Feb. 23–How do you stack up? On a hunter education test, that is.
Many might need to brush up on the new laws. Or take a course at the University of Nature.
Hunter education classes filled up again this weekend across the Bay Area and Northern California. Registration for future classes, available on the website for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, is more popular than ever, according to Lt. Peter Blake, who helps run the program.
Before anyone can purchase a hunting license, they must complete hunter education training and/or pass a multiple-choice test. Most courses require 10 hours or more of classroom time, and many provide hands-on firearm safety and target shooting at a range.
About 30,000 students complete the course each year, Blake said. From midwinter through spring is the most popular time. Hunters want to get certified and licensed by the end of May to take part in the state’s annual big-game tag lottery for premium zones and special hunts.
How dangerous is hunting? Last year, the state issued 240,647 hunting licenses. The DFW verified 10 hunting accidents (two that were fatal), about average for a year, according Sarah Brar at DFW headquarters in Sacramento. That works out to one accident per 24,000 hunters.
In comparison, in 2011, according the California Highway Patrol, there were 159,115 vehicle collisions with injuries (and 2,835 people killed) among 24 million residents with drivers licenses. That works out to roughly one injury accident per 150 drivers. For hunters, that means the most dangerous part of the trip is driving out of the Bay Area.
Blake said he wouldn’t be happy until there are zero hunting accidents. For info on future classes, or an online course, go to www.dfg.ca.gov.
I’ve taken the course a few times, and took the online test to get a feel for it. Here are 10 hunter education questions from classroom lectures I’ve attended:
1. Where is it illegal to use lead ammunition for hunting big game, small game and varmints in 2014?
A. Everywhere in California. In 2013, lead was banned as ammunition for hunting.
B. Nowhere. What, you think you’re supposed to use copper bullets?
C. At state and federal wildlife refuges in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys
D. In areas designated as range for the California condor, even if no condors have been seen there in more than 100 years
2. What is the best way to carry a firearm in the field?
A. Two-handed carry, cradling the firearm
B. Over the shoulder, like a marine in a drill
C. Pointed forward and sideways, like actors when they portray gang members on TV. It scares the mountain lions and cartel members.
D. Over the shoulder with a sling, barrel pointed down at ground
3. At California’s Sacramento Valley Wildlife Refuge Complex, there were 230,000 pintail and 44,185 mallards out of 671,537 ducks counted in January. Therefore, what was the duck limit, including pintail and mallards?
A. 7 ducks, which could include 1 pintail, 5 mallards (no more than 2 females)
B. 7 ducks, which could include 2 pintail, 7 mallards (no more than 2 females)
C. 7 ducks, which could include 4 pintail, 3 mallards (no more than 2 females)
D. 7 ducks, any configuration of species (no more than 2 female mallards)
4. Of the nation’s 50 million bird-watchers, how many buy the $15 federal duck stamp, from which 98 percent of funds go to buy wetlands for habitat for songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife?
A. 2 million, about 4 percent
B. 5 million, about 10 percent
C. 10 million, about 20 percent
D. More than 90 percent. It’s the right thing to do and we’re all proud to help out.
5. What is the primary limiting factor for wildlife populations?
A. How many are shot by hunters
B. Oil spills, leaks of toxic materials, residues from pesticides
C. How many are saved by nonhunters who create no-hunting zones
D. Carrying capacity of habitat
6. What kind of black powder should you use for a vintage-style 50-caliber Hawken muzzle-loader rifle?
A. Coarse, same as for Civil War-style cannons
B. G grade
C. FF grade
D. None. Muzzle-loaders are now illegal with the ban on lead bullets for hunting.
7. If you get lost, what is the first thing you should do?
A. “S.T.O.P.”: Stop, Think, Observe and Plan
B. “S.A.V.E.”: Shout, Analyze, Verify and Embark
C. “S.O.S.”: Drain the oil from your vehicle, place it in the hollow of your spare tire, then burn it to set off an S.O.S. smoke signal
D. “H.A.L.T.”: Hunger, Analyze, Listen and Trace
8. Some hunters take a course with their county sheriff and get approved for a California Concealed Weapon (CCW) permit, which allows them to legally carry a loaded sidearm. Even with a permit, where are you forbidden from carrying a concealed sidearm?
A. In San Francisco
B. In a casino
C. At a gun show
D. This is a free country. With a CCW, you can carry it anywhere you want. Nobody will know anyway.
9. What is the minimum age for someone to take a California Hunter Education Program?
A. No age requirement.
B. 12
C. 16
D. 18
10. If you are afield, hunting with a friend, and a mountain lion heads straight for you as if in the prelude of an attack, what should you do?
A. Run like hell. You only have to outrun your friend.
B. Take an aggressive stance, shout, “Stop or I’ll blow you away!” and if the lion keeps coming right at you, shoot it. Then call a game warden and explain the encounter. After all, you have a witness.
C. The traditional response is called “SSS.” Shoot. Shovel. Shut-up.
D. Call the Mountain Lion Foundation and ask them to come out and help you.
Answers: 1. D; 2. A; 3. B; 4. A; 5. D; 6. C; 7. A; 8. C; 9. A; 10. B.
Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoors writer. E-mail: [email protected]. Twitter: @StienstraTom