More hunters passing KDWP safety course

Local resident Darrel Bloomfield said the number of prospective hunters who pass the final examination in the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks-sponsored Hunter Education Class each year is as high as he's ever seen it during his long tenure as an instructor with the program.

"The pass rate academically is as high as it's ever been in 22 years," Bloomfield, now a master hunting safety instructor, said. "Of course, the odds are there's a 10 percent chance somebody might mess up, but it's a very high percentage rate of passing (more than 90 percent)."

Bloomfield has been involved with the hunter safety course -- a three-day course that tests each prospective hunter's ability to master the rules and regulations regarding safe hunting -- for several years now.

Hunting enthusiasts in Kansas and Missouri, who are at least 11 years of age, may participate in the course, which consists of classroom and field work, and concludes with a final written and practical examination on the topics of gun handling and proper gun handling in the field. The class prepares hunters to deal with animals such as deer, bears, coyotes and turkeys, and teaches them about accuracy and timing when using a weapon.

Upcoming courses are scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 14, 16 and 18; Sept. 11,13 and 15; and Oct. 16, 18 and 20 at Shelter House No. 3 in Gunn Park, 1010 Park Ave. All supplies are provided for the classes. Tuesday and Thursday classes will take place at the National Guard Armory, 2301 S. Horton St. Saturday classes will be conducted in Gunn Park, a statement from organizers said.

Registration will take place from 6:10 to 6:30 p.m. each scheduled class day.

Uniontown classes will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 13, 15 and 17 at the Uniontown Junior Senior High School agriculture shop, 601 Fifth St., Uniontown. Registration for these classes will take place from 6:10 to 6:25 p.m. those days in the UJSHS commons area.

Other than passing the required testing, all participants must also be present all three days of the course in order to receive certification, Bloomfield said. Participants will take part in class discussion, as well as watch films and presentations on gun law, wildlife management, ethics, first aid and survival, alcohol and drugs, and proper gun handling. Students will also learn that alcohol and drugs are forbidden when hunting.

At the end of the three-day session, the young participants need to pass a written test, and then complete a 10 to 12-station trail walk at Gunn Park that tests each person's skills in different hunting-related scenarios. Those stations include a firearms training area, an archery training area, a boating training area, and a training area where participants will encounter pop-up targets they can use to practice their firing skills, Bloomfield said. Participants will use live ammunition and black powder during the trail walk.

Parents of hunters who are younger than 11 years of age may also participate with their children in the trail walk, provided they are in a group that doesn't include their child, which promotes independent thinking among younger hunters, officials said.

The students will also witness a live presentation about the proper and safe use of black powder weapons from a certified instructor, Bloomfield said. Most of the instructors in the program, who are trained in their respective areas, have military service backgrounds, he said.

A new learning activity this year is called the laser shot, in which participants will use a mock gun equipped with a laser to fire at prey, such as duck and quail, that are replicated on a computer screen, Bloomfield said. Each hunter's shot is recorded, the bird falls on the screen if it is killed, and the participant then receives a score. Each participant is not required to pass the laser shot test, which is part of the entire three-day educational class, he said. The students receive a combined score at the end of the three-day session.

The laser shot activity will take place at the National Guard Armory.

After passing all tests, each participant will receive a certificate noting his or her weapons qualifications and each person's understanding of hunting rules and regulations.

Bloomfield said after all these years, he still enjoys his job as a hunter safety instructor, mainly because the program provides worthwhile results.

"If I can do my part to prevent a hunting accident, I feel like I've done my job," he said. "We've had our lowest (hunting) accident rate in years. The program is working."

The program has three main sponsors this year; the VFW Post No. 1165, the Bourbon County Farm Bureau, and the 772nd (MAC) unit of the Army National Guard, formerly the 891st Engineer Combat Battalion, Bloomfield said.

For more information, call Bloomfield at (620) 223-5418.