PA Game Commission Resolution Comments

Resolution # 8) NORTH MOUNTAIN SPORTSMEN ASSOCIATION – Sullivan County – Live fire in H.T.E. classes with NRA certification.

The overall goal of hunter education is to produce hunters that are safe, responsible, knowledgeable and involved hunting participants. In support of that goal, the International Hunter Education Association enacted education standards for basic hunter training. These standards articulate not only what new hunters should know, but also and for the first time, what skills they should possess. Included in these skills are learning objectives regarding live-fire activities.

In response to these initiatives, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Hunter-Trapper Education Division has substantially revised the agency’s basic Hunter-Trapper Education curriculum. An entire lesson is focused on live-fire, whereby every student will learn the skills needed to safely shoot a firearm. During this curriculum revision process, the agency became aware that since the inception of hunter education training in Pennsylvania, instructors were never adequately trained to conduct live-fire activities in hunter education. This was evidenced by ongoing mishaps during live-fire events. In response, the agency placed a temporary moratorium on live-fire training until such time as the new curriculum is put in place statewide, and a formal live-fire training program is developed for instructors.

To effectively manage the risks associated with ongoing live-fire activities, an instructor-training program must strive to protect not only the participants from potential injury, but just as importantly it must best protect the instructors and the agency from any potential liability. The training program that is envisioned for instructors will not only use elements from the NRA’s basic rifle shooting course, range safety officer course and chief range safety officer course, but also from the guidelines and recommendations developed by the International Hunter Education Association for conducting live-fire activities in hunter education. It will also combine the best of these training curricula with various train-the-trainer techniques used by other shooting disciplines. A cornerstone of this instructor-training program will be ongoing re-certification requirements, whereby instructors will not only be initially trained, but will also be re-trained and re-certified on a periodic basis.

The NRA’s instructor training programs, while recognized nationwide, are not by themselves, the best training approach for hunter education applications. While their training programs have many strong points, they also possess some weaker areas that can be improved. The instructor-training program envisioned for Pennsylvania’s hunter education program, complete with a periodic re-training component is considered the best approach to effectively manage the risks associated with large-scale student live-fire activities.