TORRINGTON – For 15 hours last week, I was in hunter education class, preparing myself to go hunting this fall.
In Ohio, where I’m from, hunting is not near as big as it is out here. There is the occasional white-tail deer, rabbit or turkey hunt, but it is way more of a lifestyle out here, so I figured why not get in on the action. Preparing for hunting this season, I knew I had to take hunter education, so I signed up for a week-long class taught by Goshen County game warden Rob Hipp, with each class set for three hours a night.
Walking into class on the first night, I realized I was one of the oldest students, which at first made me think that I was in the wrong classroom. But then I realized that I am definitely behind the eight ball and I did, indeed, have the right classroom.
On the first night we went over the basics. We covered hunting and fishing laws, hunter responsibilities and the basics of firearms safety. Possibly the most important lesson came on the first night and every night after – the four rules of firearm safety.
1. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. 2. Don’t point your muzzle at anything you aren’t willing to destroy. 3. Do not put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot. 4. Be certain of your target and your backstop.

The second night we delved into the mechanics, talking about different actions on guns, the difference between rifles and shotguns, how ammunition works. We covered a variety of topics, and each of them I found more interesting and important than the last. Sure there were the basics that I knew like don’t put the wrong caliber ammo into a weapon, but I definitely picked up some new things like the differences between a centerfire and rimfire cartridge.
On Wednesday, we finished up our talk on safe handling of firearms, including stances and carries, and moved into wildlife management and wilderness survival. I had never seen hunting as a wildlife management tactic, but I do now. It’s an interesting idea that hunters are out there to help maintain wildlife populations at a steady level.
I have a decent amount of experience with wilderness survival techniques that I gained during my time in the Boy Scouts, but I had never thought about it in a hunting setting. Avoiding bear and mountain lion attacks was a major thing I picked up on, because who really wants to die from a massive predator. Bear – don’t intimidate it, if it comes up on you, lie on your belly and play dead. Mountain lion – make yourself look big and never turn your back and run away.
I learned about the actual art of hunting Thursday. We covered how to prepare, including sharing your itinerary with three friends that would miss you after a day of you not making it back. We moved into the actual hunt, focusing on shot placement and shooting for the vital area.
We watched videos on the post-hunt process. We watched one on field dressing and another on quick quartering, suggested for hunting in bear country. I just hope I can complete the process without any major mistakes like a punctured intestine, while still holding in my lunch.
Friday was our final day of class. We started out covering wildlife identification, working through the differences between mule and whitetail deer, as well as spotting a male antelope compared to a female.
Our impending doom came in the form of a final exam Friday night, with a 70 percent required to pass the course. Saturday there were two different sessions at the Goshen County Sportsman Club for us to put our lessons into practice, demonstrating how to operate different actions in shotguns. We also shot in the four different stances we learned in the classroom.
Overall, my time in hunter education was largely successful. Some things I knew, but coming from a non-hunting family or environment, I really learned a lot. I know I still have a lot to learn once I get out there, but I think I have several tools in my toolbox to take out with me on the hunt. For all those other hunters out there, safety is key. Respect yourself, the environment, the animals, landowners and other hunters.
I’ll see you out there my fellow hunters.