canada, and their cards are good here. And actually it’s now spread to Peru. New Zealand’s looking at it, as are some parts of South Africa—the South Africa Hunters Association is working with International Hunter Education to make it happen.

JD: That’s amazing! I didn’t realize it was so extensive. 

MC: Well, if you look at somebody in South Africa, you can’t hunt elk over there. So where do you want to go? Colorado has 300,000 of them; it’s the best place to go. We’re kind of the nation’s—if not the world’s—elk spot. 

Find out more about wildlife from Mark Cousins with additional interviews to follow. 

Additional information
Hunting Outfitters in Colorado
Colorado Division of Wildlife