A Hunter Education safety course is being hosted at the Dublin High School Ag Building Saturday, Aug. 24 and is open to the public. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a break at noon for lunch.
FFA advisor Derek Dunlap will be leading the class and is in his 16th year of teaching it. Dunlap offered that the $20 class is an easy way to get certification before dove season starts Sept. 1 and deer season starts Nov. 4.
Texas Parks and Wildlife requires all hunters 17 years or older to complete a hunter education course (or in some special exceptions get a deferral and be accompanied by an adult who is licensed and completed the course. Hunters age 9 to 16 must be accompanied by a license hunter when hunting unless they get certified through a hunter education course. (Hunters nine and under must always be accompanied by a licensed hunter who has completed the course.)
Students under 12 should be accompanied to the class by an adult. (Adult does not need to take the class.)
The hunter safety education course was first enacted in 1972, the year that say 30 fatal hunting accidents (The highest on record since the state started keeping track the decade before.) According to TPWD, 2023 saw the lowest number of hunting incidents with 10 nonfatal injuries and one fatality.
For more information on the course, scan the QR code on the ad on page B8.