Archery education courses present the 'big picture' of bowhunting
-
Instructor Paul Kaminar takes aim at a target during a safety class on bowhunting at the Allegheny County Rifle Club in Ross.
Share with others:
It may be 90 degrees in the afternoon, but the velvet is full on deer antlers and the odd sumac shows a tinge of red. And when you see 3-D deer targets appearing on Western Pennsylvania lawns, how far off can autumn be?
Bowhunting courses, gearing up now to help archers prepare for the hunt, are another sure sign of the coming season.
Trained and certified volunteer instructors teach the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Successful Bowhunting courses, offered as part of the International Bowhunter Education Program, which originated in 1969. The program has evolved. Today's participants complete an online self-study unit, attend an eight-hour "instruction and skills" field day and pass a written exam.
Hunters who successfully finish the course receive a certificate recognized by wildlife agencies throughout North America. Many states and Canadian provinces require visiting hunters to demonstrate bowhunter certification in order to hunt within their borders.
Completion of the online course is required to participate in Successful Bowhunter field days. Register at www.pgc.state.us. Click on "Education," then "Successful Bowhunting." Minimum age is 11. The field session fee is $18. The course does not replace the basic Hunter-Trapper Education training program, required of all first-time hunters.
Aug. 21 -- Moshannon State Forest, Annex building, Penfield, Clearfield County.
Aug. 28 -- Peters Township Community Center, Venetia.
Sept. 11 -- Rochester Sportsmen's Club, Freedom.
Fifteen bowhunters won certificates after attending a field class last weekend at the Allegheny Country Rifle Club in Ross.
Bowhunters tend to be an independent lot, said Paul Kaminar of Aliquippa, who coordinates the field day instruction around Allegheny County, but he believes many archers grasp the importance of coming together for formal instruction.
"We're seeing guys take the course who need the certification to hunt in specially managed urban or park hunts, and also guys who are going to hunt in other states that require proof of training," Kaminar said. "We've have graduates say they've learned things they would not have learned elsewhere, like how to defend bowhunting in an articulate manner. And there are always some who come just to be better bowhunters -- upgrading their skills, so to speak."
First Published July 25, 2010 12:00 am
